"It's nice to finally meet you, President."
"Likewise, Shizuku." Shido shook the fair hand extended to him, carefully observing the calm and smiling woman before him.
Looking from head to toe, Shido had to admit that she was definitely a great beauty. Hazuki had a waist-length gray hair with bangs hanging over her eyebrows, an amber-brown eyes and round crimson-rimmed glasses.
She wore a cozy, light-gray turtleneck sweater that complemented her figure perfectly, paired with a green skirt that fell gracefully to her ankles.
Wrapping around her is an apricot colored shawl that perfectly highlighting her body proportions, especially those two big melons on her chest. Nevertheless, Shido's gaze didn't linger longer than a second on her body as he was afraid to be labeled as a pervert causing the female employees to resign.
Still, if that were truly to happen, Shido had a feeling they wouldn't resign. If anything, they might just march into his office and throw themselves at him, drawn by his irresistible charm even when most of its effect was sealed.
"Do they look good?"
"...What do you mean?" Shido looked at Hazuki suspiciously, noticing the knowing smile playing on her lips.
"Fufu, nothing~"
"What was that about?"
"Anyway, I'll explain everything you need to know about this company so you can get a better understanding of how things work here, President." Hazuki ignored Shido's question and shifted the conversation to the company.
But she had to admit, their new president looked remarkably young and handsome, which stirred certain thoughts in her mind, especially whenever she watched dramas about domineering CEOs and his employee.
"You can just call me Shido, Shizuku." Hearing Hazuki constantly call him 'President' made Shido feel a bit awkward and distant, so he told her she could use his first name too. After all, he was already calling her Hazuki, so it only seemed fair.
Hazuki immediately snapped out of her daze when Shido called her, leaving her a little embarrassed for having such thoughts about her boss. Still, she quickly composed herself and looked at him.
"Is that okay?" While Hazuki wanted to call Shido by his first name to feel closer to him, she thought it would be rude since he was the company president after all. Besides, she worried that Shido might see her as a pushover or worse, an easy woman, so she stopped herself.
However, now that Shido had told her she could call him by his first name, Hazuki's face brightened, revealing a beautiful smile that made Shido admire her beauty once more.
"Well, at least when we're alone."
"...Then, Shido-kun?"
"Yes."
Shido nodded, feeling satisfied with her answer.
Because of that, Hazuki felt much closer to her boss. As they walked toward the elevator to head to the main office, she explained everything about 'Eagle Jump' to Shido, including its employees, executives, projects, and the various departments where the staff carried out their work. She also shared details about herself from time to time, allowing Shido to get to know her better.
Because of the smiles and constant laughs coming from their mouths, the two looked like good friends and those employees who saw their boss and an unknown handsome young man being so close made them at loss.
They were surprised to see Hazuki who was a bit weird and goofy, was actually with a man, and a handsome one at that. It made them jealous, thinking how lucky she was to have landed such a good-looking guy.
Shido already noticed the glances of the employees along the way, especially the intense eyes coming from the females which made him let out a wry smile inside. However, since Hazuki didn't say anything, Shido also didn't bother to do anything so he just simple followed Hazuki and listened to her words.
Watching everything and listening to Hazuki, Shido had to admit that he was quite impressed that the company had become successful despite its small size. It wasn't a huge corporation with countless branches or overwhelming manpower, yet it managed to earn solid profits and a strong reputation in the game industry purely through its achievements.
After reaching the conference room, Hazuki sent a notification to the higher ups of 'Eagle Jump', firstly to introduce the new president and to discuss about the future of the company.
"Hazuki-san, you're already here, huh?"
"Oh, you're here, Umiko-kun!"
It wasn't even a few seconds before the first person arrived in the conference room. She was a tanned girl with dark brown hair and cyan eyes. However, anyone meeting her for the first time might mistake her for a cold and strict person because of her perpetually frowning expression. Nevertheless, like Hazuki, she was undeniably a charming woman.
The girl Hazuki had called 'Umiko-kun' didn't reply. Instead, she stared at Shido as if sizing him up. Yet Shido could tell she was tense and nervous when their eyes met so Shido smiled softly at her.
Seeing that smile that could make her heart skip a beat, Umiko felt her face became red. However, she quickly recollected herself and calmed herself by taking a deep breath.
"Hello, President, My name is..."
She hesitated just as she was about to say her name, which made Shido a little confused. But when he glanced at the chuckling Hazuki, he paused for a moment and finally remembered why Umiko was hesitating and felt embarrassed while Hazuki seemed to be intertained.
Although she was embarrassed, Umiko knew it was rude to pause so abruptly, so she took a deep breath before finally finishing her introduction. "M-My name is… A-Ahagon Umiko. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Umiko's face was red due to the shame and embarrassment. After all, she was often made fun of during her high school because of her name so she had quite of complex about her name.
"Nice to meet you, Ahagon-san."
"…Please, just call me 'Umiko,' President." Though embarrassed, her expression barely changed, except for a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Hmm? Why? Are you embarrassed by your name?"
"I…" Umiko hadn't expected Shido to understand her so quickly. She lowered her head slightly, unable to find the words to reply.
"I think it's a beautiful name, though."
"What?" Surprise appeared on Umiko's gorgeous face as it was the first time someone said those to her.
Shido leaned back slightly, his tone calm yet genuine. "Ahagon Umiko… it has a gentle, natural ring to it. Child of the sea. It feels like a name that carries both strength and calmness, something that suits you perfectly. Honestly, I really like it, it compliments you more than you realize."
"...President." Umiko fell into a moment of silence hearing Shido's sincere words. She didn't think Shido was lying looking at his sincere face.
Poof
Her face turned bright red, so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to bury herself in. But this time, her embarrassment had nothing to do with her name, it was because of Shido's words, which had struck her deeply.
"Thank you, President. B-But still, please just call me by Umiko." While her complex was now more or less eased because of Shido's words, Umiko still wanted Shido to use her name if possible and Shido respected that.
"Alright, if that's what you want. But in return, you should call me by my name too."
"Eh? Is that okay?" She was surprised and became embarrassed again as they would be calling each other with their first name making them look more closer.
"Of course, it wouldn't be fair to you if you still call me president when I call you by your name right?" Shido said and fixated his eyes at the girl.
"T-Then, S-Shido-san."
"Yes, Umiko-san."
A soft, almost fluffy warmth filled the air as they smiled at each other, until Hazuki's cough cut through the moment.
"Wow, I didn't expect the all-serious Umiko-kun to fall so quickly for the President. You're really something, President." While it seemed that Hazuki was praising Shido, her tone was far from it causing Shido's lips to twitch.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Ah! Sorry, I apologize!"
Hazuki scrambled to apologize as Umiko suddenly pulled out an airsoft pistol and fired at her feet, making Hazuki jump around in surprise.
Shido felt funny by the scene causing him to let out a smile however he didn't do anything as he was amused with Hazuki.
...
"This is our new President, Itsuka Shido and he will be the owner of 'Eagle Jump 'from now on."
In front of everyone, Hazuki introduced Shido. The senior employees of Eagle Jump clapped their hand as their eyes were full of smile and sparkles with dangerous light as they stare at Shido like a prey wanting to pounce and devour him since he was just so handsome and young.
However, Shido didn't react much to this as he was already used from people looking at him with those eyes in the Overlord World.
Stepping forward under the gaze of the people inside, Shido introduced himself with a steady and confidence that doesn't seem to match his current age.
"Good day, everyone. My name is Itsuka Shido, and while I know some of you are still surprised by my sudden acquisition of the company, I will be serving as the new president of Eagle Jump. I look forward to working with all of you."
He ended with a small smile, and another round of applause echoed through the conference room. Yet, before they could fully recover, Shido dropped a surprising announcement.
"While this might come as a surprise to most of you, since you're all still in the middle of developing Fairies Story 3, I will be proposing a new game project. Once the plan is finalized, I'll present it to everyone."
The sudden announcement left everyone momentarily stunned. Even Hazuki was caught off guard, yet she simply smiled, curious about what surprise Shido had in store.