I didn't really get it.
It was probably just me.
...But there was something about him that made me feel nauseous.
It wasn't as though he was bad or anything. In fact, he had always been nice and polite to me. But there was just something about him that made my stomach churn.
"It's great that the both of you are here. I've already explained everything to Liam over here and since we've already had a talk beforehand, I don't need to explain myself again."
"Is this about..."
"Yes, the push that the Guild is planning on giving the both of you."
"Ah, so it's about that. I can't wait. It's such an honor to be recognized by the Guild."
Shivers.
I was getting shivers.
"Hahah, I like your enthusiasm."
"Thank you."
The two of them laughed together.
"So what are we supposed to do now?"
It was me who spoke this time, breaking into their laughter. Unease aside, I needed to better understand the situation.
"Oh, nothing much. At least for now. Just keep doing what you've been doing, and we'll slowly push your name up with each of your performances. Oh, right."
The Chief turned to look at Richard, a small frown forming on her face.
"Richard, there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Please."
"I recently heard you took a project."
"Ah? Yes, that."
"From what I've been told it isn't a very promising project. It's a very risky one at that. I need you to change it."
"Pardon...?"
"I've already talked to the Leader of Unit 2 and he said he'll get you a better project if you agree. I'm sorry to say this, but I can't have you join this project when there's a chance you might fail before we can even push you up."
Oh?
What an interesting turn of events. My interest, which had been waning, suddenly reignited as I paid particular attention to the conversation that was happening.
There was something that I really wanted to know.
'Just how much do you care about the project?'
This was a great way to determine if there really was something up with him. No regular person would ever refuse such a situation unless they were 100% certain that the project in their hands would be a massive success. I knew it was going to be a success because of the visions, but what about him? Just how certain was he that the project he was going to select was going to be a success?
Was it going to be to the point where he would reject such an opportunity?
"I'm sorry."
And as expected.
Richard bowed and apologized.
"This project... I know people say that it's very risky, but I really believe in it. I believe that it will do well."
The Chief frowned.
"...You believe in it so much that you'd refuse such an opportunity?"
"I'm sorry."
The surroundings suddenly became quiet as Chief Madalyne carefully scrutinized Richard. I was too.
'So he really...'
My mind was in a bit of a mess. The previous conclusion that I drew up seemed even more likely. How else would anyone be so confident in a project that seemed destined to fail...?
He could see the future.
Or maybe... There was something else that I was missing. Perhaps, he had some sort of other power besides that, or...?
'This is really giving me a headache.'
There was just too little for me to work on. Tens of different possibilities crossed my mind, but none of them seemed conclusive enough.
I needed more.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The drumming of Chief Madalyne's fingers echoed throughout the room as everyone remained quiet. She looked to be in deep thought.
"...Fine."
She said as she carefully looked at Richard.
"I don't like your stubbornness, but considering your past performances, I'll let this slide for now. But let me be clear..."
Her eyes squinted.
"If the project ends up failing, then I won't hesitate to cut you out of this project."
"I wouldn't ask for more."
Richard bowed his head and the somber atmosphere disappeared.
"Good."
Chief Madalyne finally smiled.
"The two of you may leave."
And so we did. Parting ways with Richard, I simply wished him the best of luck before separating from him.
I was still a little hesitant about him, but with nothing to work with, I could only throw this problem to the back of my head. I knew that, in due time, I'd figure everything out. The problem was.
When would that be...?
***
[Justice will always prevail against evil! For, I, Justice Man am here!]
Lyla had a problem.
[No Evil shall live under the same sky as me!]
She was addicted to television.
On many occasions, she'd stay up late just to catch up on her favorite TV show. Since she practiced all day, it wouldn't be right not to reward her a little. That's what she thought.
But there was a problem.
"Nn? Lyla, can you lower the volume? It's a bit too loud. I'm trying to sleep."
Mia was the first to complain;
"What are you even doing up this early...? Ung! Don't tell me..."
The realization suddenly hit Mia.
Click—!
Joana came out of her room. Brushing her silky long blonde hair, she frowned.
"She spent the entire night watching TV."
"What...!?"
"Just look at her eyes. They're all red."
"Now that you mention it..."
"Who was the one in charge of tucking her to bed?"
"It was Ol—"
Clank—!
The door to Olivia's room burst open.
"Damn it, Lyla! I told you to go to bed after ten minutes! Why are you still up!"
"So it really was her..."
"Yup. She forgot didn't she?"
"That's it! No more TV for you."
And so the remote was snatched from Lyla's hands.
Perhaps because she hadn't slept all night, or perhaps because she hadn't expected her sisters to be this angry, it took a moment for Lyla to process the situation.
Lyla stared blankly at the TV that had now been turned off.
The man of justice. The fighter of all evil.
Super flying hero dog. The sidekick who helps the man of justice fight all evil.
They... were no longer there.
Who was going to save the world now?
"...Is, this, the, end...?"
Lyla's knees trembled.
Thump.
And she knelt on the ground.
Despair was written all over her little face.
"Oh, this is bad. She's been watching so much TV that now she's become too dramatic."
"It's really bad. Olivia, damn it! This was supposed to be your task."
"I know! I know! I told her to turn it off and go to bed after ten minutes. I didn't expect her addiction to be this bad. With how dramatic she's being, she might as well be an actress at this point."
"Well..."
Everyone turned their heads to look at her.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Evil..."
Lyla's fists came thumping against the floor as she wailed in despair.
"...has prevailed."
***
"So... Can anyone explain exactly what happened over here?"
The first thing that caught my attention when I returned to the girls' residence was Lyla who was sprawled on the floor with a lost look.
It was as if the world had crumbled on her.
"Leave her be, Manager."
"No, that's..."
I couldn't exactly leave her like that. She looked like a middle-aged man who was going through a mid-life crisis.
Just what sort of trauma did she experience to be like that?
"We've banned her from watching the TV."
All my doubts were cleared by Joana.
"She spent the entire night watching the TV so we decided to confiscate the remote from her."
"Ah."
If that was the case...
"Should we not have done that?"
"No, you did good."
It was about time we handled Lyla's addiction.
"We can't spoil her too much. Someone needs to regulate her."
"I'm glad to hear that."
And so the incident came to a close.
"Is everyone ready?"
Dean asked as he entered the apartment. He was holding onto a plastic bag.
Curious, Mia asked,
"Nn...? What's the occasion, Vice Director?"
"Oh? You forgot?"
"Forgot what?"
"In ten minutes we will see what rank our video reached on the trending page."
"Ah!?"
Mia let out a startled yelp.
"It's today!?"
"Yeah, 24 hours."
"Oh my god! Oh my god! You should've told me! Oh, no! I need to quickly tell all my family members about this! There's mom, dad, uncle, aunt, first cousin, second cousin, third cousin..."
"Give me that."
"Ukh! No!"
"Sit down. Stop making such a fuss. I already contacted them beforehand."
"You did...?"
"Yeah. How long do you think I've known you for?"
"Oh, haha. Well, if that's the case..."
Mia scratched the back of her head and leaned on the sofa. She seemed fine. But that only lasted for a couple of seconds before she stood up again.
"On second thought, I think I still need to text them. I just want to double ch—"
"Sit down."
"Unk! Dire—"
"No discussion. Sit down."
"Uwa."
"Also, what's up with her?"
Finally, Dean noticed Lyla. From beginning to end she had been vacantly staring at the ceiling with a lost look.
Hmm. Now that I thought about it. There was something fundamentally wrong with this group. Almost everyone seemed to be addicted to something.
Lyla was addicted to the television. Mia was addicted to her phone and harassed her family members constantly. Sarah was addicted to candy... Oliva... well, I wasn't sure yet. But with how the trend worked, she definitely was addicted to something. The same was true for Joana.
"Alright, alright. Everyone gather up!"
Beckoning everyone, we all huddled next to the laptop.
That was until I realized something.
"Oh, where's Sarah?"
"Sarah?"
"Hmm. Wasn't she..."
Clank—!
Right at that moment the front door opened and a sweaty Sarah walked in. She was soaked from head to toe in sweat, and her face appeared slightly pale.
Was she...?
"Sarah?"
Feeling everyone's gazes, Sarah froze on the spot. She obviously didn't expect everyone to be awake at this hour.
"Guys? Why are you all..."
"That's for us to ask."
Joana approached her.
"Why are you so sweaty at this hour... wait, don't tell me you've been practicing till now?"
"..."
The room went quiet when Sarah turned her head away and avoided eye contact.
"You're kidding..."
"I'm sorry."
Sarah lowered her head.
"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"
"...I was too immersed."
"No, that's..."
"And I didn't want to hold you guys back anymore."
The room went quiet once more.
"Haa."
And I sighed to myself.
'Looks like she still feels pressured.'
It must be due to the sudden success that the girls had experienced.
Knowing full well that she was the weakest chain in the group, Sarah must've felt that she needed to do more in order to not be a liability to them.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, Dean shouted.
"The rankings are out!"
"They're out!?"
"Yes, the... uh?"
Dean stopped speaking halfway and his expression froze.
This piqued everyone's curiosity—especially Mia, who tried to force her way to the laptop.
"Un! Hurry up Vice Director! Tell us, don't keep us hanging like that!"
"So? What's the ranking?"
Even Joana who was usually calm couldn't hold her curiosity back.
"This..."
But Dean's face still remained stiff.
For a brief moment, his gaze fell on me, and that's when it finally dawned on me.
"Instead of telling you, I'll just show you..."
He flipped the laptop over.
"What? How high is the ranking for you to mak... Eh?"
"What in the..."
"This... Is this for real? Something like this can happen?"
Slowly, everyone turned their heads to stare in my direction. Sort of aware of what was going on, I hunched over and looked at the laptop and finally saw it.
[⇯] Trending
Blue Daisy - Dungeon Seeker Edit
[Views - 135,000 + 7,600 Last hour]
# Trending 12th
Blue Daisy - Raw
[Views - 167,000 + 12,000 Last hour]
# Trending 5th
It wasn't just one video that had made it to the trending page.
But two.