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Chapter 24 – Mysterious Girl
Uuu….my head feels heavy….
Yesterday…or rather, because I was playing eroge with Momoi until the morning, I went to bed at around 7am.
No, we stopped playing at about 6am…but since I had a cold sweat, I felt uncomfortable and went to take a shower.
Eh….why did I have a cold sweat?
Try playing eroge with a girl one time…
That’s all….
—If I had written that on the net, I would surely blow up.
But I can say one thing, don’t play eroge with girls.
It’s not like how you imagine it.
It’s awkward when it switches to a H-scene, then when you look at the girl next to you—she’s watching the scene with her cheeks dyed red from embarrassment….seriously, it will be fight against yourself.
Maa, that’s why I had a cold sweat…
Then I went to sleep and it comes to now…
….I want to go back to bed….
Currently it was 11am—I had slept for 4 hours….
But today is a Saturday.
Normally since there’s no school, I could sleep as much as I want….
I have a meeting at 1pm today….
Eh, then why I was playing eroge until late?
…..it can’t be helped, I couldn’t stop it….
When she shows me that expression, I’m reluctant to stop.
So—
「—Seriously, Momoi is too cute….」(Kaito)
As I went down the stairs, I muttered that.
So this is what they call gap moe…? (TLN: Gap Moe, is literally where there is a gap between how a character acts and how they usually act or how you expect them to act)
Momoi was a different person until now…
I don’t why Momoi, who is popular at school, is so popular, but I can somewhat understand it.
Seriously, what did Momoi’s middle-school classmates do….?
If those guys didn’t stick to Momoi so much, I would have gotten an angelic sister, a womanly beauty and a cute stepsister. …
….maybe she has returned to her usual self when she woke up….?
For some reason I’m scared…
Can I not speak back to Momoi anymore?
Will I end up being teased one-sidedly?
Entering the living room, I was having this discussion in my head.
「Morning…」(Kaito)
「Go–good morning Onii-chan…..rather than that, it’s already afternoon」(Sakura)
When I greeted her, Sakura greeted me with a smile that seemed to say『Itt can’t be helped~』
I’m glad….I’m in a good mood now.
Sakura-chan had returned back to an angelic like sister, I stroked my chest.
「What happened? You usually get up well even on your days off? Did you stay up late reading light novels?」(Sakura)
「Ah—un, that’s right」(Kaito)
I answer Sakura-chan’s question with a smile.
As expected, I can’t say that I was playing eroge with Momoi until morning…
Or rather, I don’t want the pure Sakura-chan to learn the word “eroge”.
….eroge is not just a H-game alright?
In fact, there are many good OP’s, songs and god-like songs, the scenarios are also better than anything!
…..what the hell am I talking about….
「—Onee-chan hasn’t woken up either….should I wake her up?」(Sakura)
Ah—
「Wait」(Kaito)
Saying that, I grabbed Sakura-chan’s arm to hold her back as she was trying to go and wake Momoi up.
「Momoi was creating reports for the student council until late, so let her sleep a little longer」(Kaito)
「Ah….un」(Sakura)
Sakura smiled and nodded to my words.
「—Fufu…」(Sakura)
「Eh? What is it?」(Kaito)
Suddenly Sakura-chan put her hand to her mouth and laughed happily.
「Etto ne, I was happy because Onii-chan and Onee-chan have become friends before I knew it」(Sakura)
Sakura-chan said that with a smile.
By the way, this girl did say that she wanted me to get along with Momoi…
She’s a really good girl to be happy with that…
「Yesterday, I thought I heard fighting on the second floor~」(Sakura)
「….eh!? You noticed!?」(Kaito)
I was surprised at Sakura-chan’s words…
Eh….since she knew we had a fight, did she inevitably hear the conversation we had about eroge…?
A cold sweat flowed down my back….
「Eh? if you speak with such a loud voice with the door open, it’s natural to hear it from the ground floor right?」(Sakura)
Sakura-chan said and looked at me in confusion.
Ah…I see….
I was impatient…
「O, Onii-chan…..you’re a boy after all…..so it can’t be helped….」(Sakura)
「—-!?」(Kaito)
Eh, Sakura-chan!?
What can’t be helped!?
I mean, why are you glancing at me whilst blushing!?
…..Isn’t this girl worried about my fight with Momoi…..?
If we were fighting, wouldn’t she come and see what was wrong…?
Probably, she was watching us fighting whilst hiding….
…..Eh, then how much does this girl know!?
Does she know we were playing eroge together!?
….What should I do–I’m afraid to hear the answer….
I continue to look at the back of Sakura-chan who was making lunch with a smile on her face—
–Eh, why am I not cooking with her?
…..After Momoi’s complaint, Sakura-chan has been in charge of the cooking…..
２
「—-Don’t joke with me!」(Kaito)
I say so, yelling at a man in his late forties sitting in front of me in a business suit.
I’m in the middle of a face-to-face meeting—I was currently arguing with this person.
….Usually I don’t talk this way to people I have met for the first time, but there are things I can’t accept.
If I back away here, it will be a problem.
Or rather I’m already used to this type of response.
That’s why I’m able to speak normally when conducting business.
…..But people aren’t good with things they aren’t good at. Even if I say that I can speak normally, it doesn’t change my bad feelings…
「Please, do something about it!」(Business Man)
The man sitting in front of me says and bows his head.
Honestly I think it’s amazing that he was able to bow to me, who is a lot younger than him.
I was not originally someone worthy of this respect…
「It’s a breach of contract! If you force me to do this, I will not undertake the project!」(Kaito)
I shout and got up from my chair, walking towards the door.
「W, wait! It’s waste to leave your talent as is!」(Business Man)
I heard such a voice from my back, but I opened the door without caring about it.
They only know the part of me called『KAI』…seriously what a waste of time….
DON–!
「「—!」」
The moment when I opened the door to leave, I bumped into something.
However the impact was rather light.
「Uuuu….it hurts….」(???)
「Eh….?」(Kaito)
I look towards my feet where I heard the voice.
There was a blonde girl who had fallen over and landed on her butt.
….Eh?
Why is this girl—
—No, before that I have to apologize!
「Excuse me, are you okay?」(Kaito)
I say so and extend my right hand.
「I’m okay…」(???)
She said so in a quiet voice as I lifted her up with my hand.
….She was very light….
The girl stood up and looked at me.
「–!」(???)
I was astonished after looking at the girl’s face.
Byodoin Aria….
The blonde girl in front of me had fluffy, beautiful, natural straight golden hair.
Her hairstyle was different than the Byodoin Aria I had seen on TV–but it’s not uncommon for someone to change their hairstyle.
Above all, this Byodoin Aria….
This company was under her jurisdiction….
But….why?
Her facial features are perfect, but the impression I receive from her is different.
The eyes of the girl in front of me were a beautiful blue colour, yet at the same time somehow transparent–the eyes were big as if they could swallow me, giving the illusion that she could see everything.
She seems to be a little dazed.
The Byodoin Aria who I saw on TV had bullish eyes and was talking confidently.
…Is she a different person?
「Please think it through–Alice-sama!?」(Business Man)
I was in front of the door when I bumped into her, the man behind me seems to have misunderstood something and came to me–but when he noticed the girl he was surprised.
Alice is it….?
Just as I thought, she’s a different person….
Is she part of Byodoin Aria’s family?
「Wh, why is Alice-sama…..?」(Business Man)
The business man ran up to Byodoin-san and said so.
For him, her appearance seems unexpected.
「Bumped….I fell….」(Alice)
「Who bumped into you!? Could it be—!?」(Business Man)
Saying that, the man looked at me.
I guess it was obvious.
This is annoying.
Just as I was about to give this man an excuse…
「What have you done!? This person is the daughter of the Byodoin Conglomerate!! How will you take responsibility!?」(Business Man)
…..I thought so….
This guy really wants me to accept the condition.
Fortunately for him, he could take advantage of this situation.
….I used to think this was a person I could respect but….maa, it’s like this I suppose….
When your position is lower, it’s bad for you, but when your position suddenly becomes higher, everything is in the palm of your hand/
Really….I feel sick….
「I’m okay…stop…」(Alice)
「Eh?」(Business Man)
Byodoin-san pulled the man’s clothes and shook her head.
「But–」(Business Man)
「Do you know Aria….?」(Alice)
「「…..?」」
To Byodoin-san’s words, me and the business man tilt out necks.
Alice looked dissatisfied with that reaction.
What does she mean?
Does he know Byodoin Aria?
Doesn’t she know that I bumped into her?
But even if that’s the case, she would tell me to take responsibility for it right here, didn’t she say that it was alright?
「I don’t have to explain, right?」(Alice)
「—!」(Kaito)
Do you mean….that—!
「What do you mean?」(Business Man)
The business man moves closer to Byodoin-san, saying that he doesn’t understand the meaning.
….Does this guy not know….?
Byodoin-san looked tired and sighed.
「Mou…it’s not good right….?」(Alice)
Byodoin-san talked to me this time.
When I nodded in response, she smiled satisfactorily.
「But….I’m not convinced by this person….because….」(Alice)
「Ah…yes….」(Kaito)
I understand what Byodoin-san wants to say, so I turn to the man.
It was caused by my carelessness, so it couldn’t be helped this time around…
「I apologize for bumping into this girl and making her fall over. I’m sorry. However, it was not intentional, it was an accident, so I can’t accept the previous condition」(Kaito)
「But—」(Business Man)
The man was dissatisfied with my words.
But I continued.
「However, apologising with words is not enough, therefore I will do the project I declined earlier」(Kaito)
I say so and bow my head.
「No, that is—」(Business Man)
The man was still trying to push me to accept the other condition.
Maa, from this man’s point of view, it can’t be helped—he doesn’t even know that he’s tightening his own noose….
「That’s enough」(Alice)
Byodoin-san spoke as if to block the man’s voice.
「No, but Alice-sama—」(Business Man)
「Wait」(Alice)
Byodoin-san ignored the man’s words and hinted at me to leave.
「If you’ll excuse me」
「Ah, wait–!」(Business Man)
When I bowed down and turned my back, I heard the man calling out.
When I looked back, I saw Byodoin-san stopping him, so I continued walking.
The man was still saying something, but he was talking to the daughter of the Byodoin Conglomerate.
He can’t insist on anything too strongly.
But—I’m done…..
That girl Alice, was facing her body to me when I bumped into her….
Normally, it might not seem like a big issue, but if you’re hit right after you leave a door, you’ll end up in a weird position.
If you’re hit and fall when walking in the hallway, you would usually fall sideways.
In other words, the fact that she was facing the front meant that she was about to enter the door.
But if the small conference room is used by employees, it would be strange for her, who is the same age as me, to come in by herself.
That means, she had a reason to stand in front of the door.
Well I wonder why she was standing there….I don’t know the exact reason.
Even if she listened to the meeting inside, I didn’t know why she would do that.
However because I bumped into her, it was best to undertake the project I had previously declined.
I had refused because the other side had violated the contract, but I originally came over to get the other side to pay me properly.
So undertaking this project is a plus, not a minus, for both me and the company.
In other words, it’s likely that she made me undertake this project.
Since this project was originally one submitted to me, it should have been approved by the upper echelons in the company. They will naturally know what has happened today.
However what the man was trying to demand, was not planned in advance.
The mystery remains of how much Byodoin-san knows–but proper approval from the higher-ups is required.
That means I’d have to explain myself—even if the man lies and reports me to the upper echelons, I would be dissatisfied because I’d be forced to report『I take full responsibility for causing your daughter to fall this time』
But if he reports it, a detailed description of the situation would be required.
In other words–that man would have to explain how he breached the contract and I in return got angry and walked out the door, causing the collision with his daughter.
That’s right—the man would have to tell his boss about his blunder『I broke the terms of the contract and failed to negotiate for the project』
So Byodoin-san stopped him.
She likely didn’t want the project to go bankrupt and she also didn’t want the man to be held accountable for an incident she caused.
—But all this is just my hypothesis.
Only one girl knows everything—Byodoin Alice.
….Yet–
Byodoin Aria is famous, but I’ve never heard of Byodoin Alice?
Why is Aria’s name so widespread, but Alice is unknown?
Is the girl named Aria so great that Alice is hidden in her shadow?
Or—after all, perhaps I’m thinking too much….?
…..Anyway, when this project is completed, it’s best not to get involved with the Byodoin Conglomerate anymore…
I don’t want to be noticed by Byodoin Aria….
I was thinking that as I headed home–