A girl stood quietly in front of a building, dressed in a sheer lace short-sleeved blouse.
Her left hand casually held onto the strap of her canvas bag, while her right hand reached up to push back a slightly oversized sailor-style cap that drooped over her forehead, clearing her view.
"Tansan."
She softly read the characters beneath the toasting glass logo.
"Mm… this should be the place."
Murmuring to herself, she stepped toward the open glass doors.
Beneath the hem of her mini skirt, her long, fair legs moved with such ease and grace it was like strolling through a field of blooming flowers.
But just as her left foot crossed the threshold and she was about to call out with a polite smile that only someone seeking help would wear, she froze.
What she saw inside was absolutely not what one expected from an animation studio.
Katou Megumi hesitated for two seconds.
Relying on her uncanny, almost ghost-like ability to go unnoticed, she quietly stepped back out before anyone inside noticed her.
Looking back up at the Tansan sign that being boasted by Eriri so proudly—and then at the hand-drawn kanji written by Kyousuke himself, she was certain she hadn't come to the wrong place.
Still, what she had just seen inside made her wonder if the company had already gone bankrupt or something.
"Hey, hey—!"
Just as Megumi lowered her head to dig out her phone and double-check the address, a hoarse voice called out from nearby.
She turned and saw a middle-aged man who looked like he'd collapse at any moment, dark circles under his eyes so deep he could be cast as a ghost in a low-budget horror flick.
She tilted her head and glanced up at the dazzling midday sun, silently wondering why a ghost would appear in broad daylight to someone as ordinary as her.
Her presence was barely noticed in this world there was no reason it should suddenly shine in the next.
She nodded politely and asked, "Excuse me, is something wrong?"
What she didn't expect was for the exhausted-looking man to wave her over urgently.
"Ah, miss! You're not planning to go into that company, are you?! If you're a student looking for a part-time job at an anime studio—don't go in there!"
Half-dead from a night of drawing key frames and only out to buy an energy drink, Daigo Handa looked genuinely alarmed.
"Hmm~?"
Megumi turned to glance at the Tansan Animation glass door again, then back at the man who could barely stand but was still desperately trying to warn her.
She let out a puzzled sound.
"That place… I think it's been taken over by some seriously abnormal people!" Handa said gravely.
Recalling what she had seen earlier, Megumi nodded in agreement.
But still—so what if it was abnormal? The person she came for was inside.
From a distance, Handa had assumed the girl was just a normal student.
But up close, despite four days of sleep-deprived fog clouding his brain, something clicked.
He was staring at a goddess.
"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?" Megumi offered gently.
Sure, Tansan was just a company Hojou started to mess around with Eriri, but as his friend, she still felt a bit obligated to defend it.
"No, no, no! No misunderstanding at all!"
Handa shook his head violently—nearly toppling over—and hurriedly explained how just this morning, he'd nearly dozed off at his desk when a thunderous "Good morning, President!!" from the neighboring office jolted him awake.
Through the window, he'd caught a glimpse of what could only be described as yakuza-level theatrics inside Tansan Animation.
"Even the real mafia doesn't have underlings that intimidating these days!" Handa declared with complete conviction.
"I see. I understand." Megumi nodded, then bowed politely. "Thank you for the warning. Please take care of yourself."
"Haha, don't be fooled by how I look! I'm full of energy—everyone's waiting on me to finish those frames. Not a second to rest!"
Handa puffed up with pride, ignoring the production assistant looming nearby like a shinigami waiting to claim his soul.
Megumi smiled and gave a polite farewell.
As she turned back toward the company entrance, looking at that made Handa paused.
He thought maybe he should ask if she really was looking for part-time work—if so, his studio was always in desperate need of cheap labor.
But when he looked up again, the girl had already stepped through the door.
'Wait—what?! She went in?! Should I call the police?'
His foggy brain was too far gone to make a solid decision.
Instead, he cracked open a can of energy drink and downed it in one go.
Ah… right.
He suddenly remembered the rumors floating around his own company—about Tansan's young president who looked like a mafia prince… and the two stunning princess-like girls always by his side.
So this one must be…
Forget it. He had drawings to finish.
If he didn't get back soon, he could kiss sleep goodbye for another night.
The hunched middle-aged animator shuffled into the shadows.
Compared to the bright glass doors across the hall, his workplace felt more like the real underworld.
This time, Megumi didn't hesitate at the door.
After all, the man he warned her about was definitely Hojou.
But… haha, she never imagined this was how Hojou appeared in the eyes of strangers.
No wonder her cousin looked up to him so much.
A smile tugged at her lips.
And just as she stepped through the doors again, another thought slipped into her mind:
'But... Hojou's always seemed like a regular guy in front of me.'
Aside from being smart, good-looking, and an amazing cook… the only thing truly "abnormal" about him was how he always noticed her.
How he could somehow read her mind.
He was the kind of person who could do something completely mundane, and people would turn it into a rumor or a legend.
Yet when she was with him, everything felt… ordinary.
Hmm~~
It was… really hard to explain.
As she passed through the glass doors and glanced at the empty reception desk, Megumi turned down the hallway.
With legs close together, the hem of her skirt floated gently as she walked before falling softly against her thighs again.
And then she called out calmly, "Excuse me~ sorry to intrude~"
Now that she was sure this was really Hojou's company, she could finally look at the scene in front of her properly.
And it was… something no calm, composed girl like Katou Megumi could have ever expected to see in the real world.
In the narrow hallway before her, a boy lay on the floor, limbs each pinned by a suited, muscle-bound man.
A fifth man was holding a massive bottle of cola and pouring it down the poor boy's throat.
Cola was now pouring from his eyes and nose, and while he seemed to be trying to resist with his tongue or something, the fizzy drink kept gushing into his mouth and throat with no signs of slowing.
Upon hearing her voice, the man gleefully pouring soda Hirata froze in place.
'Damn! When had his guard gotten so weak?! Someone had walked all the way up to them, and he hadn't even noticed until she spoke!'
'How the hell was I supposed to protect the boss like this?!'
ust as that thought crossed his mind, he moved in a flash—shoving aside the coworkers pinning Aki Tomoya down without hesitation.
Without even sparing a glance, he kicked Aki Tomoya into a nearby room and finally looked up, forcing a smile onto his face.
"Hello, welcome to Carbonated Animation Studio. How can I help you today?"
If it weren't for the brown cola still dripping from the man's hands—or the lingering fierce expressions on the faces of the others around him.
—Katou Megumi might've thought she was just imagining things.
'Incredible… Hojou's subordinates are seriously terrifying.'
Noticing the girl's gaze, Toshiro Hirata quickly kicked a colleague who was still peeking toward where Aki had been shoved, then shouted:
"We've got a guest! Where's the front desk? Sanada, you're on duty, right?!"
"Coming, coming! Hello, I'm Ryozo Sanada from reception. How may I assist you today?" Ryozo Sanada stepped forward.
Despite the lingering memory of the bizarre scene she had just witnessed replaying in her mind, the formal tone reminded Megumi of something she already knew.
—Hojou Kyousuke, the boy who always acted like a normal guy around her, was someone truly extraordinary in other people's eyes.
"I'm… I'm a friend of Hojou's. I just wanted to talk to him about something."
After a brief moment of consideration—running through the many possible titles she could've used for him, she chose the most ordinary one: a friend.
"Got it. Makes sense," Sanada replied with a knowing smile, nodding as if her answer was expected. He then gestured politely toward the hallway.
"The Boss is upstairs. I'll take you to him."
"Huh~? Don't you need to take my name or ask if I have an appointment or something?" Megumi asked curiously.
Weren't they being all professional a minute ago?
Why the sudden switch to being so lax?
"No need at all. If we did that, the Boss might actually get mad."
Sanada grinned, now looking as harmless as a bunny—even though just moments ago he had seemed like a cold-blooded assassin.
Beside him, Hirata and the others stood lined up along the hallway like toy soldiers, wearing identical expressions.
As far as they were concerned, a pretty girl could only mean one thing: take her straight to the boss.
"Got it. Then I'll be in your care," Megumi chuckled softly and nodded.
Just as she was about to go up the stairs, she couldn't help but glance back, hoping to catch another glimpse of the guy who had just been waterboarded with cola.
But Toshiro Hirata swiftly stepped in to block her view.
"Heh." He forced a wide, awkward smile.
Megumi turned her head naturally and continued walking upstairs.
Maybe… it was just some sort of impromptu performance?
Sakura had told her once—Hojou used to make up bedtime stories when they were kids, including one about a robot powered by cola.
Her fair, calm face betrayed none of her inner thoughts, as usual.
"…What should we do, Hirata? You think the boss's gonna scold us for this?" Yoshiki Kakizaki whispered nervously.
"Quit talking nonsense and focus on what you're supposed to do!" Hirata snapped, placing his faith in the Boss's taste in women.
If this girl was someone the Hojou family welcomed, then these things were part of the package.
"Understood!"
Meanwhile, on the stairs, Ryozo Sanada slowed his pace, glancing down at his phone—which had shown no signs of activity.
As receptionist, he couldn't just escort someone upstairs, even if she was the boss's sweetheart.
The moment she mentioned her business, he had sent a coded message to their strategist, Kisaki Tetta.
But there was still no reply.
"Is something wrong? I don't mind waiting a bit," Megumi said gently with a smile.
"N-not at all!" Sanada answered quickly, raising his voice.
No way he'd let the boss's girl wait!
And so, Katou Megumi arrived at the interview room.
Though Hojou's voice inside didn't sound as calm and gentle as usual, she didn't hesitate.
She reached out and turned the knob without a second thought.
"Umm, sorry to intrude~ Is this the interview room?"
The girl stood at the doorway, clutching the straps of her white canvas bag, looking adorably out of place.
Seeing the high school-aged girl standing there, Kosaka Akane felt a strange sense of something both unexpected and inevitable.
"Katou-san?"
Kyousuke blinked.
If he hadn't known better, he might've thought he was dreaming.
The girl who hadn't even attended yesterday's celebration had somehow miraculously appeared here?
"Good morning, Hojou."
Megumi lifted her right hand and waved cutely.
The slightly oversized sailor hat on her head bobbed gently with the motion.
Kyousuke didn't ask why she was here.
He simply stepped forward, smiling.
"This is amazing. Just now, President Kosaka was saying I didn't have any friends to help me—and then you show up."
Akane opened her mouth, about to protest that she hadn't said exactly that, but wisely decided to keep quiet.
Aki Tomoya's screams still echoed in her ears, and the chair that had been split in two lay broken right in front of her.
"Ehh~? What a coincidence," Megumi tilted her head slightly, wearing a look of mild surprise.
Then, raising her calm gaze to Hojou Kyousuke, she said:
"I didn't think there was much I could actually do to help… but I still felt like I should come see you.
That's what I thought, and both Sakura and Aunt Mikiko told me, 'If you want to go, then go.' So I did."
Even though her words were honest and direct, expressing her concern openly, her voice and expression remained serene.
—As if she were talking about something that didn't really involve her.
What she didn't say out loud was that even without Sakura or Mikiko's encouragement, she would've come anyway.
—Oops~ maybe I did kind of say it out loud, huh?
But… hopefully no one picked up on it.
That sort of subtle, almost unreadable remark was something only someone like Katou Megumi could make sound so effortless.
"You've already been a huge help. Your timing was perfect for knocking Kosaka down a peg," Kyousuke said with a grin.
It really was perfect timing—just after Kosaka Akane had declared that he had no one to rely on, Megumi had appeared at the door like some kind of miracle.
If he hadn't already taken care of the interview situation that morning, she would've seemed like an angel descending from the heavens.
Then again, even now, she was no less of a blessing.
What could warm a person's heart more than a girl's sincere concern?
Not the kind that overwhelms or burdens someone, but the plain and gentle kind—open, honest, and completely unpretentious.
That was something only Megumi could offer.
"Huh? But I haven't done anything yet. I was just thinking maybe I could help by making some calls or picking up lunch or something," Megumi said, revealing her original intention.
After hearing Sakura and Mikiko talk about Hojou's company, she had figured he'd be swamped today.
"Well, things might look calm now, but they're about to get hectic. Today's a big day,"
Kyousuke replied with a smile.
"Ugh, Megumi, you're so sneaky…" Eriri mumbled under her breath.
Come on! Today was supposed to be just her and Kyousuke—a perfect little world for the two of them!
Why were people just popping up one after another?
It was all Kosaka Akane's fault!
Even if she could act completely unreasonable and kick her recent ally Kasumigaoka Utaha out without a second thought, Eriri couldn't bring herself to be rude to Megumi, who had shown up so kindly and just wanted to help.
So instead, all her irritation was redirected toward the infuriating, trouble-stirring Kosaka Akane.
"Sawamura-san, I think you just accidentally said what you were really thinking out loud.
Sounds like your brain's no longer functioning due to lack of sleep. You should probably go home and rest," Utaha said casually, not even glancing in Eriri's direction.
She saw right through Eriri's little tantrum—and was clearly enjoying the chance to ruin her mood.
"Oh? Well, Eriri, you could always just ignore me like you usually do. If I don't say anything, you tend to forget I'm even here,"
Megumi said lightly, her tone cheerful and unbothered.
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