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| —— —— —— —— FLASHBACK —— —— —— —— |
| Colleague A | The papers for the mock meeting and general affairs are finally done. |
| Itaru | The documents for infrastructure are also done. |
| Colleague B | …Alright, this should wrap up the roll call list for the external guest employees that will be attending. |
| Colleague C | Thanks for your work~ Meanwhile, the list for the internal employees is still not yet done... |
| Colleague A | You’d think that the company’s annual founding party would only involve the employees themselves… Never expected the scale to actually be this big. |
| Colleague C | The lists of guests were decided by each department, but is it really okay for us younger members to be the ones organizing them together? |
| Itaru | It’s precisely because we’re the younger employees, isn’t it? We’re fast at our job, and this way, we’ll be able to recognize the names of important figures in the workplace. It’s good for experience. |
| Colleague A | As cool-headed as ever, aren’t you, Chigasaki~ That’s just like you. |
| Itaru | Haha. |
| (... For a big company like this to hand over the lists in written documents. Talk about analog.) |
| (What happened to all the company slogans about doing things in better and more efficient ways, huh? Bullshit.) |
| Colleague B | … Moreover, this is such an impressive line-up. So many of these names are all from large corporations on their own. |
| Colleague C | I know, right? … Huh? “McQueen Foods”, isn’t this… |
| Colleague A | Ahh… Right, a representative got into a bit of trouble with them some time ago, so there’s been a bit of a strained relationship with them. |
| Colleague B | Apparently, a foreigner who was sent in from their home country was appointed as CEO recently. |
| Itaru | So in other words… It’s no overstatement that depending on how the founding party goes, our business relationships will be on the line. |
| Colleague C | Yikes…. You mean we can’t make a single blunder at all…?! |
| Colleague B | The pressure just immediately sunk in……. |
| Colleague A | W-Well, never mind that for now. Let’s finish arranging the attendance list for the internal employees first. |
| Oh right, the boss also mentioned that even employees who rarely show their face in the office are going to show up at the party too. |
| Itaru | With all the big league corporation names coming together, the party is basically an essential business gathering, right? |
| Colleague C | Even our department has several seniors who’ll be coming all the way from overseas too~ |
| Colleague B | Your department has a lot of our office’s elites, doesn’t it? |
| Colleague A | Hm, this person’s name…. How do you read this? Unoki? |
| Colleague C | Ah, Utsuki-san? |
| Utsuki Chikage-san… He works under the head office, but he moves back and forth between different overseas posts and branch offices, as far as I know. |
| Even though we’re in the same department, there’s been barely any chances for me to meet him. He’s quite the peculiar figure— at least that’s what I heard about him. |
| Itaru | Hoh… |
| (You’re telling me an elite-mystery character like that actually exists in the real world…?) |
| (Not like it matters either way. Our departments are different after all.) |
| Colleague A | When you put it like that, who wouldn’t want to meet him, even a little bit? |
| Itaru | You’re right. It’s almost as if meeting him would become a memorable moment, no? |
| |
| Itaru | (Man… This workload was supposed to be a piece of cake, but NO THANKS to me being forced to appeal to my coworkers' talk, it’s way now past the overtime limit.) |
| (It’s the first day of my oshi’s event too, yet I haven’t even gotten a single point in. This is the absolute worst of the worst.) |
| Colleague A | Good work everyone! We could go home right away, but how about we go for a few drinks while we’re at it? A chance to deepen bonds, as they say. |
| Colleague B | Sounds fun~ I’m in! |
| Itaru | … Ahh, sorry. I have to finish my preparations for tomorrow’s meeting. Don’t worry about me, you guys go ahead and have fun instead. |
| Colleague C | Ehh, that so. Well, we’ll go ahead, but you should catch up later, alright? |
| Itaru | Of course, if I can I will. See you. |
| Colleague C | Good work! See you! |
| *DOOR CLOSES* |
| Itaru | … As if anyone wants to go. |
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| |
| Itaru | (sighs)... Finally, some alone time… |
| Playing Mr. Nice Guy while having no chance to open my game at all has me drained. What torture. |
| I got into this company because I want the money to spend on games, but what’s the point if I don’t even get the time to spend it? |
| Just who do you think I’m working for? Seriously, making me miss my starting dash chance on my own oshi’s event. The worst. |
| I gotta hurry and grab up the limited items then run up the ranking from there… |
| Oh right, almost forgot about the pizza bun I bought. Hope the cheese’s still runny— |
| *RUSTLING PLASTIC* |
| ??? | Aren’t you feeling cold at a place like this? |
| Itaru | Well, it is a bit chilly, but not that much. Plus it’s not like anyone would come—— |
| Huh? ——!?! |
 |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | Then I caught you in a bad time, I take it? Oh, don’t mind me, I’ll take my leave soon enough. |
| Itaru | Ah, no, it’s alright—— |
| (...!! Crap, did he hear me mumbling the whole time? More importantly, did he SEE me on my game too?) |
| … I have to head back to work. Please excuse me. |
| *DOOR CLOSES* |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | ……… |
