Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

Chapter 374: – Life Counseling – I

An amusement park themed after a famous video game company and its various works. There, an almost unnaturally handsome blonde man walked around with a pair of cute twin girls, one with black hair and the other with white hair.

"Wow!" Xuan looked around the area, causing her neatly trimmed black bangs to shift. "Big brother! This festival is amazing!"

Wu nodded, causing her white bangs to bob as she said, "Yes! Thank you for taking us out, Father!"

John let out a soft smile and said, "I'm happy you two like it."

Since the twins had been staying with John's sisters, he was worried that they'd feel they were abandoned and he left them behind again.

Fortunately, it seemed like that wasn't the case.

Probably because there were just so many new things for them to experience and be distracted by.

On an outdoor stage nearby, a giant animatronic turtle monster roared and then breathed fire at a small mushroom man.

Xuan gasped when she saw it and then tugged John's hand, pointing at it. "Look, look! Big brother! This world has a beast of ruin as well!"

Wu carefully studied the animatronic and then said, "Sister. That is a puppet."

Xuan gasped and turned back to Wu. "You are extremely wise, Sister! I did not even think that could be the case!" She looked back with sparkling eyes at the animatronic and said, "Big brother's homeland contains so many mysteries!"

John rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, "It's that interesting, huh?"

Xuan nodded. "Yes! Extremely!"

Wu nodded as well and said, "Enough to never grow fatigued with such revelations!"

John felt a pang of guilt in his chest and then let out a wry smile.

He definitely needed to convince Yue to formally accept Little Xuan and Little Wu into their family.

The fact that just spending time in a simple place like this brought so much happiness to them... How starved for joy and affection had they been?

And considering that had been caused by John choosing Yue...

Well. There was a lot to make up for. Thankfully, there was time to do that.

"Big brother!" Xuan tugged John's hand and pointed at a giant hollowed out mushroom. "Can we go eat at that restaurant?"

Wu grabbed John's other hand and hesitantly looked up at him. "Yes. May we, Father? The dishes look delicious..."

Xuan nodded and said, "Mmhm! Super yummy!"

John smiled and said, "Sure. I've been meaning to see what sort of fun things they've cooked up here anyway."

After saying that, he walked towards the mushroom building, Xuan and Wu trailing behind him while holding his hands.

A few people glanced at John as he walked past, eyes widening in recognition. And a few more looked at Xuan and Wu in confusion.

...Right. John was pretty well-known now.

Hm... Maybe he should make a habit of going around in cosplay to throw people off? It had been a while since he brushed up on his disguise skills... Well, other than dressing as Jenny...

Thankfully, despite the attention, people gave John and the twins a wide distance.

Maybe it was the star power?

John saw people taking pictures of him and the twins, so he could already tell the tabloids were going to be all about him later today.

Which was probably a better thing than having the focus be on Rin and her mess up with that guerilla stream.

Though John would definitely need to clear it up with Yue the moment he got back.

He could practically see the hashtags and headlines already.

xxx

John Smith's illegitimate children?

Who are the young girls following John Smith around?

How many children does John Smith have?

#CheatingJohn

#JohnsKids

xxx

...Well. It wasn't like it'd be the first time his personal relationships were at the forefront of attention.

"Welcomuh to za Marlo Cafe! Uh what can I get ya?"

A weird and mishmashed foreign accent called out the moment John and the twins walked inside the cafe.

John looked up and said, "The kids want to have some fun, so can we..."

John trailed off when he saw the person who called out to them.

Like the other people working in Mintendo Land, the person was dressed up like a video game character.

And like the knock-off... Well, considering it was a different world, it wasn't *really* a knock-off. But anyway, like the knock-off game about a plumber saving the kingdom, the person was wearing a costume from that series.

Specifically, overalls over a purple shirt and pants with a matching purple cap.josei

Unlike what John expected, the cap's yellow letter wasn't an upside down, but instead a sideways Z.

...Or maybe it was an inverted N?

Either way, that wasn't important. The important part was that John knew the person and that person looked utterly ridiculous wearing the outfit.

Toby adjusted his fake mustache and said, "So itza table for three. Comma zis way- Ah." He reached into his overalls and pulled out a pair of folded cardboard tiaras. With a way too authentic smile, he held them out to John and said, "For za children, Senyor."

John grabbed the tiaras with a blank expression and said, "Thank you, Mister..."

Toby struck an exaggerated pose and pointed at his chest with his thumb. "Itza Zaweegee, Zaho!"

Xuan gasped and clapped her hands. "Cool!"

Wu giggled and said, "You are so silly, Mister!"

John resisted the urge to facepalm and just waved his hand. "Lead the way, 'Zaweegee.'"

Toby nodded and said, "Followa me."

After saying that, Toby grabbed a group of menus from a nearby rack and walked them to the back of the cafe.

Just before following, John placed the cardboard tiaras onto Xuan and Wu and took a quick picture with them. After that, as they walked past the tables and followed Toby, John took a look around to see what kind of crowd was in this place.

As expected, although it was getting later in the evening, most of the people here were parents with their kids, or young teens hanging out with their friends.

Personally, John would have thought there would be more people in their twenties using it as a date spot, but maybe it was a bit *too* embarrassing to do romantic stuff where all the kids were watching.

Yue would probably like it though, especially if they brought Aurie along.

...Hm. That was still a bit too weird of a nickname. John really needed to figure out a cuter nickname for his youngest daughter. Aurie, Rory, Aura, and Ra were all that he could think of and they were all a bit too weird.

Ironic, considering that his other daughters had more outrageous names but relatively normal nicknames.

Alphy, Betty, Meggie... Mm. Maybe just "Riri"?

Ah, wait. The Prodigy girls called Yuri that, so it wouldn't work.

While John was lost in thought, Xuan and Wu continued looking around with wide eyes, gawking at everything on display.

A bouncy round spotted egg. A baby dinosaur animatronic poking out from another egg. Giant bubbles floating around from a big bubble machine. Then there was the upbeat ukelele copyright free version of that plumber's theme song played live by a band off to the side of the cafe.

Just like ordinary kids would, Xuan and Wu giggled and had fun looking at everything while chatting with Toby.

John just followed with a soft smile, enjoying the fact that Xuan and Wu were enjoying themselves and acting like proper children.

And then he noticed a sharp gaze on his back.

John resisted the urge to turn around and look. Instead, he kept following Toby with the twins and used his spiritual sense to see who was staring at him instead.

It was a foreigner. A blonde man, like John. Unlike John though, his looks were fairly average. Well, by ordinary standards, it would probably be above average.

The two women seated next to him definitely weren't ordinary though.

One was a delicate looking woman with silver hair. And not the fancy silver hair like John had seen in the Three Realms or the ones that cosplayers used, but the color that came from age.

The other was a tomboyish woman with brown hair and green eyes. Unlike the first woman, this woman's hair was kept in a tidy bun. As a result, they revealed pointed ears that John wasn't sure were prosthetics or real.

The blonde man stared at John's back a bit more with crimson eyes before shaking his head and turning back to his companions.

Since that was the case, John decided to shift his attention away from the other blonde man as well.

Just in time, as Toby stopped in front of a toadstool table with mushroom-themed cushioned seats. He laid down the menus and then said, "Pleaza. Take your time."

Xuan quickly dashed over to a seat and jumped on it, gasping when she bounced a bit. "Sister!" She turned to Wu and said, "They bounce!"

Wu tentatively walked over to one and sat down. After that, she hesitantly jumped a bit before her eyes widened. "It is springy!"

"Yes!" Xuan laughed and bounced a bit more. "It's fun!"

Seeing that, John forgot about the blonde man and quickly took his seat as well. "Come on now, girls. Be careful. You might-"

"W-Wah!" Xuan bounced a bit too hard and started to fall backwards.

"Sister!"

John grabbed Xuan before she could fall and then sighed. "You might fall off."

Xuan blushed and said, "A-Apologies, Big Brother..."

"It's fine. You can bounce, but try not to hurt yourselves. Now..." He grabbed a menu and said, "What do we have here?"

Roshi egg bowl, Mini Mush blueberry pancakes, Mega Mush pizza...

Huh. Now John was curious if his world ever got a proper 'Mintendo' land too...

Oh well. Not like he'd ever find out stuff from his real home anyway.

"Ooh!" Xuan looked at John and said, "Big Brother! Can I have this puffy mushroom pastry?"

Wu looked at the menu and said, "I would also like one, Father. And may I have some of this, um... Spuhgetty?"

John chuckled and said, "Of course."

"Yay!"

xxx

Seated at a table a fair distance away from John and the twins, the blonde man from earlier stared intently at John's face.

"What is it, Gray?" The silver-haired woman seated next to the blonde man said, "Do you recognize that person?"

The tomboyish woman cosplaying as an elf stared at John as well and said, "Is it another person we must defeat?"

The blonde man, 'Gray', reached out to bop the tomboyish woman's head.

"Ow!" She winced and said, "What was that for?!"

Gray smiled and said, "We're done with fighting, remember? And..." He shifted his gaze back to John before saying, "...I think so, Eliza. But that's impossible."

Gray pondered it for a bit more before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter." He turned back to the silver-haired woman before smiling. "We're here to celebrate your recovery and to have fun, not worry about the past. Now..." He held up a mushroom-shaped drink container and said, "Cheers!"

The tomboyish elf gave Gray a blank stare and said, "Your homeland has strange traditions, Husband."

"Says the runaway princess."

"Oh hush."

xxx

Late at night in the Hibana household.

Sakura walked back from the kitchen, setting down a steaming mug of hot chocolate on the table in front of Rin, next to a pile of freshly baked cookies.

Rin smiled and took the mug. "Thanks, Mom!"

Sakura smiled back and said, "Of course, Sweetie. Thank you for making time out of your busy schedule to meet with me again."

Rin blushed and said, "I-I haven't been gone that long... Have I?"

"Mm... Well, all kids grow up eventually. And you grew up sooner than most." Sakura sighed and sat down across from Rin, sipping on her own cup of hot chocolate.

Rin frowned and said, "That's not your fault, Mom! You were the best Mom ever!"

"Oh?" Sakura sipped on her hot chocolate before saying, "Then can you explain to your mother why you thought it was a good idea to stream your private life to the world and break one of the clauses in your contract with Mister John?"

Rin froze.

Sakura smiled.