Chapter 77

"Charlie? What's this for?"

"Catherine it's...for… the food."

"Reed. Is your name Charlie?"

"...I'm answering Charlie's question for you."

"Is your name Charlie though?"

"...Yes."

"???"

The food was almost done and the kindergarteners were snooping around the kitchen.

Of course, I was not snooping around. It is the kitchen at the home I live in.

"Charlie? Is this is the salt?"

"Woah, can I be the one to sprinkle the salt on the food?"

"...It's… yeah."

"How about chicken powder? Can we add chicken powder?"

"...The food— Okay, whatever. Yes, Ronan. Just put a little."

[Cooking has gained 3.3 points.]

Thanks.

"Is that good enough?"

"Lovely," I replied immediately without even looking at Ronan and Alex tapping the chicken powder in.

"Charlie, where are the plates?"

I glanced back at Natsumi's voice.

"Setting up the table?"

She smiled, "Yap!"

I quickly looked away from her smile.

"At least there's someone useful in here."

I walked over dangerously close to her and opened the drawers with the plates.

"Hey! We're all contributing to something!"

"Contributing to emptying my pocket."

"The streamer model that gets donations every second is complaining about his pockets."

"..."

"Certified poopoo head."

"Confirmed."

I sent Natsumi a cursory glance.

I… thought I had gotten over her powerful 999 charm but it appears her sub-stat has gotten buffed.

GM, please stop changing the rules up.

As if knowing what I was thinking, she glanced at me and smiled cutely.

Telepathy is a myth. It doesn't exist.

You can't read my thoughts.

Mind reading is impossible.

Yep...

System, please tell me there isn't a skill for mind reading.

Please?

Silence…

"Since we don't have enough bowls for the entirety of y—"

"I brought some plates and bowls!"

From in the living room, I heard Lia call out.

As expected of her. She comes with tea and some plates and bowls.

"And spoons and forks too!"

"Lovely. Two other people that are useful in here."

"I'll kick you in your sleep for saying that."

"I'll kick you out."

"Cough...You… you wouldn't right?"

Of course, this is playful banter. I would never kick them out and they themselves know it.

"Would you like to experiment with the probabilities?"

Natsumi palmed my head from behind lightly.

"Don't bully the others."

She's just like Charlotte…

Is it Natsumi that influenced Charlotte into domestically abusing me? She called me out for bullying the others earlier too.

Seems like they're getting very friendly.

"The demon queen has calmed the demon king."

The person in the living room purposefully masked their voice.

"Huh? Who said that?" She snarled.

They masked their voice for a good reason.

"..."

"..."

My phone buzzed and a notification from Blake came up.

For a while, I forgot the stresses and pressure of the show business…

Truly with friends you forget about everything else.

Do my friends purposefully annoy me to take the steam of the massive stress out of my system?

Reed slapped my back and I watched him run away like a cat.

It looks like they most certainly do it for a reason.

I tapped the banner and Blake's message said to go later in the afternoon.

We'd made quick progress that waking up early in the morning wasn't necessary anymore as the morning shoots were done.

It would've been nice if they had notified me about it beforehand in person but that's fine.

I typed a quick "Ok" with relief and pocketed my phone.

Caramel hair struck my vision and two hazel eyes directed an upturned stare towards mine.

"What's up?"

Her big eyes were one of the first features I noticed about her when I met her at first.

"...It was nothing. Just some business to do tomorrow. We're continuing the shoot in the afternoon."

Her lips opened.

"Oh… You aren't going early in the morning anymore?"

I smiled at her palpable excitement.

"Wooh!" She raised her arms with pump fists.

She got closer.

"Does that mean we can sleep late and wake up late?"

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

I've made it a habit to sleep quite early but just one time won't hurt…

"Yes… of course."

Her eyes squinted into a crescent eye smile.

…

"Tis da piano?"

I opened up the digital piano for them to see.

"Yes. You want to play some tunes?"

"Mmmm. Maybeee."

"Is this where you stream?"

I glanced over at Ronan touching the setup.

"Yeah. As my fan, are you excited?"

He face-palmed.

"Yes yes, Idol Charlie."

Idol Charlie…

Natsumi walked around the desk and tapped the buttons on the keyboard.

"By the way, where will we be sleeping?" Elle asked curiously.

"On the floor, probably," Irene responded.

"Yeah. There's not enough space here though so some will have to sleep in the living room," I responded.

"Can I?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, can we?" Lia followed after.

"Did you like the carpet?"

"...Yes."

"It's soft."

"Fluffy." The three responded to my question at once.

"Alright then. Males in my room and females in the living room. Two fit on the bed and the rest will sleep on the floor."

"Dang… that's pretty cramped," Ronan pointed out.

"Even better," Alex said with a smirk.

"Bro?" Abel adjusted his glasses and asked to which Alex just smirked even more suspiciously.

"Dang the theme is good too. The animal onesies as pajamas and we're sleeping on the floor. We're like wild animals."

"That sounds so fun. Let's get into the onesies alreadyyy," Callie whined.

"Charlie. Why not you and Natsumi in your room and everybody else in the living room?" Reed asked with an innocent face.

Natsumi covered her laugh with her hand.

"Do you still want to eat meatballs?"

He paused. "...Yes sir, I am sorry sir."

"You've been waiting since an hour ago to eat those meatballs. Do you still want to eat them?"

"Yes sir. I am sorry sir."

Natsumi slapped the back of my head.

"Don't bully Reed... He's got a good idea."

I caught saliva in my throat and began coughing loudly while the others laughed at my expense.

"Sato Natsumi?!?!"

"Natsumi two, Charlie zero."

…

…

…

Days later.

The shoots were mostly finished now and most luxury clothes now had a fitting luxury presentational image.

There was just some additional adjusting to do.

We worked quickly but the quality did not diminish.

[Quest Complete!

Photoshoot.

Rewards:

500x achievement points.

1,250 modeling points.

Bonus points — 721]

500 achievement points and 721 bonus points.

I got more bonus points than achievement points for the quest? Wow!

I mean, I really don't mind the bonus points. They were way more than I expected, however.

Seems like bonus points are the way to go when completing quests.

We were all celebrating with beverages gotten from the nearby convenience store.

Though it pains me to admit it, I enjoyed the banana milk and requested one. Of course, they laughed at me for being a baby and gave me the banana milk.

It's not my fault it's so good.

Still, I'm better off being a baby than a chimpanzee like Felix.

I took out my phone and sent Felix and Arden pictures of the banana milk. Felix will probably be really happy and Arden will just laugh. I think.

Anyway, I really need to open this Golden Egg and there's no better way than to release a hit piano piece and get the recognition of thousands of people for it!

Canon in D is still doing hot and people listen to it regularly. It's become an iconic cafe song anywhere— probably because I played the song in a cafe originally, and the other songs I've played are doing okay.

People recorded clips of each song that I played, fortunately for me, as I didn't record those nor can't bother to record them professionally with Knife Agency.

Of course, these are all masterpieces of songs and therefore I should properly respect the original composers of the song by formally recording the songs, but that'll come later.

Maybe when I become an actor I can also sell the directors some compositions I see fit for the movies.

I've got to slow down a little though. As Arden said, spreading myself too thin will have repercussions.

I looked up from the floor and noticed Blake's figure approaching us.

He unceremoniously greeted everyone else and slumped down next to me.

"Great shoots there Charlie."

"Thanks, were you watching?"

It was not very long that my dull brain realized he was the one to drive me here this day.

His eyes, however, had a hint of positiveness and eagerness to share something with me. Infected by his curiosity, I concerned him on the subject.

"...Yes. We've got a few requests and the company made sure to put in a few good words for your work cooperation and efficiency. It's even better when Keia is deemed well appointed."

I smiled humbly and waved my hand over.

"All the work was possible because of the crew."

He smiled.

"Keep your humility," he said proudly and then glanced at my banana milk. Abrupt, he began laughing out loud. I forgot he was also there when Arden and I called Felix a monkey...

The others too began laughing.

I jokingly grasped at his shirt collar, "Alright alright. When will the shoots be? Will Liam be the cameraman?"

I glanced over at Liam and he chuckled.

"Unfortunately, Liam will not partake in these shoots. He's a busy man. The shoots will be postponed as you have been requested for an urgent job."

The keen smirk Blake presented me gave hints to the difficulty and expectation of the new job. A grin reminiscent of when Felix foreshadowed the hellish Modeling training.

"The job is..?"

I asked with interest at the new challenge. High risk means high reward. And I'm going to need a lot to open that Golden Egg.

"Your composing ability is a jackpot that not many people have realized yet. You release songs on a whim and always have new things to listen to. The request has not yet been accepted, but it is a big game company and wants a few songs composed."

A game company..?

How could I be so dumb? Of course, games have to have a good soundtrack. A trash game's only redeeming feature is its soundtrack and a good game's soundtrack is its icing on the cake!

Agh, I was even thinking of transcribing the old Minecraft songs into this new world yet I did not realize it at all.

Blake patiently waited for me as I organized my thoughts and once my eyes regained clarity, I looked at him inquiringly for more information.

"The game has gotten considerable hype and usually there is no way of telling what's to happen with the final product. Of course, even if the product is bad the consumers will hail you as the redeeming feature of the game and if the game is good then you'll be raised high on a podium."

"You're saying there isn't a situation where I lose as long as I compose well?"

He nodded.

"Do your best. The developers are also very reliable in the market so you'll naturally have a lot of audiences. Just let your creativity flow through and the rest will be taken care of."

"Is this a long or a quick project?"

"Both. The developers have one unreasonable request and their other requests are not as unreasonable."

I raised my eyebrows in curiosity at the supposed unreasonable request.

"The developers don't want to use an existing track and instead want you to compose a quick and compelling song for the trailer. The unreasonable demand means a few weeks of work. Of course, the developers aren't too expectative of a grand masterpiece in a few weeks' time but are looking forward to a hair-raising audio."

"...In a few weeks… Why did they not ask for a unique track earlier to someone else?"

"They had problems with inspiration and after a clip of your modeling in the Winter Fashion Show went viral, they achieved their muse… And then they realized you're also a pianist and composer and reached out to us. The other reasonable requests are composing the soundtrack for the songs but the time given is plenty."

The Winter Fashion Show was really an unexpected boost. I honestly thought I'd get some recognition but otherwise be shadowed by the rest of the models but participating in the event has given me a huge following and trending status.

"Alright… When will I come in contact with them?"

It is important I hear from their own words what they want and describe to me what they need.

"They have requested for you to go to their headquarters in Petra and want to personally show you what they're thinking of."

Wow, so much trust. I'll make sure not to leak anything about the game.

"Sounds good. I'll need to request a leave from Weath First though. I'm sure the administration is not too pleased with me…"

He laughed.

"The troubles of being a teenage highschool star…"

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