SCIAW: Chapter 546/547

Chapter 546: Nao’s Reminder

Leaving Eri's house, sitting in the car on the way back, Ai sat in the front passenger seat and turned to her mother, asking,

"Mom, is the Shinomiya Conglomerate very busy with work lately?"

Her daughter's question made Nao sigh wearily.

"Much, much more than imagined."

After Kaguya completely suppressed the several heirs of the Shinomiya and sent them into retirement, her workload began to increase daily.

Even Nao, who had been trained as a professional maid since childhood, never expected to be overwhelmed by work one day.

"There are more loopholes in the Shinomiya Conglomerate than imagined, and many corruption issues."

"Since we started taking over the Shinomiya Conglomerate's work, the first thing our family did was deal with the big parasites. After that, we began investigating corruption issues."

"Investigating these issues is also very time-consuming and energy-intensive."

"It is not just me. Masato has not had any rest for quite some time either."

This answer greatly surprised Ai.

"Is it that serious?"

"Yes, it is that serious."

Nao also had a headache over this issue.

"The former young master was headstrong, and with key positions held by the Shinomiya's direct descendants, the corruption issues permeated from top to bottom. Years of accumulation led to significant problems."

"Dealing with these matters is extremely troublesome."

"Otherwise, the Shinomiya Conglomerate would not have given the Shijo Family so many handles and opportunities."

In her initial investigation after taking over, she discovered that the Shinomiya Conglomerate was truly infested with parasites from top to bottom, and these parasites even attempted to completely devour it.

"But things are much better now."

"Kaguya's decisive actions, coupled with her ruthless treatment of Oko and his ilk, stripping them of everything and successfully sending them into retirement, have made our operations very smooth."

"The smooth progress is also due to Sanzenin's help. Some of the Shinomiya direct descendants below have been scared witless, especially under Sanzenin's deterrent power and Kaguya's attitude."

"However, this has put everyone in the Hayasaka family in high-performance mode. Over time, this has left everyone exhausted."

So why not rest?

But Ai realized that not everyone wanted to rest at this time.

If the Hayasaka family, who had always been oppressed, even enslaved, by the Shinomiya, had a chance to turn things around, they would not waste such an opportunity.

Moreover, such an opportunity was directly granted by Kaguya, the current power holder of the Shinomiya.

Naturally, the Hayasaka family would seize the opportunity even if it meant extreme fatigue.

"However, after several months of hard work, the results are good."

Nao's tired eyes held a hint of joy.

"There were many minor issues within the Shinomiya Conglomerate, and these have been improved over the past few months. Without the backing of those young masters above, and with Kaguya's recognition, most of the internal small pests have been dealt with."

"Next, the Shinomiya Conglomerate will gradually get back on track."

With the efforts during this period, the vacant positions within the Shinomiya Conglomerate have also been filled by Hayasaka personnel.

The Hayasaka have regained power.

No longer an appendage or slave of the Shinomiya, but an important component.

Nao was very confident about this.

Of course, the reasons beyond Kaguya were also very clear.

"Ai, how is the new school situation lately?"

"Huh?"

Seeing her mother's expression soften, and being asked about herself, Ai was momentarily taken aback.

A hint of apology flashed across Nao's face.

"Sorry, Ai. Work has been too busy lately, and I have not been paying enough attention to your affairs."

"Not at all."

Ai quickly waved her hand. She had no complaints whatsoever, especially since she knew what her mother had been dealing with lately.

"It is not mom's fault. It is just that mom has more to handle recently."

Listening to her daughter defending her, Nao smiled.

Her mind could not help but think of Ren.

"Ai, how is your relationship with that gentleman lately?"

"Mom, Ren is Kaguya's boyfriend."

Hearing her mother ask this, Ai's face twitched a few times, but she still gave a reminder.

"I know."

Nao naturally knew the relationship between that gentleman and Kaguya.

"But it is not just Kaguya, is it?"

"…"

Ai offered no rebuttal to this point.

Because the truth was, Ren's relationships with other girls were also out in the open.

And at first, Ren and Sonoko were the true couple. Ultimately, Kaguya could only be considered a latecomer.

But some things cannot be separated so clearly.

Especially since she herself was involved, she understood even more clearly that they could never completely distance themselves from Ren.

Moreover, after spending more time with him, Hayasaka had come to know what kind of person Ren was.

Relatively reclusive, not fond of meddling, not good at interacting with the opposite sex, and of course, a little greedy.

However, compared to his power and the blessings he bestowed, that bit of greed was even less than that of an ordinary rich second-generation.

Seeing her daughter offer no reply, Nao smiled faintly.

She knew her daughter was not completely unaffected. If she were, a denial would probably have blurted out directly at that moment.

It was precisely because of her hesitation, because she could not completely deny it, that she could not utter a single word.

Nao was not very worried about her daughter's romantic life.

This child's personality was relatively strong, but if someone could break through the defenses in her heart, they could quickly enter the depths of her inner world.

Moreover, the biggest pressure on her daughter had already entered a nursing home for retirement, and that weak mental wall would probably be broken through before long.

However, Nao also knew that her daughter and Kaguya had a very good relationship, so she wondered if her daughter could overcome this hurdle.

"Ai, sometimes once you have decided, do not give up easily."

"If it is an ordinary boy, you can consider more. But if it is that gentleman, you can consider worldly issues less."

Facing the traffic light, the car slowly stopped.

After stopping the car, Nao gently placed her free hand on her daughter's head.

"As for the specifics, you will have to work hard on your own in the future."

"…Mm."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 547: Stay Away From Us!

On Saturday morning, a large RV was driving along a snowy road.

"A weekend trip to the snowy mountains…" Hinagiku stared at the scenery outside the window with a puzzled expression.

They had just gone to Izu to swim. Now, only a week later, they were heading to the snowy mountains to ski.

"Just get used to it. Just get used to it," Nagi said perfunctorily, then focused on her handheld game.

"That's right, just get used to it," Sakuya said, lounging casually while sipping cola.

She was already used to these short weekend trips.

"My family has been busy coordinating with Suzuki lately. Dad also has to work on weekends, and everyone else at home is going crazy."

"Rather than staying home and taking care of those crazy younger brothers, it is better to travel."

Enjoying this leisure, she turned her gaze to Hakuo's Student Council President.

"Speaking of which, those three idiots have been clinging to you, haven't they?"

Hinagiku nodded helplessly.

"After they saw me getting close to you all at the last banquet, it was as if they realized I knew some things, and they have been trying to subtly get answers from me lately."

"You did not tell them?" Sakuya was slightly surprised.

"I am not worried about Hanamishi Miki. Asakaze Risa can keep a secret if you talk to her seriously. But the problem is Segawa Izumi."

Hinagiku did not refuse to tell those three some things, but Izumi's mouth was still too loose.

It was not that she deliberately leaked secrets, but she could too easily be tricked into revealing information.

Therefore, Hinagiku had not directly confessed anything to those three so far.

"However, Aika's physical condition has been getting better and better over the past week, but does she not know everything as well?"

"Mm." Sakuya did not deny it.

"Although I did not tell her everything, I let her see everything and fully experience that extraordinary difference. She already knows, but she did not ask for details."

"I see."

Recalling Aika's personality, Hinagiku felt that the reason Aika did not dig deeper was probably because of Sakuya.

If it were anyone else, Aika might have already started prying for secrets.

But because it concerned Sakuya, Aika chose not to push.

"Hinagiku ~ Sakuya ~"

As soon as that overly sweet voice sounded, the two sitting behind trembled.

Looking up, they saw Chika smiling at them, her assets jiggling, and they also noticed the cards in her hand.

"No playing." x2

The two refused without hesitation.

"Eh~"

Chika, who had been all smiles, instantly deflated.

Her cute cheeks puffed up as she complained, unhappy, "Why do you agree so quickly when others ask you to play? But when it is me, you refuse straight away?"

"What do you think?" x2

The two rolled their eyes at Chika in unison.

"Are you treating us like idiots?" Sakuya retorted.

"Exactly," Hinagiku added, speechless.

"We know your pathway better than anyone."

"You, a Spectator who pries into people's hearts, want to play cards with us? Are you playing cards? You are openly cheating, aren't you?"

When they were not familiar with her before, they might have still played together.

But now that they were this close, they knew Chika's thoughts and methods too well. How could they be fooled so easily?

Moreover, this woman's nature was to cheat. No matter what game it was, her first thought was how to cheat.

Especially with her Spectator pathway, she was truly the queen of mini-games.

Unless it was a game purely based on luck, they might still play. For any game requiring calculation, her Spectator ability completely countered everything, and her accuracy in prying into people's minds was unbelievably high.

It was truly as insidious as it gets.

"Hmph~ This time I definitely will not cheat!"

"No!"

No matter how Chika promised not to cheat, Sakuya and Hinagiku did not budge at all.

Hinagiku looked at Chika with contempt and retorted bluntly, "Chika, tell me, when have you ever followed the rules of the game?"

"Hm…"

At that, Chika's eyes drifted away with a guilty look.

Playing games without cheating always felt like something was missing. This was her insistence in games.

"As expected." Hinagiku wore an I-knew-it expression. She knew this woman would make the same mistake every time.

"Just play the game. How can anyone play with you when you cheat every time?"

"Only Ren and Ran can play with you, right?"

Ren was not affected by the Spectator's power, and Ran's ability could ignore all abilities below demigod.

Only these two, who could completely ignore the Spectator's power, could play such games with Chika.

"Ran is no good."

At the mention of Ran, Chika's whole face drooped.

"Ran not only counters me with her ability, but she is also extremely lucky."

"Because my ability does not work, whenever I try to rely on luck to play games with Ran, I am always the one abandoned by luck."

Simply relying on luck was no match for Ran.

Every time she played a luck-based game, as long as she sat opposite Ran, it was like sitting opposite the Goddess of Luck.

The result of facing Ran was almost always her crushing defeat.

"So you always pick on us, the easy targets, right?" Hinagiku rolled her eyes back, annoyed.

"She is exactly like that… She is always flaunting in front of me. Anyone who did not know would think she is doing it on purpose."

Nagi, who was playing her game, glanced at Chika's chest, then looked down at herself.

The vast difference made her seem so weak, almost like a simple child.

But in reality, their age difference was only three years.

"..."

Hinagiku and Sakuya both subconsciously glanced at Chika's chest, and the contempt on their faces turned into indignation.

"Chika, stay away from us."

"Exactly!"

(To be continued.)