Darrel Schutter was a middle-aged man who looked like he averaged four hours of sleep at night. Yuriko and Scarlett entered the meeting room not quite sure what to expect, though an enthusiastic greeting, akin to one meeting a close friend after too long a parting had not been it.

“Miss Lawson! Welcome! Welcome! I have to say I’ve been looking forward to this meeting over the past couple of days.” Darrel stood up and circled around the table, hand extended to shake. “And who’s this lovely lady? A friend, Miss Lawson?”

Yuriko took his hand to shake. He had a firm grip though his palms were a bit clammy, but not too sweaty. He was also shorter than she was by a couple of inches, and his brown hair was peppered with white. He had small dark circles under his equally black eyes, but he had smile lines all over his face.

“This is Scarlett, a close friend.”

The man gestured towards the seats around the table. “Please, I’m eager to hear more about you.”

Yuriko and Scarlett obliged, a moment later, the receptionist followed them in.

“Tea, coffee? Soda?”

“I’m fine,” Yuriko said while Scarlett asked for coffee.

As the receptionist prepared the condiments and the brew, Yuriko glanced at the papers that had been printed out for her. Considering she had updated the thing just a couple of days ago, nothing much needed changing. Her physical statistics were updated to her current physique, and she hadn’t included a photo of herself since the ones she had access to were either her provocative shots from the modelling or old photos from before.

“Your resume is short but that’s only to be expected. You’re eighteen years old, aren’t you? A student of journalism at Trinity University.” Darrel hummed as he glanced at the resume. His gaze turned to her and he stared at her long and hard enough to be uncomfortable. It was Scarlett who fidgetted at the attention, however, since Yuriko was long used to being stared at, either lustfully, with hostility, or simply admiration. Darrel had the first and third, though he had control of his urges. At the moment they shook hands, the Mien had established a connection strong enough to allow her to read his surface emotions. It had not been hard since there was already a pre-existing thread.

That was a confirmation of a theory Yuriko had. Simply by hearing about her, and probably by seeing her through pictures, a small connection would be made. Not strong enough for reading, but somewhat enough to generate a minute amount of Quintessence. Well, she didn’t want to read the emotions of thousands of people anyway.

“So I guess the question is, how can we help you? Marina, Dale, and Jackson spoke highly of your modelling skill, albeit only in a photoshoot.” Darrel continued, “You haven’t put anything else in your talent list, so I’d like to know what you think you’re capable of and what do you want out of all of this?”

Yuriko hummed. “I seek… fame.” She smiled softly, “I wish to hear my name on every lip, my face on posters and on every screen. I thought journalism would have taken me there, but I’ve since changed my mind. When I posed as a model for Madeline Baxter, it awakened a desire within.” She shrugged. “I thought to do this on my own, but the three you mentioned, and Scarlett here, convinced me otherwise. As for what else I can do, I can dance. I’m not sure if my voice risen in song would please others though. I’m not sure I can act in movies or television shows as I’ve not made an attempt at either.”

When she stopped, she noticed Darrel and Scarlett staring at her with half-lidded eyes. She tapped the table once and broke their fascination.

“You have a beautiful voice even if your inflexion is, well, archaic? I suppose it is due to your upbringing,” Darrel observed. Scarlett’s eyes widened and she glanced at Yuriko’s face. She observed her friend’s reactions with her perception aura and hadn’t turned her head. “I think you would do well as an actress, we can start with something short, a commercial or something, rather than a full role in a show.” He pursed his lips, “Fame, huh? You do have the face for it, I believe, and perhaps the charisma. What you need are we who can accelerate the process. Yes,” he grinned. “I think entering under the wings of Pixel Fairy will be wonderful for both of us.”

“Hmmm, I see.” Yuriko nodded. “I expect the best. Can I presume you are enlisting me in your agency?”

“I think it’s a foregone conclusion. You’re already a bit famous, too,” He picked up a tablet and manipulated it to show pictures of Yuriko, in the art class, in Macy’s while she was dancing, and even one of her in Central Park, while she sat in meditation on top of a boulder after she left Protectorate HQ.

“Huh,” Yuriko murmured. Right next to her, Scarlett looked a bit shamefaced. She was blushing and trying not to look at Yuriko.

“Well, I will have the contracts prepared. For now, how about we take some test shots? As beautiful as these are, they aren’t good enough for your portfolio,” Darrel said.

“Alright.” Yuriko hummed as she stood to follow Darrel. Scarlett trailed behind her, taking the cup of coffee she hadn’t touched earlier. They climbed up to the fourteenth floor and were led into a photography studio.

Darrel pointed towards the door beside it. “That’s the changing room.” He nodded towards a wall where dozens of photos were pinned. The models were split into four groups, dressed for each of the Seasons, Yuriko realised. For the Season of Earth, the girl in the photo was lightly dressed, exposing arms and legs as she shed the garments worn against the cold. For the Season of Fire, another girl was clad in a bathing suit that was little more than a bra and panties. The Season of Air had the model dress a bit more heavily than the Season of Earth, a sundress and a wide-brimmed hat. And for the Season of Water, the model was bundled up, but still in such a way to show off her curves and the shape of her legs.

“Which one first?” Yuriko asked.

Darrel grinned. “Your choice.”

Scarlett entered the dressing room with Yuriko and both of them browsed through the available clothing.

“Easiest is a bikini, I think,” Scarlett said, pointing towards the scanty swimwear. The sides were secured by knots so it was easily adjustable. “Are you sure about this?”

Yuriko nodded and stripped off her clothes.

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t take it off in front of me!” Scarlett yelled while completely red. Funny, that. Her friend had seen Lilibeth naked before, so why was she putting up a fuss? Yuriko just threw a smirk at the crimson-haired girl.

The bikini was two-toned, black and blue, divided into swirls. The bottom was easy enough to adjust. Yuriko had a slender build, but her curves were more than aesthetically pleasing. The top needed a bit more adjusting. After they were on, she used her Animakinesis to make sure the swimsuit would cover all the necessary bits. Scarlett took hold of her clothes and purse and the two of them slipped into the studio.

A woman with an open compact and a brush walked up to her. “This way please,” she said, pointing towards a vanity.

Yuriko sat on the high chair while the makeup artist examined her face for a long while. She ended up just dusting Yuriko’s cheeks with some light pink blush that was washed away by the bright lights anyway.

The photoshoot wasn’t much different from her experience with Dreamedia. They asked her to pose for a few shots, asked her to change, or allowed her do take her own poses. Yuriko minded where the camera was, and with her perception aura as well as her multiple strands of consciousness, it was easy to deduce what the photographer wanted out of her.

She repeated the exercise thrice more, each with a differently themed attire. The entire thing took about a couple of hours. It was unpaid work and the agency asked her to sign a waiver to allow them to use the photos as they needed.

Scarlett protested and Yuriko felt tendrils of deceit from the attendant, simply bent her Mien over the other, which left the woman gasping. She left and presented a release form with a price, five hundred Torries. Well, that made her budget for the week.

A longer contract filled with legalese was then presented to her by Darrel, who said, “You can take this home.” ‘Draft’ stamped across every page. “If you can send me an email when you’re ready to sign or if you want some changes. We look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the two of them left. It was rush hour by the time they reached the station, and the train, because their stop was in the middle of a long run, was filled to bursting. They had to wait for a couple more trains to pass before they were able to squeeze in. They were jammed in so tightly that Yuriko couldn’t tell if someone was groping her, pressing their genitals on her thigh or bottom deliberately, or if it was just the press of bodies. She was also sure the man behind her was sniffing her hair. She did walk away from the train with about a dozen new threads to her Mien.

‘Haaah, what I have to endure…’ Yuriko sighed. Her clothes were damp with sweat, and the unfortunate thing was that it wasn’t her perspiration. She wanted nothing more than to hurry home, toss her befouled clothes in the laundry basket, and douse herself with hot water.

Before she arrived, she sent Scarlett a hundred Torries. When the smol girl started from the fund transfer, she explained, “You really helped me there.”

“Oh, uh, thanks? But don’t you…”

“It seems Torries won’t be much of a problem in the future.”

Scarlett laughed. “And it’s not your family’s money!”

“Right!”

“Lily…”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Scarlett stopped walking and Yuriko turned and raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“I…I wish to help more.”

“How so?”

Scarlett shook her head. “Show business…is dirty.” She muttered, “Especially for a woman alone. I…I can be your assistant. Your watcher…”

Yuriko smiled and said, “I’d like that. Thank you.”

Scarlett’s smile brightened the twilight, and Yuriko felt her heart skip a beat. The little woman was cute and it looked like she was well on her way to overcoming her doubts. Not quite there yet, though, but perhaps, it would come in time. She was feeling a bit desperate, to be honest, as self-pleasuring didn’t quite feel the same. She gave Scarlett a side hug before they continued on their way.

By the time they arrived at the apartment, her true body had just finished with the preliminary tests.

They received a notification through the Autovisor and with that, hostilities ended. None of Stormdriven had killed anyone and they held the first resource point for nearly all of the allotted time. Sure enough, the scoreboard showed they were in the top contenders.

They made quick time back to the compound and reunited with Saki, Ryoko, and Devotee. They followed the rest of the passers into one of the buildings, which turned out to be a huge lift. Millennium State had most of their training and testing facilities underground, it seemed.

There were about two hundred mercenaries who passed, and only about a fourth would ultimately succeed. It also seemed that about a hundred of them were part of the same band considering that they all had the same sigil.

They were led to a cafeteria in order to refresh and refuel, but the tension in the air was thick enough to cut it with a knife.

It was rather amusing though, heh.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep