Novel Full Chapter 241: Sorry to burst your bubble~!
Chapter 241: Sorry to burst your bubble~!
A DeLorean. The American car model famously used in a certain time travel movie about returning to the future. Signature gullwing type doors, a steely silver paint job… and a limited number that still remained in the world.
And there was one there at Comiket, sitting in the middle of the path and highlighted by spotlights. But not just any DeLorean.
A complete custom paint job. The silver paint stripped away and replaced with a glossy black with golden dust. Not only that, but the car had been completely dedicated to promoting Project MirAIs.
On the front of the car, a sleeping Alfi lay curled up on the hood. With a tender smile and closed eyes, a quilted blanket made of lights from various superchats covered her as she slept.
On the left side of the car, there was a picture of Hana flying through the night sky with orange fireworks in the background. With her hands at her sides, she smiled, enjoying her flight across the skies.
On the right side of the car, there was a picture of Aoko. Like her self-proclaimed younger sister, the ice dragon queen soared through the dark sky. Her horns, tail, and wings were on full display with icy blue trails of light following after her. She was smiling as well, but her face looked sharper. As if eager to face off against the world.
Then on the back of the car, there was Jenny. With a faint smile and her arms held out for a hug, she looked like a fairy or spirit from another world. The golden lights all over the car were from her, Jenny’s form dissolving into golden particles even while she reached out.
And then there was the license plate of the car, M1RA15.
Poppy walked around the car and whistled. “I know that these sorts of cars are supposed to be painful to look at. But this… is just divine. Exquisite.”
A crowd was gathered around the car, cosplayers and press alike taking pictures with phones and cameras, lighting up the car from the flashes.
Poppy noticed and laughed. “Well, it’s a bit much, but it’s definitely on theme.” She turned back to the camera and said, “A time traveling car coming back from the future… Maybe this is Titor’s real time machine. What do you think, viewers?”
“Hm?” A man standing near Poppy turned to look at her and laughed. “You’ve seen that movie? It’s pretty rare to find someone that has here.”
Poppy turned to look at him.
He was just an ordinary looking man. Probably a typical salaryman in his normal life. But at the moment, he had a ridiculous spiky green wig on, along with ragged clothes and cloth shoes. Then, stitched along the collar of his shirt, there was the famous E=MC^2 equation.
In short, the man was cosplaying the protagonist of a certain anime who used the power of science in a world that had regressed to the Stone age.
Poppy laughed and said, “It’s a timeless classic. And of course a fan of Professor Rock would know it, right?”
The man nodded. “Of course. Science is humanity’s greatest accomplishment, so it’s only natural to explore what can be possible.”
The camera panned to focus on Poppy and the man. After that, Poppy said, “In that case… Are you aware of the people on that car?”
“How could I not be?” The man laughed and said, “That Mister Smith guy is pretty crazy though.” He shook his head and said, “A mad man who not only has one of the few remaining DeLoreans left in the world, but one who stripped its paint job, gave it a custom paint job to advertise Anime girls, imported it to Japan AND put it on display? Crazy… Though considering the tech Myth Incorporated seems to have, I guess that’s natural.”
Poppy nodded. “Myth Incorporated *does* have some crazy technology. Have you seen their concert? What do you think of that?”
The man shook his head. “I haven’t, but my daughter and her friends did. I happened to catch a glimpse of it when I got back, but…” His eyes lit up and said, “A perfect transition from the real to the unreal. Seamless computer graphics and stage transitions… I’d love to pick the brains of whoever came up with that.”
“Wouldn’t we all?” Poppy nodded and said, “Project MirAIs- No, Myth Incorporated really took the world by storm.”
“Tell me about it.” The man laughed and pointed off to the side. “I wanted to go see if I could get a chance to talk to Mister Smith, but look at that crowd.”
The camera panned to show a horde of cosplayers packed around a booth nearby. The noise gate stopped most of the background noise, but even then it was possible to hear all of their cheers. Not only that, but even the nearby booths were empty, their vendors gathering around the crowd as well.
Poppy blinked and said, “Is there a particular event going on at the Project MirAIs booth?”
The man snorted. “No. From what I could tell, it’s just some woman. I think I heard something about a Jenny-“
“WE LOVE YOU JENNY!”
“JENNY-SAMA!!!”
“CAN I HAVE AN AUTOGRAPH!?”
The man blinked and then gave Poppy a blank look. “See?”
“Jenny…? Jenny Smith?” Poppy frowned.
“Yeah. That’s the one.” The man nodded and said, “Some British guy was running around a while ago passing out fliers about some Church of Jenny…” He shook his head and said, “The kids these days will believe anything, huh? Ah. But you should get going.” He waved his hand and said, “You guys shouldn’t be filming a boring guy like me. Go check on the crowd instead.”
Poppy looked at the man and said, “Thank you for your time, Sir. And the information.”
The man waved and walked off.
Immediately after that, Poppy beckoned towards the cameraman and said, “Let’s go!” She turned to the crowd and said, “Excuse me! Coming through!”
“Hm?”
“OMG! It’s Poppy Gloria!”
“Hi Mom!”
“Look! I’m on TV!”
People from the crowd turned to wave at the camera and Poppy. Others noticed and then stepped to the side to make room. With that, a tiny gap formed.
Poppy turned around to face the camera and started walking backwards through the crowd. “As you can see, viewers, it seems that something incredible has happened-“
“Yeah!” A member of the crowd stuck out his head to face the camera and said, “It’s a Christmas Miracle!”
Another person turned towards the camera and pointed at it. “Jenny Smith is real! Take that, non-believers!”
Poppy laughed and said, “It seems like we’ve got quite the energy going around here. Now, let’s see if we can see the source of it all… Excuse me. Pardon me.”
A loud and chaotic roar. Hundreds of voices mixed together to form an unintelligible noise.
Poppy said some words, but they were muddled beneath the roar of the crowd. Realizing that, she shrugged and gave up. Instead of trying to talk, she pushed her way through the crowd, beckoning the cameraman to follow her.
Then she reached the center of the crowd. And like the eye of the storm, it was suddenly quiet.
While there was a crowd around the Project MirAIs booth, the immediate space around the booth itself was cleared. And while the front of the booth was disorderly with a packed crowd, the back was actually clear and orderly with customers filing in and out in neat lines to buy merch.
Poppy blinked and then took a look around, taking in the strange calm and surroundings. Then she looked at the front of the booth and blinked.
A beautiful young woman with a bright smile and golden hair. She wasn’t dressed the same as she had in the concert. Instead of her idol outfit, she was wearing a light blue dress with a small window ripped open by her chest. And her hair was also lighter now, but there was no mistaking who that woman was.
Poppy walked forward and said, “Well I’ll be damned. Jenny Smith?”
“Oh!” Jenny looked over and waved. “Miss Gloria! What’s Poppin?” She turned towards the camera and waved. “And hello internet! Welcome to ga- to our booth! I hope you’ve enjoyed our concert and Comiket!”
Poppy looked around and said, “It seems like you’ve drawn quite the crowd. But I suppose that’s to be expected from the woman people are calling a goddess.”
Jenny giggled. “I’m flattered. But I’m just an ordinary girl, you know?”
Poppy raised an eyebrow. “But are you a girl?” She turned to the camera and said, “I think our viewers back at home would love to know the truth. After all, your ‘reveal’ during the concert broke the internet for a while.”
Jenny picked up a concert promotional pamphlet and fanned her face. “Well… This is a bit embarrassing to admit…”
“Don’t worry, Dear. I’m sure that the internet will get over it. Trust me.”
Jenny giggled. “True. I guess you’d have experience in that… Then okay.” She turned to face the camera and said, “Sorry to burst your bubble, everyone. But I’m actually…”
“Yes?”
“I’m actually just a figment of your imagination! Everyone’s still dreaming after being knocked out by Alfi at the concert!”
Silence.
Poppy blinked.
Jenny giggled again and then stuck out her tongue. “Just kidding~! I’m definitely real. And definitely a girl too. See?” She crossed her arms beneath her chest and emphasized her assets… as well as the deep valley visible in the ripped dress. “I’d love to show you a bit more proof… but I think that’d get me thrown out and Miss Gloria’s channel demonetized forever, so we’ll save that for my LonelyFans page.”
“Pft.” Poppy laughed and said, “You’re definitely more relaxed than at the concert, Miss Smith. And a lot less idol like.”
“Hey!” Jenny pouted and said, “I am an idol! But this isn’t my show or my booth. I’m just here to help John and the girls out. It’s a bit embarrassing, but a little sex appeal draws the crowds.” She turned to the crowd and shouted, “Right guys?”
“UWOOOOOOOOOO!”
Jenny giggled.
Poppy glanced at Jenny’s ripped dress and said, “Well, that certainly explains your outfit.”
“Ah.” Jenny blushed and said, “That was an accident.” She tugged her shirt and said, “My outfit was smaller than I thought, so when I leaned back to stretch it ripped like this. But it’s a lot more comfortable, so I just left it. Besides, it’s not like I can just leave the booth unattended and change.”
Poppy laughed.
Jenny giggled along with her.
“Well,” Poppy said. “Since we’re here, do you mind if we do a small interview for the viewers?”
“Of course not!” Jenny smiled and said, “I’ll be happy to talk!”
“Then, first off-“
“Jenny-sama!” A man broke free from the crowd and ran over, waving a printed screenshot of Jenny from the concert. “Can I get your autograph?!”
“Ah.” Jenny smiled at the man and said, “That’ll be ten thousand yen.”
Poppy blinked. “Ten-“
The man placed the printed screenshot on the table in front of Jenny. After that, he rummaged around his pocket and dropped ten 1000 yen notes on the table.
Jenny neatly swept up the notes and tucked them in her shirt. After that, she pulled out a pen from her cleavage and wrote her name on the screenshot. “There you go~! Thank you for your support!”
The man picked up the screenshot and held it to his chest. “THANK YOU JENNY-SAMA! I LOVE YOU!” With a disgusting look on his face, the man ran off, sniffing the paper the entire time.
Poppy gave Jenny a blank stare.
“What?” Jenny blinked and said, “I have to get money to support my girls *somehow* right?”
“…You aren’t bothered by that?”
Another man ran in. Maybe since he saw what the first one did, he immediately plopped down a picture of Jenny along with 10K yen.
Jenny smoothly picked up the money and tucked it away in her dress before writing her name on the picture. At the same time, she said, “Why should I? If people love me, it’s only fair to return that love. And this way, it’s not one-sided gifts, you know?” She pursed her lips and said, “Things get complicated when that happens. Ah.” She turned back to the man and said, “Thank you for your support! Make sure to visit the girls too, okay~?”
The man picked up the picture and rapidly nodded. “Yes, my goddess! I’ll do it! Even if I have to spend my life savings!”
“Ah. Don’t go that far. They’ll get mad at me. Just a meal or two, okay~?”
“Understood!”
The man ran off.
Poppy blinked again. “…You seem pretty used to all of this, Miss Smith.”
“Call me Jenny. Miss Smith is Yue. Ah, and do you mind continuing this some other time?” She turned to look at the crowd and said, “I think that I might be busy soon…”
Poppy laughed. “Well, don’t let me get in the way of your business, Miss Jenny.”
“It’s not business. It’s… a mutual exhange.”
Poppy laughed again and said, “Whatever you say, Miss Jenny. Have a great day, Dear.” With that, she turned around and started walking away.
“You too Miss Gloria~!”
Poppy smiled and started talking back into the camera, slowly making her way out of the crowd and back to the main convention area. “And there you have it, folks. The mystery unraveled. The truth behind the mysterious Jenny Smith, and a glimpse at the explosive popularity of Project MirAIs. While a shame that we didn’t get a chance to see any of the girls or talk to Mister Smith, don’t worry! We’ve already booked an exclusive interview with Mister Smith AND Mister Titor next weekend. Keep an eye out for that!”
The crowd thinned as Poppy made her way back into the open space of the convention hall. With the crowd around the Project MirAIs booth as her background, Poppy waved and said, “With that, I’m signing off. I’ve been Poppy Gloria. Tune in next time to see What’s Popp-“
“KAHAHAHA! You can’t run forever, Kid!”
“Why are you like this?!”
A young girl giggled and then she said,. “You can do it, Daddy!”
Right behind Poppy, a ridiculous sight unfolded.
A man with graying hair and dressed in a suit ran past, holding a young teenaged girl in his arms. That girl had light brown hair and wore a CapsuMon trainer outfit.
Meanwhile, a man wearing a CapsuMon fisherman outfit ran after them, cackling.
Poppy blinked, watching the three run off in the distance. Then she shook her head and looked back at the camera. “Like I said, tune in next time-“
“Come on! Just try it!” A suave male voice.
“No! I’m not falling for that trick again!” An irritated but beautiful female voice.
More people running around behind Poppy. This time, a man with slicked back black hair and a white lab coat, chasing after a beautiful woman with crimson hair and a white lab coat.
Titor and Amadeus.
Titor ran after Amadeus holding out a box of chocolate cookie sticks. “But they’re sweet, just like your lips!”
Amadeus stumbled and then spun around to glare at Titor. “Y-You idiot!” She shifted her gaze, turning a deep red. “…N-Not in public…”
Poppy laughed and then waved at the camera. “I’ve been Poppy Gloria! See you next time on What’s Poppin!”
And like that, the show ended.
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