"Father's exchange of interests this time—Airi has no objections, right?"
In the prime area of Minato District stood the imposing headquarters building of the Chihaya Conglomerate.
It symbolized the Chihaya Family's centuries of enduring prosperity. Yet beneath the surface of prosperity, undercurrents always surged, just as the old saying went: the only constant in this world was that everything changed.
Only a helmsman blessed with both foresight and courage could weather the storms of the times.
Chihaya Genichiro was clearly a prime example of such a person. When he had just come of age, the Chihaya Family had firmly occupied last place among Tokyo's four great conglomerates. Yet ten years after Gen'ichiro took over, Chihaya had unexpectedly gained the strength to contend for the top family.
Airi was his only daughter, as well as Gen'ichiro's ideal successor: shrewd and capable, cold and calculating, skilled at manipulating human nature. She had practically been born to do business.
Thus, despite the fierce conflict between Takagi Akane and Airi, Gen'ichiro had agreed to the terms without hesitation. He was merely allowing that girl to return to Tokyo for school, after all; it would not result in any tangible loss of profit. Of course, if Takagi Akane still harbored improper thoughts toward Kiyoharu, Airi would have to spend some effort dealing with her.
If she could not easily handle even Takagi Akane, how would she manage the vast Chihaya Conglomerate in the future?
That was Airi's responsibility.
Just as Gen'ichiro had expected, Chihaya Airi gave a scornful laugh. "I have no objections. She's just a defeated opponent. I can handle her easily."
"Hahaha, that's my daughter!" Gen'ichiro grinned heartily and wanted to pat his daughter's shoulder in encouragement, but he withdrew his hand as soon as he raised it.
Even her father was no exception to her congenital psychological condition. Perhaps their blood relation weakened her aversion slightly?
At any rate, Airi did not feel sick speaking face-to-face with her father. But when she was little, she had cried whenever her father held her and could only fall peacefully asleep when handed to a wet nurse.
After leaving her father's territory and returning to her private space in the headquarters building, Airi's expression changed instantly. Her confidence and arrogance were replaced by irritation.
Her frequency of irritation had been a little too high lately.
No, she needed to find a chance to vent. For example, she could find an excuse to bully Kiyoharu... but aside from the accident at the welcome banquet, Kiyoharu's recent words and behavior had been utterly impeccable.
Airi quickly came up with a solution.
Near the end of the workday, Kiyoharu received a message from Airi telling him not to go home and to head directly to the headquarters building to wait for her.
Here we go again. What kind of tormenting trick was it this time?
Sitting in the reception room, Kiyoharu stared blankly at the spotless white wall, mentally preparing himself for a storm.
From the tone of her voice message, Kiyoharu could tell that Airi was in a terrible mood. It was probably not because of him, but because something had gone wrong at work.
It was a common occurrence. Whenever Airi was in a bad mood, she took it out on Kiyoharu. He had long since grown used to it... no, rather, even when Airi was in a good mood, she still teased Kiyoharu. That was just how it was for a live-in son-in-law.
Otherwise, did he think that salary of his was so easy to earn?
After waiting for around fifteen minutes, Kiyoharu finally saw Airi. Her outfit was rather unusual: a short leather jacket paired with leather pants.
Speaking of leather pants.
Given his extensive romantic experience from his previous life, Kiyoharu had plenty to say on the matter.
They were difficult to pull off. A girl with even slightly inferior looks could easily end up appearing bloated or tacky in them.
Yet they suited Airi's forceful personality perfectly. Her tall, curvaceous figure, paired with that icy expression, could not help but make Kiyoharu think of female investigator-themed material... Stop, stop. He could not keep thinking about it, or he might get banned from playing games again!
Chihaya Airi said nothing. She merely curled a finger at Kiyoharu, signaling for him to follow.
Kiyoharu followed her to the private underground garage for family members at the headquarters building. Uncle Tsuchiya had already parked the car and was waiting there. He drove the two of them straight to the entrance of a mountain-ring road in the outskirts.
A dazzling bright-yellow sports car stood ready to go.
"You sit in the passenger seat."
"Got it. This sports car only has two seats, after all. It's not like I can lie on the roof." Kiyoharu made the joke casually, but his face had already begun to turn pale.
This was bad.
When Kiyoharu had seen the leather pants, he had already realized something. Now that it was confirmed Airi intended to go racing, he completely gave up hope.
Racing was Airi's usual way of relaxing. Normally, she rented out an empty closed track, so she could be said to have a strong sense of public responsibility. She did not frighten ordinary passersby... but when she took Kiyoharu racing, she was deliberately trying to frighten him!
Kiyoharu had mild motion sickness, and combined with Airi's inhuman extreme driving skills, every ride made him feel like vomiting his stomach out.
He still remembered the last time. Kiyoharu had protested a little, only for Airi to tie him up with rope and force him into the car.
So this time, Kiyoharu gave up struggling. He obediently got in, fastened his seat belt, and closed his eyes as though resigned to his execution.
The helpless, aggrieved look on his face made Airi, sitting in the driver's seat, let out an involuntary snicker.
"What has made Young Lady laugh?"
"Shut up. Get ready. I'm leaving."
The engine roared.
She floored the accelerator, and the sports car shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Kiyoharu tightly gripped the handle above the window, enduring the seemingly endless journey.
It was not actually that long. With Chihaya Airi's superb driving skills and the sports car's outstanding performance, a single stretch of track took around ten minutes. But to Kiyoharu, those ten minutes felt as long as ten hours.
When the car braked to a halt beyond the finish line, Kiyoharu scrambled out the door and clung to a tree by the roadside, vomiting nonstop.
Fortunately, he had not eaten much for lunch. Otherwise, it would have been even harder to endure.
Chihaya Airi held the steering wheel and savored the driving experience, only to find it somewhat dull. She had probably driven this road too many times, and it had lost the thrill of novelty.
Instead, watching Kiyoharu vomit until tears welled up in his peach-blossom eyes, leaving him weak and miserable, gave Airi an indescribable sense of delight.
"Hahaha, you're ridiculously weak."
"Urrgh, urrgh..." Kiyoharu could only answer Airi's mockery with the sounds of vomiting.
Seeing how pitiful he looked, yet how he could only endure it by himself, sent an intense wave of pleasure through Airi's body and soul, sweeping away all the frustration she had accumulated during the day.
Airi licked her lips in satisfaction. Only after Kiyoharu got back into the car did she lower her hand. The blissful flush on her face faded, and she returned to her fierce, serious expression.
"Are you satisfied now, Young Lady?"
"Father allowed Takagi Akane to return to Chihaya Academy to study in exchange for a mineral import contract." Chihaya Airi answered a different question, but in Kiyoharu's eyes, this was an extremely efficient way of conversing.
After wiping his mouth with a tissue, Kiyoharu asked, "Father-in-law didn't ask for your opinion beforehand?"
"Does my opinion matter?"
"Perhaps he knew you would be unhappy, but if he had let you make the decision, you would still have chosen to sign the contract. After all, it is an important benefit for the conglomerate."
"Tch."
Kiyoharu's analysis coincided perfectly with Airi's thoughts. Both father and daughter pursued efficiency and acted with decisive speed.
Between personal emotions and family interests, it was easy to tell which mattered more.
But Airi was still furious. That arrogant person who had tried to lay a hand on her exclusive toy was returning completely unscathed.
"If I were him, I would have discussed it with you beforehand. Of course, the result might not have changed at all." Kiyoharu reclined the passenger seat and rested leisurely in a half-lying position. "That's why I'm just a fake live-in son-in-law who mooches through life. I could never become Chihaya Genichiro."
"So you think I'm worrying over nothing?"
"I never said that, Young Lady. Don't put words in my mouth. Hmm, it is definitely not a bad thing for people to occasionally have emotional doubts about the path they have chosen. At the very least, it proves they still retain a trace of ordinary humanity."
"It's not a good habit to make sarcastic remarks about your employer, Kiyoharu-kun." Airi narrowed her eyes, and that familiar wicked smile curled her lips again. "To make amends, help me deal with Takagi Akane. She'll become your student, so don't make things easy for her."
"Understood."
Naturally, Kiyoharu would not treat Takagi Akane kindly. He would not treat kindly any girl who tried to pursue him. That was the male protagonist's survival strategy in a yandere game world.
When it came to Takagi Akane, Kiyoharu and Airi's interests were aligned.
Before you continue