The silver-haired woman seemed to notice them out of her peripheral vision, and she walked over.

Fleure had a fairy avatar, and there were large semi-transparent butterfly wings that sprouted from her back. They sparkled in the air as she walked, sending showers of glitter in her wake. To someone unfamiliar with virtual reality, it might have looked strange, but these types of accessories were extraordinarily common online. There were many ways that a person could customize their appearance, and many streamers built their avatar around a special theme.

"Talking about me behind my back, Cosine?" She asked with a sour voice.

"I'm just telling Hanabi's newest recruit about all your secrets," the man said slyly.

"What?" Ilani reacted in confusion.

She definitely hadn't agreed to joining any kind of idol group.

Fleure sighed and folded her arms, the disappointment plainly visible on her face.

"Don't bully the newbies," the fairy said with a frown.

"W-Wait a minute..." Ilani tried to speak up.

The silver-haired fairy turned to face Ilani, and she smiled professionally.

"I'm Fleure. I'll be your senpai from now on, so feel free to ask me any questions. Also, you can ignore everything that Cosine says. Even though he's the company president, he's a pathological liar, so you absolutely can't trust him." 

"P-President?"

"Mystia didn't tell you? We got our group registered as a formal agency this year, and Cosine is technically our director. It's hard to get exposure as an independent Vtuber, so it's better if we combine our efforts together as a group. There's a lot of benefits from being part of Hanabi, and it's easier to focus on streaming if you don't need to worry about editing and production details."

Cosine interjected at this point.

"Pathological liar?" He sounded indignant. "That's such a cruel thing to say about your own husband."

"We are not married, Cosine."

"But we've been partners for the past fifteen years..."

"Please don't make it sound like I'm in my mid-40's."

"..."

Fleure turned around and smiled tensely at Ilani.

"Just be careful around him, okay? He's a bit manipulative and bizarre, and he might seem over-the-top, but he's just an ordinary harmless guy. I've known him since we were in college. Just make sure you don't let him bully you into something you don't want."

She looked down nervously at her hands.

"But it'd be good for our group if you'd consider joining us."

+ + +

Shortly thereafter, Fleure excused herself after getting a call.

Still incredibly confused, Ilani soon found herself sitting on a barstool across from Cosine on an empty bar.

The "President" had said something about sitting down to chat. They walked around a bit, he opened a door, and suddenly they were in a private room inside the server. The location was a small bar, much like the local hole-in-a-wall establishments in New York City. The entire room was empty aside from the two of them, which made the atmosphere quite awkward.

Cosine was standing behind counter polishing a glass cup.

"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked mysteriously.

"I... um... no, thanks..."

"How about something to eat?"

"Not hungry."

The man in casual black jeans was staring at her with a stupid grin on his face, and it made Ilani's stomach churn uncomfortably. He was unbelievably sketchy, almost to the point that she definitely would have bolted from the spot if it weren't for the fact that Mystia apparently knew him. He definitely looked a lot more like a stalker than any kind of professional.

Thankfully, on virtual reality, it was possible for a user to abruptly log out at the drop of a dime. In this sense, meeting complete strangers on virtual reality was safer than it was on Earth.

"Do I creep you out?" Cosine asked with an eerie smile, as if he could read her mind.

Ilani shivered.

"...Uh."

"People often say these eyes are naturally scary."

"Why'd you choose an avatar like this then?" Ilani asked.

Cosine shrugged.

"I have a lot of accounts on virtual reality. For this job, I felt like going with something more intimidating. Wouldn't it be cool to have a delinquent gangster as the CEO of an idol company?

"...So it's just roleplay then? What about your other accounts?"

The man grinned ominously.

"That's classified information," he said. "Moreover, who doesn't have a hidden persona or two? This is the Internet."

Ilani furrowed her brow worrisomely as Cosine poured himself a glass of whiskey from the bar. He took a long chug from the glass before laying his eyes back on the girl. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but the slender smile on his cheeks extended even further like a cheshire cat. There was a deeply inquisitive look in his eyes like he found her to be a terribly fascinating and rare specimen.

"Let me be direct," he started speaking.

There was a slight a pause.

"You need money, right? It's not like you're going to find a part-time job with anyone else."

He swirled the glass of alcohol in his hands.

"I can produce a music video for you. You should start thinking about covering some popular songs. I've already booked recording time at one of our affiliated studios. Just let me know what songs you want to cover, and I'll find the off-vocal tracks. We won't even need an animator. For a couple casual covers, I can pull something together quickly. You just need to show up ready to sing."

"W-Wait wait wait!"

"You don't have a portfolio, right? You aren't going to land yourself any jobs with any reputable company without a single MV on your account. In order to get yourself started in this industry, you're going to need some songs to advertise your talents. I can provide that for you, and I can also do it fast. People know my name around these parts because I can fix up some pieces like lightening."

"I-I know that I need songs in my portfolio but—"

"It's already paid for. I don't need anything other than mixing credits on your video."

"This is happening too fast?! How the heck is it already paid for? We only just met? You don't even know me.

"Oh don't worry, I already know plenty."

The shady man smiled and leaned forward with his arms on the countertop.

"I'm a businessman, and I know that your voice can sell."

"..."

 

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