Chapter 80: An Extra Story Shijouin Papas Pick-Up (1) |
Under the clear sky that replaced last night’s heavy rain, puddles of water on the asphalt sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight.
It was a refreshing and summery scene, but the current situation didn’t allow for such poetic moods.
“Long time no see, kid! You better not have done anything outrageous, ya hear meeeee!?”
“Nice to see you too, Tokimune-san. Your words are as predictable as ever…”
In front of my house, I found myself face to face with Shijouin Tokimune, the president of the Shijouin Corporation, after a long time.
After enjoying a blissful morning with Shijouin-san, we had a simple breakfast with Kanako. By the way, it seemed like Mom had left early in the morning for work.
Then, Shijouin-san received a message from her mother, Akiko-san, on her phone saying, “The pick-up car is on its way!” Soon after, a luxury car parked in front of the house, and Shijouin-san, accompanied by Kanako, went outside to see…
There stood Tokimune-san, arms crossed, giving a slightly aggressive greeting right from the start.
“Oh, Father!? What are you doing here!?”
“No, it wasn’t tough at all… But what about your work?”
To Shijouin-san’s surprise, as if seeing each other after several months, she looked wide-eyed. It seemed she hadn’t heard that Tokimune-san was personally coming to pick her up.
“Hahaha, no need to worry about that, Haruka. To ensure I don’t miss events like your entrance ceremony or sports festival, the company has already established a system that can function without me. Besides, it’s unhealthy for a company to become dysfunctional just because the president or someone specific is temporarily absent.”
Even though I hadn’t really hidden it before, it was clear that, for Tokimune-san, his daughter was much more important than the company. However, it was commendable that he managed his work in a way that didn’t interfere with his duties.
“Thank you, Niihama-san. It’s been a while.”
Suddenly, I heard a voice, and when I turned towards it, a man in his forties wearing a suit, who had also been the driver when I was invited to the Shijouin residence, politely nodded his head.
That person… I believe he was the driver at Shijouin-san’s house…
“Thank you for remembering my name, Natsuzaki-san.”
“Oh, I appreciate your help back then. Also… you don’t have to use ‘san’ when addressing me. I’m just friends with Shijouin-san.”
“Oh no, as a friend of Miss Haruka, you are still a guest to me. Moreover… if you have a very close relationship, even more so.”
“Not tha-… That’s not truuuue!”
Tokimune-san widened his eyes and shouted loudly in response to Natsuzaki’s words, a mischievous smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“He and Haruka are just barely friends…! Don’t say weird things!”
“Huh? No, that’s not true, Father.”
“W-What…?”
“Just as Natsuzaki-san said, Niihama-kun is a very close friend. We have the best relationship I’ve ever had in my life!”
“Gohaaah…!”
With a dazzling smile that exuded an angelic charm, Shijouin-san said it confidently, causing me to blush, and Tokimune-san let out a pained voice as if his internal organs were being squeezed.
…In many ways, natural airheaded-ness can be overpowering…
“Ugh… Hey, kid… Haruka seems more energetic than usual, but… nothing really happened, right…?”
Approaching me with lingering damage, Tokimune-san asked in a low voice.
Though his voice seemed quiet, it carried a weighty undertone, exerting an overwhelming pressure on my stomach.
“I’m grateful that you accommodated my daughter at your house during the heavy rain, and I intend to come and thank you formally when your parents are present… But there’s something I need to ask.”
“Well… um…”
The memories came flooding back, the day I spent with Shijouin-san.
If I were to honestly describe its contents…
“Well, actually, I happened to run into Haruka-san after she took a bath, and I had the fortune of seeing her in her underwear! And during dinner, her sister orchestrated it so Haruka-san fed me with an ‘aah’… It was embarrassing, but the atmosphere was incredibly sweet! Oh, and last night, we slept together on the same sofa, snuggled up like pillows to each other, and this morning we even had a morning kiss! It was truly amazing♪”
(I-I’m going to be killed…!)
Although I had no impure intentions, the facts laid out before me would surely warrant the death penalty. Damn it, for now…
“Well, even if you say that, there really was nothing at all. Well, if I had to say, she helped me with preparing dinner.”
Without revealing the turmoil in my heart, I casually told a lie mixed with some truth.
The lie would be exposed if my voice or expression faltered, but I had been trained to handle such situations naturally, to appease irritable bosses and evade unreasonable client demands during my corporate slave days. I would not be easily seen through…!
“…That’s a lie.”
“Huh…!?”
“You’re adept at concealing your agitation and tension in your voice… but there’s a slight stiffness. My eyes, honed from negotiating with countless opponents, won’t be fooled…!”
Damn it, this is why competent managers skilled in probing are a pain!
I could have easily deceived my idiotic former boss or clueless company president from my past life!
“Now spill it! What happened!?”
“Well, um…”
This is troublesome… No, none of these are things I intended to happen, but I can’t share these contents with my overly doting father…
Just as I was sweating nervously…
“Um, are you Haruka-chan’s dad?”
A familiar voice resonated from the side.
When I looked, Kanako, my sister, was standing unexpectedly close to me and Tokimune-san, smiling sweetly.
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