Protagonist’s POV
Kito is probably bewildered right now.
The conversation, which was intended as an ice-breaker, is not over even after an hour has passed.
It's just a bunch of unproductive, industry gossip.
Such as which group is drying up, or that idol is having an affair, or that someone has moved to a new agency, and so on.
Chihiro also extends such stories like headlines of women's weekly magazines endlessly, laying out the words "so to speak" like train sleepers.
I was impressed by how she could keep talking about such a long topic, even though I had told her to do so, and as I was listening silently next to her, I could see her resentment toward other production companies in some parts.
（Haha, ha... Chihiro... she must be going through a hard time...）
I am saying this as if it were someone else's problem, but it was me who forced her to work as the president of the company.
Kito's sales smile, which looks like a remnant of the bubble economy of the Showa era, tends to become more and more twitchy as time goes by. Still, the fact that he is so good at giving a speech is proof that he is a man who has lived his life as a big talker.
However, no matter how impatient he is, Kito has no choice but to wait and see. Besides, since it is strange for him to know about the events in Okinawa, he cannot bring up the subject himself.
His ideal situation would be "Nitani is injured. What should we do about the airline project?" and he would say to Chihiro, "That's unfortunate, but let's switch to Ichida-san."
Yeah, he must have already completed the simulation based on that premise before coming here.
**a
Occasionally, Kito looked at me as if he wanted to help me, but I didn't care.
The conversation continued for another 30 minutes or so, and just as Chihiro was choking and reaching for her tea, Kito changed the direction of the conversation as if he had a chance.
「S-so, President Kijima, what is today's business?」
"Yes, yes, that's right," Chihiro nodded her head, and Kito looked relieved.
However, as soon as he heard what Chihiro said, Kito looked like a mathematician confronted with an unsolved problem, "Is the sum of the reciprocals of the Fibonacci sequence transcendental?"
「"I'd like you to introduce me to an AV production company."」
「Huh... AV...?」
These were, of course, far from the words Kito was expecting to hear. And the more one knows about Chihiro's background, the more difficult it must be to interpret this question.
Chihiro is a tragic model who was forced to become an AV star by President Kurashima and his girlfriend.
But thanks to the manipulations of the Fujiwara Group's advertising team, the media wrote sympathetically about Chihiro at the time of KKO's foundation.
Once she is open, her weakness is no longer a weakness. Rather, the media was cleverly set up so that they could charge discrimination against Chihiro if they treated her as a former AV star in a negative light.
So, if she asks him to introduce her to this production company, how should he interpret her words? At least, I think he doesn't know.
And because he doesn't know, the more guilty he gets, the more skeptical he becomes.
**b
He also wonders if Chihiro is trying to trap him.
This is not the only case that Kito is in the dark.
In fact, I know that Kito has a connection with an AV production company. If his past records are traced, there are many transactions between President Kurashima and Kito that are related to AV.
In fact, there is a strong possibility that this man was involved in Chihiro's forced AV performance.
「I-I can introduce you, but... why do you want to do so?」
Chihiro's mouth twisted into a grin as she looked at Kito, who could not hide his confusion, as if she were a very evil woman.
「I have a girl who is not very good at listening... I thought I would show her that kind of world as a form of discipline.」
「Ah, ah, I-I see...」
Although he said "I see", his vigilance is probably at its maximum.
And for him, it seems that Chihiro is planning to take revenge against the AV production company, and is trying to set a trap for them. If he is really involved in AV coercion, he might even be afraid for his own safety.
（Haha... this is already torture, isn't it?）
While Kito grumbles, Chihiro walks up to the internal line near the entrance and pushes the shortcut button with the phone in her hand.
「Oh, it's me, can you tell her to come here? Yes, to the reception room.」
A few moments later, a knock sounded in the parlor.
**c
「...Excuse me.」
The girl who came in must be Ichida Sanae. Although Minami had told me that she looked like a delinquent girl, she was more like a model. A cool and beautiful type.
She was wearing a voluminous purple down coat, denim hot pants, and black tights, and the unbalance between the top and bottom was quite erotic. Her expression was full of a good mood that could not be concealed.
「I'd like to ask you to do something for this girl.」
When Chihiro said this, the gap between the expressions on Ichida's and Kito's faces was too amusing.
They must have thought they had succeeded in hijacking the airline company's project. Ichida has a big smile on her face, while Kito has a mixture of astonishment and doubt on his face with a greasy sweat floating on his forehead.
For Kito, the situation is enough to convince him that he has been exposed that he is conspiring with Ichida. His mind is probably spinning at full speed right now, trying to figure out how to get out of this situation.
「R-Really? B-but...she seems to be a promising model, and I think she should be in a different line of work...」
When Kito said this in a trembling voice, looks at him hurriedly, as if to say, "Hey, what are you talking about?" Then she shouted frantically to Chihiro.
「President! I'll be fine! I'll do whatever it takes!」
「H-hey, that's not what I mean! S-Shut up!」
Hearing their exchange, Chihiro asked Kito with a clear face.
「Ara? President Kito, do you know her?」
Immediately, Kito's eyes turn black and white.
**a
「N-no, but as a member of this industry, I always pay attention to new models...」
This is a very bitter excuse. But Chihiro smiles and says
「Well, she seems to be interested in it, so can you arrange it for her? President Kurashima asked me to do the same thing. If she experiences a "tough job" site first, it will be easier later on.」
「Yes, I'll do my best!」
Ichida Sanae shouts vigorously as if she eats the end of Chihiro's words. Chihiro smiles at her and says,
「Well, good luck. "AV"」
At that moment, Ichida Sanae's smile freezes with a harsh sound.
「...A-AV!?」
「Well, well, as someone who has done it before, I thought you were definitely suited for that. But you will be an AV star for a certain type of person, so you might be a little bit special.」
「Huh!? W-What are you talking about? Aren't you talking about replacing Asuka? And uncle, why an AV!? H-hey, what's going on!?」
Ichida shouts desperately to Kito, but Kito just shakes his head with a pained look on his face.
「President! I don't want it! I know that since Asuka's face was injured, you must have offered me a job to replace her, but AV is no joke!」
Almost at the same time Ichida is screaming, the door of the reception room opens and two girls come in.
As soon as Ichida and Kito saw them, their eyes widened as if their eyeballs were about to drop out.
「No way... Asuka, Doremi, w-why?」
As Ichida stood there with a shocked expression on her face, Chihiro deliberately asked Asuka Nitani.
「Hey, Nitani-san, is it true that your face is injured?」
Nitani cowered her shoulders exaggeratedly and said.
「Who knows? It must a dream, isn't it?」
.
Thanks for reading.
