!
"Doesn't Lord Hijikata find it strange?" Gan'an Shinomiya asked in confusion. "Sougo already knows that my daughter has someone she likes, yet he still sent you to protect my daughter Kaguya..."
"Commander Shinomiya..." Because that guy Sougo thought a sheltered young lady like Kaguya Shinomiya would be easy to control! But could Toshiro Hijikata say that outright? No! So he could only give an awkward laugh. "The Kondo Group has a cooperative relationship with Miss... Miss Shinomiya."
"A cooperative relationship?" Gan'an Shinomiya smiled again. "Then I would like to know what price my daughter paid to enlist your illustrious Kondo Group..."
"..." Did the Shinomiya Family's reputation and name count?
"Though Kaguya is the eldest daughter of Gan'an Shinomiya, she is still only a high school student, after all..." As Toshiro Hijikata remained silent, Gan'an Shinomiya continued, "She has neither the authority I bestowed upon her nor any substantial resources. Could it be that your Kondo Group has set its sights on the little pocket money my daughter has?"
"Cough, cough..." Toshiro Hijikata choked and could not help coughing twice. What the hell was this about pocket money? Their Kondo Group—no, even when they had been as down-and-out as the Kondo Dojo, they had never coveted a high school student's pocket money!
"Lord Hijikata, I am a businessman. As a businessman, I believe the premise of cooperation is that both sides can see a benefit..." Fortunately, Gan'an Shinomiya did not press the matter. After Toshiro stopped coughing, he smiled again. "Yet regarding the cooperative relationship between the Kondo Group and my daughter, I truly cannot fathom what Kaguya could possibly offer... Could Lord Hijikata enlighten me?"
"..." How was Toshiro Hijikata supposed to explain this? "That's right. It was indeed because of Sougo that our Kondo Group entered into