468: How Much Do You Plan to Pay Me?

As the weekend arrived, Seika, for the first time in a long while, did not linger in bed but woke up early, went out to buy breakfast, and ate with her younger sister.

Not long after, Chisato arrived at the agreed-upon time. After receiving his call, the Ijichi sisters went downstairs to the street and saw a luxury chauffeur-driven car.

With a height of over two meters and a length exceeding six meters, it looked very imposing.

Chisato was standing beside the car, smiling and waving at them.

Seika's first reaction was to look at her sister, but her sister was also wide-eyed, obviously surprised and just as clueless.

"Hey, what's going on?" Seika asked as she approached.

The car in front of her was far more imposing than the van she had borrowed from a friend previously.

"What's going on? Didn't we agree that I would pick you up early today?" Chisato replied.

"That's not the issue... I'm talking about the car. Did you rent it?" Seika asked.

"Oh, this car?" Chisato suddenly understood, clenched his right fist and placed it on his left palm. "I bought it."

"You... bought it?"

"To be precise, this car is a new addition to the STARRY company. 

I went with Ms. Kudou to the dealership to see it when the company was founded and made a reservation. 

I only paid the remaining balance last week and officially took it over. This is actually the first time it's officially debuted in work."

"Well, that's still your car! But I remember you don't even have a driver's license."

"Where in the law does it say that you can't buy a car without a license? I just bought it, and I don't have to drive it myself," Chisato replied.

"At the end of the day, I still have to drive it, huh? But it's such a big car, I don't have the confidence to handle it."

"Don't worry about that, Ms. Aida is here."

Chisato said as he looked back toward the driver's seat of the car. The window rolled down, and a slightly plump middle-aged woman nodded her head in greeting.

"Hey, who's that?" Seika asked, trying to smile in response, then leaned in close to Chisato's ear, lowering her voice. 

"Where did this Ms. Aida come from?"

Chisato bent down slightly, and his face was almost bumped by Seika's melon-shaped chest, even grazing his nose. Yet, she didn't seem to notice at all.

"What's with 'where did she come from'? Don't talk like she's a plant. 

Ms. Aida used to work in logistics, driving trucks to deliver goods. She's now working at my company, and driving a car like this is a piece of cake for her. 

So, no need to worry... Also, you're hugging me too tightly."

"...!"

Seika blushed and quickly released him.

"Did Suzumiya-kun even hire a driver?" Nijika, Seika's younger sister, finally spoke up.

Chisato smiled and nodded. "Yes, from now on, when you have business activities, Ms. Aida will drive you."

"Wow, it feels kinda cool. Like I'm a real big star now."

"Don't worry, you'll be one in the near future. Anyway, let's get in the car and talk. We still need to pick up other people."

Chisato opened the car door, and the Ijichi sisters got in at his prompting.

Once inside, they got a clearer view of the luxury of the car.

The seats were extremely comfortable, with built-in LCD screens, internet connectivity, and a karaoke system. 

Each seat also had an independently controlled massage system.

When the driver, Ms. Aida, respectfully referred to Chisato as "President," the sisters felt a mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity. 

They suddenly realized that he had quietly reached this level of success.

"This car isn't cheap, is it? Where did you get all this money?" Seika asked quietly, seeing her sister excitedly exploring the new features of the car.

Since she asked sincerely, Chisato explained, "The music industry can be very profitable if you can make catchy, well-loved songs. After the summer festival, I had Nijika and the others re-record all their previous songs and shoot dedicated MVs for them."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, those songs with the MVs were bundled, and last week, I released them both offline and digitally. The sales have been quite good."

"How much... exactly?"

"The digital version is priced at 1299, and the current sales are nearing twenty thousand. 

The physical version is 3599, and the initial 5,000 copies sold out. 

It's even more popular than expected. The second batch of 5,000 is still being made. You can do the math, Seika-chan."

Seika listened, took out her phone, and did the calculations. After a moment, her eyes twitched.

Approximately twenty-six million plus eighteen million, a total of forty-four million.

And this was just the sales for one week—there was still much more to come.

Seika took a deep breath and tried to act casual. 

"Well, you've made money, but thanks to you, those four little kids got a little tan from shooting the MV in the hot sun."

"That was a necessary sacrifice. Besides, even if they got tan, Nijika is still as cute as ever... Seika-chan, what kind of look is that?"

"Hey, Chisato, you know there are some things you shouldn't think about, let alone do, right?" Seika whispered in his ear, her voice cold, as she squeezed her finger joints.

But no matter how cold the words were, they still came out with warmth from her mouth.

Chisato was close enough to smell the faint fragrance from Seika's body. 

He looked at her lips, which seemed freshly glossed, and saw the black shoulder strap peeking out from her open jacket. 

It seemed like she was exuding more femininity today than usual.

Suppressing the momentary daze, Chisato turned his head and looked out the window. "...I don't understand what you're saying."

"Hmph, it's better that you don't." Seika raised her fist.

The way she held her fist didn't seem threatening to Chisato; in fact, it seemed a little cute, but he couldn't let her know that.

"Well, you're really a president now..."

"What are you talking about? Didn't you already know about this?"

"Well, knowing something is one thing, but when you realize it in such a tangible way, it still feels hard to accept. 

It's like how parents, when they see their child has gotten married and had kids, sometimes wonder how time passed so quickly. 

Just a while ago, their child was still a student... Do you understand what I mean?"

"I roughly understand, but I have to say, your comparison is a bit old-fashioned."

"As long as you understand, that's fine. Whether it's old-fashioned or not, I have one question I'm really curious about. 

Isn't it better to have everyone come together to 'Starry' as usual and then head directly to the destination? Why do you bother picking us up one by one? 

Or is it that now that you've finally set up the company, hired people, and bought a car, you're just trying to show off?"

"That might be part of it, but mainly I wanted Hitori, Ikuyo, and the others' families to see all this. In the adult world, many things are hard to trust just by word of mouth. 

Letting them see the strength of the people their daughters are working with is a way to make them feel at ease. It also helps them trust me to take care of them in the future."

"You're quite calculating."

"How can you say it's calculating? I don't have any bad intentions—everything is for their sake and for their families."

Though he said this, there still seemed to be something off.

After that, they picked up the other three.

From the looks on their faces, Seika could see the same expressions she and Nijika had shown at the beginning.

It was kind of funny, no wonder Chisato had smiled like that when he saw her earlier.

Today's work venue was an amusement park in Setagaya.

The park had been around for five years, and in recent years, its earnings had been steadily declining. 

Fortunately, the park's management came up with a clever idea to partner with a neighboring zoo, also struggling, and developed a new amusement area centered around various animals.

They also connected the two parks, advertising a "One ticket, two parks" offer online, which helped revive the failing amusement park.

However, none of this had anything to do with Chisato and the others. 

They had simply been commissioned to perform at the park's anniversary celebration to heat up the atmosphere and satisfy the sponsor before taking their payment and leaving.

Upon arrival, Chisato and the group were warmly welcomed by the amusement park management, who led them to the prepared lounge.

It was here that Seika saw more unfamiliar faces.

"Let me introduce, this is..."

Chisato introduced them one by one.

A makeup artist, a stylist, an assistant and media operator... and the driver waiting outside.

The band that had performed in his shop before had truly gone professional now.

Seika couldn't quite describe how she was feeling at that moment.

Though she had mentally prepared herself before leaving home this morning, following Chisato and watching him calmly direct people older than him still felt out of place. 

She felt like it would take a long time to get used to this.

Everything was the same as when they performed on stage before, except now there were more people. Chisato didn't need to do everything himself; others were taking care of it.

At noon, after watching the band finish their performance on stage, Seika asked,

"How much is the performance fee for this gig?"

"Though the band has some recognition online, they just debuted, so it's not much—only four million."

Chisato casually replied, his eyes still fixed on the stage.

Seika was speechless.

"Four million is not much? How much do you want?"

"Strictly speaking, it's quite a lot, but you can't just think of it that simply. Things aren't like they used to be."

"..."

Seika thought carefully, and he was right. 

In the past, when they performed, the four members of the band plus Chisato would split the earnings evenly, but now he had set up a company and hired employees.

Although Chisato hadn't said it, the company must have office space, and Tokyo's real estate prices were notorious. Even renting would be a significant expense.

If you divide the earnings by all the expenses, it makes sense as he said.

On stage, after the first song of the band was finished, the audience erupted in applause.

At that moment, Chisato turned his attention to Seika,

"You said you'd think about it for a while. Have you made up your mind?"

Seika sighed lightly,

"Why did you choose me? Just because I'm Nijika's sister? 

But you know I'm completely inexperienced. If you wanted, you could find a professional manager instead."

"I've already explained the reason. You're the only one I trust right now. 

I can learn what I don't know. A manager's role is different from other positions—she'll have the closest relationship with the band in the future. 

If someone else did it, I wouldn't feel comfortable. But with you, I can trust you to take care of them."

"..."

"Also, this is actually what the other four on stage want."

"Huh?"

"They already know about my invitation to you. Everyone's really excited and hopes to work with you in the future. Nijika especially is happy."

Seika couldn't help but smile wryly,

"So you already told them."

"Well, they'll be working with you every day in the future, so of course, I had to ask for their opinion first."

Chisato smiled and looked back at the stage. Nijika had walked from behind the drum kit to stand next to Ikuyo, and they all bent down to greet the audience.

"So, Seika, do you need more time to think?"

Seika looked at the four on stage, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

Chisato asked,

"Does that mean you're rejecting me?"

Seika didn't answer directly but smiled,

"There's one more important thing we haven't discussed yet, President, how much are you planning to pay me?"

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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta

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