Locking the office door, the three of them left work together and entered the old elevator.
As for the President, she had already left in the afternoon.
Though it might be a bit late to say this after a few days on the job, Lucia couldn’t help but sigh at how unorthodox this company seemed.
“Miss Fran, can our company really make money like this?”
As an operator (since a technician wasn’t needed), Lucia hadn’t received a single field mission these past few days, nor had the Association assigned any tasks. Instead, there had been plenty of third-rate media interviews and endorsement offers, but all of those had been rejected by President Chesia.
She had taken a lot of calls, but none had led to actual work.
Miss Fran was busy tinkering with her equipment, while Senior Clara was working on her serialized manga—neither of them seemed the least bit anxious about the situation.
“Don’t worry, Lucia.”
Fran patted Lucia’s shoulder with one hand, comforting her. “Clara’s popularity isn’t low—if anything, she’s riding a wave right now! The company just hasn’t monetized her popularity yet~ But didn’t President Chesia say from the start? Until Clara becomes a top-tier hero, there’s no need to worry about making money. The real goal is to boost her popularity first….”
Clara nodded in agreement, saying,
“It’s just a temporary lack of profit. You need to understand, sometimes you have to use a long line to catch a big fish.”
“Alright.”
Since these two didn’t care, there was no point in an intern like herself getting worked up about it.
After that, an awkward silence fell.
Because the elevator was quite old, it always took one or two minutes to go up or down. It wasn’t that long, but with the mechanical grinding noise, the wait easily made people restless, so someone would usually break the silence first.
“Ahem….”
Clara cleared her throat and looked at Fran, asking, “By the way, you didn’t have a backpack when you came in this morning, did you? What’s in that backpack?”
Fran was indeed wearing a backpack.
The stuff inside looked rather bulky, so it was hard not to be curious.
Lucia looked over as well, but Fran’s answer was vague.
“Hm? Oh, just some equipment I need to take back to the lab for adjustments. Nothing important~”
“Hmm, the way you say that makes me even more curious.”
Fran forced a smile and said, “Just my personal stuff, alright! Time to get out!”
The elevator stopped, and the iron gate slid open.
The three of them stepped out of the elevator, closed the hidden door next to the vending machine, and finally locked the door of the underground garage shop.
So much hassle.
But as a secret base, the Dream Witch’s Garden was certainly well-hidden.
Fran stretched lazily, revealing her slender waist.
She hummed, “We’re off work early, and it’s not even five yet. It’s a bit too soon for dinner—how about we hit the mall first, then go eat?”
Fran’s suggestion made Clara hesitate as she spoke up,
“Um, about that… Dr. Fran… It’s just, Lucia and I probably don’t have enough money to buy many clothes… We haven’t even gotten paid yet… You see…”
“Hah! Don’t worry!”
Understanding Clara’s concern, Fran couldn’t help but step forward and ruffle her hair.
“I’ll expense all the clothing today to the President. You’re representing our company on the show, so you shouldn’t have to pay for the outfits you’ll wear on air, right?”
Lucia pointed at herself and asked, “What about me? Why can I expense it too?”
“For variety shows like this, even staff members like us often end up on camera, you know? It’s not a filming mistake—it’s meant to create a sense of authenticity for the program~
Especially since Clara’s by herself and has to face the entire Sigma Series four-man team. For many segments, staff might have to fill in on stage~”
“Huh? We’ll be on camera?”
Hearing she’d be on camera, Lucia became even more uneasy.
Though she always appeared outgoing, in truth she was just pretending to be strong and forcing herself to interact with others. Just because an introvert overcomes her weakness doesn’t mean she’s really become extroverted.
So being streamed live in front of a camera was still a big challenge for her, requiring a lot of courage.
“Don’t worry, just act natural when the time comes~”
Clara offered comfort. Even with a drone camera up in her face, she could still play the ideal “Clara” role; in a way, it was her talent. But what was easy for her might not be so easy for others.
“…Sigh, it’s exactly because I can’t do it that it bothers me.”
Lucia sighed and led the way toward the subway station near the company.
Just as the three of them were about to enter the subway, Lucia’s phone rang.
“Huh?”
While Lucia looked surprised, Fran exchanged a glance with Clara.
Clara watched as Fran made exaggerated winks at her, and only after a couple of mental laps did she realize.
Oh, the “impostor” is coming!
So after making plans to go shopping tonight, Fran had already arranged a meeting this afternoon?
Clara’s brow furrowed.
Today, no matter what, she was going to expose that person’s identity.
But… was this really the right timing?
Aren’t we going to buy… swimsuits?
I don’t want the “impostor” seeing my little sister in a swimsuit!
And of course, I don’t want anyone seeing me in one, either!
As Clara battled with herself, Lucia covered her phone and asked,
“Um, my brother says he wants to see me and have dinner together… What do you think?”
Before Clara could answer, Fran jumped in,
“Sure, we don’t mind!”
Even so, Lucia still hemmed and hawed, “Um… Clara knows, my brother is actually…”
“A weirdo, right? It’s fine, after work we’re all just regular people.”
Clara answered decisively, but what else could she say?
She was the one who’d begged for this person’s help—how could she tell the impostor not to come at a time like this?
“Okay… thank you, everyone…”
Lucia whispered her thanks, then spoke to the “impostor” over the phone to confirm where to meet. Before long, she hung up and looked up to say,
“My brother said he’s already in the subway station and can meet us at the shopping center… Um, you really don’t mind? He… he’s a weirdo, you know?”
Weirdos had good income and working conditions, but the price was an inhuman appearance and very low social status. Though they were a necessary evil, they were still considered a nuisance by many, and plenty of them were happy to cause trouble…
So being disliked was only natural.
Lucia worried that her brother would be disliked, and that she’d have a hard time if her coworkers disliked him, leaving her caught in the middle.
Understanding this, Clara couldn’t help but give a wry smile, standing on tiptoe to pat Lucia’s head—though it meant Lucia had to lower her own head.
Still, she offered comfort: “Silly girl, you think I’d be afraid of a weirdo?”
As for Fran, she was even less afraid.
After all, her main job was to remodel weirdos.