Led by a staff guide and exposed to the curious gazes of the crowd, Masaomi-san and I exited the venue and proceeded further and further down a side passage.
Eventually, the presence of other guests faded away. We turned a corner and continued deeper until we arrived in front of a single room. A heavy door adorned with a lion carving bore a plate that read "Special Room." In the space before it sat a pair of luxurious—or perhaps gaudy—sofas and a table. The area was decorated with beautiful ornaments and objets d'art, creating an atmosphere that screamed "exclusive."
"I'll go in and speak with him first, so please wait here, Kazunari-kun."
"Ah, yes."
Masaomi-san gave the door a light knock. After hearing a reply from within, he opened it and stepped inside.
In that brief moment, I caught a glimpse of the interior. He was certainly in there—the man I had seen earlier during the opening ceremony.
"Well now..."
Masaomi-san had entered the room and the guide had already departed, leaving me all alone once again. To kill time, I began to inspect the surrounding ornaments...
"Do you have a moment?"
"Ye—Yes!?"
Just as I was about to start my inspection, someone called out to me from behind.
Since I hadn't expected anyone else to be in this area, an undignified sound escaped my throat. I immediately turned around to find three young men—older than me, but still relatively young—staring me down. They scanned me from head to toe with unbridled curiosity. What was this?
"Pardon me for speaking to you so suddenly. There's something I'd like to ask you."
"Ask me?"
"Yes. But before that, you were the one with the Satsukawa Senior Managing Director and the ladies earlier, correct?"
The man who spoke had a suspicious expression and watched me intently. Behind him stood two others: one wore a smile so unnatural it looked as if it were pasted onto his face, while the other wore glasses that made it difficult to read his expression, though his eyes seemed strangely sharp as he waited for my answer.
I had a bad feeling about this, but I answered anyway. "Yes, that's right."
"I see. I dislike beating around the bush, so I'll ask you frankly: what is your position? At the very least, I've never heard of the Senior Managing Director having a relative your age."
"Well..."
This was a problem.
How was I supposed to answer?
The plan was to pass myself off as a distant relative until the announcement about Sara-san and me was made, but these men seemed to be speaking with a fair amount of conviction. They clearly didn't believe I was family.
"Or perhaps you're the son of some officer? If so, I'd certainly like to know your name."
"As someone who intends to ask the Senior Managing Director's daughter for a relationship, seeing someone acting so close to her makes me quite curious. I don't know if you're aware, but I've never seen a man who could speak properly with the Young Lady."
"I'm sure you haven't," I reflexively retorted. "Sara-san extremely dislikes being approached by men."
"!? "
The atmosphere shifted instantly. All three glared at me with sharp, hostile expressions. It was pure jealousy.
I’d gone and done it. I couldn't help myself after hearing him say he intended to ask Sara-san out.
"By the way," I continued, "what if I were the son of one of those officers?"
"That would depend on your name. If you were someone of a status we could accept, that would be one thing, but if you're just some commoner's child, I thought I'd inform you that it would be in your best interest to bow out quietly."
"Judging by the Young Lady's character, you're likely just an old acquaintance or a family friend at best," another added. "But that doesn't mean you feel the same way about her, does it?"
"I see. So you aimed for the moment I was alone?"
"Calling it 'aiming' is quite rude. This was a coincidence—a mere coincidence," the man with the glasses bluffed, maintaining his overbearing attitude.
It seemed highly likely that these people were certain I was an outsider to the company and had calculated exactly when to corner me. I didn't know how they knew so much about Masaomi-san's relatives. Had they actually investigated his family tree?
"Hmm. It seems that, as we suspected, you hold no position—"
"Hello, Takanashi-kun. What a coincidence."
"Eh?"
As the three men pressed in and I was desperately trying to think of a way to handle the situation, a fourth man appeared from around the corner.
He felt familiar—his slightly affected way of speaking gave me a sense of déjà vu. He was dressed in a white suit with a flashy necktie.
Wait, who was he again?
"Uh..."
"Haha. Rena was quite rude the other day. It seems she reflected deeply afterward and said she would apologize to you properly. Has she already done so?"
"Eh, an apology...? Ah! Yes, that's right. She came to see me directly after that."
With that hint, I finally recalled who he was. Whether Rena's visit could truly be called an apology born of "deep reflection" was another matter entirely, but I remembered him now. He was the relative—the big brother—who had been clashing with Uesaka-san at the school festival. He was Takapi's kin.
"I see, I see. That's good. Even though it was my cousin's doing, I felt terrible that I couldn't stop Rena while I was there. I've been thinking that if I had the chance to meet you again, I would apologize once more."
"Is that so? But I don't recall you personally doing anything that warrants an apology."
This man simply had a bad first impression; he hadn't personally done anything to me.
"I appreciate you saying that, but this is a matter of family responsibility. So, please allow me to apologize again. I am truly sorry for the trouble Rena caused you."
Yutaka Kusuhara straightened his back and bowed deeply. His apology felt so sincere that my initial bad impression of him began to fade—wait, more importantly!
"I—I understand! I understand, so please raise your head! It's awkward for me if you go that far!"
Being treated this way by an adult, especially someone I didn't feel I needed an apology from, made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"I apologize for that as well. But for me, the fact that I've been able to get this chance to apologize is what matters. It's been weighing on my mind."
"I see. At any rate, I don't have any lingering ill will regarding that matter."
To be honest, I still had some feelings about Takapi personally, but this man had nothing to do with that.
"Thank you. It's a huge relief to hear you say that. I want to maintain a good relationship with you from now on. I didn't want to leave any unnecessary grudges."
"A good relationship... with me?"
"Yes, with you. Is that perhaps a nuisance?"
"N—No, not particularly."
I didn't understand why he was going this far, but if he was going to be friendly, it shouldn't be a bad thing—though the sudden shift felt borderline bizarre.
"Haha, good. Then let us introduce ourselves properly once more."
"Yes, likewise."
We exchanged greetings again. When I lightly shook the right hand he offered, Rena's brother gave a joyful smile.
"Yes, I'm truly glad I met you today. Now I can rebuild my relationship with you without hesitation. It's as if a weight has been lifted from my heart."
"Ahaha, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"No, no, it's just that important to me. At any rate, I look forward to working with you. And if you ever find yourself in trouble, please feel free to rely on me. I won't hesitate to help for your sake."
"Th—Thank you?"
The shift in his attitude was beyond surprising. I hesitated to take his words at face value. Maybe I was just being cynical, but something felt... off.
"Now then, that concludes my business. Is it your turn next?"
Yutaka-san spoke, and the soft gaze he had directed at me shifted abruptly toward the three who had been silently watching us. In that instant, the atmosphere turned prickly.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yutaka Kusuhara, the General Manager of Sales at Sawa Pleios. A pleasure."
"Ah..."
"N—Now that you mention it..."
"I believe we were together at a presentation for Sawa Refrigeration once," Yutaka-san said coldly. "I recall you were the son of Manager Yanagi. And I recognize the two of you as well."
"Y—Yes. I am Yusuke Mashita. It, uh, has been a while."
The man named Mashita, who had the fixed smile, now wore a cramped, twitching expression as he fidgeted. Even the man with glasses had lost his overbearing attitude, looking visibly shaken.
I didn't know much about corporate ranks, but it was clear that Yutaka-san was at the top of the food chain here.
"So, to return to the subject, what are you doing here? This is the Special Room used by the President. Do you have some urgent business? Or if your business is with him, I shall hear it in his stead. As you can see from our interaction, he is a dear friend of mine."
"Ah... well."
"Th—That is..."
"I don't know what you were intending to feed him, but I'll give you some advice: leave this place immediately. You probably thought you could finish your business before the Senior Managing Director returned because your opponent was just a lone high school student, but you're already in the middle of strangling yourselves."
"Huh?"
"N—No way..."
"If you think I'm going to tattle to the Senior Managing Director, you're being trivial. Even if I don't say a word, the situation you're in is already essentially the worst... though I suppose you wouldn't understand that. Fufu."
Yutaka-san spoke in a detached tone and murmured those meaningful words before looking at me and smirking.
What on earth did he mean by that?
"Hmm? What is this?"
At that moment, the door clicked open. Masaomi-san appeared from within, tilting his head curiously as he looked at the gathered group.
Thank goodness. It looked like I'd get through this.
"Good work, Senior Managing Director."
"Ah, you were here too. I see Kazunari-kun is there... and who might you all be?"
"S—Satsukawa Senior Managing Director..."
"This is, well..."
Questioned by Masaomi-san, the faces of the trio turned various shades of pale. They were very easy to read.
"Senior Managing Director," Yutaka-san intervened. "We were just speaking to Kazunari-kun out of curiosity, so please pay it no mind."
"Oh, were you already acquainted with Kazunari-kun?"
"Yes. Though we only exchanged greetings at the Rinka Festival the other day. I wanted to apologize for that incident once more."
"Ah, I see. But for that, you seem to have hit it off quite well."
"Haha. After talking it over, we decided to be friendly from now on."
Yutaka-san gave my shoulder a light pat and wore a beaming Sales Smile.
"I see. If that's the case, I welcome it," Masaomi-san said. "It's helpful to have more people who understand Kazunari-kun. As fellow young people—though you're quite a bit apart in age—there may be opportunities to cooperate in the future."
"Yes, please leave it to me when the time comes."
"I look forward to it. And as for the three of you?"
"Ah, they are completely unrelated," Yutaka-san said. "They aren't the kind of people who could ever be friends with Kazunari-kun. It seems they were interested in him in a 'different sense' than I am."
"I see. In a different sense, eh?"
Hearing Yutaka-san's explanation, a slight shadow crossed Masaomi-san's expression. The trio noticed the change, and their pale faces turned positively ashen. I'd never seen anyone's face turn quite that blue before.
"It seems you were saved?" Masaomi-san asked me.
"No. Even if I hadn't intervened, I'm sure Kazunari-kun would have handled it perfectly," Yutaka-san replied.
"Haha, is that so? Well, we can talk about this matter again later. Actually, we have an important discussion starting now. I'm sorry, but you all..."
"Yes. We shall take our leave then. Please, take your time."
Yutaka-san gave a pointed, deep bow. The trio behind him, their faces still ghastly, followed suit with frantic bows. Yutaka-san glanced at them and jerked his chin toward the end of the passage. The three of them practically ran as they hurried away.
"Were you alright, Kazunari-kun?"
"Yes, somehow."
"I didn't think they'd follow you all the way here. Implicitly, regular employees aren't supposed to enter the area around the President's Office. It seems the President's desire for privacy backfired."
"Ah, is that why the staff member who guided me here left immediately?"
"Yes. Normally, someone would be stationed here, but the President cleared everyone out because this discussion is sensitive. It's almost unheard of for someone to come to a Special Room in an annex like this unless they have a very specific reason."
"I suppose so."
This room was far from the main venue, and this hallway was a complete dead end. Moreover, the sign clearly said "Special Room."
"Well, the discussion will happen inside anyway, so it's not something to be overly sensitive about."
"Ahaha... Wait. If that's the case..."
Thinking back on what Masaomi-san just said, even though Yutaka-san called it a coincidence...
"Did you realize? Yes, it's just as you thought, Kazunari-kun."
"Meaning... Yutaka-san followed us too?"
"That would be it. Though in his case, since there was the matter of the apology, I wouldn't say it's exactly the same as the others."
True. Unlike those three, Yutaka-san had a legitimate reason to be looking for me.
"Listen. It might be a bit early, but let me give you some advice. Humans—especially the type who calculate their own profit above all else—are, in a sense, easy to handle. As long as you maintain a win-win relationship, they can be useful. It's best to approach them with the intention of using them in return. But you must never get too close or entrust them with critical matters. That is an ironclad rule."
"Uh...?"
Masaomi-san had suddenly shifted into mentor mode. The shift was so abrupt I wasn't sure how to react. But for him to bring it up now must mean...
"Haha, that was a bit raw. But this kind of thinking is common in the business world. You might not understand it yet, but it's enough for now to just know that such a world exists."
"I understand. But you're telling me this because there's more to Yutaka-san's apology than meets the eye, right? And you knew that, which is why you told him you looked forward to us working together."
"If you could pick up on that much from our conversation, you're doing well. And the fact that you suspected 'more' means you felt something off during your talk with him, didn't you?"
"Yes. His change in attitude was far too sudden. Being told he wanted to be friends out of nowhere felt strange."
In the moment, I’d just felt that having an ally wasn't a bad thing, but after Masaomi-san's talk, it felt more like a calculated move on Yutaka-san's part. Masaomi-san had clearly noticed and was using the opportunity to teach me.
"I see. Well, he likely had a strong intention to repair his relationship with you, so you don't need to think too poorly of him. Besides, as you accumulate experience, even if it's for calculated reasons, having many allies is better than the alternative. Being able to handle such people is a skill that will eventually be required of you."
"I see..."
"Ahaha, sorry for the lecture. Well then, let's put that aside and have you meet the President. He's been waiting and is eager to talk to you."
"He is?"
"Of course. After all, you're the only young man that both Sara and Mayumi have accepted. He said his curiosity is endless."
Masaomi-san gave an amused smile. I remembered hearing before that the President dotes on Sara-san as if she were his own daughter. And since he has no children of his own...
"Now, let's head inside. First, you'll greet the President, and the main topic will come after that."
"Understood."
Judging by Masaomi-san's demeanor, it seemed like things would be okay, but I still had a bad premonition. I was about to meet a powerful man I didn't know, and I had no idea what he would say.
"It'll be fine. Though I say it myself, the President is a personable man, so you can rest easy."
"I understand."
Masaomi-san followed up as if sensing my anxiety. It was time to steel myself. I didn't know if a demon or a serpent awaited behind this door, or if it really would just be a simple greeting. But this was an unavoidable step for my future.