Episode 401: Apology

Led by a staff member and exposed to the curious gazes from those around us, Masaomi-san and I left the venue and headed further and further down a side hallway.

Eventually, the presence of people faded away. We turned a corner and went even deeper until we arrived in front of a single room. A plate reading「Special Room」was hung on a heavy-looking door decorated with a lion carving.

The area in front of the room featured a pair of luxurious (or maybe flashy?) sofas and a table set, surrounded by beautiful decorations and objects. The atmosphere clearly gave off a vibe that this was an area meant for someone truly「special」.

「I’ll go talk to him first, so Kazunari-kun, please wait here.」

「Ah, yes.」

Masaomi-san spoke to me and gave the door a light knock. After confirming the reply from inside, he opened the door.

In that moment, I could see a little bit of the interior. That person I saw at the opening ceremony was definitely in there.

「Now then…」

Masaomi-san entered the room and the guide had already left, so I was once again left all alone. For the time being, to kill time, I decided to look at the objects around me…

「Do you have a moment?」

「Y-yes!?」

Just as I was about to start, someone called out to me from behind.

I didn’t think there was anyone else here, so a strange sound slipped out of my mouth. Regardless, I turned around immediately to find three young men (older than me, though) staring me down quite bluntly. What is this?

「Sorry for talking to you so suddenly. There’s something I wanted to ask you.」

「Me?」

「Yeah… before that, you were the one with Executive Director Satsukawa and the Madam earlier, right?」

The man among the three who looked particularly suspicious questioned me. Behind him, one man wore a smile so unnatural it looked plastered on, while the other had a sharp gaze that was hard to read behind his glasses. Both of them stared at me as if waiting for my answer.

Mmm, I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

「Yeah, that’s right.」

「I see. I hate being roundabout. So I’ll ask you straight… what’s your position here? I’ve never heard of someone your age being among the Executive Director’s relatives.」

「Umm…」

Well, this is a problem. How should I answer?

For now, we’d agreed that I’d act like a distant relative if anyone asked until the official announcement… but looking at this guy, he seems convinced of something.

In that case…

「Or are you the son of some executive? If so, I’d like to know your name.」

「As someone intending to ask for the young lady’s hand in marriage, I’m naturally curious after seeing you two looking so close. I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’ve never seen a man manage to have a proper conversation with her.」

「I bet. Sara-san absolutely hates it when men hit on her.」

「!?」

When I reflexively shot back like that, the atmosphere among the three changed instantly. Now they all glared at me with clear hostility… or maybe it was jealousy… with grim expressions.

I’ve gone and done it now. I reacted without thinking because he said he’d ask her out.

「By the way, what if I were the son of one of those executives?」

「I’d check your name first. If you were someone of a status we could accept, that would be one thing. But if you’re just some commoner’s kid, I was going to tell you that it’s in your best interest to back off quietly.」

「Based on the young lady’s personality, you’re probably just an old childhood friend or a friend of the family… but that doesn’t mean you’re thinking of it that way too, right?」

「I see. So you aimed for the moment I was alone?」

「Don’t make it sound so bad. This is just a coincidence, a pure coincidence.」

The man with glasses spoke with a sharp gaze and an especially overbearing attitude. It seems highly likely these guys were certain I was an outsider and calculated their timing to talk to me.

I don’t know how they know so much about Masaomi-san’s relatives… did they actually investigate?

「Hmm. It seems that just as we thought, you’ve got no standing…」

「Hey, Takanashi-kun. What a coincidence.」

「Eh?」

I’d been pressed by the three men and was desperately thinking of a way to handle this when a fourth man spoke up. He emerged smoothly from the corner of the hallway.

He looked familiar. I felt a sense of déjà vu from his slightly pretentious way of speaking. This man, dressed in a flashy tie and a pure white suit, was…

This man was…

Who was he again?

「Umm…」

「Haha, Rena was very rude the other day. It seems she reflected deeply after that and said she’d apologize to you two formally… has she apologized yet?」

「Eh, an apology? …Ah! Right. She came to see us directly after that.」

Based on that talk, I barely managed to remember who he was. Whether that could be called a「formal apology from someone who reflected deeply」is another matter entirely.

Right, I remember now. He’s the haughty brother… or was it relative?… of that girl who was having some mysterious spark with Uesaka-san at the school festival. He’s her family. I finally remembered.

「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’d been thinking that if I had the chance to meet you again, I’d apologize properly myself.」

「…Really? But I don’t remember you doing anything that warrants an apology.」

My initial image of this man was just bad, but he didn’t personally do anything to me… right? If I remember correctly.

「I’m glad you say that, but this is about my responsibility as family. So let me apologize again. I’m truly sorry for the trouble Rena caused you all the other day.」

The man in front of me spoke, straightened his back, and bowed deeply. It was an apology that felt so sincere it made my first impression of him fade away… but never mind that!!

「I-I understand, I get it, so please raise your head!! You’re making me uncomfortable by going that far!!」

Having a grown adult do this to me when I don’t even feel like I need an apology just makes me feel awkward!!

「I’m doubly sorry for that. But for me, it was important to have this chance to apologize… it’s been weighing on my mind.」

「I-I see. Anyway, I don’t have any lingering feelings about that matter anymore.」

To be honest, I might still have some feelings about Rena herself, but this man has nothing to do with that.

「Thank you. Hearing that is a real help. I’m hoping we can be on good terms from now on… I didn’t want any unnecessary grudges remaining.」

「On good terms… with me?」

「Yeah, with you. …Is that a bother?」

「N-no, not really.」

I don’t know why this man is going that far, but if he wants to be friendly, it shouldn’t be a bad thing… though it’s so sudden that it feels weird in a lot of ways.

「Haha, that’s good. Well then, I look forward to working with you.」

「Yes, likewise.」

We exchanged greetings again. When I lightly shook the right hand that the man (whose name I didn’t know) held out, Rena’s brother smiled happily.

「Yes, I’m really glad I met you today. Now I can rebuild our relationship without any reservations. It feels like a weight has been lifted.」

「Ahaha, isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?」

「No, no, it’s that important to me. Regardless, I look forward to the future. And if you ever have any trouble, feel free to rely on me. I won’t hesitate to help you guys.」

「Ah, thank you?」

Honestly, this total shift in attitude goes beyond being surprising and reaches a level that feels almost bizarre. Even being told that, I hesitate to take it at face value. Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I can’t help but feel… something.

「Now, that takes care of my business… is it your turn next?」

「「!?」」

Rena’s brother spoke and shifted his gentle gaze sharply toward the three who had been watching us silently.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the area started to feel tense.

「Let me introduce myself first. I’m Kusuhara Yutaka, the Sales Manager at Saba Pleios. Nice to meet you.」

「Ah…」

「N-now that you mention it, before…」

「We were together once before during a presentation for Saba Refrigeration, weren’t we? I recall you were the son of Manager Yanagi… and I recognize the two of you as well.」

「Y-yes. I’m Mashimo Yusuke. It, um, has been a while.」

The man named Mashimo, the one with the plastered smile, was now fidgeting with a cramped expression in front of Yutaka-san, who was radiating a strange pressure. The man with glasses had also done a complete 180 from his overbearing attitude and was now visibly flustered.

I don’t know anything about job titles, so I can’t say for sure… but judging by the situation, it looks like Yutaka-san is at the top of the power balance here… probably.

「Going back to the topic, what are you all doing here? This is a special room used by the Chairman. Do you have some urgent business? Or if you have business with him, I’ll hear it on his behalf. As you can see from our interaction, he’s a precious friend of mine.」

「Umm…」

「W-well…」

「That’s…」

「I don’t know what you were planning to feed him, but I’ll give you some advice for your own good. Leave this place right now. I’m sure you thought you could handle a single high school student before the Executive Director returned, but you’re already in the middle of strangling yourselves.」

「…Huh?」

「C-could it be…」

「Ah, if you’re thinking I’ll tattle to the Executive Director, that’s a boring guess. Even if I don’t do that, the situation you’re in is already close to the worst… though I doubt you can understand that… fufu.」

Yutaka-san spoke in a flat tone, murmured a meaningful sentence at the end, and then suddenly looked at me and smirked.

What on earth did that mean?

「Hmm, what’s going on here?」

Just then, the door opened with a click. Masaomi-san emerged and tilted his head curiously when he saw us.

Good… I think I can get through this now.

「Good work, Executive Director.」

「Ah, you were here too. I see Kazunari-kun is there… but who are you all?」

「E-Executive Director Satsukawa…」

「…W-well, this is, um…」

「W-we are…」

When questioned by Masaomi-san, who was looking more and more curious, the faces of the three suspiciously acting men turned pale. It was a very easy-to-read reaction.

「Executive Director. We were just talking to Kazunari-kun out of curiosity, so please don’t mind us.」

「Oh, did you already know Kazunari-kun?」

「Yes. Though we only exchanged greetings at the School Festival the other day… I wanted to apologize for that incident again.」

「Ah, I see. But for that, you two seem to be quite well-acquainted, don’t you?」

「Haha. After talking it out, we decided to be on good terms from now on.」

Yutaka-san said that and lightly patted my shoulder with a full smile. I see, so this is what they call a「sales smile」. Or maybe not.

「I see. If that’s the case, I welcome it too. I’m grateful that Kazunari-kun is gaining more people who understand him. Since you’re both young… though you’re a bit far apart in age… there might be chances to cooperate if anything happens in the future.」

「Yes, please leave it to me when the time comes.」

「I’m counting on you. …And those three over there?」

「Ah, they’re completely unrelated, so please don’t mind them. They aren’t the kind of people who could ever become Kazunari-kun’s friends. It seems they were interested in him in a different sense than I was.」

「I see. In a different sense… huh.」

After hearing Yutaka-san’s meaningful explanation, Masaomi-san’s expression seemed to cloud over slightly.

The three men noticed the slight change in Masaomi-san, and their pale faces turned even whiter. I’ve never seen someone’s face look so blue before. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

「…It seems he was saved, doesn’t it?」

「No. Even if I hadn’t stepped in, I’m sure Kazunari-kun would have overcome it properly.」

「Haha, is that so. Well, let’s talk about that another time. Actually, we have an important discussion starting now. Sorry, but could you all…」

「Yes. We’ll be taking our leave now. Please take your time.」

Yutaka-san gave a large, ostentatious bow. The three behind him, whose faces were ghastly pale, bowed repeatedly in a panic.

Then Yutaka-san glanced at the three of them and flicked his chin toward the end of the hallway, ordering them to leave. Seeing that, the three of them almost ran back down the hallway as if escaping.

「Are you okay, Kazunari-kun?」

「Y-yes, somehow.」

「…I never thought they’d follow you all the way here. It’s an unspoken rule that regular employees don’t enter the area around the Chairman’s office. It seems the Chairman’s order to clear out the staff backfired.」

「Ah, is that why the guide left right away too?」

「Yes. Normally, someone would have been stationed here, but the Chairman apparently cleared everyone out because of the nature of today’s discussion. It’s almost impossible for someone to come to a secluded special room like this without a good reason.」

「Right.」

This room is quite far from the venue, and it’s a complete dead end, not a throughway. Plus, the sign clearly says「Special Room」. If there’s nothing else here…

「Well, in the end, it’s a discussion inside the room, so it’s not like we have to be that sensitive about it.」

「Ahaha… wait. But if that’s the case…」

Thinking back on Masaomi-san’s words just now… Yutaka-san said it was a coincidence.

「…Did you notice? Yes, it’s just as you thought, Kazunari-kun.」

「You mean… Yutaka-san followed us too?」

「That’s how it looks. Well, in his case, there was the matter of the apology, so I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s exactly the same as them.」

True… unlike those three, Yutaka-san had the major reason of「apologizing to me」, so it might be a bit misleading to say he「followed us」.

「Listen… it might be a bit early, but I’ll give you some advice. Humans… especially those who move around by calculating their own interests first, are in a way actually easy to handle. As long as you can maintain a win-win relationship, they’re useful. It’s best to treat it as if you’re using them as much as they’re using you. But you must never get too deep or rely on them for truly critical matters… that’s a golden rule.」

「Umm…?」

Masaomi-san suddenly said that, and I was so caught off guard I didn’t know how to react. But saying that at this timing meant…

「Haha, that was a bit of a raw conversation. But this kind of thinking is very common, especially in business. You might not understand it yet, but it’s enough if you just realize that such a world exists.」

「…I understand. But the reason you told me that is because there’s something behind Yutaka-san’s apology, right? And you knew that when you told him you’re counting on him…」

「Haha. If you can notice that much from our conversation, you’re doing great. And the fact that you say「right」means you must have felt something during your conversation with him too, didn’t you?」

「…Yeah. Yutaka-san’s change in attitude was way too sudden, and being told he wants to be friends out of nowhere felt more weird than anything else…」

In that moment, I’d just let it go with the feeling that「it’s not bad if he wants to be friendly」. But thinking back on it after Masaomi-san’s talk… it wasn’t just weird, it was nothing but suspicious. But Masaomi-san noticed that, which is why he told me those things.

「I see. Well, in this case, there was likely a strong intention to repair his relationship with you, so maybe you don’t need to think too harshly of it. Besides, as you gain more experience, having many allies is better, even if it’s for calculating reasons. Being able to use such people well is also one of the skills that will be required of you eventually.」

「I… I see…?」

「Ahahaha. Sorry for saying such strange things all of a sudden. Well then, let’s leave the extra talk at that. It’s about time you met the Chairman, isn’t it? He’s probably waiting anxiously to talk to you.」

「Really?」

「Of course. After all, you’re the only young man that Sara and Mayumi have recognized… he’s endlessly curious about you.」

Masaomi-san gave that explanation with a very happy smile. Now that I think about it, I’ve heard before that the Chairman dotes on Sara-san as if she were his own daughter. And apparently, the Chairman doesn’t have any children of his own…

「Now then, let’s head inside. First, you’ll greet the Chairman, and the main topic will come after that.」

「U-understood.」

For now, judging by Masaomi-san’s demeanor, things seem okay. But even so, this is my first time meeting him, and I have absolutely no idea what he’ll say. My honest feeling is that I have nothing but a bad premonition.

「It’s okay. I’m the one saying it, but the Chairman is a friendly person, so you can rest easy.」

「I understand.」

Maybe he noticed the anxiety I was feeling, because Masaomi-san followed up with that. I’d better just steel my resolve now.

Will it be a demon or a snake behind this door… or will it really just be a greeting?

But the one thing I can say is that this is an unavoidable step for me. That’s all there is to it…