Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

A few minutes passed as Alphy frantically tried to wake her father as well as figure out what had happened to make him collapse. But after John woke up, he pretended nothing had happened and continued chatting with Alphy about various things.

How she was sleeping, whether she was eating right, if she made sure to check up on her younger sisters...

And like that, the father-daughter life counseling session was over.

John set his long empty cup of coffee off to the side and said, "Thanks for chatting with me, Alphy." He reached out to ruffle her hair and said, "I'm glad you're doing well."

Alphy smiled and said, "Of course, Papa! ...Ah, I can still call you in the morning, right?" She lowered her head and said, "I know I haven't been doing that much recently, so I feel a bit bad..."

"Of course you can!" John pulled his hand back and said, "No matter how big you get, Papa's always going to be here to listen to you when you need it."

Alphy stood up and set her empty hot cocoa cup on the table. "Thanks, Papa! I love you!"

"Love you too, Alphy."

Alphy waved at John and then walked off towards the elevator, happily humming to herself. Once she got inside, she gave John a bright smile and another wave.

And then the elevator doors closed and John was alone in his office again.

He let out a deep sigh as he cleaned everything up and arranged things for the meeting with Rin. As he did, he mumbled to himself to sort his thoughts.

"Alphy getting married, huh?"

It wasn't the first time that topic came up.

In the past, there were many people who wanted to court Alphy... Or specifically, "Magnum Opus Alpha." Some out of admiration, some out of desire... but all of them were doing it because of her status.

John wouldn't allow it.

To begin with, Alphy still hadn't comprehended what 'affection' or even 'emotion' was at the time. At least, not on an intuitive level. She could understand it rationally and objectively, yes. But really 'feeling' it... that was only a recent development

And after the incident with Betty, John didn't believe there would be anyone who would ever care for his girls as their own persons instead of just the utility they brought or their status as his daughter.

So he had put the thought of them leaving and starting their own families out of mind.

But now...

John made a fresh plate of salted caramel chocolate chip cookies along with some fresh lemonade, setting it out on the table. After that, he waved his hand to shift the furniture around.

The table shrank and became a small coffee table, John's chair turned into a lounge chair, and the chair across from him turned into another comfy lounge chair with an orange cushion.

But even after doing that to distract his thoughts a bit, he couldn't help but mutter, "Earth really keeps saying that being a transcendent isn't anything when it comes to living a normal family life, huh?"

The trials of communicating with your beloved, the trials of a parent watching their child spread their wings, the trials of time passing by quicker than you could grasp it...

John had faced countless challenges since he was first thrown into another world, but he had to admit that these 'mundane' challenges were the greatest he had ever faced.

"Hah..." John sat back down in his chair and said, "One day at a time, John. One day at a time."

Yes. It was best to take it one day at a time. Instead of having expectations that would fall short or overshoot reality, it was best to face each day head on and adapt accordingly.

Just like the good old days.

...Except this time, it wasn't so much his life at stake as it was the happiness of his baby girls who were now finally grown up. Not to mention that Meggie's rebellious phase was starting. And considering how much she took after Yue...

...Maybe he should go apologize to his father-in-law and invite the guy over for a nice cup of tea. That, and ask for some advice.

But anyway, John had a job to do. He could think about that when he was off the clock.

Pulling out his tablet again, John flipped through his notes and said, "Rin's next. And for her... Mm. There's a lot to unpack here, huh?"

It seemed like Jenny sent some updated notes for Rin during Asako and Alphy's life counseling sessions.

John tapped his fingers against the tablet screen, thinking about where to even start.

And then he heard a chime echo. The elevator arriving at his office floor.

The elevator doors slid open and Rin hopped out, a bright smile on her face. "Morning, Mister John!"

John closed his notes and set the tablet to the side. After that, he smiled at Rin and said, "Morning, Rin. How's it going?"

Rin plopped into the chair across from John and said, "It's going great! Ooh! Are those cookies for me?"

John nodded and said, "Help yourself. We'll be here a while since there's a lot to talk and plan, so make yourself comfy."

"Okay!" Rin grabbed a cookie and started nibbling on it, smiling in contentment.

John poured Rin a glass of lemonade before placing it in front of her. After that, he reached behind his seat to hide pulling out a thermos of coffee and a cup from his Heavenly Realm. "So." John started pouring himself some coffee and said, "I guess we can start with any concerns you have right now and then go from there."

Rin paused in the middle of shoving a new cookie into her mouth. She set it down and then took a swig from her lemonade. After that, she tilted her head and said, "I don't have any concerns though?" She brushed the cookie crumbs off her hand and then said, "I'm having lots of fun with the Ohana, enjoying time with Onee-chan and Aneue, and I get to see Mom healthy and doing work she likes doing for herself instead of for me. Everything's great!"

John could see that it was a genuine response. Rin really felt that everything was going great and that she didn't have any problems.

On a surface level, that was a good thing. After all, it was for the better that Rin was happy and carefree.

But from what Sakura had said and from the updated notes Jenny sent...

John smiled and said, "That's good to hear. Then..." He reached out to grab a cookie as well. Idly breaking a piece off and dunking it in his coffee, John said, "How about we just chat then?" He smiled and said, "I don't think we've had a chance to really just talk since we've met, right?"

Rin paused, tilting her head to think. After a bit, her eyes widened and she gasped. "You're right, Mister John! I didn't even realize that!"

John laughed and said, "A lot's happened since we met, so I don't blame you forgetting. Not to mention that I had a lot of personal stuff going on too."

"Still, I'm upset I didn't realize it." Rin frowned and said, "You've done so much for me, Mister John, and I barely know anything about you."

John waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. I don't know much about you either, so it's even. And besides, we have time to talk now, don't we?"

Rin nodded. "Mmhm!" She finished her cookie and grabbed another one. "Um... can I ask you anything I want, Mister John?"

John nodded and said, "Of course. But we have to make it fair." He finished his cookie and then reached out to grab another one like Rin. "I'll answer whatever question you ask, but then you have to answer whatever question I ask."

"Great!" Rin nodded and said, "Then can you tell me how old Onee-chan is?"

"Mm..." John munched on his cookie and said, "I don't know."

"Eh?!" Rin's eyes widened and she said, "But you're Onee-chan's father! How do you not know how old she is?"

John idly sipped on his coffee before saying, "It's a bit complicated. Alphy's birth was a bit of a miracle that I didn't expect, and by the time she came into my life, she was already big enough to follow me around. But I don't know exactly when she was born."

Nothing that John said was false, but neither was it the whole truth. And yet, it was complete enough to answer the question while leaving implications for Rin to fill in the gaps.

"Oh." Rin paused to think and then said, "Is that why Onee-chan looks different from Miss Yue?"

John nodded and said, "Mmhm. Neither Alphy nor Betty are Yue's biological daughters. In fact, they've only recently gotten close."

Rin frowned, mulling over John's answers by munching on a cookie.

John took another bite out of his cookie as well and said, "Is it my turn then?"

"Oh!" Rin nodded and said, "Go ahead, Mister John!"

"Alright. Hm..." John pretended to think about it for a while before saying, "What's your favorite color?"

"Huh?" Rin blinked and said, "Orange. Why?"

John smiled and said, "Well, usually you start with the basic questions when you get to know someone, right?"

Rin's face turned red. She quickly picked up her lemonade to hide her embarrassment and said, "R-Right!" She sipped on her drink and said, "I-I forgot... sorry..."

John raised his coffee to sip on it as well before saying, "It's fine." He smiled and said, "You were curious about your 'Onee-chan', so I don't blame you."

Rin set her lemonade down and said, "But we're supposed to be getting to know each other better and I didn't ask anything about you, Mister John..."

John set his coffee cup down and said, "Well, how about you ask now then?"

"Um... Then what's your favorite color, Mister John?"

John smiled and said, "Green."

"Like Miss Yue's hair?"

"More like her eyes, but yes."

Rin giggled and said, "I bet Miss Yue would be super happy to hear that."

"Well." John chuckled and said, "I like that color because of her, so I'm sure she would."

"Ooh!" Rin's eyes sparkled and she said, "That's like me then! I like orange because I like Hana and the Ohana! Wow!"

John made a mental note of that and then said, "Small world, huh?"

"Mmhm!" Rin finished her cookie and then said, "It really is! Ah. But I guess I don't know why other people like their favorite colors... Is it normal to like it because you like something else?"

John shrugged and said, "Some people just like a color because they like the color. But it's fine to like a color because you like what it represents or something else that is that color... if that makes sense."

Rin nodded and said, "That makes perfect sense!"

"Good." John laughed and said, "I was worried that it wouldn't. I've been having to juggle a bunch of different things, so I was worried that my brain might be melting a bit and getting stuff tangled. Plus I'm getting a bit old, you know?"

Rin rolled her eyes and said, "You're not that old, Mister John."

John smiled. "Thanks, Rin. But anyway..." He reached out to grab his coffee cup and take a sip.

Rin reached out to grab her lemonade as well and take a sip too.

Seeing that, John hummed and said, "I forgot to ask, but is there a problem with you dropping school to join Project MirAIs? Your mom said it was fine and all, but it's something that's been bugging me since I realized it."

Rin's hands trembled a bit, causing her to lemonade to splash in the glass. But she quickly controlled it and smiled. "Nope!" She set her glass back down and said, "We didn't have much money left to pay the tuition anyway, so I was already going to drop out this semester... Oh! But then I met Mister John, so everything turned out great! I even made enough to pay the late fees on last year's tuition too, so there's nothing left to worry about!"

John noticed Rin's reaction but didn't call any attention to it. Instead, he let out a relieved sigh and said, "Phew. That's a lot off my shoulders."

"Sorry to make you worry, Mister John." Rin lowered her head and said, "If I knew you were worried, I would have told you."

"It's fine." John waved his hand and said, "As long as that's sorted out... But won't your friends be wondering where you disappeared to?"

Rin tilted her head and smiled. But unlike her previous smiles, this one was forced and fake. "Don't worry, Mister John. That won't be a problem."

...Okay, yeah. DEFINITELY a lot to unpack here...