"So, tell me, Mr. Yuuji, what is so urgent that you need to meet with the president of Elite Stories herself without making an appointment in advance?"
"Are you kidding?" Yuuji looked at the girl in front of him, unsure whether to laugh or cry at her personality.
"You wouldn't understand, Yuuji, but when you reach this position, you have to use appropriate language, not only verbally but visually as well" Saki said arrogantly while clearly enjoying her executive persona.
"You know I'm a CEO too, right?" Yuuji replied disdainfully.
"Tsk, fine, what do you want from me?" Saki reluctantly returned to her real personality.
"Let's talk business, Tenjoin" Yuuji began, becoming serious as well. "The truth is, your company is doing well, very well. While the stories aren't the best or the most innovative, your family's support and your leadership have turned it into a strong competitor in the market despite being a newcomer.
My company, Chaos Studios, on the other hand, achieved the same thing in a different way. I'm barely ever at the company, at least not running it, I don't receive support from my family, and Ruri, who is in charge, has orders to simply keep the company afloat and only move forward following my orders. With all that, being on your level should have been impossible, but I managed it thanks to a single story that, despite having only been released a few weeks ago, is already a worldwide success, and every critic agrees that it will probably become a childhood classic for future generations.
You don't have to be particularly intelligent to realize that, despite being direct competitors, our companies complement each other so well that, if they worked together, they would create an effect where one plus one becomes much more than two."
Yuuji spent some time explaining the current situation of both companies in detail but in an understandable way, going over the positive and negative aspects of each one and how they complemented each other, preparing the ground to present his proposal.
But when he finished, he found Saki looking almost tearfully at him, with a hint of fear and reluctance mixed with helplessness in her eyes.
"Y-you! Are you here to declare a commercial war?! You're planning a hostile takeover, aren't you?
"I knew it! So much for fair competition! You're going to use your influence to forcibly acquire Elite Stories!"
Saki stood up indignantly and began ranting nonstop about the injustice she was experiencing.
"Hold on, hold on" Yuuji interrupted her. "I'm not planning a hostile takeover. I'm here to propose cooperation between the two of us. A very deep cooperation, let's say."
"'Deep'?" Saki frowned, clearly not trusting him. "The kind where you get 99% of the profits and the remaining 1% is divided among all my employees?
"I can't clone myself and be all my employees like you can. It's unfair."
"They're avatars, not clones. The kind that I control all at once, not ones that have consciousness of their own" Yuuji corrected her, feeling that distinction was very important. "And that's not what I mean. Listen, it seems you have too many weird ideas about me, so just read the proposal first."
Tired, Yuuji simply handed her the proposal.
Saki hesitated for a second before reading it. At first, she did so without much interest, but the further she got, the more focused she became. By the end, her expression had turned 180 degrees and showed profound disbelief.
"You plan to merge both companies and give me control of everything? You're even providing me with stories on the level of Doraemon on a regular basis, while you only get... money?" Saki asked, unable to believe it.
"That's right" Yuuji nodded naturally.
"Why would you do something that stupid?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Tenjoin. The truth is, there was a reason why I created Chaos Studios, a reason unrelated to me that I recently resolved, so I no longer have any reason to continue with my company.
I have many stories that this world deserves to know, so simply closing the company seemed too selfish to me. But on the other hand, I really don't have enough interest in running a company.
So I thought, why not simply give the stories to someone trustworthy and have her handle publishing them while I just make a little money from it?" Yuuji revealed his true reasons in an attempt to convince her.
"Even if I believed you, which I don't, by the way, why would you think I'm trustworthy? I mean, I am the most trustworthy and perfect person in existence, yes, but we're enemies, so you should hate me."
"Enemies? Just a small school dispute, something that doesn't even really count as a fight" Yuuji shrugged. "Besides, technically, we're allies."
"Allies?" Saki repeated in confusion.
"Think about it, you want to be the most popular girl in school, but you got angry at Lala for attracting more attention.
You want people to stop chasing after her and start chasing after you.
And I'm Lala's boyfriend, so I also want people to stop chasing after her and follow you instead" Yuuji explained.
"Y-you actually make sense?" Saki realized. "...Fine, since we're allies, I'll consider your proposal.
I'll have it reviewed and formulate an appropriate contract that actually legally backs up everything you're saying here. At that point, it'll be up to you whether you sign it or not."
As expected of Saki, once she set aside her bias toward Yuuji, she didn't hesitate to agree.
It had to be said that although her personality was usually what stood out the most, she had the passive buff of every supporting character in a romantic comedy, making her extremely efficient and competent when she put her mind to it.
"Fine, but remember that it has to be done before the weekend" Yuuji reminded her.
Of course, there was actually no need to wait that long.
Unlike Yuuji, who didn't care about money, the Yuuji family, who already possessed unimaginable wealth not only in monetary terms but also in resources, territories, influence, knowledge, and anything else you could think of, and even Saki, who had only sought to compete with Yuuji as revenge and ended up enjoying her current position because of the prestige and popularity it brought her while also being easy and fun for her, the Tenjoin family was a genuine business, with normal objectives that included expanding, increasing their influence, and making more money. Money was the second thing they loved most in the world, right below their daughter, so as soon as they read the proposal and heard the context, they approved it immediately. The contract was drafted that same afternoon by Saki's own father and sent to Yuuji's house that very night, where he also signed it immediately.
But that's a matter for the near future. At this moment, after leaving Saki's office, Yuuji dispelled that Avatar, as it was no longer necessary.
However, he wasn't happy, because despite the numerous avatars he had, with all their sensations multiplied, the situation one of them was facing was troublesome enough to overwhelm the emotions of all the other avatars combined.
This particular Avatar waited a little longer at the school gate, after the other one had left with Saki, until he finally spotted two figures approaching.
"Yuuji, what are you doing here?"
Upon seeing him, Risa and Mio reacted quickly, with Risa greeting him cheerfully while Mio followed her.
"Well, since I'm leaving this weekend, I wanted to talk to you before then" Yuuji explained.
"A-about me?" Risa asked nervously, slowly backing away as if she could already tell what this was about.
"That's right."
"Ummm, since you're leaving this weekend, why don't we talk on Friday? Better yet, let's meet right before you leave, what do you think?" Saki said, backing away further as she tried to be discreet.
"No, let's do it now" Yuuji refused.
"...F-fine" Risa sighed resignedly before catching up to Mio and linking arms with her with a forced smile. "Come on, Mio, Yuuji wants to talk to us"
"Just you," Yuuji insisted.
"B-but I had plans with Mio, so..."
"It's fine, you can go" Mio said, separating from her and pushing her toward Yuuji.
"M-Mio?! Why are you abandoning me?" Risa asked with a look that reflected the deepest possible sense of betrayal.
"Can we go now?" Yuuji insisted again.
"...F-fine, let's go" Risa finally nodded. "Where are we going? Do you want to go somewhere empty? I know a place in the farthest corner of the school, really, really far away. We'd have to walk for a while, but..."
Yuuji shook his head and snapped his fingers. A black door that seemed to be made of shadows opened in the wall behind them.
"It leads to the rooftop" Yuuji explained before looking toward Mio. "Do you want one to get home immediately?"
"Not necessary" Mio refused, speaking in an unusually serious tone. "When you leave, open one so I can get to the rooftop too."
"Fine" Yuuji agreed and pushed Risa forward, who was still trying to refuse.
After crossing the Gate, the pair found themselves on the empty rooftop of the school. The crowd and noise of everyone leaving were far enough away to be nothing more than background noise, and it was even somewhat pleasant.
There was a small bench of the kind that couldn't possibly be missing from a romantic comedy, where Yuuji sat down and spoke, deciding to get straight to the point.
He didn't know how to deal with situations like this, so it was the only thing he could do.
"Risa, I'm sorry, but I don't like you. I only have romantic feelings for Lala."
"...I-I know" Risa replied and sat down beside Yuuji. "Why would you think I don't know?"
"I just wanted to give you a direct answer so you wouldn't get your hopes up before I leave for a while."
"That's not an answer because I never asked, you know?" Risa joked with a forced smile. "And I never planned to.
You know? Despite my personality, I'd never seriously liked anyone before. Who would've thought the first person would be someone who doesn't like me?"
"...You're cute, and very fun. Anyone else would want to date you."
"Tsk, who needs your pity?" Risa complained at Yuuji's terrible attempt to make her feel better. After hesitating for a few seconds, she spoke again. "About Rito..."
"I'm not Rito, and I won't have a harem or date more than one person" Yuuji interrupted, guessing her intentions. "Besides, even if I did, as I said, I don't have romantic feelings for you."
"...Rito didn't have romantic feelings for Run either."
"I already told you I'm not Rito" Yuuji sighed.
"...Tsk, fine. Then leave already and stop bothering me."
"Are you sure that..."
"Who would want to talk with the person who just rejected her?" Risa complained. "Shoo, shoo, get out already."
This time it was Risa's turn to push Yuuji, though toward an actual door.
It was hardly surprising that the door was open and unlocked. Once Yuuji left, Risa returned to the bench where she had been sitting before and sighed, lowering her gaze.
A few seconds later, Mio appeared and sat beside her.
"Did he reject you?"
"He rejected me before I could say anything" Risa nodded.
"Ha ha, where did all your confidence go? What happened to all that 'worst case scenario, I'll just steal him from Lala'?" Mio teased.
Risa brought her hands to her face, covering her embarrassed expression.
"I wasn't serious about that" she apologized in a tearful voice.
"I know. It's not like you would've managed it even if you were serious."
"Are you just going to keep making fun of me?"
"You can cry on my chest if it helps, but I'll make fun of you for that later too" Mio replied.
"Tsk" Risa clicked her tongue disdainfully, but nevertheless moved closer and rested against her chest, hiding her face.
Mio extended one arm and gently patted her on the back.
"Ugh, you're getting my uniform dirty"
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+10 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)