"Maybe so…"
Hayasaka Ai sat on the tree, the glow from a freshly lit street lamp reflected in her deep blue eyes.
When it came to the head of the Shinomiya family—or rather, anyone in the Shinomiya family besides the young lady—she always assumed the worst.
Because they were all selfish egotists who acted as if laws didn't apply to them—cunning, ruthless, utterly self-serving, and completely devoid of moral restraint.
"But even so, you could still pull it off, couldn't you?"
Akira didn't give her a direct answer.
"All I can say is that I probably can. If I take the request but fail to deliver, I'll give a full refund, along with some compensation—like handling any fallout caused by the failed deal."
Hearing that eased Hayasaka Ai's concerns, and she pressed on further.
"Then what you're saying is that it's just… not enough, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Aside from not wanting to move, I don't take on a job for two reasons—either I don't like the client, or I don't like the request.
The rest comes down to the price."
"…I'm willing to give anything. Any price."
Akira chuckled and shook his head.
"'Any price' is a dangerous thing to say, Miss Hayasaka.
For example, I'm actually quite interested in you. I was a bit regretful letting you leave last time.
If it weren't for my desire to stay human and avoid a mountain of harassment, you'd already be my pet maid."
Hayasaka Ai blinked slowly and looked toward the annex slowly being swallowed by nightfall.
A cute girl was locked up in there. When she left, she hadn't cried out loud yet, but she might be sobbing by now.
It was giving her a headache.
She'd already made so many wrong choices—what's one more?
"…Then, are you still interested now?"
This time, it was Akira who went quiet.
He lit a cigarette and asked, "Why? I know you care about your young lady, but this goes way beyond just 'caring.'"
Hayasaka Ai hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It's nothing. Just tell me—if I add myself to the deal, is that enough, Mr. Ogiwara?"
"We can set aside the issue of compensation for now. If you don't tell me the reason, I won't take the job.
Before I act, I have to understand the cause and effect—so I don't get used as a pawn."
"I swear, Mr. Ogiwara, I'd never think of doing that…"
"I believe you, but you can't ask me to trust you blindly, Miss Hayasaka."
To be honest, Akira found Hayasaka Ai's sudden madness hard to make sense of.
Before arriving here, he'd only seen the first season. He knew the young lady lived like a caged bird.
He knew Hayasaka Ai cared deeply for her, and he knew she despised the Shinomiya patriarch.
If he wanted to dig deeper, he could do a divination, but he didn't bring his tools today, and he'd also need Hayasaka Ai's birthdate. For now, questions would have to do.
As Hayasaka Ai remained silent, Akira spoke again:
"Relax. I don't care about your entanglements.
I just need to know if this will bring me extra trouble, whether it'll turn into the kind of request I hate, and whether I need to raise the price."
After a long silence, Hayasaka Ai replied quietly, her voice tinged with pain.
"I want to do something… to atone."
"For what sin?"
"I… I'm a traitor."
Oh? Sounds like there's some serious backstory here.
Still, if it's just about betrayal, it had nothing to do with being used as a pawn, so it wasn't a big deal.
Once that was clear, Akira began to wrap up the conversation.
"Your reason checks out. So for now, the job is to let your young lady attend the fireworks festival freely.
The price is… yourself.
That's not exactly a balanced deal, and the causality is unclear, but to avoid missing this year's festival, we'll hash out the details when you arrive."
"I'll give you five minutes to cool down—just in case this is a moment of impulse. If you still feel the same in five minutes, I'll take the job."
Hayasaka Ai blinked. "And the fifty million…"
"You misunderstood, Miss Hayasaka. I'm not saying your payment isn't enough. I'm saying it's too much."
For once, Hayasaka Ai looked confused.
She needed a moment to process this absurd equation in her head: myself > consequences of provoking the Shinomiya patriarch > fifty million yen.
And then she was even more confused.
"I… I'm worth that much?"
"To me, yes," Akira admitted. "Let's just say I have a unique taste. Now, the five-minute timer starts."
With that, he hung up.
A cosplayer wearing a prostitute outfit could inflate her price several times—so what kind of price would the original be worth?
And to a wandering male transmigrator, who saw a girl from his 'previous life' memory appear vividly in this foreign world—what price would that be?
For Akira, it was sky-high.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent three years as a modern urban MC, earned tons of money, and still felt aimless—until he saw Utaha and suddenly had some very indecent life goals.
He hadn't done anything outrageous yet because he still wanted to be human.
But if it didn't compromise that, then, to put it bluntly, he could become a lecherous old pervert in heat.
Like right now—for instance—when weighing the cost between provoking the Shinomiya patriarch and owing a favor to the Asai family's heir, the former seemed far worse.
But for someone as used to freedom as Akira, being forced to do something unwillingly was a far greater price.
As for slapping the Shinomiya patriarch in the face—frankly, that might even be a bit fun...
Meanwhile, on Hayasaka Ai's end, she was still dazed after hanging up, her head spinning with that baffling greater-than formula.
In Mr. Ogiwara's eyes, am I really worth that much?
The confusion was so overwhelming that it temporarily numbed her to the emotional turmoil of the deal she'd just made.
It took her two minutes to suppress the confusion, and another three to regain composure and weigh her options.
First, the man in question wasn't someone she disliked. In fact, she admired and respected him somewhat.
Second, he wasn't some ugly, overweight middle-aged man.
He was a well-built, handsome young man—just looking at his face for too long could make her blush.
Finally, he said she was offering too much, which meant… maybe she could even ask for a few extra favors.
For a moment, Hayasaka Ai felt like she was getting a good deal.
More importantly...
Hayasaka Ai looked toward the silent mansion—or rather, toward that cage.
If this sacrifice could open even a small crack in that cage, then maybe she would feel a little better.
She withdrew her gaze. At the exact five-minute mark, she resolutely dialed the number.
"I've made my decision, Mr. Ogiwara."
"Then go get ready to head out. I'll use 'we were short two people tonight' as a cover story to smooth things over, so we don't have to completely tear the mask off yet.
It's also a good excuse for you to come discuss the details. Got it?"
"Yes. But you're…"
"Already on-site. Oh, right—traffic's getting bad nearby because of the event. Major congestion. To avoid being late, make sure to bring a few bicycles."
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