“…Huh.”
Rumbling.
The forces of Enema, which had gathered like a storm and created an oppressive atmosphere, turned and left as if the tide had receded.
It was understandable that the low-ranking officials had nothing to do as the protected individual was finished. If it’s going to happen, it happens; if the situation flows, it’ll flow accordingly.
“What the hell…!”
But after giving a scary warning and putting on a pretense of inspecting the working specialists, why were they all running away as if they had seen something they shouldn’t?
I may have been flustered by an unexpected encounter and awkwardly fumbled my greeting, but… did it really look that unpleasant? If this is the typical sentiment of the ruling class, then I guess there’s nothing to be done about it.
Don’t they know that treating subordinates this way in the military earns them bitter resentment? Just because they have a clear path to success, does that mean they can act recklessly?
Even if I chewed on it internally, nothing was going to change.
The individual in question had already left, so I could only infer the circumstances from my knowledge of the original work, my recent experience, and the fleeting reaction from the beast.
Edamatsu Amagi.
The legitimate child of the Amagi family… indicates a legitimate heir.
Whether it’s due to Japan’s unique old culture or if that family had a peculiar condition, their involvement in incestuous and plundering marriages… all sorts of genealogical antics caused the entire clan to be in an uproar, but at least they were not a second son.
In any case, it could be said that it’s an earth-shattering story, and even if they pile up bodies, that wouldn’t be inaccurate for the story of the youngest in the Amagi family.
The one who had the least interest in the succession, yet gnawed and pushed aside all siblings to reach the top, was treading the royal road of a conglomerate success story… that’s roughly the kind of person they are.
As the front-line executor of Enema, they appeared in the prologue and even had a shadowy role in the closely related side quest on medical issues. Yet, still, as a member of the upper class carefully observing a protagonist who scares no one.
User evaluations… are largely split into two categories. A crazy mama’s boy or a prodigal son.
Some say they’re cosplaying as a woman or took on a tough concept. Regardless of the protagonist’s gender, Edamatsu shows interest leading to chaotic screenshots that fit various tastes…
I’ve always thought that game staging and allowed settings should be viewed separately, so based on the countless playthroughs I had experienced, I tended to support the mama’s boy theory.
There was a tendency excessively buried in left-behind relics or memories from the past.
Even if they try to act unaffected, the bloodline of a crazy family intuitively shows strong tendencies to engage aggressively if lines are crossed.
Considering all those backgrounds, if personally asked how I assess them… I don’t particularly like or dislike him…?
When the corporate collapse scenario was desperately dying, I felt sympathy for the remembered scenes and data obtained by raising affection levels, but I never thought about it in depth.
…It’s true that I got hugely immersed in the game called Neo Haven!
I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory and found secrets and was actively engaged in walkthroughs.
Honestly, whether a character is eligible for romance or not, what more could I want as a player who wasn’t even gay back then? I just collected achievements and collectibles and left it at that.
“Ugh…!!”
Frustrated with the wandering thoughts, I scratched my head.
It was only natural that alongside this person was ‘that bastard’ who, while emphasizing the ruthless businessman’s aspect, also took the aggro as their secretary.
I faced him with no preparation, but I thought this much was okay since it could have been worse.
But this Edamatsu, a walking complex… Wouldn’t he rather stay quietly in his office, missing his mother, instead of coming here and suddenly spouting nonsense to a stranger?
Has reality intensified their sociopathic tendencies?
That’s a bit concerning. If the key character in the Enema-related story changes, who’s responsible for progressing the original plot? It should see some corrections before the year ends… Is there some triggering event behind this?
“Should I… call you big sister instead of cutie? If there’s someone so grown-up, then the conclusion is… much more mature than I thought.”
“Guh!? Are you serious?!”
Caught off guard by an overwhelming insinuation that pulled me out of my thoughts.
Since the outer area was at least quiet, I thought we could ignore it.
I glared at Marina, who casually shared her insane thoughts, but she just waved her hands, calling it a silly joke.
“Wow… You… You’re married? Sister…?”
“Hey!!”
…Just reacting to that, Ken, with an equally shocked expression, yelled, snapping back to reality. Old sayings about how three people can create a nonexistent tiger might become true, and I wonder if rumors will spread dangerously.
But more than that, what bothered me was Marina’s conviction.
It felt like just a brief moment our gazes crossed, but was she seriously trying to involve me in this bad joke for fun? I don’t think she has such bad taste.
And rather, if she felt motherly… isn’t the probability higher that she’s actually the one rather than me? That… in various ways.
What on earth does she believe gives her the basis to think I’m the one mentioned by Edamatsu?
♬~… ♪.
With a skeptical gaze, she hummed along and marched towards the door that led out of the store, bouncing with excitement and adding some clarifying words.
“The princess really is clueless… Clueless! If you ask the robot right next to you, I’m sure that handsome gentleman, who looks like he has a fat wallet, would definitely affirm that you’re indeed cute!”
What?
“…Is that for real?”
– Although it’s difficult to give a fully logical explanation for instinctive or intuitive behaviors… based on the direction of gazes alone, it is accurate.-
I turned my creaking neck.
I prayed that it was an illusion as I looked at Zero, but only cold analytical results returned.
They say if you’re unlucky you can break your nose just by falling backward, but it feels like I’ve been caught by an ankle in an unexpected place.
This isn’t why I’ve been hovering around Megacorp… no, it’s more like I stumbled into a mess.
“Wow~ Thanks to that, I got to see something interesting! That respectable person looks like he’s so affected by women that it disrupts his work? This could mean a huge scoop for aspiring Cinderella’s dreaming of a life turnaround…?”
“You… if you shout that out too loudly, and somewhere you get taken away without a sound, I won’t know anything.”
I offered a sincere warning to her chuckles and took a sigh of relief.
It’s much better to have problems grow where I don’t know than to receive vague threats up close and personal.
Edamatsu Amagi’s interest…
Compared to being exposed to an all-powerful figure with no prior information, this feels far more reassuring.
The problem lies in the fact that they’re like a ticking time bomb who could go off any moment and most of the backgrounds that could be utilized are related to Enema’s top secrets or scandals, making it somewhat tricky to bring them up…?
But this can also be a manageable trouble if I can make efforts to finish it all up quickly and escape. In a way, it seems like an extraordinarily fair obstacle.
…Damn it, let’s just do our best for a bit.
Even though waking up in a group setting I never asked for is torturous, given I’d prefer struggling for a while rather than becoming just another ‘rare escapee specimen’ forever in captivity, this is better for me in every aspect.
Knock knock knock…!!
“Agent! Don’t dawdle outside, hurry up and take the meal order! Food… food! Are you going to let us starve like this? Huh? No way, right?? Plus, there’s even a potential partner of yours here?”
“Your rudeness… truly is refreshing every day. I can’t help but admire it.”
“…Is that for real?”
By the way. So that’s why she seemed so eager to approach the entrance, realizing that the cheerful money ghost couldn’t contain her excitement in the pursuit of trouble. Yes.
Hey, Zero. Capture her. Tie her up and toss her in her room.
…Then what do we order for food? Wait, before worrying about that, if we leave things as they are, I’d surely get sentenced for creating bad vibes, right?
