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n_________

nJohn let out a sigh of relief as he watched the end of Suzume’s debut stream. “It seems like things are going well on that end at least.”

nHe wasn’t sure if the girls were just that capable or if someone like Alphy was helping them with everything, but he was grateful that their debuts were going well.

n…Maybe he should make an employee handbook to help with situations like this in the future though. The girls knew how to stream normally, but the special equipment in their studio might need some training to figure out.

nSomething for later though.

nShaking his head, John put his phone into his pocket and took a look around.

nKai and Elise were seated by themselves in a corner, lost in their own little world. The pair originally came to cheer up John and raise morale. But it seemed like Yue’s labor had triggered some flashbacks or something since the two were off by themselves having a deep conversation with lots of hugs and apologies.

nThough, it seemed like Kai wouldn’t be doing something dumb in the near future, so that was a plus.

nAs for John’s other support pillars… Well, Qing vanished. After Yue started screaming some more, the dragon up and left. Especially since Sitri started giving Qing some weird looks.

nApparently there was something that the dragon wanted to check on. That was the reason he gave John.

nOf course, John knew the truth, but he didn’t hold Qing back. After all, if the guy was uncomfortable, John was going to be uncomfortable and that kind of defeated the point of trying to raise morale.

nWhich meant that the only people left were Bai, Emily, and then Kai and Elise.

nIt was quiet now in the other room, but not because Yue had calmed down. Instead, since she screamed so much, John’s sisters had created a barrier to stop the sound.

nProbably because they knew that John would rush in if he kept hearing her scream like that.

nA smart decision. He was definitely close to barging into the other room after hearing Yue scream out in pain for the past few hours.

nBut with the silence and knowing that was still going on… John had been distracting himself with watching the debuts from the Prodigy girls, but it was still weighing on his mind a lot.

n“Cheer up, Betty’s Dad!” A bright voice suddenly spoke up, interrupting John’s thoughts.

nIt was Emily. She took a seat next to John and said, “It’ll be fine! Betty’s there along with that doctor and all your sisters. Your wife has a ton of moral support AND she’s in some of the best hands!”

nJohn sighed and said, “I know. Still rough though.” He frowned and said, “Didn’t expect it to hit me this hard, actually. I mean, I know it’s fine, but…”

nHe was helpless. Well, not completely. After all, he was sure that he could pull out something in the bag of tricks he collected over his life to help out. But it also wasn’t his place to do any of that.

nWas this what all fathers felt like when waiting for the birth of their first child?

n…Well, this wouldn’t be his first child considering Alphy, Betty, and Meggie. And since he adopted Xuan and Wu, it wasn’t like he was a brand new father.

nBut this *was* his first time experiencing his beloved wife going through such harsh labor.

nEmily poked John’s cheeks and said, “Turn that frown upside down, Mister! After all the hard work your wife is going through, it won’t be good to show up with a downer face, you know?”

nJohn laughed and said, “I’ll try to keep that in mind, Emily.”

n“You’d better!” Emily leaned back and then placed her hands on her lap. “I’m sure Betty would scold you if she saw you all tense like that.”

nJohn frowned and said, “You know, you never did mention how you and Betty met.”

nAt that time, Bai sidled over to John’s side. Leaning over to look at Emily, he said, “That’s right. Boss’s second daughter was infamous for being aloof and detached from everyone. How’d you snag your claws into her heart?”

nJohn sighed and said, “That’s putting it a bit extreme, Bai. Betty wasn’t *that* aloof. She was just… always busy. Because of me.” He paused and then said, “…Maybe I should throw a birthday party for her to make up for it later. She’s long overdue for one.”

n“Ooh!” Emily nodded and said, “That sounds great! I’ll help! But, um… When is Betty’s birthday?”

nJohn placed his hand on his chin and said, “That’s a good question…”

nThe Three Realms went on a calendar similar to the Chiense Lunar Calendar here on Earth, but it was also pretty different due to the whole random time distortions and stuff. Not only that, but John didn’t even really remember when Betty was born.

nHe knew the season, of course. Betty was Spring, Alphy was Winter, and Meggie was in Summer. But the exact days…

nWait.

nAlphy was winter. And Alfi Titor’s birthday was set to be December 21st, wasn’t it?

nToday was December 24th. Which meant… they missed it.

nJohn groaned. “I really need to start using my calendar app more.”

nTitor was smart. That guy actually had everything stored away on the calendar. Maybe John should take a page out of that guy’s book…

nBai chuckled. “What? Did you forget something important again?”

n“Only that Alphy’s birthday was a few days ago and we didn’t do anything for it.”

nBai gave John a blank stare and then sighed. “It looks like we need to hire you a secretary.”

n“Ooh!” Emily raised her hand. “I’ve got experience being a secretary! Betty says I’m a pretty good one too! Especially when I dress the part!”

nJohn blinked.

nThat… was a can of worms he wasn’t touching.

nHe shook his head and said, “While I’m grateful, Emily… you’re already helping Betty, aren’t you? I couldn’t take you away from her. Besides, I think I need someone who can be a bit harsher on me…” He paused and said, “…Maybe I should talk to Xuannu about it again?”

nShe had always been on the ball when it came to organizational events…

nA knock sounded on the door.

nJohn blinked and looked towards it.

nThe door opened and Betty walked out, her face calm and collected.

nSeeing that, John stood up and said, “Is it over?”

nBetty rolled her eyes and said, “As if you could escape that easily, father. But it almost is. We thought that you would want to be there for your new child’s birth. Of course, the moment you attempt something rash…”

n“I’ll get jumped by four different women and tossed out of the room. Got it.”

nBetty blinked and said, “I was going to say that we would just knock you unconscious to be an ornament until after Mother’s labor concludes, but that works.” She looked over at Emily and then let out an apologetic smile. “I am sorry for all of this, EMily.”

n“No, no!” Emily waved her hands and smiled back. “Family is important! And you’re going to get a cute baby brother or sister soon, so I can’t kepe you away from that!”

nBetty smiled.

nBai looked at Betty and said, “Is Eri doing fine?”

nBetty nodded. “She is. But I believe that she has been muttering under her breath about demanding an explanation from you, so I would prepare yourself.”

nBai sighed. “Of course.”

n“In any case…” She glanced over at Kai and Elise. Seeing the two cuddled together and chatting, she shook her head and looked at John. “Shall we go, Father?”

nJohn took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s go.”

nWith that, he followed Betty into the room.

n—–AI|IA—–

nRin covered her mouth as she let out a big yawn. After shaking her head to try and clear out the fatigue, she took a look around.

nIt was her room. Onee-chan and Aneue had gone with her to spend the night since they were making plans to have fun today and watch their kouhai’s debuts-

nWait.

nRin jumped out of her bed and grabbed her phone.

nIt was 2:30 PM. Which meant…

n“I slept through the debuts!”

nRin panicked and quickly went to change. Throwing off her orange pajamas, she slipped on some clean underwear and a bra before throwing on a loose white t-shirt and jeans. After that, she ran out of her room.

n“Come on, Rin! How could you let your kouhais down like this?”

nShe berated herself as she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

nA moment later, she heard another door open and Asako’s voice call out. “Oi! Who’s making a racket this early in the morning?”

nSakura’s voice called after and said, “It’s already long past morning, Asako-chan. And lunch is ready if you’re hungry.”

nAlphy’s voice called out as well, saying, “Right! I made special blueberry pancakes just for you, Asako!”

nRin groaned and said, “Onee-chan and Mom already got up to cook too… Geez, Rin.” She sighed and grabbed her toothbrush, putting on some toothpaste. “I knew I shouldn’t have stayed up late reading all of those fanfictions about Onee-chan and Aneue…”

nEven if they were super well drawn and written, it didn’t matter if it meant she would end up missing out on more important things…

nRin sighed again and then raised her toothbrush to start brushing her teeth.

nAnd then the bathroom door opened.

nRin paused and looked over to see a groggy Asako walk in.

nRin rolled her eyes and said, “Couldn’t you have waited, Aneue?”

nAsako moved beside Rin and grabbed her own toothbrush before doing the same as Rin. “No. It’s your fault for sleeping in late.”

n“I could say the same to you, Aneue.” Rin started brushing her teeth and mumbled, “Why ah you up lae anw’y?”

nAsako groaned and said, “Could you not talk until you’re done. I’ve got a pounding headache right now and I can’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”

nRin huffed and finished brushing her teeth. After that, she rinsed her mouth and said, “Why are you up late anyway? Didn’t you and Onee-chan go to sleep early?”

nAsako finished brushing her teeth as well and rinsed her mouth too. after that, she looked at Rin and said, “We did. But Alphy wanted to talk.” She paused and said, “Well, I guess we didn’t talk that long. But it was hard to fall asleep with Alphy in the same room.”

n“Oho~?” Rin grinned and said, “Were you having impure thoughts about Onee-chan, Aneue?”

nAsako blushed and then stammered, “O-Of course not! You freaking perverted little sister!” She reached out and pulled on Rin’s cheeks. “Where are you getting all of these ideas anyway, huh?”

n“Owowowo! Sowwy!”

nAsako huffed and stepped back.

nRin rubbed her cheeks, but she let out a bright smile.

nAsako rolled her eyes and then walked out of the bathroom.

nRin washed her face and then followed after her sister. As she did, Rin asked, “What are we doing today then, Aneue? it’s Christmas Eve, right? Are you going to run off somewhere with Onee-chan for private time?”

nAsako covered her face and said, “No wonder Alphy gets annoyed at Betty sometimes… Are all younger sisters like this?”

nRin laughed.

nThe two walked out to the kitchen and saw Alphy and Sakura finishing up some food prep. Sakura was marinating a whole turkey while Alphy was mixing what looked like a cheesecake batter.

nRin sat down at a chair by the dining table nearby and leaned on the backrest. Staring at Alphy, she said, “Onee-chan got up pretty early.”

nAlphy brushed her hands against an apron and smiled back. “I couldn’t just sleep in when today is so special, could I?”

nSakura put the turkey away in the refrigerator and then turned to face Rin and Asako. “Yeah. Unlike two sleepy heads I know, Alphy is proactive about things.”

nRin pouted and said, “It’s not my fault that reading is so fun.”

nSakura wiped her hands down and took off her apron. After that, she walked over to Rin and poked her head. “It is your fault, Sweetie. You need to value sleep more instead of having fun all the time on your phone.”

nRin pouted again, but she laughed.

nSakura sat down next to Rin.

nAsako took a seat as well and looked over at Alphy, frowning. “How are you up already anyway? And how long have you been up?”

nAlphy put the cheesecake batter in the fridge to chill and said, “A while. And I’m used to little sleep, so a day like this isn’t a problem.”

nSakura frowned and said, “Don’t be like Betty now and skip sleep, Alphy. That’s not healthy for a growing young woman like you.”

nAlphy blinked and then frowned. “Betty is skipping sleep? I need to talk to her about that…”

nRin cut in and said, “We can talk about Betty later. But today… are we still doing a Christmas party?”

nAsako nodded. “Yeah. And are we doing that special Christmas live stream?” She paused. “Stream… Wait.” Her eyes widened and she said, “The debut streams!”

nAlphy giggled and said, “You finally remembered?”

nAsako coughed.

nRin blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Ehehe…”

nAlphy smiled and said, “It’s fine. You two haven’t missed ALL of the debuts. But you might need to apologize to Suzume and Shu later.”

nAsako sighed and pulled out her phone. “Next up is… Yuri, right?”

nAlphy walked over to the table, carrying a tea pot and a stack of cups. “Yes. So… shall we support our cute Kouhais this time- Ah.” Alphy blinked and said, “I forgot my phone. One moment.”

nAfter saying that, Alphy walked back into the guest room where she was staying.

nRin turned on her phone and checked Yuri’s channel. “3 PM… so we’ve got a half hour left before Miya’s debut. After that, it’s Rhea’s debut at 4 and then the group collab at 5:30 on Rhea’s channel.” She looked over at Asako and said, “Should we just have a watch party instead, Aneue-“

nA scream echoed from Alphy’s room.

nAsako instantly jumped to her feet and ran over “Alphy?! What’s wrong?”

nRin stood up as well, but she wasn’t as panicked.

nThat scream wasn’t fearful. Instead…

nAlphy ran out of her room, jumping for joy while she clutched her phone against her chest. “I have a new baby sister!”

n—–AI|IA—–

nMeggie stifled a yawn and then idly moved around the kitchen in the apartment she was staying, checking on the pancakes, toast, and other food she was making.

nTsuki looked over from the dining table and frowned. Brushing a strand of her light brown hair away, she said, “Are you sure you don’t need any help, Meggie?”

nXuan nodded, causing her black bangs to bob. “Yes! We can help, Sister Meggie!”

nWu nodded as well and said, “Big Sister does not need to do all the work.”

nMeggie shook her head and continued cooking. “And risk you guys burning this place down? No thanks.”

nUnlike the other girls, Meggie actually knew how to cook a bit. Not as well as her father, of course. But she could at least make something simple like some pancake and ordinary breakfast food.

nMeggie checked on some frying bacon and then glanced over at Xuan and Wu. “If you two are thirsty, there should be some orange juice in the fridge. Tsuki, could you pour them some?”

n“Got it, Meggie!” Tsuki jumped up and went to get some juice.

nXuan watched and then turned her gaze back on Meggie. As she did, the young girl let out a bright smile and said, “As expected. Sister Meggie is responsible.”

nWu nodded, causing her white bangs to bob just like Xuan’s did earlier and said, “Our big sister is the best!”

nMeggie felt her face heat up and grumbled. “I-I’m not that good. And wash your face! It’s not good to skip that! Or brushing your teeth!”

n“Yes, Sister Meggie!” Xuan stood up.

nWu stood up as well. “As big sister says!” She looked at Xuan and grabbed her hand. “Let us go, sister!”

n“I am using the pink toothbrush today!”

nWu frowned. “B-But I wished to use it…”

n“You can use it tomorrow!”

nWith that, the twins walked into the bathroom.

nTsuki watched them leave and then set down the cups of orange juice on the table. As she did, she laughed and looked at Meggie. “You’re really acting like a big sister now, aren’t you, Meggie?”

nMeggie flipped a pancake and then set it on a plate before starting another. After that, she glanced at Tsuki and said, “I don’t know what you mean.”

nTsuki laughed and said, “Telling your sisters to brush their teeth and then drink orange juice… that’s a fun prank.”

n“Prank?” Meggie blinked.

n“Eh?” Tsuki tilted her head. “Didn’t you know? Orange juice tastes really icky after you brush your teeth.”

n“…I didn’t know.” She frowned and said ,”Maybe I should make some tea too then.”

nTsuki laughed again.

nMeggie flipped the pancake and frowned. “what’s so funny?”

nTsuki shook her ehad and said, “You’re a really good big sister, Meggie.”

nMeggie felt her face heat up again and then looked away with a huff. “Someone here has to be responsible. I’m the oldest anyway, so it has to be me.”

nTsuki smiled and then started sipping on her own glass of orange juice.

nMeggie walked over to the bacon and started putting them away since they were done cooking. As she did, she turned to Tsuki and said, “Are you still going to hang out today, Tsuki?”

nTsuki hummed and checked her phone. “Daddy didn’t text me anything, so I think so.”

nMeggie smiled and said, “Great! Then after we eat, let’s go play games in the arcade again. I still need to beat you in Time Breaker.”

nTsuki raised her head and said, “Hoh? You think you can beat me?”

n“I will! I know how the game works now, so-“

n“Big Sister! How do you turn off the water?”

n“Oh no! Sister! The handle is broken!”

n“Uwawawa! What did you do, Sister?”

n“I just turned it harder!”

nMeggie groaned and turned off the stove. After making sure all the food was safely put away, she wiped her hands off on her apron and ran over to the bathroom. “You two troublemakers…! What did I tell you about being careful with your strength?”

nTsuki laughed.

n—–AI|IA—–

nBack in the studio for Prodigy, Suzume twirled in front of her genmates and smiled. “How did I do, everyone?”

nShu stuck her thumb up and grinned. “Great job, Suzu-chan!”

nChihiro nodded and said, “Definitely passed with flying colors. You’ve got over 30000 people hooked, complete with line and sinker.”

nYuri nodded as well, but a bit of panic was settling in. “You did great, Suzu-chan. But… But how the hell am I supposed to follow that up?” She started pacing and said, “I’m just a cook! Compared to Shu’s martial arts and Suzu-chan’s girlfriend vibe…”

nSuzume tilted her head. “Girlfriend vibe?”

nChihiro sipped on a Dk Pep and then looked at Yuri. “You’re nervous *now?* It’s a bit too late for that, don’t you think?” She pulled out her phone and said, “There’s less than ten minutes left before your debut, you know?”

n“I KNOW!” Yuri ran her hand through her hairs and said, “Argh. I still don’t know what to cook or what to do!”

nAt that time, Jenny spoke up and said, “Relax, Riri. You can just cook some more ramen. Weren’t you planning to do that in the first place?”

nYuri paused. “Right. Yeah… I was going to do that.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “I can just fall back on that. And then we can chat while I cook and prep the ingredients… I just… have to not mess up.”

nChihiro thoughtfully tapped on her chin.

nShu looked at her and said, “What are you planning, Chi-chan?”

n“Nothing, Senpai. I’m just pondering about my stream.”

nShu looked suspicious, but she didn’t push further.

nYuri sighed and then quickly walked off to her corner. “I might as well get things ready.” She looked at Droni and said, “Don’t let me down, alright!?”

n*beep!*

nThe camera drone let out a beep and then flew after Yuri.

nThat left the remaining members of Prodigy at the table, along with Jenny.

nChihiro watched Yuri and then said, “She’s going to mess up.”

nShu nodded. “She is completely going to make something go wrong.”

nSuzume frowned and then clapped her hands in prayer. “Oh lord. Please grant Yuri the strength to endure her comments and succeed in her debut.”

nJenny blinked and looked at Suzume. “Weren’t you a Shinto shrine maiden?”

nSuzume glanced at Yuri… who had somehow tripped and was picking herself up off the floor. “I am. But it seems that she may need all the help she can receive…”

n“@#email protected#! Why is the floor so slippery?!”

n*beep.*

n“I know, right? It’s ridiculous, Droni! A safety and health hazard!”

n*beepbeep!*

nJenny giggled. And then there was a soft chime. She paused and then pulled out her phone.

nChihiro looked over and said, “Something interesting?”

nJenny giggled even more, letting out a bright smile. “Nothing to do with you girls… but it seems like Christmas is going to be pretty exciting.”

n