| Senior Employee A | I’d like to introduce to you this project we’re working on. After a long pending period, we were finally able to resume it and—— |
| Invited Guest B | Our joint development with the LB Corp. that we recently announced has been going |
| unexpectedly well, so I was considering finding a partner to help with the development as soon as possible—— |
| Senior Employee C | Director Osada! It’s been a long time! I was hoping to have met you at the kick-off party before— |
| Itaru | (... And just as I was talking, it appears that things are going smoothly without any trouble at all. The mood of the event isn’t too bad either.) |
| (Haaaaaaaah, I really wanna leave already. What time is it anyway?) |
| (...Are you serious? ONLY 15 minutes have passed? Why can’t time slow down while I’m gaming instead…) |
| Senior Employee B | Hey, is Chigasaki around? Togawa-san is looking for him. |
| Colleague A | If you’re looking for Chigasaki, he should be around that way… |
| Itaru | (——I sense danger afoot.) |
| … |
| Excuse me, I have a call to make. |
| Colleague C | Hm? Oh, alright. |
| |
| |
| Itaru | Phew. Event Hall Escape Mission: Clear. |
| (I may as well take a short breather. No harm in playing a little bit of the event in the toilet either, right?) |
| Suit-Wearing Foreigner | [~~!! ---?!!?] |
| Hotel Employee | << Please wait. I need to get confirmation first…! >> |
| Itaru | (... Looks like there’s some sort of trouble going on.) |
| (... All I want is to feign innocence for a sitch like this, but this person’s probably a guest of our event party, isn’t he?) |
| *PHONE BUZZES* |
| Itaru | (Gah, it’s Chief Togawa.) |
| *PHONE BEEP* |
| Itaru | …Yes, Chigasaki speaking. |
| Togawa | “Good evening. We suddenly lost sight of the CEO of McQueen Foods. He’s not anywhere in the event hall. Perhaps you’ve seen him, Chigasaki-kun?” |
| Itaru | No, I don’t think I’ve seen him… |
| Togawa | “I see. Right now, we’re trying to get as many available people as possible to help with the search. Although, he’s also a man who’s known to be difficult to deal with…” |
| “It’d be most reassuring if an outstanding employee such as you could assist us in finding him…” |
| Itaru | (“Outstanding”, huh… Trying to use that card again?) |
| …Better give me a good goddamn grade on the next assessment. |
| Togawa | “Chigasaki-kun?” |
| Itaru | It's nothing. I’ll keep doing my best to live up to those expectations, sir. Now, are there any features about our guest that can help me with… |
| (Hang on. Could it be——) |
| Togawa | “He wears a striped suit and has blonde hair in slicked-back style. He also has a fairly tall stature…” |
| Itaru | (... My guess was right after all; my target’s the man speaking with the hotel employee, is it? Can’t tell if that’s good luck or bad luck for me.) |
| (With how it's been going lately, may as well call it devil’s luck...) |
| Understood. I’ll take a look around the nearby area… Yes. I’ll contact you again later. |
| *PHONE BEEP* |
| Itaru | … Alright, fine. I’ll go. |
| Hotel Employee | Ahh, what should I do… |
| Itaru | Excuse me. This person is one of our party’s invited guests, so please allow me to take over from here. |
| Hotel Employee | Is that so! Thank you very much. I apologize for the trouble. |
| Itaru | ≪ I’m an employee of Quon Corporation... Is anything the matter, sir? ≫ |
| Foreigner CEO | [--!! ----!!] |
| Itaru | (...Huh? Crap, I didn’t get a single word of that. Is it just because his accent is strong…?) |
| ≪ I’m sorry, could you please repeat that? ≫ |
| Foreigner CEO | [---!? ------ !!] |
| Itaru | (... No shot. I don’t think he’s even speaking English at all…) |
| Welp. Dead end for me. |
| (He seems to understand me, but I never got into a sitch where the other person can’t speak English. ) |
| (That being the case, might be better to call someone for help instead. But who…..) |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | …… |
| Itaru | That’s the glasses-wearing senior from before… |
| (There’s a chance that he could talk with this person. Even if not, better than doing this alone…) |
| (I still have no idea what his name is. How the hell do I call him over then? Ahh shit. I shouldn’t have let that hotel employee off the hook if I knew this was the case.) |
| Uhm, excuse me! |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | …… |
| Itaru | (No use, he’s not noticing at all…) |
| Ermm… |
| S… Senpai! |
 |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | —... |
| Itaru | (Score! I don’t know how or why, but I got him to look this way…!) |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | —Are you perhaps referring to me? |
| Itaru | Uhm, yes. I’m sorry, but I’m in a bit of a conundrum here… |
| Foreigner CEO | ….. |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | 〔 Ah, Mister Glière. So it’s you. Is there a problem, sir? 〕 |
| Itaru | (Wow. He can actually speak to him FR. My skin is saved…) |
| |
| Glasses-Wearing Employee | Seems like he lost sight of his grandchild that he brought with him. |
| I’ll contact the secretary. Chigasaki-kun, could you check with the front desk? Their features are— |
| Itaru | Ah, of course! |
