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After returning to my parents’ home, I decided to spend one more day there before heading back to Nagoya.

“Yuki, speaking of which, you mentioned doing an offline collaboration with Fuwari. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”
“I think it should be fine. Why do you ask, Dad?”

“Well, you’re going to need a reasonably high-performance laptop for an offline collaboration. You obviously can’t just use a camera to show yourselves, right? A corporate liver like Fuwari can’t reveal her real face.”
“Ah, when you put it that way… I might not be prepared…”
I had completely forgotten.
My first offline collaboration was with Kaoru-san, and the memory of that time was still fresh in my mind.

“Hmm, you’re leaving tomorrow, right?
Why don’t we go to an electronics store today? We can take the car.”
“Are you sure?”

“Sure, I am. I have the day off anyway, so don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Dad!”

“Alright, let’s get going then.”
“Okay!”
I quickly got ready and headed to the electronics store with my dad.
My mom apparently had things to take care of at home, so she stayed behind.

***

We arrived at the store after about a 30-minute drive.
Since it’s the countryside, you have to head into the city center to find a proper shop, which takes some time.

“It’s been a while since I last came here.”
“I think the last time was when I bought my current computer at one of the chain stores in Nagoya.”

“You bought it from a branch of this chain, huh?
By the way, which one here has specs closest to yours?”

When my dad asked, I found a computer on display for around 400,000 yen with similar specifications.

“I think this one is the closest? Mine was about 300, though.”
“You got something close to this for 300,000 yen?! That’s dirt cheap.”

“It seemed like they were having a sale, and it was first-come, first-served. I went first thing in the morning and got lucky.”
“I remember they used to have a Thanksgiving Festival here in the spring. Maybe it was that.”

“Ah! Now that you mention it, that might’ve been it!”
“What else did you buy?”

“Motion trackers, an audio interface, a capture card, and two types of microphones. One is affordable with decent performance, and the other is binaural. Honestly, the binaural mic and the tracking device were the most expensive.”
“Ah, microphone prices can vary a lot. Which binaural mic did you buy?”

When my dad asked, I pointed to one on display.

“That one,” I said, pointing at a well-known brand’s model priced at around 50,000 yen.

“Adio Technia, huh? It’s a reliable major manufacturer. Good choice.”
“Phew…”

“Well, as long as you can use it without problems, that’s what matters.”
“Really?”

“The main things we care about are durability, sound quality, and ease of use. Price is the least important.”
“Ah, I see… because you’re part of a corporate group…”

“That’s right. But most of the equipment I have at home is actually for personal use.”
“Huh? Really?!”

“Of course, I use it for streaming, so the company covers part of it, but I also own gear from lesser-known brands and some niche devices.”
“Like what?”

“I have a mic that can function as both a binaural and a condenser. You can switch between modes.”
“Is there even a use for that?”

“Honestly, not much. I just bought it because it seemed interesting… completely out of pocket.”
“Wait, when did something like that come out?”

“Pretty recently. It uses some mysterious tech, so I couldn’t resist.
The sound quality is good, and the condenser function works properly, so it wasn’t a bad buy.
Still no idea how it actually works, though.”
“The things manufacturers come up with are amazing…”

“Right?”
“By the way, Dad, what kind of specs should I be looking for in a laptop?”

“At the very least, you need something capable of running 3D modeling software, syncing with a camera, and streaming simultaneously. So, something over 150,000 yen.”
“Ugh, that’s expensive…”

“Hm? This one’s not bad.”
He pointed to a laptop priced at around 200,000 yen.

“It’s a bit overkill, but solid.”
“Overkill?”

“Yeah. Tracking is handled by the camera anyway. As long as it can render the model and stream smoothly, you’re fine.”
“So what makes this one good?”

“The built-in camera.”
“How good is it?”

“It performs on par with modern smartphone cameras, front and back.”
“So I don’t need to buy a separate camera!”

“Exactly.”
“And it can handle everything I need?”

“More than enough. Honestly, with these specs, you could go another 50,000 yen higher, but it’s priced lower because it doesn’t fit the typical laptop use case.”
“There’s a lot to consider…”

“Well, manufacturers still need to sell products. If something has low demand, they’ll drop the price just to move inventory.”
“Alright, I’ve decided! I’m buying this one!”

“Oh! Decision made.”
“I’m not good with this stuff, so I trust your judgment, Dad!”

“Glad I could help. Shall we check out?”
“Yeah!”

We took the exchange ticket and headed to the counter.
I handed it to the cashier, who went to retrieve the item while we waited.

After about three minutes, they returned with it.
We checked that it powered on properly, and with no issues, I completed the purchase.

They told me the same thing as before: if there are any initial defects, bring it back to the store or an affiliated branch.

I extended the warranty just like I did with my previous computer and paid for it.
Since I didn’t have enough cash, I used my debit card to withdraw from my account. Carrying too much cash is risky, after all.

“Alright, now that we’ve got it, let’s head home.”
“Sounds good!”

And with that, my dad and I headed back.

Getting a new computer always feels exciting, doesn’t it? Or is it just me?

***

#Author:#
There isn’t a combined binaural and condenser mic yet, but it’d be pretty cool if there were one someday.

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