The first airing (1)

Ah. Maybe, I spoke too soon. 

As we stood quietly in the training room, Sarah wiped off her tears and said, 

"Thank you, but you don't need to do this to cheer me up." 

"No, I—" 

"I heard everything." 

"Huh?" 

"What Ms. Valeri said. I heard everything. I've been with her for over a year, and I know she's one of the best trainers in the Guild. If she says—" 

"No, she's wron..." 

The words that were about to come out of my mouth stopped. Sarah was looking at me strangely. As if I was being weird. Right. How could she know? I was simply a manager in her eyes. What would I know? 

Compared to Ms. Valeri who was a Tier 3 Star Chaser, I was simply a new recruit in her eyes. 

And she wasn't wrong. 

My qualifications were lacking. 

"I won't quit." 

"Yes?" 

I looked at her in surprise. 

What suddenly changed her mind? 

"I said what I said on the spur of the moment. I won't quit. I'll never quit." 

"But didn't you..." 

"Even if I don't have a trainer, I'll train myself. I'll just work harder. You don't have to comfort me by trying to train me. Doing it alone, and silently. It's..." 

She paused, and her eyes turned resolute. 

"...What I've always done." 

I stood still and watched her leave. 

Her last words hit me harder than I previously thought. If I wanted to, I could've stopped her from leaving, but I didn't. 

There was no point. 

Her mental state wasn't there. Whatever I said would've likely fallen on deaf ears.

I wanted her to sort out her feelings first before talking to her again. I definitely saw potential in her. A potential that I still couldn't understand just yet. 

In the end, I spent the entire night in my thoughts. My mind was constantly worrying over the matter. 

How exactly was I supposed to make Sarah confident again? 

Endlessly scrolling through old clips of Sarah's training and battles, I sank into a hole from which I couldn't escape.

Her eye movement, her positioning, her little improvements... I watched all the clips and deeply analyzed her every action. The more I looked, the more the discomfort that had clung to my chest grew. 

Why?

Why was someone this talented so neglected? 

Emblem of the Sun was one of the major Guilds that resided on Earth. They were a Guild that had some of the best trainers in the entire world, and yet, for someone like Sarah to become this neglected... To be honest, I was disappointed. 

Was everybody else just blind, or was it just me who could see it? 

I found it unlikely. 

Tr Trriing—! 

The alarm rang, and I got out of my bed. 

"It's not like I'm not used to this." 

Sleep was only something I got on the weekends. By now, I was pretty much used to living without sleep. 

Today was a special day, however. It was an important day. Finally, after a lot of time waiting, it was the day when the girls's clip would finally be revealed in Dungeon Seekers. There was understandably a lot of excitement for this as the girls kept messaging me to hurry up. 

Well, it was mostly Mia who texted me every minute. 

—Where are you? 

—Hurry up, we're all waiting for you. 

—We're going to watch it without you if you don't hurry up. 

—When will it start? 

—Hurry up. 

—Hurr...

—...

'Looks like she's finally tired.' 

She didn't even bother writing anything. All she did was send three dots as if to remind me that I needed to hurry up. 

To Tok—! 

"Girls, I'm h—"

"You're finally here! Why are you so late?" 

Mia interrupted me as the door swung open and her anxious face appeared. 

"Did you not see my texts? It says that you read them all, but why didn't you respond? Were you perhaps running because you knew you were late? Ah, if that's the case then it makes sense." 

My word. 

It was only 5:30 in the morning. The clip wasn't going to be released until 7:00. There was still plenty of time. 

"Ay~ I'm so nervous. Manager, help me." 

"Deal with it yourself." 

"No, I will really die from all the anxiety. What if the clip doesn't do well? I already told my family about the clip." 

"Don't tell me..." 

"What?" 

Mia cocked her head. 

Thinking back at the barrage of texts I received, my head throbbed. 

"...Are you texting them to remind them? At this hour?" 

"No, why would I do that?" 

Mia looked at me as if I was an idiot. Then, tapping on her phone screen, she brought the phone to her ear. 

"I'm calling them." 

"Give me that." 

"Ah, no!!! Joana! Give it back!"

"Sit down, and stop making such a fuss." 

It was only after Joana arrived that Mia finally managed to calm down, slumping onto the sofa like a limp jelly.

"My parents are going to disown me for being unfilial..." 

"Can you stop talking?" 

"You wouldn't understand, Liv." 

"How many times have I reminded you to address me by my full name?"

"Ah, yes..." 

Olivia suddenly sat up straight before leaning back against the sofa. 

"Never mind, it's too early for this." 

Good, because I didn't have the energy to interfere. 

"Where are Lyla and Sarah?" 

There were still two people missing to the party. 

Holding onto a tub of yogurt, Joana comfortably sat in the middle of Olivia and Mia. Scooping a cup, she answered. 

"They're both in the bathroom. Sarah is trying to do her hair." 

"Ah. Should I..." 

"Yeah." 

Right. 

That couldn't happen. 

"..." 

But I was too late. 

One, two, three, four...? Just how many... 

Sarah patted her hands all satisfied. 

No, but seriously. What in the world was this? 

"How about I give it a go?" 

"Why?" 

Sarah looked at me all confused. 

The fact that you don't know is the problem. 

"The hairstyle... It's a bit too much for Lyla. Let's go for something simple." 

As I spoke, my hands were already moving. Wait, did she put gel on? Oh, god. Untangling the mess that Sarah had made, I managed to convert her quadrupletails into twintails. 

"Alright, all good. Off you go Lyla." 

Trotting away from us, it was just me and Sarah. 

The air was awkward, and just when I was about to speak, she beat me to it. 

"Was the hair bad?" 

"Ehm... Yeah." 

I nodded my head. There was no point denying it. 

"I see." 

Awkwardly looking behind me, she hesitantly pointed to the living room. 

"I'm going...?" 

"Ah, yeah, sure." 

Sidestepping and letting her pass, I let out a long sigh. 

'I guess things are still a little awkward.' 

Not that I was surprised. I expected this much. Suddenly acting like nothing happened despite what had happened yesterday was simply impossible. 

"Haaa." 

But what could I do? 

For someone as socially inept as I was, resolving this matter felt as challenging as tackling an intricate algebraic equation.

I had no idea where to start. 

Thankfully, I heard the soft click of the front door opening, and Dean entered.

"Mia, you've got to stop texting me every couple of minutes. I get that you're excited but you need to moderate yourself." 

He didn't seem all too pleased. 

Well, as someone who underwent the same problem, I could feel his frustration. 

"Ah~ Vice Director, you're finally here." 

"None of that. Give me your phone." 

"Oh, come on." 

"Give it here." 

"No! Anything but that!" 

Mia protested fiercely, but Dean's orders were resolute. Glancing at Olivia who threw her hands in the air in protest, Dean nudged her with his finger. 

"Be useful for once." 

"Fine. Fine." 

Then. 

"Ayk! Someone help me! Olivia is attacking me!" 

Well...

"No! My phone!" 

Just the usual. Nothing I didn't get used to after a week and a half. 

I approached Dean and greeted him. 

"Have you contacted the PR team?" 

"Yeah. We got some Tier 2, and Tier 3 teams giving us a shoutout. Hopefully, we should be able to get to the trending page." 

"That would be for the best." 

Dungeon Seekers was organized into five tiers, corresponding to the Star Chaser tiers that ranged from 1 to 5. The Tier 1 list encompassed everything related to Tier 1 Star Chasers, including individuals and groups.

The Dungeon Seekers Trending page was a dedicated section on the site, highlighting the most popular videos within the tier page. Dungeon Seekers determined what made the cut by considering factors such as view count, the rapid growth of views, and the video's age.

Our goal was to make it into that very trending page. 

There would be no better publicity than that. So long as we made it there, we'd be able to consider this a success. 

"Oh, right." 

Looking around, Dean suddenly pushed me toward a more isolated corner before whispering. 

"I've got good and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" 

"The good news." 

"Then I'll start with the bad news "

No, that's not what I chose. 

"Don't give me that look. I only asked as a formality. Who in their right mind would choose the good news first?"

Me. 

This guy. 

"Anyways, about Sarah. We tried everything, but the damage has already been done. We can't fix her reputation." 

"So, does that mean..." 

"Yeah, it was just as you said. It really was the Lotus Guild. From what I've heard, the Guild Master went directly to their Guild to discuss the situation." 

"And?" 

"They won't be holding a press conference any more. Moreover, we've successfully removed all the online leaks. WestBom will also issue a statement asserting that all the claims were untrue and that the sword was indeed flawed."

"But..." 

"There will probably still be a backlash. People may assume that we pressured WestBom into issuing that statement. And given the numerous leaks highlighting the presence of multiple swords at the venue, Sarah's reputation may remain irreparably damaged."

Ah. 

Even though I had mentally braced myself for it, the frustration still got to me.

I knew that this was the best that the Guild could do, but the result still left me unsatisfied. Just why did everything seem so against Sarah? What wrong did she do? 

No, it doesn't matter. 

I snapped out of it immediately. The Dungeon Seeker clip. Right, there was that. 

"Manager! Vice Director! Hurry! It's going to start soon!" 

That was going to be the starting point. The starting point where everything will finally change for the better. For her, and for the girls. 

"Did you guys set up the computers?" 

"Yes! I already connected it to the TV." 

Mia said as she pointed to the TV that sat opposite the sofa where all the girls sat. 

But there was a slight problem. One that Joana pointed out. 

"Manager, Vice Director, there isn't enough space. Where will the two of you sit?" 

"Don't worry about us. We'll just stand behind you, girls." 

"Will that be fine?" 

"Should be fine." 

I replied with a nod. In fact, it would be best if I could watch it while standing. 

I was afraid I'd fall asleep if I sat on the sofa. 

"Shhhh! Shhh! It's going to start!" 

Mia repeatedly refreshed the page, silencing everyone as she knelt down and tinkered with the laptop.

She repeated this for the next five minutes before she finally exclaimed as her voice broke halfway. 

"Ah! It's hereeeek~!" 

Click—! 

With a click, the video started.