SCIAW: Chapter 434/435

Chapter 434: Can I Sleep Over Today?

[The result of the Suzuki Zaibatsu's 60th anniversary celebration this time was very different from what was originally expected.]

[Originally, in this banquet of the Suzuki Zaibatsu, Phantom Thief Kid 1412 would have successfully taken away the Black Star. After all, aunt would never give the real Black Star to anyone else.]

[Of course, this time was no different. The Black Star I had transformed regained some of its original spirituality. In addition, after being nurtured by aunt and uncle for so many years, it now has the ability to bring a bit of good luck.]

[Aunt will never give the Black Star to anyone else.]

[On the contrary, I was a little surprised by Miss Shijo's reaction. She has a personality completely opposite to Kaguya's, yet she made the same choice as Kaguya.]

[Then there was Shijo Mikado, who turned out to be an even more doting brother than I expected. After getting off the cruise ship, I noticed he personally arranged for someone to take Miss Shijo back home, presumably to check whether there was any hallucinogenic drug in her system.]

[Well, to sum up, Nightmare's ability is quite useful.]

[It can force a target to fall asleep, obtain relevant information in their dream, and create a reassuring scene so they can relax more. After leaving, it can also make them unable to remember what happened in the dream.]

[For ordinary people, the effect is really good.]

[However, it was not a good idea to target Miss Shijo this time. I'll need to make up for that in the future.]

[Then there was another surprise at this banquet.]

[Miss Katsura became a believer.]

[Of course, I also know that the reason Miss Katsura jumped in was probably because of Sanzenin and Saginomiya. In her view, so-called secrets carry certain risks.]

[But after getting involved, what will Miss Katsura think?]

[It is likely she will take the initiative to find Sanzenin to explore the secret she has been pursuing. Well, considering privacy issues, I did not tell her. Whether she finds out depends on Sanzenin's own wishes.]

Whether Sanzenin chooses to tell Miss Katsura her secret is entirely up to her. Ren is used to not interfering in other people's choices.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

There was a knock on the door.

After putting down his pen, Ren stood up to open it, only for the person outside to suddenly pounce on him, making him quickly catch her in his arms.

"Ren!"

The longing, affectionate call instantly brightened Ren's mood.

"Are you in a good mood today?"

"Mm!"

Lying in Ren's arms, Yoko didn't want to get up.

Although she was the older one, what happened today made her want to act like a child.

"Starting a business with friends is something I could never have imagined."

"The identity of an idol has always been tied to the management company. I've known this since high school. Back when we were in group training, I saw it bit by bit."

"Artists who lose their value are eventually put on ice. Well-known artists are supported on the surface, but behind the scenes they still have to obey the company's arrangements."

"That's why I worked harder to become the idol everyone loves. I want to stand on the stage I like, show my value, and become the most dazzling star in the hearts of fans, instead of being the one who gets frozen."

While speaking about her ambitions, Yoko cautiously looked up.

"Am I too greedy?"

"No."

Ren gently embraced her as she confessed her greed.

"Who isn't greedy? There are plenty of people in this world who want everything, and I'm one of them."

"The problem is that the mountain of management companies is still too oppressive for artists. It's like you think you're valuable and won't be placed on the table, but in reality, you've always been on the table."

"Until you find a chance to step down from the table and become the one sitting at the table."

"Only then will you have more autonomy."

This is the fundamental contradiction between artists and companies, and between workers and capital. Unless you become capital yourself, this contradiction cannot be changed.

So it was normal for Yoko to have such thoughts.

Who doesn't want to be the master of their own fate?

This wasn't greed, but an instinctive human drive.

"Then I'll have to become part of the capital."

After a while, Yoko finally came out of Ren's arms.

"Well, I'll have to work hard from now on. But now that I'm becoming a boss, I'll have more things to deal with in the future."

She thought that the studio she planned to set up would essentially be another agency, except the boss would also be one of the artists.

Since they were all artists and had a solid foundation, the studio's situation would be better than traditional agencies.

"But this is just the first step. I feel like there's still a lot more to learn."

Thinking about the learning ahead, Yoko felt a slight headache.

Ever since she started pursuing the path of an idol in high school, she had never been strong in academic studies. It felt like starting to study again as an adult.

"You can ask your friends for help first. Your own ability may be limited, but your friends might have connections."

"Mm, maybe."

Hearing Ren's suggestion eased her nerves a little.

"Then there's the matter of your friends. When you start a business with them, once the business reaches a certain size and conflicts of interest arise, it's easy for differences in opinion to appear. You'll have to manage that yourself."

"If there's a conflict of interest, you need to be generous enough to handle it."

"But with Ms. Ayako involved, your friends probably won't leave you easily. Still, aside from business, there's also the matter of personal relationships. If you don't want those friendships to end up being only about profit, you'll need to watch out for that."

Like an old mother, Ren kept sharing his understanding of business.

He had no entrepreneurial experience, but he had seen plenty of similar movies.

He believed those things had to happen in real life too, so it should be fine to use them as lessons.

Yoko didn't show the slightest impatience. She just listened quietly, remembering every bit of advice.

After Ren finished speaking, she asked,

"Can I stay here today?"

After speaking, she noticed his surprised look.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 435: Newbie doesn’t know what to do

Yesterday, Yoko stayed over.

The popular idol expressed deep gratitude for her Ren's help, and that gratitude showed in the little details of her words and actions.

The next morning, Ren woke up early.

The sky outside was still pitch-black. Spring mornings didn't see the sun rise too early, and the nights were still longer.

After releasing a lot of emotions yesterday, Ren found himself in a good mental state today.

"Hmm…"

Sensing Ren wake up, Yoko, who was sleeping in his arms, also stirred. She slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes.

A pair of eyes were staring at her intently, which made her wake up instantly.

Blinking, she remembered her initiative from last night, and her face immediately turned red.

"Morning… good morning."

"Good morning."

But when she noticed Ren's gaze still fixed on her, she quickly pushed him away with a flushed face.

"Don't stare at me like that so early in the morning."

Realizing his gaze was too intense, Ren restrained himself.

However, thinking about what happened yesterday, no matter how hard he tried to control it, his eyes would still drift toward Yoko.

The same went for her. Overly conscious of last night's events, she couldn't stop glancing at him either.

Because of that awareness, whenever they met each other's eyes, both couldn't help but blush.

Without saying anything, they tacitly skipped over the embarrassing topic.

"Let's get up first."

"Mm."

They quietly took out pajamas from the closet and got dressed.

Experience is something that takes time to accumulate, and everyone has a first time.

After changing, they went to the living room and sat down.

Both were complete newcomers to this sort of thing, and neither had any experience, so sitting across from each other felt even more awkward.

Movies might show you what to do the next day, but reality was different.

Yoko found herself feeling a little frustrated.

When she looked at Ren across from her and saw that he was also at a loss, she realized they were stuck in the same loop.

At this point, as the older one, she had to take the initiative.

With that thought, she stood up, hands on her knees.

"!?"

It was only after she stood up that she saw Ren doing the exact same thing. Clearly, they had the same idea.

Realizing they were thinking alike made Yoko laugh despite herself.

She didn't know if this was some subconscious reaction between a man and woman after their first physical contact, but there was still a tacit understanding between them.

"Ren, shall we talk it out?"

"Mm."

Ren snapped out of his daze and nodded slightly.

Yoko walked over from her seat and gently leaned her head on his shoulder.

In a soft voice, she said,

"This is our first time, so let's not rush. We can take it slow."

"…Then let's not talk about yesterday."

"Okay, let's not talk about it."

Both of them needed time to calm down from the excitement of the day before.

"Well, I should get going. I have an appointment with Terumi and the others today. We just finalized the studio's establishment yesterday, so things are going to get busy from now on."

"And Ms. Ayako also arranged to meet me later."

"We'll also need to terminate the previous contract with the agency and have that discussion with them."

After her excitement faded, Yoko started thinking about everything that lay ahead.

Each task might sound simple when mentioned individually, but none could be completed in a single day.

As artists, they also had to juggle their existing work.

Switching to a startup team meant many things had to start over, which was both exciting and troublesome.

"Well, be careful… Are you coming over again tonight?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the composure Yoko had been holding onto completely shattered.

Her face flushed, she gave him a glare, but still nodded slightly.

"I'll come tonight."

After saying that, she quickly left the room with a red face.

Ren was left standing there in a daze.

It took a while before the chill in the air brought him back to his senses.

He sat down on the sofa.

"I'm not calm anymore."

He didn't know how others handled this kind of thing, but he definitely couldn't treat it with a cool head.

Gently patting his cheeks, the faint stinging pain helped him calm down bit by bit.

"No wonder so many teachers in the past said lust is an invisible knife. I get it now."

"Let's set this aside for the moment."

He took out his diary again.

Yesterday, he had been so focused on Yoko that he forgot to claim his diary reward.

That wasn't her fault, but his own.

It was the first time he had been so caught up in something like this.

It was like making friends with the boy next door in childhood, easily losing yourself in an atmosphere completely different from before.

The feeling that you and others are different.

It was inevitable to get immersed in such moments.

Ren didn't want to make excuses for himself, but he still opened the diary to claim yesterday's unclaimed reward.

Since Katsura Hinagiku had become a believer, there should be some major changes in the story.

That impact wouldn't result in a cheap reward.

[Lord of Mysteries]

[Obtained Sequence 5 Potion: Marionettist.]

"…"

Ren rubbed his temples in mild frustration.

It wasn't disappointing, but something was missing.

He already had Sequence 6 Faceless and Sequence 5 Marionettist, but the problem was that he couldn't skip levels within the Sequence pathway.

Without a Sequence 7 Magician, there was no way to move up.

This caused his promotion process to get stuck halfway.

Ideally, he could just purchase the Magician potion directly, but the diary's reward was too high-level, which was great but also blocked his progress.

It seemed not only Hinagiku was affected, but also the influence of all those police yesterday, as well as Kuroba Kaito, Koizumi Akako, and Nakamori Aoko.

He really hoped things like this wouldn't pile up again.

(To be continued.)