A week had passed since the day of the study group with Suminoe-san and the others.
It had been nearly two weeks since the Management Game began. In reality, only a fortnight had elapsed, but within the game’s simulation, a full year had gone by. A year was more than enough time for the health of a company to become apparent.
Companies in poor condition—those whose performance had failed to grow—were reaching the point where they had to consider a major intervention. Monitoring the movements within the game, I could see quite a few managers, or players, who were clearly growing desperate to overhaul their operations.
It wasn't just someone else's problem. I was one of those managers who needed to consider a serious intervention.
"We have a tea party today, don't we?"
"Yeah," I replied.
It was morning. I nodded as we sat inside the car heading toward Kikou Academy.
After school today, the Tea Party Alliance was scheduled to gather for the first time in a while. The goal was for everyone to give a brief update on their progress.
(I might be a bit sleep-deprived...)
I stifled a light yawn. For the past several days, I had been surviving on very little rest.
The company's performance wasn't growing the way I’d hoped. The number of users on the e-commerce site had plateaued, and our advertisements and promotions didn't seem to be having much of an impact. I wanted to turn things around, but I was agonizing over exactly how to do it.
"Itsuki, are you sleep-deprived?"
"...No, not really."
Not wanting to worry her, I told a reflexive lie.
"The Young Lady is the one who is sleep-deprived. Last night, she was brewing tea even at the expense of her rest."
"Sh-Shizune...!"
"My apologies. It was a slip of the tongue."
Hinako let out a flustered cry. Since that first night, Hinako had started bringing me tea occasionally. The day after she first served me, I had brought tea to her room as a thank-you, but the following day, she had brewed tea for me again. Since then, this back-and-forth had become a regular routine.
Lately, it seemed like Hinako and Ms. Shizune had become even closer than before. Or rather than just "closer," it felt more like Ms. Shizune had started doting on her. I wondered if Ms. Shizune was even aware of it herself. I decided to keep quiet, fearing she might restrain herself if I pointed it out. Hinako didn't seem to genuinely dislike the attention, so I figured it was fine.
"Hinako, if you're tired, it's okay to sleep, you know?"
"Mm, no... I won't..."
Though her eyes were bleary, Hinako seemed determined to fight off the drowsiness.
"It was like this before, too, but why have you suddenly started pushing yourself?"
Last night, when she brewed the tea, Hinako had looked exhausted then as well, yet she’d forced herself to stay awake.
Hinako answered while fidgeting. "Because... I want to... talk with you, Itsuki..."
I reflexively looked up at the ceiling. What is this adorable creature? Feeling like I was going to lose my mind, I desperately endured the surge of affection while massaging the bridge of my nose.
"...We can talk anytime, right? Unlike other people, we live in the same house."
"...I suppose so."
Hinako seemed satisfied with that, looking somewhat happy.
The car swayed slightly. As if surrendering to the motion, Hinako leaned her head against my shoulder.
"...Going to sleep."
After whispering quietly, she closed her eyes. A faint, sweet scent drifted over, and a comfortable warmth radiated through my shoulder. As expected, she must have been pushing herself, because she fell asleep immediately.
Now I was getting sleepy, too. As her caretaker, I felt I should be watching over her properly, but an overwhelming wave of drowsiness hit me. My eyelids began to close on their own.
"...Ms. Shizune. Sorry, I'm going to sleep for a bit, too."
"I understand. It is rare for you to look so tired, Itsuki-san."
Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd ever slept during the commute. The all-nighters had finally caught up with me. Regretting that I had cut back on sleep so much, I drifted off.
◆
After school.
The members of the Tea Party Alliance were gathered around a single table at our usual cafe.
"Well then, shall we share our respective situations?" Tennoji-san said, displaying her laptop screen for everyone to see. "First, I will present the financial results for the Tennoji Group. Explaining every single subsidiary would take too long, so I will only share the data for our primary companies."
Tennoji-san showed us her slides. The sales for the non-ferrous metal manufacturer were up about 13% from the previous year, while the electrical equipment manufacturer was down about 2%. While the performance of each individual firm varied, the total was definitely on the rise.
But man, these materials were flashy. The presentation was decorated with boisterous effects, and to be honest, it was a little hard to read. It was typical of the luxury-loving Tennoji-san, but the style was so over-the-top it felt almost vulgar, reminiscent of a "Super Bargain!" flyer at a grocery store.
When I glanced at her, she had her hand on her chest with a proud "hmpf" expression. It would be a shame to rain on her parade, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
"As for the sales of the Konohana Group, first, for our main company, Konohana Trading—"
Next, Hinako turned her laptop screen toward the group. Like Tennoji-san, Hinako explained the sales by segment. In contrast to Tennoji-san's inconsistent performance across sectors, Hinako was gradually increasing revenue across a wide variety of industries.
"M-my company's consolidated sales, compared to the previous year, um—"
Narika was nervous, but her business performance was growing. She had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about; she was simply bad at presenting in front of an audience.
"My company is—"
"My Jays Holdings is—"
Taisho and Asahi-san were also doing well for the most part. Finally, it was my turn.
"Tomonari Gift is like this." I displayed the financial report generated within the game.
"It looks steady," someone remarked.
"No, it might look steady if you only look at the figures for the whole year, but..." I displayed a line graph of user numbers to explain. "The numbers have plateaued since the second half of the year. To be honest, I can't deny the feeling that we've hit a ceiling. At this rate, I'm worried about next year."
I believed it was only a ceiling for my current methods; the service itself still had potential.
"Revenue went up because you created the catalogs, right?"
"Yes. I thought it would take more time to see results, but they came faster than expected. However, perhaps it was just a burst of early growth... it leveled off quickly."
I offered my impressions in response to Taisho's question. By creating catalogs, we had been able to pull customers from the catalog gift market exactly as planned. However, the miscalculation was that the catalog gift market itself was smaller than I had anticipated. If the total pool of customers was small, the number you could convert would naturally be limited.
"Tomonari, why don't you create a marketing department? You probably don't have one yet, right?"
"Marketing, huh... You're right, I don't."
I saw the point. I had been doing the market analysis by myself until now, but it might be time to rely on an expert. If I had, I might have avoided this mistake.
"Even if you don't create a whole department, why not try hiring a marketing firm? Should I introduce you to the firm I use?" Asahi-san suggested.
Setting up a department in-house was an option, but first, I wanted to see if marketing actually worked. I decided to take Asahi-san's offer.
"By all means, please do."
"Got it. Then I'll contact them right away~" Asahi-san’s keyboard clicked rhythmically. It seemed she was contacting a student who owned a marketing firm.
"You've been working hard, Tomonari-kun. You were logged into the game all day yesterday, too, weren't you?"
"I was, but how did you know?"
"There's a page where you can check other players' company information, right? The login status is displayed in the top left corner. You didn't know?"
"I had no idea..."
Lately, I'd had my hands full with my own business, so I hadn't had the luxury of looking at anyone else’s company. I had always thought the timing was remarkably good whenever I received messages from other students, but that was why. Everyone was checking to see if I was logged in first.
"Come to think of it, Tomonari, you were yawning a lot today. Did you get obsessed with the game and stay up all night?"
"No, nothing like that..."
"But today, you couldn't answer when you were called on in class, could you~?"
"Urgh..."
I was left speechless by Taisho and Asahi-san's tag-team coordination.
Tennoji-san, who had been listening, widened her eyes. "Is that so?"
"I-it's fine. I intend to review everything thoroughly by the end of the day."
"..."
Tennoji-san glared at me with half-closed eyes. I had to be careful; if my grades dropped because of the game, I’d be putting the cart before the horse.
◆
8:30 PM.
After returning to the Konohana manor, I was facing my laptop in my room.
Then, it's a contract for Plan B.
A message arrived from the person I was dealing with.
With this plan, we can select specific targets—which is the current issue for Tomonari Gift—and after the measures are implemented, we can accumulate purchase logs to effectively run the PDCA cycle. We can also perform the market volume survey that you felt was a failure this time, so don't worry.
Thank you. This helps a lot.
Since it's a referral from Asahi-san, I'll give you a small discount.
The person was the president of the marketing firm Asahi-san had introduced to me. After spending an hour hearing out my situation, she had immediately recommended the most suitable services, and we had successfully signed the contract.
It seemed that using marketing services in the game was a system that significantly increased employee efficiency. However, it wasn't a matter of just using any service; the effect wouldn't be realized unless the service was actually appropriate for the company's specific problems.
"I guess it stays like this until the marketing effects kick in..."
The basis of marketing was data analysis, and analysis took time. Just as the name "PDCA cycle" implied, you had to repeat and course-correct over and over before the results finally showed.
"............It's scary."
I understood that I shouldn't expect instant gratification, but the lack of immediate results was terrifying. Was I actually wrong? Was I throwing time and money down the drain? Anxiety began to eat away at my heart.
...I'll study the game a little more.
It was just past 9:00 PM. I couldn't log into the game, but there were mountains of things I wanted to research. I had intended to do my prep and review for my normal classes after nine, but my anxiety over the game was so great that I couldn't focus on anything else.
If I prioritized one, the other suffered. I felt as if I had been dropped into an ant lion's pit. Since I was sleep-deprived, my mood was growing negative. Just as I lightly slapped both cheeks to try and regain my focus, there was a knock at the door.
"Itsuki-san. Are you free?"
Hearing Ms. Shizune's voice, I called out for her to enter.
"Excuse me."
"...Oh, where is Hinako?"
"The Young Lady is currently in a meeting with Lord Kagen regarding the game. I have come to give you a notification."
A notification? As I tilted my head, Ms. Shizune continued. "Regarding this coming Sunday, the Young Lady and I have a banquet scheduled, so we will be away until evening."
"I understand....Can't I go with you?"
"This time, it is a special occasion where the executives of the Konohana Group will gather... I believe it is a bit early for you, Itsuki-san."
So there were such events. Hinako didn't like the atmosphere of banquets. Thinking I could support her, I’d wanted to accompany them, but it seemed I wasn't invited.
"I will accept the sentiment. Perhaps you will participate someday, Itsuki-san."
"I'm both happy and terrified to hear that..."
A special banquet for the group’s top brass... if I were dropped into something like that, I wouldn't just be a fish out of water; I'd be a sheep surrounded by wolves.
"On Sunday, you are free to do as you please... but if possible, I recommend that you take a good rest."
"...Do I look that tired?"
"You seem to be trying to hide it, but it's quite obvious. After all, we haven't been seeing each other every day just for show."
With that, Ms. Shizune left the room.
(Take a good rest, huh...)
I was grateful for the concern, but I had no time to rest. If I was going to be alone anyway, I might as well study my heart out. I couldn't log into the game on Sunday, but that just meant I could focus on gathering knowledge. I desperately needed time to study management.
"...Hm?"
The smartphone next to my laptop vibrated. It was a call from a certain person.
"Tennoji-san?"
"Tomonari-san. Is now a good time?"
"Yes, it's fine." I wondered what she wanted.
"It is sudden, but are you free next Sunday?"
"I am, but..."
"Then, I'm taking you out."
It was an abrupt invitation. I appreciated the gesture, but I had just decided to focus on my studies.
"I'm sorry. I've been a bit busy lately, so I'll have to pass this ti—"
"—We shall have a strategy meeting for the game," Tennoji-san cut me off. "As comrades aiming for the Student Council, I thought we could have a meaningful discussion..."
"...If that's the case, I'll be there."
"Very well. Then, I shall give you the details later."
Through the phone, I could tell she was smiling in a great mood. Tennoji-san and I had held many study groups together. Back then, thanks to her support, I’d been able to get good scores on the entrance exams. If she said she wanted to have a meaningful discussion, I was sure I would learn something productive this time, too.
"By the way, let us agree not to bring our laptops."
"Eh? But won't we be unable to do any work then?"
"In any case, we cannot log into the game on Sunday, and besides, moving around with a laptop is rather tiring."
"...I understand." Her logic was sound.
"Also, please be careful about your lack of sleep."
"I will."
Since I was being given such a precious opportunity, I wanted to be in top condition to focus. I'd have to go to bed early on Saturday.
◆
After waiting for a few minutes at the station in front of our meeting point, a black car pulled up. Passersby stared at the imposing vehicle, which looked as if it were carrying a high-ranking politician. The girl who emerged from it possessed an appearance and presence that did not disappoint.
Swinging her beautiful blonde ringlets, Tennoji-san approached. "I have kept you waiting."
"No, I just got here myself..."
I really had just arrived. There were still ten minutes until the meeting time, and I had intended to wait for a while, but perhaps she had been thinking the same thing. More than that, I was preoccupied with her appearance.
"Is something the matter?"
"Well... I was just thinking that's a beautiful outfit."
"My, you've become quite the smooth talker, haven't you?" Tennoji-san giggled.
I remembered the time she’d called me a "swindler." But inwardly, I was taken aback. I had thought today was for a study group, but Tennoji-san was dressed far too elegantly for that. She looked like she was about to head straight to an amusement park.
"Well then, shall we go, Itsuki-san?"
Tennoji-san changed how she addressed me. Knowing the meaning of that signal, I replied in kind.
"Yeah. Looking forward to today."
"Fufu... as expected, this moment is truly blissful."
Just from the change in tone, she smiled happily. Being told something like that was embarrassing, to say the least.
Itsuki Tomonari, the heir to a mid-sized company, was off the clock for a while. Today, the "me" spending time with Tennoji-san was the original Itsuki Tomonari—the former struggling student who now worked as a caretaker for the Konohana family.
"Where are we heading?"
"Here." Tennoji-san showed me her smartphone screen.
"...A museum?"
Did she mean we would study there?
"First, I must apologize," Tennoji-san said with a serious expression. "The strategy meeting was a lie."
"Eh?"
"Today, I invited you so that you could take a breather, Itsuki-san."
I reflexively put my hand to my forehead as I processed her words. Most likely, she had seen through my exhaustion and went out of her way to invite me out. It was, without a doubt, out of concern for my well-being.
However, this time, I couldn't simply accept it.
"...I'm sorry. I appreciate the sentiment, but right now I really have no room to spare."
I had too many things I needed to do. My head was constantly on the verge of bursting, and I felt as if my heart would break if I didn't process my workload faster. Even if she hung out with me in this state, she wouldn't have any fun. So, as bad as I felt, I thought it might be better for me to go home.
"—It is as if I am looking at my past self," Tennoji-san said, watching my flustered face.