Indeed, it wasn't Max's fault that he didn't know the briefing started an hour before the promised time. It was his contact's fault, meaning Princess Peach's.
Both of them nodded and pinned the blame on Princess Peach.
The roleplayer looked shocked and took a step back, but she managed to maintain her persona without breaking it.
"F-Fine, that was my fault." Princess Peach said while pointing her finger at them. "But that's not important! I am never wrong. We just have miscommunication. So, forget about it, and let's go to the shooting Lobby. Yes, we don't want to be late."
The one who was responsible for communicating threw away the responsibility and the blame with roleplay.
"You're right." Max agreed with her. He didn't want to hold the schedule any longer. "Let's head to the shooting location."
"Umu, look at your message. I will send them now."
With that, Princess Peach operated the hologram screen and typed something before a notification rang from Max's message. He looked at it and saw another code, which he forwarded to Lily.
"You get it?" He asked her, eliciting a nod from his girlfriend.
Then, he entered the code and entered another Lobby. This Lobby looked like a filming set, with all equipment ready. Many staff members walked around, setting the Cooking Talent Show props in the middle of a mock room in the middle of the studio space.
Lily appeared next to him and looked around curiously.
"It's like a Knight's Journey program." She commented nostalgically and smiled. "That was where we first met."
"You're right. The atmosphere is similar to that time." He nodded at her and looked around to find Princess Peach.
The said roleplayer appeared next to him not long after. She immediately looked around and stopped her gaze at three people on the side of the kitchen prop with a secretary-like person talking to them. Find more to read at mvl
Princess Peach turned to Max and Lily and pointed at the group.
"Let's get over there. They have started their briefing already."
Princess Peach walked next to them and said in a low voice, "Hmph! You have my gratitude for your assistance."
"No problem."
Following the schedule, Max and Lily were introduced to other participants. Tiamat looked happy meeting him again, as he was a fan. Lightning912 nodded at him, recognizing his face.
Max nodded back at them and looked at the blonde girl in a white uniform. She wore a metal breastplate, and a sword was strapped to her waist, right on top of her skirt. A floral hair clip was on the side of her long hair, and she looked pretty nervous.
'She's Knight Leticia, I guess.' Max thought after finishing observing her.
"H-Hi." She waved her hand like a small animal at them. "U-Umm, it's nice to meet you. I am a fan!" She added, looking at Lily.
Surprised, Lily pointed at herself, "Me? Not him?" She added, pointing at Max.
"Yes! I watched your V-Shelter stream and thought you were really cool. Ah, you're also so beautiful. I admire you and have tried to become strong since that day!"
'V-Shelter stream...' Max mused in his mind, 'Ah when I entered my villain arc. Lily was indeed cool at that time, although a horde of zombies killed her. Now I feel bad... I was too caught up in my role at that time and pushed everyone to the corner.'
Max secretly looked away and talked to Lightning and Tiamat as he let Lily converse with her first fan and Princess Peach. They talked for a while before Miss Caroline clapped her hands for attention.
"Sorry, but let's resume our briefing. We are pressed for time."
The participants stopped at once and sat on the seat conjured by Miss Caroline. They listened to the briefing quietly. While it was called briefing, it was just an introduction to the talent show. What the talents could do and what they shouldn't do. Miss Caroline explained them all.
Then, the participants were asked to change into a chef costume. Princess Peach still kept her tiara, and Knight Leticia still had her sword, which was part of their identities.
As for Max, he chose a chef outfit that he was pretty familiar with, similar to the one he wore in Chef Rush's restaurant. Lily chose a similar style to him.
Staff members ran frantically as 11 AM closed by. They did the last preparation and made sure all cameras were connected to the Punch streaming.
Then, the event started.
"Hello, peasants! Welcome to the Cooking Talent Show! It's me, your lovely Princess Peach!"