Kobayashi Tetsu and Masayoshi Son met briefly, finalizing the terms of their partnership.
SoftBank would soon invest a sum of capital into Atlas in exchange for founder's shares. Although Tetsu had never issued such a thing, he realized that bringing founder's shares into play was now a priority.
He mused that certain matters needed to be settled before the company went public.
For example—
The girlfriend problem.
Any negative news before an IPO could be detrimental. While a president dating around wasn't a mortal sin, Tetsu still hoped to avoid the issue as much as possible.
So, it's time to go public with them? No—more accurately, I only need to go public with Aika.
The thought alone gave Tetsu a headache. How was he ever going to handle that?
After all, Anegasaki Nene knew about Koyakawa, and Koyakawa knew about Nene. The two of them maintained this delicate balance with an awkward yet mutually accepted understanding. Only Takamine Aika remained completely in the dark.
Thank goodness, Kobayashi Tetsu thought. At least I've already made plans for Valentine's Day. I can find an opportunity to resolve this whole mess.
After saying goodbye to Masayoshi Son, Kobayashi Tetsu returned home to find the lights already on.
Hiss—
His heart hammered with nervous anticipation as he stepped through the door, just in time to hear the kettle whistling.
Kobayashi Tetsu flinched, his gaze darting toward the kitchen.
Anegasaki Nene was there, preparing a meal. Hearing the kettle, she wiped her hands on her apron and went to tend to the boiling water.
"Sister Nene."
"Welcome home, Tetsu-kun."
Kobayashi Tetsu walked over, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to explain the whole "third wheel" situation.
With her back to him, Anegasaki Nene brought the kitchen knife down on the cutting board with a sharp thwack.
"Tetsu-kun," she said without turning around. "Speaking of which, Valentine's Day is coming up soon, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Kobayashi Tetsu said, taking a deep breath. "Um, actually, if we celebrate a day early, we'd have a whole day that's..."
...reserved for Sister Nene."
In plain English: I already have a date on the 14th, but if you don't mind spending the day before that—the 13th—we can have a whole day just for ourselves.
The sound of the kitchen knife chopping came to an abrupt halt.
She laid the chicken thighs flat on the cutting board and began deboning them. The sound of the knife tip scraping against the bone grew increasingly harsh.
Anegasaki Nene didn't turn around, but her voice sounded a little aggrieved. "Um, I've been playing a really interesting new game lately. Deep Sea Girl... it seems like a wonderful game. But... why are there such strange people in it?"
Kobayashi Tetsu started to speak, then hesitated, letting out only a sigh.
Alright, fine! That incident really did do Nene wrong.
Even the gentlest person couldn't be expected to step aside and yield for her every Valentine's Day. She wanted a normal life too.
But I've already made plans with Aika...
Kobayashi Tetsu grumbled to himself, but quickly reassured himself—It's okay, there's still time! As long as I manage my schedule properly, I can become a master of time management.
After a brief silence, Kobayashi Tetsu finally nodded solemnly and agreed.
"Indeed, Soba Studio must be very busy, right? This time, let's leave February 13th to Koyakawa."
The chopping of vegetables finally returned to a steady rhythm, and the sound of scraping bone ceased.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu breathed a slight sigh of relief, the words he wanted to say suddenly got stuck in his throat.
I've already been so wronged! he thought. If you suddenly tell someone you have a fourth partner at a time like this, even the gentlest person would get furious!
Kobayashi Tetsu could only console himself.
It's okay. I still have a whole month from February 14th to March 14th to confess everything! There's still time!
He's someone who values relationships so much. As long as the four of them can live happily together, that's more important than anything else!
February 13th—Kobayashi Tetsu set aside this day exclusively for Koyakawa.
This time, Koyakawa graciously accepted.
After all, I can't hog Valentine's Day every time. Besides, the game even hinted at Nene.
So, this time, I have to be the magnanimous one!
Kobayashi Tetsu casually asked about the development of The Witch's House before getting down to business.
"Speaking of which, I'm preparing for Atlas's IPO. According to US stock market listing requirements, at least 25% of the shares must be circulated in the public market. However, if the share capital is over 10 billion yen, only 10% of the shares need to be circulated."
"I plan to bring in some investors to subscribe to about 2 to 3 billion yen of original shares. I will also establish a separate company, funded by Atlas and myself personally, to serve as the parent company for Atlas Studio and the Technical Development Department, as well as other companies like Capcom, and subscribe to about 7 billion yen of shares."
"Atlas currently has a total of 176 employees, including the Technical Development Department. This means that even after excluding the brought-in investors and my own portion, we still need to issue 1 billion yen worth of shares to ensure we meet the US stock market listing requirements."
Koyakawa didn't understand, and of course, she had no intention of trying to.
She chewed on the end of her chopsticks, her gaze fixed on Kobayashi Tetsu.
"So, what are we doing next?"
Kobayashi Tetsu said, "This means that, on average, we need to ensure that each person subscribes to at least 5 million yen or more of original shares. Although employees can afford to subscribe to these original shares given Atlas's salary levels, I still hope to leave as many original shares as possible to the important people."
Koyakawa squinted her eyes and smiled.
Yes, "important people," huh?
"So you're asking me to spend money, right?"
Koyakawa started counting on her fingers. She had saved up some money from her time at the Kadokawa Game Magazine Editorial Department, and she'd also earned a good sum from the release of Deep Sea Girl. Although she had to split the profits with the rest of the studio, she naturally took the largest share.
After finishing her calculations, Koyakawa looked up.
"I'll buy ten million yen's worth!"
Kobayashi Tetsu lowered his gaze and said to her, "You'd better think this through. If anything goes wrong, it'll have a huge impact on you."
Koyakawa hummed in agreement, but she seemed to have drifted off a while ago. She kept her head down, doodling on the table, before suddenly looking up again.
"How about fifteen million yen?"
Kobayashi Tetsu sighed.
She wasn't listening to a word I said!
"It's a good thing I wasn't planning on scamming you, or what would we do in the future?"
Kobayashi Tetsu hugged Koyakawa tight.
This kid... I hope she never gets scammed by anyone else!
Koyakawa didn't care about any of that.
"Tetsu-kun would never scam me anyway, right?"
Kobayashi Tetsu's hand flinched.
Tetsu-kun has probably scammed plenty of people!
And so, February 14th arrived.
Anegasaki Nene had come early. By the time Kobayashi Tetsu woke up, he could already hear the sounds of breakfast being prepared in the kitchen.
He would be with Nene all morning, parting ways at 3:00 PM to meet Takamine Aika, and then returning at night. He had timed everything out perfectly.
Just before leaving, Kobayashi Tetsu paused at the entryway and turned to Anegasaki Nene.
"Sister Nene, actually, I—"
Actually, I have a fourth one.
Anegasaki Nene tilted her head slightly.
"Hmm?"
"It's nothing. I mean, I've actually made quite a few arrangements for today."
"Alright." Anegasaki Nene clasped her hands together, smiling softly. "Then today, Tetsu-kun, you can do with me as you please."
"Don't put it so... so strangely."
Do with me as you please? That sounds like I'm playing with a slave.
Kobayashi Tetsu spread his arms, pulled Anegasaki Nene into an embrace, and they began kissing in the entryway.
Just then, the open door was pulled open from the outside.
"Excuse me."
Takamine Aika peeked inside, looking surprised that the door was actually unlocked.
Then, she beheld a scene that surprised her even more.
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