novelraw Chapter 124: Koyama Musae Also Wants to Participate in Kasou Taishou! Asking Brother-in-law to Pull Strings~
Chapter 124: Koyama Musae Also Wants to Participate in Kasou Taishou! Asking Brother-in-law to Pull Strings~
Kumamoto Prefecture, Aso City First Girls' High School.
In the classroom after school, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled lazily onto the desks like melted golden syrup, dying the dust dancing in the air with a layer of warm halo.
"One hundred million yen! Did you guys see that?! It really is a one hundred million yen championship prize!"
A girl named Yumi, with cute twin-tails, was excitedly waving the promotional poster in her hand. On that pretty face, which still carried a bit of baby fat, was written the purest desire for money.
"And look here! 'Those aged 8 and above may participate'! My god, this is simply grabbing money!"
"Exactly, exactly! If I could get these one hundred million yen, the very first thing I'd do is go buy all the latest Chanel and LV in the department store!" Another girl with neat short hair, named Rie, also had eyes shining brightly, plunging into beautiful fantasies.
Only Koyama Musae—this young girl who had long witnessed true "cash ability" in Tokyo—currently merely rested her cheek on one hand. Using the posture of someone who had been there and done that, carrying a bit of lethargy, she looked at that poster whose edges had long been rolled up from being passed around by her classmates, a faint smile of disdain hooking the corners of her lips.
One hundred million yen? Is that a lot?
This was merely the prize money for a program her brother-in-law was fully responsible for.
"Musae, why aren't you excited at all?"Yumi leaned over and nudged her with an elbow. In those large, sparkling eyes flashed the light of gossip: "I heard, you know, this Kasou Taishou was planned by that legendary genius brother-in-law of yours, Nohara Hiroshi! If... if you went to participate, couldn't you pull some strings and directly be internally decided as the champion?"
As soon as these words came out, the several girls around who had originally been chattering away discussing how to divide that one hundred million prize money instantly quieted down.
Pairs of eyes full of curiosity and envy uniformly focused completely upon Koyama Musae's body.
"Pull strings?"
Hearing this, Koyama Musae first sighed profoundly with affected seriousness, then slowly spoke in a tone full of Versailles-style (subtle bragging) annoyance: "Do you guys think that brother-in-law of mine is someone so easy to talk to? That guy, at work, he's simply an unreasonable devil. Forget about me, even if my second sister personally went to plead with him, he probably wouldn't even bat an eyelid."
Hearing these words of hers, the several girls around subconsciously nodded. In their gazes, a bit more reverence was added toward that "genius brother-in-law" who only existed in legends.
Currently, Nohara Hiroshi's name was very popular among young people!
Whether it was Yamishibai or Tales of the Unusual.
The target audience was young people!
However, just as they thought this topic was about to end, Koyama Musae suddenly changed the subject. In those large, dark eyes flashed a craftiness like a little fox.
"However..."
She deliberately dragged out her tone. Amidst those several gazes full of anticipation, she unhurriedly tossed out a proposal sufficient to make everyone go crazy: "The championship, I might not be able to get. But, securing a spot to represent our Kumamoto Prefecture and go to Tokyo to participate in the finals, and along the way... snagging several hundred thousand yen in appearance fees as pocket money, shouldn't be... much of a problem."
"Eh?!"
"Really? Musae!"
"Several hundred thousand?! My god!"
The entire classroom was instantly submerged by a burst of irrepressible exclamation!
Looking at the faces of her companions written full of shock and fanaticism, a massive, unprecedented sense of satisfaction belonging to a "big sister" surged in Koyama Musae's heart.
She knew it was time to utilize that "super hotline" of hers that went straight to the center of power in Tokyo.
...
That night, the Koyama household.
Like a cat that had just stolen fish, Koyama Musae tiptoed and completely silently slipped into her parents' bedroom.
Knowing the way well, she fished out from the pocket of her father's suit hanging on the rack that futuristic little silver block she had coveted for a long time—the Panasonic P100.
Hugging this precious lump, she ran back to her own room in a flash, locked the door, then took a deep breath and dialed that number.
On the other end of the phone, Nohara Hiroshi was currently immersed in another wondrous world full of the Vitality of Life.
Spread before his face was a massive sheet of white paper. On it, drafted with succinct lines, were the outlines of a late-night small eatery and a man with a scar on his face, yet eyes as calm as the deep sea.
Midnight Diner.
This would be the third entirely new battlefield he prepared to open up after "Urban Legends" and "National Variety Shows," sufficient to make all of Japan intoxicated by it—
A gourmet drama!
"Hello? This is Nohara Hiroshi." Nohara Hiroshi saw that the call was from the Koyama family.
"Brother-in-law! It's me, it's me! Your cutest sister-in-law, Musae!" From the other end of the phone came Koyama Musae's energetic voice, as warm as a little sun.
"Oh, it's you." The corners of Nohara Hiroshi's lips hooked into a doting smile: "What's up? Want to come to Tokyo to play again?"
"Of course not!" Koyama Musae pouted, then cut straight to the chase using a solemn tone full of the flavor of commercial negotiation: "Brother-in-law! I, representing all the beautiful girls of our Aso City First Girls' High School, officially submit a request to you! We want to participate in Kasou Taishou! Furthermore, we want to represent Kumamoto, go to Tokyo, and take the championship!"
"Oh?" Hearing this, Nohara Hiroshi nearly laughed out loud.
"But!" Koyama Musae changed the subject. Her voice carried a bit of righteous acting spoiled: "Although we have passion and beauty, but... we don't have creativity! Therefore, Brother-in-law, you, must, come up with an unparalleled, god-tier idea capable of stunning all the judges in an instant for us!"
Listening to this unreasonableness unique to a pubescent girl on the other end of the phone, Nohara Hiroshi helplessly shook his head.
He could almost imagine that quirky little girl currently standing with her hands on her hips, pouting, putting on a cute appearance of "if you don't agree, I'll cry for you to see."
"Alright, alright, I'm afraid of you." He smiled and agreed: "Tomorrow, give me a Fax Machine number near your school. I will fax the idea, along with the performance details, over to you guys."
Speaking of ideas, he really did have quite a few.
"Yay! Brother-in-law, you are my god!" Koyama Musae instantly cheered.
...
The next day at noon, in a small stationery store on the Aso City shopping street.
That old Fax Machine that looked somewhat aged, after letting out a burst of "creaking and groaning" protests, finally, slowly, spat out a piece of paper that still carried warmth.
Koyama Musae and her four little sisters, like five little birds waiting to be fed, instantly surrounded that piece of paper completely.
There wasn't much text on the paper.
There were only dynamic stick figures sketched out with succinct lines one by one.
In the drawing, five girls wearing different colored sailor suits were currently using their own bodies and several of the simplest, painted cardboard boxes to assemble into a... ginormous robot teacher currently at the podium giving a lesson to a group of little paper people!
And at the very bottom of the Manuscript, a sentence of encouragement was written in a handwriting that was elegant yet full of strength.
[Go, girls. Use your youth to stun this summer. —— Your most reliable brother-in-law, Nohara Hiroshi.]
"Wah——!"
"Such an amazing idea!"
"Robot teacher! This idea is too fantastic!"
"And... and Brother-in-law's handwriting is also written way too beautifully, right!"
The five girls looked at that Manuscript full of whimsical ideas. On those pretty faces overflowing with youth had long been thoroughly filled by a dazzling starlight called "worship."
They seemed to have already seen their glorious future—wearing sailor suits, standing on that stage watched by millions, receiving the cheers and applause of all the audience.
"Sisters!"
Koyama Musae raised that manuscript high up like a queen about to rush into battle. Her large, dark eyes burned with a raging fighting spirit!
"Starting from today, special training initiates! Our goal is only one——"
She paused. Amidst those several fanatical gazes, she shouted out word by word that domineering declaration sufficient to make all competitors tremble.
"Dominate the whole country!"
"Oh!!"
The cheers of the girls echoed within this small stationery store, full of an indomitable power of youth sufficient to lift off the roof.
However, looking at the patterns on the paper, Koyama Musae couldn't help but purse her lips, feeling somewhat guilty in her heart: "Why does the appearance of this robot... look so familiar?"
...
"Won!"
Koyama Yoshiharu fiercely slapped his thigh. Watching the local Kumamoto Prefecture sumo wrestler he supported the most just push his opponent out of the dohyo ring on the television screen, he instantly revealed a satisfied smile.
However, before the smile on his face had time to stay on his face for more than three seconds, it was thoroughly washed entirely clean by the scene that appeared immediately afterward on the screen.
"Next, what will be broadcast to you is the nationwide creative mimicry show authorized by TV Tokyo and exclusively broadcast by our Kumamoto Broadcasting—Kasou Taishou Kumamoto Regional Audition Version! Let us see what kind of stunning creativity the young people of our Kumamoto Prefecture will bring us!"
Accompanied by the host's passionate voice.
The screen changed.
A team full of youthful vitality, composed of five high school girls wearing cute sailor suits, appeared before the camera.
And standing exactly in the center of the team, that girl with the playful twin-tails currently facing the camera and throwing a confident peace sign... if it wasn't his most worrisome youngest daughter, Koyama Musae, then who was it?!
"Preposterous! Simply making trouble out of nothing!"
The beer glass in Koyama Yoshiharu's hands slammed heavily onto the low table with a "clatter." Quite a bit of the cold liquid splashed out, yet he remained completely oblivious.
His face, which had just been somewhat rosy due to the sumo victory, was currently already shrouded in a livid hue. His two thick eyebrows twisted into an angry "chuan" (川) character.
He actually... he actually only learned from the television that his precious daughter had run off to participate in this kind of program that showed one's face in public, which in his eyes was "unpresentable"!
"What are you throwing another temper for?" From the kitchen came the somewhat helpless voice of his wife, Koyama Takasae.
She walked out holding a plate of freshly cut chilled watermelon. That red-fleshed, black-seeded watermelon emitted a crisp sweetness unique to midsummer.
"You look! Look at the good daughter you birthed!"
Koyama Yoshiharu pointed at the television, his voice full of irrepressible fury, like an old lion whose territory had been invaded: "Our Koyama family is considered people with status and face in the education circles of Kumamoto Prefecture! I, as a father, am a Head Teacher! Her eldest sister is a teacher! She actually goes on television, wearing such a short skirt, bouncing and jumping around, what kind of proper behavior is this?! If my colleagues, if the students at school see this, where am I going to put this old face of mine?!"
"Ah my, it's a good thing for children to have their own ideas."
Koyama Takasae set the watermelon down and took the opportunity to sit beside her husband. On that face that always wore a gentle smile, there wasn't the slightest bit of anger;
instead, it carried a bit of appreciation: "Besides, I actually think this child Musae is very creative. You see, how interesting this program is. It can train the children's imagination and hands-on ability, isn't this also a type of learning?"
"Learning?!"
Koyama Yoshiharu felt his blood pressure currently crazily skyrocketing at a speed that violated medical common sense: "Twisting around in front of a nationwide audience wearing those kinds of clothes, this is called learning?! The most important thing for her as a girl, is to be dignified! Is to be proper! Is to be able to find a good family to marry into in the future! Showing her face in public like this now, who will dare to marry her in the future?!"
This "marriage theory" full of the musty smell of the Showa era finally made the always gentle Koyama Takasae unable to help but sigh helplessly.
"Father of the children, what era is it now, why are you still holding onto these old ideas?" She shook her head, saying: "Besides, who said the daughters of our family absolutely have to rely on marrying someone to live a good life?"
She paused. Looking at her husband's face written full of "what nonsense are you spouting," she unhurriedly tossed out a heavyweight bombshell.
"You still don't know, right? Our family's Misae, now, is already a President." Koyama Takasae said.
"...What?" Koyama Yoshiharu was stunned. He dug out his ear, thinking he had experienced auditory hallucinations: "President? What President? A girl like her who just graduated..."
"She is the President of a manga company." On Koyama Takasae's face overflowed a pride of Sharing the Glory. That pride was even three parts thicker than when she first heard her eldest daughter had passed the civil service examination for teachers.
"That child Hiroshi specially established it for her."
She embellished and repeated the "commercial secrets" Misae had excitedly shared with her over the phone a few days ago.
From that two-story office building located near TV Tokyo with terrifyingly high rent, to that startup capital as high as ten million yen;
from that futuristic company name "Future Comic Club," to that god-tier project personally handled by Nohara Hiroshi destined to detonate the entire shonen manga industry, named Doraemon...
"Hiroshi said, although Misae doesn't have much of her own opinions on major matters, she is very talented when it comes to aesthetics and communicating with people. Therefore, the daily operations of the company, recruiting newcomers, and the liaising with Shueisha, are all fully managed by Misae. As for himself, he is only responsible for providing a continuous stream of ideas behind the scenes."
"He also said, this is just the beginning. Later, when the company gets on the right track, it will even go public and become a major company like Shueisha. When that time comes, our Misae will be the youngest and prettiest beautiful President in all of Japan!"
Koyama Takasae spoke exuberantly. On that gentle face was written full of worship toward the heaven-reaching abilities of her future son-in-law, and infinite longing for the bright future of her own daughter.
Meanwhile, Koyama Yoshiharu froze in place. On that face that was always kept stern, was written full of unbelievable shock.
President...
Ten million...
Going public...
These terms full of modern commercial flavor, one by one, were like invisible sledgehammers, viciously smashing onto his brain that had long been filled with traditional concepts like "iron rice bowl," "civil servant," and "a stable life," smashing that worldview he had clung to for decades into fragmented pieces.
He felt as if he wasn't listening to his wife speak, but listening to an Arabian Nights tale full of magical realism.
He, a man who had struggled in the education system for his entire life to barely climb to the position of Head Teacher, his annual salary was not even as much as the "pocket money" that young man casually tossed out.
And his own daughter—that little girl entirely ignorant of the ways of the world who, in his eyes, still only needed to be cared for and needed to find a good family to marry into—had actually... actually already become a President holding millions in capital?
"I... I really... can't understand these young people." A long while later, he finally squeezed out this sentence full of powerlessness and emotion from his throat.
His voice carried bewilderment.
Koyama Takasae covered her mouth and chuckled lightly: "You ah, you're already retired. Just properly enjoy life and be done with it!"
"But." Koyama Yoshiharu pursed his lips, somewhat unreconciled.
Right at this moment, on the television, the host's voice rang out again, also interrupting the conversation between the two.
"Next, let us welcome with applause the 'Mecha-Princess' group from Kumamoto First Girls' High School! What they are going to mimic for us is——<
The Wrath of the Robot Teacher>
!"
Koyama Yoshiharu subconsciously raised his head.
He only saw on the screen, five girls were currently facing away from the camera, swiftly using their bodies to assemble into the shape of a giant robot that looked somewhat comical, yet remarkably true to life.
And standing at the very top, playing the role of the robot's "head," was precisely his youngest daughter, Koyama Musae.
Furthermore, the head even had its hair slicked entirely backward.
...
Koyama Yoshiharu seemed to guess who this was mimicking. He subconsciously touched his own slicked-back hair, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.
But the corners of his lips still lightly raised.
"Class is in session! Everyone be quiet for me!"
She imitated the tone of her old dad when he usually lectured, loudly shouting using a cute voice that was full of majesty yet carried a bit of babyishness.
Subsequently, the body of that "robot" began to walk back and forth on the stage in comical motions full of a mechanical feel. Sometimes it would extend an "arm" to knock on this student's desk;
sometimes it would turn its "head," using those eyes drawn with exaggerated eyeliner to glare at that student who was currently sneaking a peek at a manga.
That clumsy performance full of imagination instantly drew roaring laughter from the entire audience!
"Pfft—"
Koyama Yoshiharu looked at the daughter on the screen who was currently mimicking his appearance when he got angry remarkably true to life. On that face that was always kept stern, all the seriousness and anger quietly melted away like ice and snow in this moment.
He wanted to get angry, wanted to maintain that majesty belonging to the head of the household.
But those corners of his lips that crazily turned upwards uncontrollably had long betrayed his true thoughts inside entirely clean.
That pride belonging to a father ultimately still couldn't be hidden, quietly leaking out from the wrinkled corners of his eyes.
"Hmph, it's... it can be considered somewhat interesting."
He picked up that cup of already flat beer in front of him and took a sip. Although his mouth said this, those eyes that always carried somewhat of a scrutinizing meaning had long curved into crescent moons, gentler than the moonlight outside the window.