Since the situation was potentially serious, and since Qing could finally think about it properly after getting away from Sitri, he rearranged the meeting with Bai to the park nearby Myth Inc. HQ first. After meeting up, they would walk the rest of the way there on foot while suppressing their powers to disguise their presence and not alarm the mysterious individual that had Lady Zhaojun concerned.
After all, it would be bad if the situation suddenly blew up while John was away with Yue. Unlikely, but it wasn't worth taking the chance considering the recent events with John and the Three Realms. John was calm and relaxed now, but Qing was fairly certain that if the current peace was disturbed, they would see a return of the harsh and unyielding guy who chopped up Qing's grandfather for soup.
...Not that Qing ever really liked his grandfather considering how pretentious and tyrannical the guy was, but the point remained.
Qing adjusted his tie and then looked around.
Since it was in the middle of the day as well as the middle of the week, there weren't many people around. In the distance, Qing saw a few elderly couples strolling around while bundled up. He also saw a ridiculous guy with slicked back black hair walking around in a lab coat with a VR headset on, but other than those people, the park was empty.
It was also starting to snow. The sky had turned gray and a few snowflakes were lazily drifting about.
Seeing that, Qing frowned. "Odd..."
The weather forecast didn't say anything about that.
For a moment, Qing thought something supernatural might have caused it, but there wasn't anything of the sort that he could sense.
"Mm... This world truly does change at a moment's notice." Qing caught a few snowflakes and then shook his head.
And then someone ran up behind Qing and wrapped him in a headlock.
Qing immediately reacted and grabbed the person's arm before twisting, throwing the person over his shoulder.
A flash of white, faint glints of gold.
Qing straightened and then readjusted his tie and brushed off his suit. After that, he glared at his attacker. "Could you not? I thought we were over greeting each other like this, you stupid cat."
Bai chuckled and brushed off his white suit. Adjusting his golden cuff links, he grinned and said, "I couldn't help it Bro. Gotta make sure you didn't get too soft after a quickie with that sexy Onee-san."
Qing sighed. "As crude as always, I see."
"Only around you, Bro."
Qing shook his head and then took a better look at Bai.
Unlike what he expected, the White Tiger was dressed properly. A bit flashy, but he was properly wearing a suit and tie outfit... and even had a silver briefcase on the ground next to him.
"I'm surprised." Qing stared at Bai and said, "You actually dressed appropriately."
Bai picked up his briefcase with his right hand and said, "Hey, I know how to separate work from play. Besides." He turned serious and said, "If this person is someone that John's one and only disciple was cautious about, it's important to present the proper image."
"Mm... I'm not too certain that person is making Zhaojun *cautious* per se... but yes. I'm glad you think so as well."
Bai adjusted his tie with his left hand. "Well, yeah. I might act like an idiot sometimes, but I'm not one."
"Could have fooled me."
"Hey!"
Qing smirked and then started walking back towards the commercial district, crossing the park. "Come. We don't want to be late."
"Yeah, yeah." Bai walked to Qing's side, matching the azure dragon's stride. "Gotta play up the role. Got it."
"Speaking of roles... Have you done yours properly?" Qing gave Bai a sidelong glance and said, "You said you finished the paperwork for the medical facilities and for hiring Miss Iyasu?"
"Yep." Bai raised his suitcase and said, "Got'em all here. Along with the deeds and paperwork for the other buildings I bought."
Qing nodded and then froze. He quickly turned towards Bai and said, "Other buildings?"
"Yeah." Bai lowered his suitcase and then waved his left hand. "Office buildings, bars, apartments... Since Boss made the yakuza disband, there were a lot of places being liquidated ASAP. I bought one near the HQ to retrofit as a medical research and treatment facility, but since I was already there, I just bought a few more too."
"...How much is a 'few' more, Bai?"
"Eh... The whole block?"
Qing stopped walking.
Bai did too and tilted his head. "What?"
Qing sighed and rubbed his face. "You *do* realize that our headquarters are located in one of the most highly valued real estate areas in this country?"
"And?"
Qing frowned and said, "And what will it look like if Myth Inc. suddenly purchases the surrounding areas? John explicitly said that he is *not* planning to conquer the world."
"True. But he also wanted to protect the girls he's hiring for Project MirAIs, right? It's a lot easier to do that if the place is completely under our authority and we can have our men hiding in plain sight."
Qing paused.
...That was a good point. So far it had yet to be an issue since John's protective formations on the headquarters were blocking the more curious observers and the general public had yet to completely lose their minds over Project MirAIs. But after the upcoming immersive VR concert, Comiket, and the expo...
Qing nodded and looked up at Bai. "...It seems you are capable after all."
Bai laughed. "Don't worry, Bro. I might mess around, but I've got your back. You fix problems and I prevent them, remember?"
Qing scoffed and started walking again. "If you consider 'preventing' problems as creating an absolute tyrannical rule over an entire kingdom."
"Hey! We look on the bright side here, Bro! ...Unless you want to talk about how you used to pass out divine martial arts to random mortals and have to run around disguised to fix things when they went wrong?"
Qing coughed. "I have since reflected on my actions and resolved to not make the same mistakes."
"And haven't we all? I mean, look at Boss, right? But anyway..." Bai draped his left arm around Qing's shoulder and pulled him close. "Real talk, Bro. What's that girl of yours like? If you've got one that will do *that* scene so naturally, she's gotta be good, right?"
Qing brushed off Bai's arm and said, "And this conversation is over."
"Hey, come on, Bro! We're buds, lifelong friends! And since we finally graduated from being bachelors, we gotta share stories! Just like the good old days, right?"
"...I don't think you barging into my sect bragging about the treasures you found can count as sharing stories."
"But I listened to you ranting about the sect drama, so it's fair, right? Anyway, come on. You met Eri already, so you can at least tell me the name of the hot Onee-san who snagged my bro, right?"
Qing sighed.
When Bai got like this, he was going to keep pestering until he got what he wanted. Considering how obnoxious the White Tiger could be as well and his habit of escalating things...
"Fine. Her name is Sitri."
"Hoh?" Bai raised an eyebrow and said, "Sitri, huh? Isn't that a demonic name?" He laughed and said, "To think that the infamous upright and virtuous Azure Dragon would fall for a girl with that sort of name."
"I don't want to hear that from the lecherous and flashy White Tiger who fell for a modest and humble woman like Eri."
Bai rubbed the back of his neck, letting out an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, well... Love comes in unexpected forms, right? I mean, look at how Boss ended up!"
"I suppose."
The pair rounded the corner to the street where Myth Inc. HQ was located. As they did, they passed the local konbini.
Qing glanced at the fried chicken and bentos on display and frowned. "I hope Sitri remembers to eat."
That young woman was the type to go all in on something and ignore everything else, after all.
Qing frowned and pulled out his phone. "...Maybe I should remind her."
Considering her feelings, if he told her to, she definitely would. But if he didn't...
"Hoh?" Bai glanced at Qing and raised an eyebrow. "Now you've got me really curious, Bro. A girl that could make an ice wall like you be worried... Got a pic?"
Qing blinked and said, "What?"
Bai rolled his eyes. "Come on, Bro. You can't be saying that you've been with a girl like that and don't have any pictures of her."
"I don't."
Bai paused. "Seriously?"
Qing frowned. "Who do you take me for? You?"
Bai rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. A stuck-up serious guy like you would think it's fine as long as she's nearby." He frowned. "But this ain't fair, ya know?"
"Your speech is slipping again, Bai."
"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand and said, "So you really don't got a pic of her?"
"Like I said, I am not-"
A flash of white. Bai snatching Qing's phone from his hands.
"W-Wait! What are you doing?!" Qing reached out and tried to grab it back.
"Helping my Bro out." Bai sighed and said, "Seriously. Women are emotional creatures, you know? Things like these matter."
While Bai was talking, his thumb flew across the screen at rapid speed, quickly opening up the messenger app and sending a text to Sitri.
Seeing that, Qing's eyes widened and he growled, starting to rouse his powers.
And then he realized where they were and why Bai had done that.
Since they were so close to the headquarters, Qing couldn't use his powers because of the worry about the unknown person.
In other words, Qing got outplayed.
"You damned thieving cat!" Qing cursed and lunged at Bai, trying to get his phone back. "I thought you were over messing around with my treasures!"
Bai dodged Qing and said, "Hey Bro, this is for your own good. You'll thank me later, promise- Hoh, a reply already? That was pretty-" Bai froze.
Qing took the chance and snatched his phone back, quickly glancing at the screen.
And then he froze too.
There was a bombshell on the screen that Qing pointedly ignored for the moment. Instead, he read through the text that Bai had sent and the reply.
[Hey, babe. I'm feeling a bit stressed, so could you send me a picture to cheer me up?]
It was completely out of character for Qing. Enough to where it was a clear impersonation. Even so-
[Really? Really really?! Okay! Give me a few seconds!]
[Done!]
[(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄ It's a bit embarrassing, but I can show you more when you get back. ;)]
A rapid response followed by a picture. A picture that anybody seeing would definitely pause to appreciate out of shock or awe.
Sitri had gone into Qing's office and was sitting on the desk. She had also changed into a plain white dress shirt and black skirt, paired with black leggings that left a gap between the skirt and the ends of the leggings.
The top button of her shirt was undone and there was a high angle, showing off Sitri's assets just enough. And then there was the teasing smile and the way she was sucking one of her fingers...
Just as Qing finished processing that picture, he got a half-dozen more. And *those...*
Bai let out a whistle. "Daaaamn."
Qing flinched and quickly turned his phone off.
Bai laughed and said, "No wonder. A smoking hot babe like that... Yeah, I can see how she melted this frozen dragon bro of mine."
Qing slipped his phone back to his pocket and said, "Shut up. And it's not like that."
"Whatever you say Bro. Though I didn't expect your girl to jump on sending you those kinds of pictures. If I asked Eri for something like that she'd probably blush and faint."
Qing sighed and said, "Could you pull your act together? We're almost there."
"Fine, fine. But we're going out for a double date later tonight. And no backing out or I'm going to call John."
Qing froze and narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare."
"Why wouldn't I? I think something important like his COO getting a sexy secretary is worth reporting, right?"
"...Tch. Fine."
"Nice! Now..." Bai turned towards the Myth Inc. HQ and smoothed his expression, taking on the role of an aloof and charismatic CFO. "It's showtime."
Qing smoothed his expression as well, adopting a neutral face.
Like that, the pair of divine beasts walked into Myth Inc. HQ.
The doors slid open as the two entered. A gust of wind followed after them, bringing in light snowflakes.
Qing stepped forward and swept his gaze across the lobby, taking in the people there.
As always, there were the two shadow servants serving as security guards hiding in the corners of the lobby.
Takashi Kimura was leaning against the wall, presumably settled with his affairs, and scrolling through messages on his phone.
Wang Zhaojun, John's beautiful disciple and Alpha's aunt, was standing off to the side, lost in thought.
And then, sitting on the lounge side by side, there were two beautiful young woman.
The first was expected. Alpha, John's eldest daughter and the one who called Qing.
But the second...
A beautiful girl with orange flaming hair and ruby eyes. Elegant, polite.
She was young. Younger than Qing remembered her. But there was no mistaking her identity. Especially with the aura radiating off of her... although it was almost non-existent. No, just what in the world happened to her to make her-?!
Qing cut off his train of thought and forcibly calmed down. After that, he glanced at Bai to see his reaction. To make sure Qing wasn't imagining things.
And it seemed like the white tiger saw the same thing, judging from his blank look.
"A-Ah!" That girl quickly stood up and turned towards Qing and Bai. "Are you two the ones I'm supposed to meet? S-Sorry for being rude!" She quickly bowed her head and said, "I-I am Akairo Suzume, here for the audition!" She paused and said, "Um... Is that right? This is new to me, but Miss Alpha said that was what I should say..."
"...Yes." Qing gave a carefully measured response and said, "That's fine." He turned to Alpha and said, "If it's not too much trouble, Miss Alpha. Could you take Miss Akairo up to the recording studio? Since you two already seem acquainted. In the meantime..." He glanced at Zhaojun and said, "I think there's something we need to discuss."
Bai looked to Zhaojun and smiled, though his eyes were cold. "Yes. I think we have something very important to discuss. Before making our final decision, of course. Isn't that right, Miss Zhaojun?"
Alpha tensed and glanced at her aunt. "Auntie-"
Zhaojun shook her head. "It's fine, Alphy. Go on ahead and help little Suzume get ready." She looked at Qing and said, "There is something I wish to ask these two as well in private." She glanced over at Takashi and said, "As well as Mister Kimura here."
Alpha looked at the adults and then nodded. "...Okay."
Suzume looked at everyone and frowned. "Um... Am I being a bother?"
Alpha grabbed her hand and said, "Don't be silly, Suzu. Come on, I'll show you around a bit while everyone else talks. And don't be nervous. Someone as beautiful and skilled as you will be fine!"
Suzume let out a relieved smile. "Thank you for the encouragement, Miss Alpha."
"Alphy's fine! Now let's go."
The elevator chime echoed. The doors closed as the girls walked in. And then the lobby was quiet, leaving only the adults left standing there.
Silence.
And then Zhaojun looked over at Takashi and said, "Mister Kimura. Since you brought Miss Akairo here, could you tell us how you found her?"
"What?" Bai turned to Takashi, his eyes sharp. "This guy found her? Here? How?"
Qing placed his hand on Bai's shoulder and said, "Calm down, Bai." He shifted his gaze to Takashi and said, "Would you kindly tell us how you met Zhu- I mean, Miss Akairo, Mister Kimura?"
Takashi sighed. "...Of course. I should have known I was opening a can of worms helping that girl out." He shook his head and said, "Anyway..."