Post-Stream After-Party

And then, after the stream, the three of them, Akari, Yuki, and Sora, came over to Karona's personal home.

The room had been rearranged: the bed tucked away for the moment, a white table and chairs laid out in tea-party style. VR allowed for bold temporary redecoration at a moment's notice, turning the space into a proper hospitality setup.

"Karona-chan, your room is gorgeous～!"

"Fufufu, it's one of my particular indulgences, Akari-senpai."

When Karona clapped her hands lightly with a proud look, Sebas appeared silently, soundlessly, and set down tea and cake.

"A butler… an elderly butler, huh. Nice."

"He's wonderful, the AI butler. Yuki-senpai, if your finances permit, I'd highly recommend getting one for personal use."

"Then I'd pick the handsome young-man butler type. I'd like to send him to apprentice under yours for a while…"

"Ufufu, in that case I'd be delighted to cooperate with his education. Isn't that right, Sebas?"

"Indeed, Ojou-sama. We shall drill the spirit of service into him."

"… Good."

Hearing her own butler praised by Yuki made Karona happy.

"Setting that aside, was it really all right for us to intrude on your personal home?"

"Yes. It's quite fine, Sora-senpai. If this were a real house, it might be another matter, but in VR, tidiness and hospitality prep are always perfect. There's no embarrassment at all in having guests over～!"

"True. Real houses are such a pain to keep tidy."

Though, in truth, Karona's real-life home was the exact opposite case: it had so little in it that there was nothing to tidy up in the first place. All her hobbies and decorating had gone entirely into VR, into this BCD home of hers.

"Holding after-parties at Karona-chan's place from now on would be nice too…!"

"Fufu, I'd welcome that."

Akari stuffed her cheeks with cake, looking like she was savoring every bite. Inside BCD, no matter how much cake you ate, you wouldn't gain weight. Even athletes and idols could eat their fill; it was innocent, guilt-free cake.

"Over at Sora-kun's home, it's all-you-can-eat curry and karaage. Karona-chan, you should come by next time."

"Oi, Akari, why are you inviting people to my home without asking… Well, not that I mind."

"Ara. You don't look the part, but you like greasy food, Sora-senpai."

"More or less. I do athletics in real life, so I have to keep my eating in check to maintain my physique. But here, I can knock back karaage and curry like they're drinks. It's the best."

As he spoke, he steadily worked through his cake, accepting refills from Kokuyou.

So Sora-senpai is an athlete in real life, huh, Karona thought, cupping her cheek and nodding.

"There's actually research suggesting that, just like with diet cola, since your body doesn't take in any sugar or fat even though you 'ate,' you end up getting even hungrier and binging harder than ever, you know?"

"Then you're not eating, Yuki? I'll take your cake."

"I never said I wasn't going to eat it."

Yuki then cut the cake with her fork, stabbed a bite-sized piece, and popped it into her mouth.

"… This is a rather nice cake. Wasn't it pricey?"

"Why, here, once you buy it, it's all-you-can-eat～. In that case, stocking the good stuff actually works out to be the better deal, you see."

"Now that you mention it, true. The more you eat, the more you get your money's worth. The fact that it isn't subscription-based really is a sign BCD is getting preferential treatment."

"Ohoho, if it were subscription-based, I'd have gone bankrupt ages ago～."

BCD's policy was to increase the number of dungeon conquerors, so unscrupulous business practices weren't tolerated. Even Secretary AIs were a one-time purchase. For a penniless Karona, this was nothing short of a blessing.