Although Togawa Sakiko had asked to meet them together with Chihaya Tetsuya, he ultimately refused her.
He did intend for the father and daughter to meet, just not right now.
"You really are an awfully kind-hearted person."
On the way to the designated restaurant, Sakurakouji Luna said to Tetsuya.
"As a fellow designer, you of all people should understand that no matter the reason, this kind of behavior is absolutely unforgivable, right?"
As the mediators and organizers of this meeting, Luna and Yachiyo were naturally also attending.
"...Perhaps."
Tetsuya's response to her statement was noncommittal.
Having been falsely accused due to Ko Ogino's plagiarism before, he was, in a sense, one of the people with the most right to speak on the matter.
"I don't intend to make any excuses or defenses for Sakiko's father. I simply hope to stop him before he makes an even bigger mistake... and then have him make amends for his actions as soon as possible."
Tetsuya said.
"After all, as things stand, the mistake he's made hasn't reached an irreversible point. If that's the case, then as long as we can persuade Jean-san, we might be able to give this matter a relatively peaceful conclusion."
"..."
Looking at his incredibly serious expression, Luna fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Then, if Mr. Togawa can't meet the conditions Jean-san proposes, will you step in to help?"
"I will."
Tetsuya answered with almost no hesitation.
"That's why I didn't ask Sakiko to come along. Otherwise, she would never have agreed."
"I see."
Luna averted her gaze, letting out a sound that made it difficult to discern her emotions.
"She's quite pampered, isn't she... Togawa. It seems all the misfortune you've suffered should end here..."
"Did you say something just now, Sakurakouji-san?"
Tetsuya, who hadn't caught her muttering, asked curiously.
Luna just shook her head, then leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest.
...
When Tetsuya and the others stepped out of the elevator and arrived at the private room they had booked, a head of incredibly conspicuous short blond hair naturally entered his field of vision.
The distinctly foreign features and the Japanese spoken with a subtle accent allowed Tetsuya to confirm the man's identity almost instantly. As for the middle-aged man standing behind him, with his ramrod straight posture but somewhat haggard face... his identity was self-evident.
"It's been a long time, Yachiyo!"
Jean waved enthusiastically at Yamabuki Yachiyo.
"You look a lot more mature than when we just graduated!"
"...But you're still as free-spirited as ever."
Yachiyo said to her old classmate with a helpless expression.
"Since you know I'm working as a maid now, you should have greeted the person I serve first, shouldn't you? And you're a titled nobleman now, no less."
"Ah, you have a point."
Jean smiled dashingly, then naturally greeted Sakurakouji Luna beside her.
"Hello, Ms. Sakurakouji. My name is Jean-Pierre Stanley."
"Good day, Jean-san."
Under Sakiko's influence, Luna, who had never liked formal ceremonies, had managed to recall some of the etiquette she had once learned.
"And as a student who will be enrolling in [Filia] next year, I would prefer if you just called me Sakurakouji."
"Mhm, okay. I'll remember that."
Jean smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Tetsuya.
"Then, this... must be the Mr. Chihaya who requested a meeting with me?"
"Yes."
Unlike the other two's composure, Tetsuya's tone and expression were a bit tense.
"My name is Chihaya Tetsuya. Thank you very much for taking time out of your valuable schedule to meet with me... Also, your proficiency in Japanese is far beyond my expectations."
"That's because this guy's a genius. It's not just Japanese; he's picked up at least a little of the local language of every country he's visited."
Yachiyo explained.
Jean, hearing this, replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"If you want to learn a local culture and its knowledge, you naturally have to start with the language. As for this meeting, even if you hadn't requested it, Mr. Chihaya, I probably would have invited you to meet before the [TGC] anyway."
Jean's tone was as bright and relaxed as his smile.
"Speaking of which, it's a shame I was a little late to the celebration party last time, otherwise we could have met sooner."
At this, his eyes fixed on Tetsuya. Feeling a shiver run down his spine from the stare, Tetsuya swallowed imperceptibly and managed to squeeze out, "The honor is all mine."
"Alright, you're up next, Mr. Assistant."
After greeting everyone, Jean turned to look at the middle-aged man standing behind him, who simply shook his head.
"I'm just an assistant... there's no need for me to introduce myself."
"Sorry about that. My assistant here has never been fond of introducing himself in front of people."
Faced with such a cold and self-deprecating response, Jean shrugged as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"If Mr. Chihaya hadn't specifically requested to see him, he definitely wouldn't have come with me."
"..."
At this, the assistant... Togawa Sakiko's father, finally looked up, staring in confusion at the young man he had never seen before.
Faced with his gaze, Tetsuya hesitated for a moment before finally speaking slowly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you... Mr. Assistant. You may not know who I am, but I must introduce myself to you... I am the head designer of the personal brand [Starry Sky]. And the name of my one and only apprentice and assistant is Togawa Sakiko."
"You said Sakiko?!"
Hearing this, Sakiko's father couldn't help but cry out in astonishment. But a second later, realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly schooled his expression.
"You... know who I am?"
"Not only that, I also know that you are currently doing something that is absolutely not permitted."
Tetsuya said, looking into the man's gradually widening eyes.
"And that is precisely the reason I wanted to meet with you... and Jean-san today."
"Oh my~"
Hearing this, Jean, who had been quietly observing the two, raised an eyebrow.
"So that's how it is..."
He said, looking at Tetsuya with a smile.
"In that case, let's have a meal, and you can tell me all about... this 'impermissible' thing you speak of."
"...!!!"
Ever since Tetsuya had uttered the name "Togawa Sakiko," her father felt a chill spread from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
He had never told anyone about his daughter. Even to his employer, he had never revealed any information about himself. Yet, this young man had found him without hesitation and said Sakiko's name. Not only that, he had seen right through to the secret he was hiding.
At this point, how Tetsuya knew about his deal with [NozAK!] no longer mattered. All he wanted to know was how much this young man knew, and what he planned to do next.
"P-please wait!"
Just as the group was about to enter the private room and be seated, Sakiko's father hurriedly stopped Tetsuya.
"Could you please... speak with me alone, Chihaya-san?"
Even when facing this young man who was the same age as his daughter, Sakiko's father adopted the most respectful and humble posture.
"I beg you! It won't take long!"
"..."
Tetsuya hesitated for a moment. Seeing that aside from an unhappy look on Luna's face, the other two didn't seem to mind, he slowly nodded.
"I understand."
He then walked over to Sakiko's father's side and said to the others.
"Excuse me, I'll be right back."
Then, he and Sakiko's father walked to a nearby corner of the hallway.
...
"I don't know how much you know, but... I implore you... do not tell Jean about this!"
Once they were out of earshot, Sakiko's father got straight to the point, bowing deeply to Tetsuya.
"I know that what I'm doing is unforgivable. I can promise you... once my deal with Ko Ogino is complete, I will take responsibility for my actions. But before then, please grant me a little more time!"
"...Please raise your head."
Looking at the man bowing deeply before him, Tetsuya didn't rush to respond to his request. Instead, he gently placed a hand on the man's shoulder and slowly helped him stand up.
"Besides being Sakiko's teacher and boss... my main role is as her friend and companion. As her elder, you don't need to be so deferential to me. And I know why you've made these mistakes."
Tetsuya sighed.
"You made a deal with [NozAK!] for Sakiko's sake, didn't you?"
"...Yes."
Sakiko's father said in an incredibly heavy tone.
"Over the past year, I have made Sakiko bear far too many responsibilities and burdens that were never hers to carry. As her father, I couldn't let that continue any longer."
Recalling the envelope Sakiko had given him, recalling her strength in never backing down even when pushing herself to the absolute limit, her father looked up and said with a resolute voice.
"I want to give Sakiko back a freer life and future that belongs only to her. For that, I am willing to bet the rest of my life... I will not hesitate."
As he spoke, he took out the phone he used specifically to contact Ko Ogino from his pocket.
"Here are all the recordings and chat logs of my contact with Ko Ogino. Once our deal is complete, I will confess everything to Jean... After that, he can do whatever he wants with me. So please, just give me a little more time. After the joint exhibition is over, I will take full responsibility—"
"You keep talking about giving Sakiko a future, but have you ever considered that you are also a part of the future she desires?"
Tetsuya finally interrupted the despondent man's monologue.
"As her father, you should know what a strong girl Sakiko is. But just a short while ago, when she learned you had traded her freedom for a sum of money from an unknown source, she proactively sought my help for the first time."
"!"
Sakiko's father's head shot up.
Tetsuya continued.
"This past year must have made you mistakenly believe that you are hated by Sakiko... but that's not true! Even when you languished at home for a full year, even when you left her alone without a word, even when you didn't speak to her for a whole month, she was still very concerned about you and worried that you had made an irreversible mistake. It's true that because of you, she was forced to bear a burden far beyond her years, but you should also know that for a child her age, it's impossible to simply cast aside one's family!"
Tetsuya's voice grew stronger.
"If you see Sakiko as an independent and self-reliant person, then you should respect her decision to leave the Togawa family with you. If you see her as a child who needs an adult's protection, then you should be by her side, not making this kind of self-sacrifice that nobody wants! As her father, her family, is this level of communication really so difficult?"
"Family... father...?"
An incredibly bitter expression appeared on the face of Sakiko's father.
"Do I still have the right to call myself her father now?"
"Even if everything you own is taken from you, this one bond is something no one can ever take away."
Tetsuya said.
"Please, think carefully. Should Sakiko's future be decided by your own high-handed assumptions, or should she be the one to think and choose for herself? And what you're doing now—are you really saving her, or are you just adding more hidden dangers and pressure to her future?"
"..."
After hearing Tetsuya's words, Sakiko's father fell into a long silence.
After experiencing the most painful series of failures in his life, he had completely given up hope and unilaterally negated his own qualifications as a father.
In truth, during his time away from home, he had seen all of Sakiko's attempts to contact him. But having completely abandoned his own dignity and sense of self, he had merely seen it as an obligatory concern born from her sense of responsibility and kindness.
If what Tetsuya said was true, that Sakiko was still willing to see his useless self as a cherished family member...
Then what he was doing right now might truly be far from the future Sakiko desired...
Just as Sakiko's father was caught in this internal conflict, Tetsuya suddenly continued.
"Actually, the reason I wanted to meet you today, aside from telling you Sakiko's true feelings, was to inform you of something else—"
Under the man's astonished gaze, Tetsuya spoke.
"Sakiko and I... have developed a relationship that goes beyond friendship."
"...What did you say?"