CH 64

“―I wish I could say that, but I can’t.”

“Eh!?”

When I agreed to Alice-san’s invitation, she denied it for some reason.

What does that mean?

What’s so impossible about it?

I knew it, was it because I had angered Aria, who is also the president of Byodoin Systems…?

“How much does Kai know about the Shinomiya Conglomerate?”

As I was trying to figure out why I was denied, Alice-san asked me about the Shinomiya Conglomerate.

The Shinomiya Conglomerate is one of the three largest corporations in Japan, along with the Byodoin Conglomerate and Saijo Conglomerate.

However, it is rumored that the current president, President Shinomiya, and his daughter, Ai Shinomiya-san, do not get along well, and it is said that they may have separated internally.

However, it seems that Ai-san is a very talented person, and even if they are separated, her performance is going up.

“I don’t hear good things about them. I’ve heard rumors that President Shinomiya is forcing the companies he does business with to accept unreasonable demands… I’ve heard a lot of good rumors about his daughter, Ai-san, but that’s about all I know about them.

Unfortunately, this is the only answer I can give her as I have never taken on any work for the Shinomiya Conglomerate.

“I see… In fact, the Shinomiya Conglomerate have a great man on their side who is the same age as Alice and Kai. The balance of the three major factions in Japan will be broken in the not too distant future.”

The balance of the three major Japanese Conglomerates will collapse…?

No, more importantly, I’ve never heard of any rumors of such a man at our age though?

Just what kind of person is he…?

“Kuro is smart, but more importantly, he understands the minds of others. He can give them whatever they want, and at the same time, they can get what they want. That’s why Kuro can get more allies, and those allies will do their best for him, so he can achieve a lot of things.”

“W-wait a minute! Why are you talking like that all of a sudden? Could it be that the man has an aggressive personality like Aria and is going to set up against the Byodoin Conglomerate or the Saijo Conglomerate?”

“No, he’s not. Kuro is a very good guy. Yes― unlike Kai, who is a personality destroyer.”

“Oi…!”

Why is she dissing me all of a sudden!?

I thought we were talking about something serious here!

“Well, all joking aside, even if Kuro doesn’t try anything, as long as the Shinomiya Conglomerate increases its power, it will naturally take away our jobs too. So if things go on like this, the balance between the three major conglomerates in Japan will collapse.”

“…So, what does it cost to get him on our side?”

I asked Alice-san about the part of what she said that I could not visualize well.

I’m sure he’s a good negotiator, but I don’t think it’s hard to get him on your side if it’s a matter of interest or something.

“When Kuro negotiated with Aria he manipulated his words to make it seem as if Aria had extracted favorable terms from him. Aria was very satisfied with that, but it was something that Kuro had prepared beforehand, and he could have presented it to her normally, but he played it like he was rolling in Aria’s hands so that she wouldn’t become his enemy. And the other day, the smiling venomous tongue got the information that he reformed the president of the Shinomiya Conglomerate.”

“That Shinomiya president was reformed!?”

The man who only sees people as prey has reformed his mind!?

How the hell is that even possible!?

What’s more, in order to keep Aria from becoming an enemy, he made it look as if Aria had extracted the terms of the agreement…

Is he really a high school student like me…?

“Now that you know how great Kuro is, let’s move on to the next part. The Shinomiya Conglomerate not only has the eldest daughter of Shinomiya, but also her cousin who is also quite good at gathering information and a girl with visual memory. In addition, information about other entities of interest has come to light. To put it bluntly, the future growth potential of the Shinomiya Conglomerate is not half bad.”

If Alice-san can be so sure, then she must be right.

In today’s internet society, information is vital.

I’ve never heard of Ai Shinomiya having a cousin, but if she’s good at gathering information, she could be a very useful person.

I can’t believe there is a girl who still has the ability to remember images, nonetheless….

Everyone has visual memory when they are young, but it is usually lost in the process of growing up.

A girl who possesses it can be said to be a precious being.

And you’re telling me that Kuro was able to obtain her…?

“But to be honest, if Kai joins the Byodoin Systems, he will not fall behind the Shinomiya Conglomerate.”

“Then why―?”

“If Kai joins the Byodoin Systems, what will happen to the blonde gal?”

I huffed at Alice’s words.

“Shinomiya has Kuro. Aria has Alice. But what about the blonde gal? Who will take her side?”

That’s right… If I join the Byodoin Systems, what will happen to Kirara?

Unlike Alice and Aria who are currently attending a young lady’s school, Kirara has already come to a regular school.

In other words, even the advantageous fate of being in a normal society cannot be created for Kirara.

In such a situation, what would happen if the Shinomiya Conglomerate grows rapidly?

Perhaps the Byodoin Conglomerate won’t suffer much as long as Alice-san is around.

However, the Saijo Conglomerate doesn’t have anyone like Alice.

So the Saijo Conglomerate will be the first one to be affected, no matter what.

“It’s meaningless if it’s an ordinary person or a person with halfway decent skills. What we need is someone who can compete with Kuro and Alice. The only person who has that potential right now is you, Kai. If you don’t take her side, the Saijo Conglomerate will be finished.”

Alice-san gazes into my eyes with eyes so large and clear that they seem to swallow up everything in them.

“So you can’t let me join Byodoin Systems… However, are you okay with that, Alice-san?”

“If Kai joins Saijo, the three-way tie-up can be maintained and can keep each other in check. That’s why, it’s also a good thing for Alice.”

I felt uncomfortable with Alice-san’s words.

It seems that she’s not just worried about Kirara and asking me to join the Saijo Conglomerate.

No, I’m sure she’s worried about Kirara herself… but there’s something off about her.

Perhaps there’s something more to it than a three-way tie-up.

“Alice-san… what is your real goal?”

When I asked her that, she looked surprised for a moment and then smirked.

“Kai is interesting after all. Alice’s goal, that is― to destroy this filthy society.”

She whispered, her mouth close to my ear.

“Are you planning to commit an act of terrorism!?”

I was so surprised that I immediately asked her that.

“No, of course not. No one will be happy if you do that. Alice’s goal is to create a world where no one dares to try and pull others down, but instead, cooperate with each other. She wants to create a society where Alice and the little angels can live easily and everyone can be happy. That society can be created by the appearance of Kuro and Kai. That’s Alice’s goal. However, if the Saijo Conglomerate goes under or loses its power, it will be difficult to do so. That’s why we need Kai to sign up with the Saijo Conglomerate.”

“…Can you even create a society like that…? Frankly speaking, I don’t think so…”

“The three of us, Alice, Kai and Kuro, can do it. The three of them will control Byodoin, Saijo, and Shinomiya respectively, and possibly even society. The power of Japan’s Three Major Conglomerates has that much influence, but Kai isn’t good enough for that yet.”

“What’s that…?

“Kai is programmed and smart, but he is fatally incapable of understanding the feelings of others. He has been avoiding people his whole life, so he can’t read other people’s emotional changes. That’s why Kai always thinks theoretically and decides his actions based on profit and loss. However, there are no fixed answers to human feelings, and there are many different ways of thinking. The answer that Kai gives may be the right one from the world’s point of view, but for the person in question, there are times when he wishes he had given a different answer. That’s what Kai needs to learn from now on.”

I close my eyes to Alice-san’s words.

It’s true… I often thought theoretically.

I weighed the risks and benefits, and even when Kirara tricked SakiHime, I didn’t punish her for what she had done.

I don’t know how she felt at that time, but I think she wanted revenge.

She said that she wouldn’t accept the reward for the match with Aria, but maybe she still had a grudge against Aria, and just didn’t say it out loud, but she wanted me to destroy Aria.

I hadn’t been able to guess how she felt about that.

“But the future that Alice was aiming for and the conflict between the corporations were still a long way off. So for now, it’s enough for Kai to grow up while enjoying the school life he once lost. So― good luck.”

Alice-san said in a gentle voice, “Good luck,” and patted me on the head again.

However, when I was about to reply to her―

*Bang―!

―The door to my room opened with a bang.

I looked at the door in surprise and saw SakiHime standing there, face down, with cold air all over her body.

Sakura-chan is behind her, but she has a frightened look on her face.

Or perhaps I should say― Ah, this is me, a dead guy…

I’m currently in a state where I’m on Alice-san’s lap and she’s patting my head.

The two sisters saw me like that.

And it is probably because of this situation that SakiHime’s whole body is now emitting a cold air of an absolute zero.

“L-lap pillows…! Why are you bringing girls here and doing that while I’m at school! What’s more, she’s a blonde again! I knew you wanted blonde hair girls after all!”

SakiHime came sizzling up to me, her hands shaking as she made a fist.

Her eyes were tearing up and her face was bright red.

I could tell that she was very angry.

“W-wait a minute! This is a misunderstanding!”

I know that SakiHime is very dangerous right now, so I lifted my head from Alice’s lap, stood up and tried to persuade her somehow.

“Kai… I had fun today… Well, I wish for your safety… See you soon, little angel…”

When Alice-san said that, her tone of voice returned to its usual languid tone, but with a quick movement, she ran next to SakiHime and patted Sakura-chan’s head.

“Eh!? You’re going to leave me in this situation!? Please wait for a moment!”

My shout didn’t reach Alice-san, and there was no sign of her coming back.

“Fufufufu~”

As I was despairing over Alice-san’s disappearance, SakiHime began to make a strange laughing sound.

N-not good…

This person is really dangerous…

“C-calm down…! You’ve got it all wrong.”

I tried to persuade her somehow, but―

“What’s wrong with lap pillows, you b*st*rd!”

*Whack―!

―And then I got a serious slap from SakiHime.

Part 2

(**Alice’s POV**)

“―I’m home…”

After escaping the scene of what was probably a violent scene when Kai’s sister came back, Alice went back to the house and headed for Aria.

I wanted to pet Kai’s head a little more, but… when the ferocious-looking thing came back, I felt unsafe and decided to leave.

Kai may be in a terrible situation, but this is also a kind of training.

It’s a necessary ordeal for him to be able to understand women’s minds.

“Ah―you’re back at last, Onee-chan! Hurry up and help me!”

When I visited Aria’s room to tell her that Alice had returned, I found her wrapped up in ropes and suspended.

“…This is… another hobby of yours…”

“No, it’s not! It’s not my hobby, it’s Aoki’s!”

I knew that, but I thought it was funny, so I tried to play it off, and Aria gave me a good response.

“Smiling Venomous Tongue… Alice can’t do it… put her down…”

“Understood… Though, I wanted to leave her hanging a little longer…”

When Alice asked the smiling venomous tongue to put down Aria, she lowered Aria with regret.

“I’ll make sure you remember this someday!”

As soon as the rope was untied, Aria shouted at her.

“Someday, why not do it now?”

The Smiling Venomous Tongue says this with a nice smile and slowly walks up to Aria.

“D-don’t come closer! You are too relentless! I’m an Ojou-sama you know!?”

“It is the role of servants to raise their masters well, isn’t it? I, myself, am very heartbroken, but I will discipline you strictly for the sake of Aria-sama’s future…!”

“You never thought of me as your master! Why are you conveniently calling me “-sama” now!?”

Aria has a sorrowful expression mixed with fright, and is running away from the smiling venomous tongue.

From the looks of it, she was punished well for the day.

“―Haa, haa… Now then, Onee-chan…”

Aria, who has somehow managed to escape from smiling venomous tongue, spoke to Alice, breathless.

―Smiling venomous tongue didn’t catch Aria on purpose, she only just kept her running.

“I’ve decided to transfer schools!”

Aria said cheerfully.

“Yeah… I knew that would happen…”

I knew that Aria was going to say this, so I wasn’t surprised.

There was no way that Aria, who hated to lose, would back down like this, and the quickest way to compete with Kai was to transfer schools.

“As expected of my Onee-chan! So, there’s something I can’t do, and I’d like to ask you―”

Aria lowers her head and looks up at me.

“Yeah… If you’re going to do this anyway, you need to get… there to make it interesting… I’m pretty sure it was… 10 classes, so you’ll need to get… nine― no, eight people… One of them is… Alice calls out for…”

“Eh… can we get nine people…?”

Aria tilted her head anxiously at Alice’s suggestion.

Well, I think it’s rare to find a picky person from a lady’s school who wants to go all the way to a public school.

But if there is a benefit to it, it usually follows, which is the thinking of the rich people of this world.

“If Aria calls out to them… they will gather quickly… Just don’t force them… Only the ones who want to go…”

“Yes, I understand! But, who is it that Onee-chan is calling out for? Don’t tell me it’s―!?”

Aria, who had guessed who Alice was going to call out to, changed her color.

From the look on her face, I can tell that she’s not the person Alice has in mind.

But I’m not going to take that girl with her.

“No way you’re taking that troublemaker!?”

“The Cat-eared bomb… is funny and cute… but she hates men… so it’s a pity to take her along…”

She knew who Aria was talking about, so she said it as if she was covering Aria’s words.

“That cat-eared bomb… Onee-chan only gave her those cat ears though…”

“It’s not a problem… because she was happy with it… Silver hair and cat ears… are very cute…”

“Oh right, that girl was the only one who can speak German at the school when she was young, so she became very attached to Onee-chan, and she is willing to listen to what Onee-chan says, but what about the cat ears?”

“Cute is… justice… As long as the other person… is happy with it.”

The cat-eared bomb was a German, one year younger than me, with silver hair.

But despite being a foreigner, she was quite small in stature.

She was only a little bigger than the little angel I saw today.

Above all, she’s interesting because she causes unexpected problems wherever she goes.

Aria takes care of all of them…

For some reason though, when she has a problem, she tries to hide it from Alice.

In fact, I can tell right away that she’s done something wrong when I see her, but it’s so cute to see her trying so hard to hide it that I pretend not to notice.

And the person she cried out to was Aria.

She misses Aria too, but Aria is fed up with being forced to deal with the trouble every time.

Ah― If I let her get in touch with Kai, will it lead to Kai’s growth…?

Perhaps, it might also be possible for cat-eared bomb to fix her fear of men…?

And since the cat-eared bomb is a straightforward girl with no hidden agendas, she could be a friend to the little angel.

That little angel’s eyes were dangerous.

Perhaps it’s different from Alice’s.

Alice can only vaguely read people’s thoughts, but that little angel was wary of Alice at first, and then quickly let her guard down.

The way she changes her emotions and the speed with which she does so, she’s either more accurate than Alice, or she’s seeing things differently.

However, because of her high ability, the little angel’s character will be distorted someday if she continues like this.

It’s a shame, because she has a beautiful heart.

She is Kai’s sister, and she needs to be taken care of…

For that reason, Alice should also go.

Besides, Kai is Alice’s, so even if she lends it to the blonde-haired gal, she wants to keep it with her.

Alice moves on to take new actions for the future―.