Chapter 248. [Let’s Start A New Office!]

“I’m glad both Mai and Ah-nee made it on time!”

Seeing Mai and the others who came to see me off at the airport, a smile almost escaped me.

I cleared my throat with an “ahem” and tried to play it off.

It’s not like I wanted to see them, you know?

But if we parted without meeting here, Mai would definitely be a pain later on.

“Well~, we barely made it on time because Mai’s summer homework wasn’t finished until just now.”

“Eek~!? B-but Mai did my best to meet Iroha-chan!”

“Mai-san, please stop making excuses and clinging to Iroha-sama!”

Ilyena forcefully pulled Mai away from me with a “Mugigigi.”

Wait, Mai’s progress was that bad? That was a bad move on my part.

“Sorry, I didn’t think we were cutting it so close. I was handling normal schedule stuff.”

“It’s because I want to do it~. Besides, Mai doesn’t want to hand over important parts to others~”

Even though I have a few other managers, Mai is still the most reliable one.

When it comes to decisions beyond business tasks, she’s always the best person to consult with.

“So, Mai will continue to help Iroha-chan from now on!”

“Got it, thanks. Oh, speaking of which, Ilyena-chan is also an individual artist, right? How’s that going?”

“Eh!? W-well, h-how is it!?”

“…Huh? You don’t know?”

Isn’t that a bit awkward? Given Ilyena’s scale, the amount involved must not be small. I couldn’t help but frown as I looked at her.

“W-wait!? It’s not like that!”

“Uh, I guess I shouldn’t have said that?”

Oh, she’s apologizing. Or is she? I highly doubt she’s regretting anything.

“But then… it seems like you two are visiting each other’s homes?”

“That’s right~. Mai was helping with the work~”

“Yeah. Actually, when I debuted, I was helped by Ilyena…”

I totally missed that.

But now that I think about it, it makes sense that Ilyena had an advisor. If you reverse-engineer the timing, Ilyena debuted as a VTuber in elementary school. It would have been impossible without someone’s guidance—like Mai helping Ah-nee’s debut.

Did even Iroha, the translation girl, debut in elementary school?

I’m the exception here.

“So, you two weren’t dating after all?”

“Noooo! Iroha-sama, do you still believe that!?”

“Hmm, I see.”

I must have let my guard down then.

A word slipped out unintentionally.

“…Phew, that’s a relief.”

“Huh? What?!”

“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”

I was just wondering if we were dating, would it be better to be reserved?

That’s all I meant by it!

“Anyway, Mai, send me your schedule after you return to America.”

“Got it~”

“But both of us were helped by Mai. If that’s the case, why don’t we just start a new office together? Well, just a thought…”

“Whaaat!!!”

It’s a flash idea, that was just something that popped into my head.

But Ilyena unexpectedly latched onto it, leaning in.

“That sounds amazing! If that happens, we’ll have even more time together than now. Oh, maybe it should just be us without Mai!”

“I won’t let you two be alone!”

“Yeah~. I want Mai to always be with me.”

“Iroha-chan, is that a proposal!?”

“No, it’s not like that! Remember, you promised to be my exclusive manager. Wait?!”

After saying that, I tilted my head.

Now that I think about it… if Ilyena is also involved, it’s not ‘exclusive,’ right? In fact, it seems like Ilyena was first in the timeline.

“Is that so?”

“What does that ‘is that so’ mean, Iroha-chan!?”

“Iroha-sama, let’s not keep a cheater like her around. Let’s start the office just for us right now…”

“No, I’m devoted to Iroha-chan only! Besides, it’s your fault!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Iroha-chan, don’t abandon Mai!”

“Ahaha…”

It started as a joke, but at this rate, we might really end up with an office.

But you know, that might not be so bad after all—.