The four members of Kesshoku Band looked rather unhappy about being pulled away,
but when their manager gave them a sharp, questioning "Hm?" along with a near-threatening glare, their rebellious spirits evaporated instantly—like a lit match plunged into water, extinguished with a hiss.
It wasn't kind, but Chisato found it oddly amusing.
No, I can't laugh… must hold it in…
"Even with the president here, today's schedule doesn't change. As usual, head to the recording studio for ensemble practice.
The issues pointed out yesterday must be fixed today. I'll be checking in later."
Once Seika had regained control of the situation, she mercilessly announced the plan for the day.
The four girls from Kesshoku Band timidly avoided her gaze and looked toward Chisato. Their pitiful eyes all silently pleaded for rescue.
Well, except for Hitori. That girl was probably just craving affection. He had indeed been neglecting her a bit lately.
"Hurry along now."
Her tone took on a dangerous edge. Seika's title as the "Ochanomizu Demon Queen" clearly wasn't for show.
Startled into action, the four girls hurried out of the president's office, practically pushing each other through the door.
"They're a handful—can't relax even for one second."
Sighing softly with a hand on her forehead, Seika turned to face Chisato now that they were alone.
"But it's really great that you came today, President. There are so many decisions that need your input.
A lot of people have contacted me hoping to collaborate with Kesshoku Band—including even a local TV station."
"That can wait. Let's talk about something else first."
Chisato took a seat on the sofa. Seika followed and sat beside him.
Because of her pencil skirt, she couldn't sprawl out like Chisato but had to sit with her legs demurely to one side.
But that wasn't a bad thing—at least in terms of femininity, she had improved a lot.
Back then, Chisato wasn't particularly fond of sheer tights, but looking now… they actually looked quite good.
"I knew it…"
Seika let out a soft chuckle with a sigh.
"Did those girls come to you privately asking for help?"
"Yeah."
Chisato nodded honestly.
"What did they say?"
"They called you a bona fide demon, a slave driver from the old era, an emotionless whipping machine."
"Oh?"
Rather than getting angry, Seika showed a somewhat satisfied smile at Chisato's blunt words—there was even a hint of pride in her expression.
"Not bad titles at all. I'll gratefully accept them."
Chisato chuckled. It was precisely because he knew Seika wouldn't be offended by this sort of thing that he could say it so openly.
That said, the issue with Kesshoku Band still needed to be resolved.
Though their reactions upon seeing Utaha earlier were pretty dramatic, Chisato understood that it stemmed from her overly strict management.
If her standards hadn't been so harsh, they wouldn't have reacted that way.
So, he needed to find a way to reconcile things and ease the tension between them.
Although Seika's intentions were good—wanting to raise the band's professional level—Chisato didn't want that to come at the cost of their happiness.
"Encouraging them to study and practice ensemble performances is fine, but isn't it a bit much to strictly control their outings and diet too?"
"Not letting them go out freely is for their safety.
Don't forget what happened with Ikuyo before. As for managing their diet, that's unavoidable. It's necessary for their health.
Those kids love sweets, burgers, pizza, fried chicken—junk food like that. It's okay now because they're young and their metabolism is fast, so the consequences aren't visible yet.
But if this keeps up, their weight will increase, and their stage image will be affected.
That would be a serious issue. To prevent that, we have to take precautions now."
"As for their future, the goal is to be a talented musical group, not idols who rely on looks and body image.
So, I don't think such strict measures are necessary. And if they go out during safe hours and in groups to crowded places, nothing bad is likely to happen.
I get that you mean well, Seika, but too much of anything isn't good. Loosening up just a bit won't hurt."
Seika sighed quietly. What Chisato said wasn't something she hadn't thought about.
But having suddenly been entrusted with a heavy responsibility—leading the future of Kesshoku Band—she felt a lot of pressure and was anxious not to let Chisato down, wanting to do everything she could.
That mindset had led her to overdo it in the past few weeks.
"…Since the president himself is saying this, I have no choice but to follow orders. I'll revise Kesshoku Band's daily schedule. Now then, shall we talk about work?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"First, the top priority. I discussed this with Kudou Miyoko yesterday.
With the size of our company now, we have more than enough resources to manage just one group, Kesshoku Band.
So we were thinking—it might be time to scout and add new talents. We wanted to hear your opinion."
Chisato thought for a moment, then answered,
"Let's hold off on that for now. Don't bring it up again in the short term. For now, we just need to focus everything we've got on supporting them. No other plans necessary."
"But wouldn't having only Kesshoku Band limit our company's future potential?"
"Trying to handle too much leads to failure. Let's specialize. Trust me—they'll do just fine, just like before the company was even formed. There won't be any problems."
"Understood. Then, about a few collaboration proposals we've received…"
The two of them spent about forty minutes in the president's office discussing Kesshoku Band's upcoming external activities.
At the same time, Chisato handed over several new demo songs and lyric sheets he had recorded the previous night to Seika.
After listening, she gave a wry smile, astonished, and finally understood the source of Chisato's confidence when he had declined their earlier proposal.
Does this guy ever hit a creative block?
"How long are you planning to stay today?"
"It's been a while since I showed up here. I'll stick around for a bit—leave in the evening."
"Well, there's nothing urgent now. Come with me—let's check out the progress they've made lately."
"Sure."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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