“As I expected, you look more dashing this way. I think I might want to frame you like this. But that’s insufficient. Let me add this...” With her eyes inspecting me from head to toe, Mizuki reveled at my appearance. She even circled around me just to make sure that nothing was amiss. And when she was done, she stood in front of me and tiptoed to fix my hair, combing it back while spreading a wax to style it that way. Additionally, she picked up a pair of non-prescription glasses that Suzuki-san pulled out from somewhere and put them on me.

With the two of us in front of a large mirror, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that I could hardly recognize myself in it. Though I looked a bit like my father because of the glasses, we were exuding different airs. He looked like an intellectual with a warm countenance. Most of the time, he would put on a friendly smile to make the other party comfortable.

On the other hand, I am the opposite. I’d probably make someone nervous because of my sharp gaze beneath the glasses. Although I could also act friendly and be all smiles if needed, that depends on the situation. When in public, I’d be the cold-looking guy who silently exudes an aura of indifference to my surroundings.

Obviously, I’m also different when I’m with my girls.

Anyway, that’s that. Mizuki completely did a transformation for me for this particular occasion.

“There we go. No one will think you’re a nobody anymore.” Mizuki tapped my shoulder before fixing my necktie, pulling it up until it was tight enough to choke me.

“Do I need to look like somebody in front of that client?”

“Yes, of course. Ruki, as someone who has yet to make yourself known in that kind of world, the first thing you have to do is to make yourself presentable for a good first impression.”

“Fair enough. Business meeting or not, that’s common sense when first meeting someone.”

“Yes and no. Yes, because that’s truly how connections are made. And no, because you cannot equate the two. A simple meetup with a stranger can go two ways. Either you both hit it off enough to consider each other acquainted with the possibility of becoming friends or remain a stranger with one of you not wanting to meet again. However, in a meeting with the clear intent of discussing business, both you and the other person will always try to get the upper hand on one another whether you’re a stranger or not.”

In short, she’s saying that one cannot afford to just casually attend a business meeting. That’s also common sense but I guess she’s emphasizing the importance of what’s at stake.

“I understand. I learned from the prodigy of the Hasegawa Family, I’ll always take note of that.”

“This idiot. Can I hit you once?”

“A kiss will be better. That will motivate me more.”

“Ugh. I cannot win against you, huh? Come here. I also need some motivation from you...”

With a hand on her forehead, Mizuki looked a little exasperated at first but the next moment, she swept that expression away and her desire for me surfaced.

Hooking her arms to my nape, she pulled my head down, giving me what I asked of her.

Suzuki-san quietly exited the room, leaving us alone for the next five minutes.

Well, since we could potentially run late to the meeting, that’s all the time we could spare at the moment.

Shortly after that, we made our way back to her car.

-

-

“Okay. It’s about time I inform you about who we are going to meet, Ruki. It will be bad if you have no idea who you will be speaking to.”

Ten minutes into the road, Mizuki brought that up. Although she never let go of my hand ever since we entered the car, she never uttered a word. And since I sensed that she was just biding her time for the right moment, I also waited for this moment.

“Finally. I thought you were going to keep it a mystery for me. Now, I wonder why you waited until this moment to tell me about them.”

“Of course, I have a reason. Because it will be easy for you, Ruki. You’ll be able to prepare on how to deal with the problem presented to you.”

This girl’s expectation of me was that high. Or perhaps, that’s how high her evaluation of me in accordance with the result of the lessons and quizzes she provided for my education.

“Problem? I thought it would be a business deal.”

“A business deal, yes. However, we’re not meeting them to be the contractor. Actually, we’re going there to be an advisor. I’ve been known as the hidden gem or the prodigy of the Hasegawa Family. They arranged this dinner upon finding out about that.”

“If you said it like that then they’re expecting you to be the one to advise them.”

“Un. But I don’t plan to do that. I’ll be presenting you as my partner. Someone I saw as equally brilliant as me. You do well to hold onto that identity.”

“Alright. That’s the same as you saying that you’re putting me on the spot.”

“Exactly. You can still back out though. I won’t fault you since I set this up to introduce you to this world on the highest difficulty level.” Mizuki leered at me as her lips curved up into a sly smile.

I also noticed Suzuki-san glancing at us while shaking her head. She’s probably taking pity on me. Even if Mizuki could probably give me everything she possessed wholeheartedly, only on these kinds of occasions will she not be lenient on me. She’s setting me up for success. And even if there’s a possibility of failure, she firmly believes in my ability. It’s more like blind trust on her part but I guess her reasoning wasn’t that illogical. She clearly sees me as someone with a huge amount of potential.

All I have to do is to live up to it and we’ll be good.

“Backout, huh? Do you think that after everything you did for me, I will leave you in the air? No. Let’s do this.”

“Most impressive, Ruki. Well then, here’s the information you needed to know before meeting them...”

Mizuki delightfully started preparing me for the meeting. And while doing so, I couldn’t help but notice the girl’s overflowing excitement. If I have to guess, she’s already in celebration about walking this path with me... Unlike the other girls who also secretly wanted to have me for themselves, Mizuki put all of her coins into this. A partner that will go hand-in-hand with her on the arduous path that she’s pioneering.

-

-

Ten minutes later, Suzuki-san’s car stopped at the parking lot of a famous, luxury restaurant. In terms of quality, it was probably the highest in this city. Important figures would always be seen dining in here. You could only imagine how expensive it must be.

And to think that someone like me would be going in here to be the main character of the evening, it’s like sending a Level 1 Hero to the Demon King’s Castle.

I’m totally inexperienced.

Nonetheless, with the Goddess of Victory as my companion, I am blessed to triumph against any adversities.

While Suzuki-san remained in the car, Mizuki and I walked up to the luxurious entrance where three or more people were standing guard.

With the girl’s arms hooked around mine, the eyes of those guards were all focused on me. In their eyes, I was the one who probably made the reservation.

And although they didn’t stop our approach, someone blocked our entrance to the restaurant.

Dressed in a garb that’s more fitting for a butler than a waiter, the man bowed slightly and asked with his eyes also fixed on me, “My apologies but this restaurant is for reservation only. May I ask for your name? Or if you have an invitation from someone, may I take a look at it?”

Do I have an invitation? Well, yes. Mizuki already handed the invitation to me. She also prepared for that.

At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to be my companion rather than the honored guest of the client we were going to meet.

And so, I pulled the invitation card from my suit and presented it to the man.

“Here you go.”

For authenticity’s sake, the man not only read what was written on the invitation but also turned it over a few times, inspecting whether it was a forgery or not. When he finished, he handed back the invitation to me before saying, “Welcome to our humble restaurant. I will be leading the way to Mitsui-sama’s table.”

Next to me, Mizuki showed her lovely grin before whispering, “Well done, Ruki.”

Yeah. She’s definitely going to praise me every time I do anything right.

But Mitsui... I only heard that surname and know no one from them. Furthermore, while they’re also considered a former noble lineage, they’re not based in our city or prefecture like the Kujou Family. They traveled to this place to meet Mizuki only to be faced with someone that could be considered her student...

Yep. I couldn’t help but feel a foreboding sensation about this.