Misery Loves Company

John reappeared in the lobby of his office building, making sure to conceal himself in case Rin or Sakura happened to be around.

A quick scan revealed that Sakura wasn't there and Rin seemed to be hanging out at the streaming area with Beta and Alpha.

John let out a sigh of relief. "Seems like some things are working out then." He made his way over to the elevator and pressed the button, holding the tray of drinks in his left hand and the box of cake pops in his right hand.

Since the elevator was currently on the top floor with the others, it'd take a bit before it came down.

Because of that, John took the time to run a quick inventory of what he needed to do before he could finally get started on making a backlog of games, manga, light novels, and Anime to consume.

First off, edit and translate clips from Hana's stream as well as pay the appropriate royalties to the copyright holders.

Money was a non-issue for him now since Betty had a bit too much fun playing the stock market, but it was good to avoid trouble where he could. Not to mention that he really didn't want to pay a personal visit down to Googol if UTube decided to start messing around with his company business.

He had a good handle on what triggered the algorithm's ban hammers and demonetization though, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem if Googol here was as over reliant on that as the real company did.

So that was priority one.

After that, John needed to start looking for... or at least prepare for hiring new idols. That and general staff.

So far, nobody had come around to bug him from the government about staffing regulations and the like, but after another week people might start questioning things.

Not to mention that the 'trouble' Kai mentioned hanging around the building still hadn't shown its face.

Hm.

Maybe he should flesh out his shadow servants properly and hire them as security? Yakuza problems required Yakuza solutions, after all.

And it would be cool having those famous guys hanging around... Ah. But he'd have to change their names. He wasn't too sure if there were equivalents in this Earth, but if there were then things could get dicey.

Maji, Kiri, and Saji maybe? Or was that too on the nose...?

The elevator doors opened. John absently walked inside and pressed the button for the top floor.

As the doors shut, John went back to thinking about what he had left to do.

It was Saturday, November 9th. Over a week since he arrived back on Earth... and not much longer until the holiday seasons and the New Year.

Which meant things would be speeding up soon and he should probably get around to making more big announcements to keep the ball rolling for the holiday season...

And speaking of holidays, was there one in November for Japan? John knew that Thanksgiving was a thing in the U.S., but was there an equivalent for Japan?

Oh yeah, and he also had to handle Rin's education. The girl dropped out of her first year in high school to help her mother, but it'd be best for her to get back into it in the following year so as to not limit her options afterwards.

But then there was the work-life balance there... and what even were the regulations for having a full-time job like this? Also, didn't Rin mention something about her classmates knowing that she took up that first job to try and help her mom?

Should he go deal with that too? It was better to cut troubles early, but he'd need more information... and probably have to manipulate the rumor mill.

In that case, he'd probably need to either find someone to transfer in or make an automaton/shadow servant for it... but doing that just for something like this was overkill... And it'd be even more trouble considering that his wife would definitely take it as him running away from his marital duties again.

"...I need a fixer." John muttered.

Someone he could rely on to handle all of the minutia in the future as well as ensure nothing slipped.

John could do it. After all, if he put his mind to it, he was absolutely qualified to run everything by himself. Clones, reality manipulation, digital fraud... it'd be a simple matter to prop up an organization that seemed legitimate but was really just a creation of his.

But he came to Earth to relax, dammit! To just live like an ordinary guy! If he wanted to go through all of that trouble, he might as well have created a planet of his own and filled it with people to play god.

Not to mention that even if he did create clones and do reality manipulation, it wouldn't change the fact that he'd be the one experiencing all that in the end.

Betty was doing a good job managing things right now, but he didn't want to throw everything to his second daughter just because she was qualified for it. She deserved to have a chance to relax too... They all did.

The elevator chimed, reaching the top floor.

That snapped John out of his thoughts. "Guess I have to run interviews after all, huh?"

It seemed like there wasn't any avoiding it since Kai and Sakura didn't want to help out despite their qualifications.

John sighed and then walked out of the elevator, heading down the hallway to the streaming area. But as he did...

"N-No way! I-I made how much!?" Rin's surprised voice echoed down the hall.

John frowned and then pulled out his phone to check on Hana's channel.

There were over 200k subscribers and a million views total on her channel... Which meant UTube should be sending the first button sometime soon. But that shouldn't be enough to make her exclaim in surprise...

John put his phone away and then rounded the corner. "What's up? Something exciting happen?"

Alpha and Rin were standing behind Beta and her desk, peering over Beta's shoulders at the monitor.

When John called out, all of them turned back to look at him.

"Mister John!" Rin ran over her eyes spinning. "I-It's unbelievable! I-I don't know what to do!" She was hyperventilating, and almost looked like she would pass out.

"Calm down, Rin... Ah, here." John pulled out a cake pop and handed it to her. "Something sweet should-"

Rin snatched the cake pop and plopped the whole thing into her mouth, chomping on it before swallowing. After that, she grabbed one of the caramel frappuccino and a straw. Ripping the paper off the straw, she jammed it into the drink and quickly took a sip.

That seemed to help, since Rin visibly calmed down. "...Thanks, Mister John."

John blinked. "You're... welcome?"

Rin shook her head and stood there, pointedly sipping her drink with her eyes closed, as if trying to block out the world around her.

That was odd. But John shrugged and then walked over to Beta's desk, placing the tray down as well as the cake pops.

"Here, girls. I figured you could use something sweet." He pulled out the mocha. "The usual for you, Betty."

Beta reached over to grab it. "Thank you, Father." Even so, while she grabbed the cup and took a sip, her eyes never left the screen.

John pulled out the hot cocoa and handed it to Alpha. "And for you, Alphy. A hot cocoa like I promised."

Alpha huffed. "I'm not a child, Father. You didn't need to give me a caffeine-free drink."

"Yes... but I figured that something warm and sweet would help calm you down."

Hearing that, Alpha froze and then lowered her gaze. "Oh. ...Sorry, Father. I thought..."

John ruffled her hair and said, "Relax. Now enjoy some hot cocoa while I sort through this apparent mess."

Alpha nodded and then took the hot cocoa, carefully sipping at it. At first, she seemed reluctant, staring enviously at Beta's mocha. But then she tasted the drink and let out a small smile, closing her eyes in contentment.

John smiled as well at seeing that and then leaned over to look at the monitor. "So what's the big deal, Betty? Did we get banned by UTube or something?"

"As if they would dare to do such a thing." Beta sipped on her mocha and said, "The truth is that we have the opposite problem."

"Opposite?" John furrowed his brow.

Beta opened a few windows and then pulled up Hana's channel. After that, she opened up the statistics... specifically the monetization.

Seeing the number there, John froze. "O-Oi. That's not a glitch, is it?"

Beta shook her head. "While the function did glitch during the stream, the numbers are not a mistake. If anything, they are lower than what it should be as quite a few viewers were unable to process their payments in the time period."

John blinked and then stared at the number.

He... knew that streamers could make decent money. You- That is, UTubers as well could make decent money. Even so, that was something that happened over time. A long and dedicated fanbase, continuous content... All of that would lead to being more than enough for a person to live on. To be a proper job.

So John figured that Hana... or rather, Rin would be able to make a decent amount as well. Especially considering the fact that virtual streamers weren't really a thing in this world and that the technology they used was well beyond even the best VR software available.

But that was in the long run. He expected that they would technically be in the red until a few months in. But...

"Er... Betty. Doesn't that number translate to over nine thousand US dollars? In two hours?"

Beta nodded. "That is so."

At that time, Rin walked over, carrying her empty cup. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, but her eyes were still spinning. "W-What do we do, Mister John?! That's so much money! Can we refund it? I don't want people to waste so much money on me! I haven't even done anything yet!"

John shook his head. "No can do. Even if we wanted to, UTube's already taken its cut."

"T-Then-!"

Alpha sighed and said, "Rin. You should be proud of yourself and accept the money. You're more than worth it. Besides, if those people are foolish enough to throw that much money away, better that it's to you, right?"

Silence.

Alpha blinked and flushed. "W-What?! Isn't it true? It's not like she's going to be some arrogant young maiden who flaunts her wealth!"

John laughed and patted Alpha's head. "It's good that you've unwound a bit, Alphy."

"H-Hmph." Alpha ducked out from under John's hand and went back to sit on the bed in the corner, idly drinking her hot cocoa.

John looked back at Rin and said, "Alphy has a point though, Rin. Don't think of this as people throwing their money away." He reached over and tapped on the monitor, scrolling through the Superchat messages. "They're all trying to support you and Hana. It's not like they're paying you to do something for them."

"B-But...!"

Beta sighed. "If it bothers you this much, Miss Rin, then you simply must work that much harder to make up for it. Do you not?"

Rin froze and then slowly nodded. "I... I guess so. But, um..." Rin frowned and said, "...About the money..."

John leaned back and said, "If you're worried about us taking a cut-"

"No!" Rin shook her head. "I don't mind! Mister John and Miss Beta and Alpha nee-san have done a lot for me and Mom! It's only fair that you take a cut!"

John blinked and looked over at Alpha. "...Nee-san?"

Alpha flushed and looked away.

Rin continued talking. "...But I wanted to know if I could use some to buy Mom a car. We had to sell ours to pay for the first round of treatments, so..." Rin trailed off. "I-I know this might seem too soon, but..."

John stared at Rin and then chuckled.

"M-Mister John?"

John shook his head and then ruffled Rin's hair. "You're too sweet, you know that?"

Rin flushed, her ears turning a deep red.

Beta cleared her throat. "Ahem. Father?"

"A-Ah." John quickly retracted his hand. "Anyway, if it's just a car, I'll get that sorted out. You don't have to worry about buying it with your money. I'll-"

"No!" Rin shook her head and said, "Mister John's done enough. And... I want to give Mom a gift too." She lowered her gaze and said, "She's given up a lot to raise me, so now that I can pay back even just a little... Um... You don't mind, do you, Mister John?"

An adorable and hesitant question. Not only that, but a pure motive.

Since John didn't respond, Rin quickly continued talking. "I-It doesn't have to be too expensive! I just think it'd be good so that Mom doesn't have to walk everywhere or take the train. She miraculously got better, but I don't want her to overwork herself. If the cancer comes back and Mom gets sick again... I..." Rin started to tear up.

John held up his hands. "Fine, fine." He glanced towards Beta and said, "Betty? You up to go help Rin pick out a car later... Well, it's the weekend, so I guess Monday?"

Beta blinked and then slowly said, "I do not have any understanding of automobiles, Father. Furthermore..." She gestured towards herself and said, "Do you believe it wise for someone like myself to speak with a car salesman?"

John frowned. "That is true..."

So far, John's daughters hadn't drawn too much attention since they had only been in the office building and to Rin's house. But if they started going around in public, attention was unavoidable.

Beta was immune from bad karma and misfortune trying to latch onto her, but that didn't mean that she was immune from every human interaction possible. And with someone as incredibly beautiful as her, trouble would come knocking regardless of karma-

Ah.

John groaned.

Beta blinked. "Father?"

He sighed, silently cursing his face, and then said, "Nothing. Just a sudden epiphany about my troublesome life." He shook his head and then turned to Rin. "But this is a problem..."

"A problem, Mister John?" Rin frowned.

He nodded. "You can't buy a car yourself, and we need to register it under an adult's name before transferring it to your mother as a gift." He paused. "Well, we could always find a place and pay with cash, but that's sketchy."

Not to mention an act that would trigger all sorts of flags.

Rin lowered her gaze. "Then is it impossible?"

"Mm... No. I can always go shopping with you. It's just... I've got a bad feeling that wouldn't end well."

After all, the last time that John went out to take a young teenaged girl out an errand, he ended up having to fight off the entire Demonic continent and install her as the new ruler.

And with how he recently ran into the local yakuza not just once, not just twice, but three times now and barely avoided having the confrontations breaking out into violence, he had the sinking suspicion that the fourth wouldn't stop at him getting away-

A half-dozen alarm bells rang in his head. Warnings from various formations and spells dissuading him from that course of action.

...Right. So it seemed to be a definite bad idea to go out at the moment with Rin to buy that car.

Fortunately, he had recently made a friend that he could rely on for something like this.

"One second, Rin. Let me check something."

"Huh? Um... Okay." Rin nodded.

John walked over to the hallway by the elevator to dial a number.

He had blocked it last time, but John was fairly sure that guy wouldn't have changed his phone so quickly.

Scrolling through his call log, John muttered, "Let's see. The number was-"

Suddenly, an incoming call. A different number from the one John planned on dialing, but considering that John only had a handful of people who knew his phone, three of them present and the other one saved as a caller ID, there was only one person that could be.

John answered. "Kai?"

"Friend!" The former yakuza laughed. "You didn't tell me that you knew my old friend Sakura!"

John blinked. "Huh?" Before he could say anything else, he heard a faint female voice echo on the other side of the line.

"I am not old!"

A young girl's voice called out as well. "Daddy! That's mean!"

Kai let out a strained laugh.

John paused, the gears in his head coming to a halt. And then he groaned. "Me and my goddamned mouth..."

"E-Excuse me?"

John sighed. "Nothing. And I'm guessing you guys are coming back right about now, huh? And Sakura wants an explanation?"

Sakura's voice called out. "You bet your a-"

"Language, Sakura nee-chan!"

"You bet your behind that I do, Mister!"

"Right. I guess this works out." John sighed and said, "See you guys soon."

Kai let out a wry chuckle. "Take care, Friend."

The line fell silent.

John slowly lowered his phone and then said, "Note to self: Don't take schadenfreude in other men's women problems. Turns out, the woman causing said problem might be a friend of yours."

"Mister John?" Rin called out. "You're taking a while. Is something wrong?"

John sighed.