"Hold on… didn't they just come out of there?"
Rosalia overheard them and looked back over her shoulder. "Well, yes. I'm a Soleil employee."
"What?!"
"Seriously?! No wonder the pay is so high…"
They followed her with newfound reverence. As they stepped into the grand marble lobby, their eyes were immediately drawn to a young, beautiful receptionist. It was April, and Kaori had officially begun her tenure at Soleil. Seeing the group approach, she bowed to Rosalia before turning to the man in the suit.
"...Um, Tanaka-san? Can I have a second?"
"Ah, yes." Tanaka stepped over to the desk.
As soon as he was out of earshot of the others, Kaori leaned in. "Hey, don't give me that 'Tanaka-san' crap."
"Don't use 'um' when you're addressing a superior," he replied smoothly.
"Whatever. Look, Chika said the contract for managing the indoor plants on every floor is a go. She was super thankful for the big contract."
"Good. Coordinate the delivery with the related departments. Anything else?"
"Yeah. Chika said we should all hang out again soon."
"Fine. I'll set up another dinner for the four of us."
"Yay! Can't wait!"
Watching from a distance, Futa and Daizen whispered to each other.
"Did you see that, Tarako? That's the skill of a man who's popular."
"He just invited her to dinner like it was nothing, and she looked thrilled about it."
"Actually, it looked like she was the one who initiated it…"
"That girl definitely has a thing for him."
"Standard Soleil employee specs, I guess. I couldn't pull that off if I spent my whole life training," Futa sighed.
Tanaka returned with a polite bow. "My apologies for the wait."
"This way, please," Rosalia said, leading them to the elevators.
They ascended to an upper floor, where they were greeted by rows of state-of-the-art VR machines. Even for seasoned gamers, the sight of Soleil's R&D floor was breathtaking.
"Whoa, this is insane!"
"It's like a sci-fi movie!"
Just then, a woman walked toward them from the other end of the hall. She was strikingly beautiful, radiating an aura of absolute authority. Futa and Daizen began to wonder if Soleil had a "models only" hiring policy.
"Ah, President," Rosalia said.
""President?!"" The two men scrambled to bow as low as humanly possible.
Haruno Yukinoshita approached, a playful glint in her eyes. "Oh, Bara-chan. Are these the new part-timers?"
"Yes. This is Mr. Yamada and Mr. Nagasaki. Gentlemen, this is our President, Haruno Yukinoshita."
"Y-Yamada! Honored to be here!"
"Nagasaki! Pleased to meet you!"
"It's a pleasure," Haruno said with a dazzling smile. Between her charm and her... notable presence, the two men felt a sudden, fierce determination to do a good job.
Haruno then turned her gaze to the man in the suit. "Tanaka-kun, was it? Could you come by my office later? My shoulders, waist, and... chest are feeling a bit tight. I could really use a massage to work out the stress."
Tanaka didn't blink. "...President. Your jokes are becoming quite burdensome. I am afraid that is far beyond my job description."
Haruno couldn't help it. She snorted, trying to stifle a laugh as she looked at Rosalia. "'Boku'?! Did you hear that, Bara? He said 'Boku'!"
Rosalia looked panicked. "...Tanaka-kun always uses 'boku' as his pronoun, President!"
Haruno caught the hint and nodded vigorously. "Oh! Right! Of course. Yes, boku. My mistake."
Neither Futa nor Daizen noticed that Tanaka was currently—and quite forcefully—stepping on both Haruno's and Rosalia's feet.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck, boys!" Haruno waved as she strolled away.
""We won't let you down!"" they shouted.
Rosalia led them into a development room. "Wait here a moment." She stepped out to grab some paperwork.
Left alone with Tanaka, the two couldn't help but pry.
"Tanaka-san, you're even popular with the President. That's incredible."
"Ah, no… she's just… like that with everyone," Tanaka replied vaguely.
"A workplace full of beauties… man, you're living the dream!"
"It certainly is a lively environment," Tanaka said, his gaze drifting to a machine at the far end of the room.
A quiet-looking girl emerged from behind the console, staring at them intently. It was Shino (Sinon). She had heard that Yamikaze and Tarako were coming in and, despite being able to work from home, had decided to show up in person just to satisfy her curiosity. Since the boys would be working remotely after today, this was her only chance to see their real faces.
Shino walked over, an amused smirk playing on her lips. "Tanaka-san, are these the two?"
"Yes."
"I see. Yamikaze and Tarako, right?"
The men jumped. "Uh… who are you?"
"Take a guess," Shino challenged.
The two began to scan their mental databases of every female player they knew.
"Well… she seems to have common sense, so she's definitely not Pito," Futa muttered.
"Oh? Maybe I should tell Pito you said that," Shino replied smoothly.
"J-Just a joke! Uh… Nyan-Goro-san?"
"I could never pull off that verbal tic," Shino said, shaking her head. "Wrong."
Futa's eyes widened as the realization hit. "Wait… that tone. That slightly blunt, aggressive vibe… there's no way. The image doesn't match at all, but…"
"Excuse me? Who are you calling blunt and aggressive? You want a hole in your head?"
"Whoa! It is Sinon!"
"Seriously?!" Tarako gawked. "Now that you mention it, that 'I'll murder you' aura is unmistakable!"
"Who has a murder aura?!" Shino snapped, playfully elbowing Tanaka.
"Why me…?" Tanaka sighed.
Shino let out a giggle. "'Boku.' He really said 'boku.'" Tanaka gave her a sharp glare, and she immediately cleared her throat, turning back to the recruits. "Real names aren't necessary, right? I'm Shino. Or Sinon. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Yamikaze. Looking forward to working with you, Senpai!"
"And I'm Tarako."
"Since you'll be working from home after today, this is probably our first and last meeting in person. I'll teach you what you need to know."
"Thanks… wait, 'last meeting'?"
"Oh, you haven't been told?" Shino glanced at Tanaka.
Tanaka took over the explanation. "Actually, this job is entirely remote. As long as you have an AmuSphere at home, you can log in to the Soleil private server from anywhere."
"Whoa!"
"That's amazing! Seriously, Shana is a godsend… I'd honestly lick the guy's boots right now!"
"Me too!"
Tanaka's expression twitched, as if he were suppressing a very specific memory, but the two men didn't notice.
"Sorry for the wait," Rosalia said, returning with two AmuSpheres. "Let's get you two set up in these units."
The "units" were high-end reclining chairs equipped with the latest full-dive hardware.
"Alright, Tarako. Let's show them what the GGO pros can do."
"Hell yeah."
And so, Yamikaze and Tarako's first day at Soleil—and their introduction to the mysterious "Tanaka"—began.
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