Confinement King

[Chihiro Kijima’s POV]

The KKO women's dormitory is a 15-minute walk from the Roppongi office.

This dormitory, which was originally built where President Kurashima's residence was located, is rented to KKO free of charge by Seigo Fujiwara, the president of the Fujiwara Group.

The reason for the free rent is that this is the living quarters of Fujiwara Seigo's favorite actress, Aoi Umidori.

If Aoi Umidori were to return to the entertainment world and get an apartment, rumors might start that Seigo is keeping her as a mistress.

However, if it is a women's dormitory where men are not allowed, there is no need to worry about such a situation.

So, half of the third floor is Aoi's room.

The other half is mine and Lolisla's room.

**a

The first and second floors are used as a dormitory for other KKO talents.

Currently, there are eleven residents.

The residents related to Danna-sama are me―Chihiro Kijima, Lolisla, Akira Mizuki, and Misuzu, who has room to stay in Tokyo.

Now, I hurried past the front desk where a receptionist was stationed, and hurriedly stepped into the guest lounge on the first floor.

The lounge is as luxurious as a suite in a high-end hotel.

There was a long-legged ash-gray carpet, a luxurious leather sofa, and a big monitor on the wall.

Here was Lolisla in a scanty swimsuit that ruined the luxurious atmosphere of the room, a tired-looking Asuka Nitani, a bored-looking Mimura Doremi, and Ponpoko-san in a suit.

Only Nitani and Ponpoko-san see me and get up from the sofa in a hurry.

Lolisla, with her irreverent attitude on the sofa, was not in a hurry to get up.

Mimura, who has no working experience, can't help it either.

By the way, Lolisla, dressed in a sweet Lolita fashion with too much lace, had built up a pile of candy wrappers on the low table.

「I'm sorry I'm late」

「Really, you're late」

Lolisla's mouth is aggrieved. I stare at her, and Ponpoko-san opens her mouth with a wry smile.

「Well, I guess that concludes our business. I'm going to leave now...」

「Yes, please give my regards to the President (Fujiwara Seigo)」

Ponpoko-san scratched her cheek with a wry smile.

「I've never met him either, President. We've only exchanged e-mails and chats」

「Really?」

「Yes, I've never been to his office. Well, there are only three people in the office, myself, an office worker dispatched by Fujiwara Group, and one other person」

**b

Regarding Cygnus Entertainment, to which Ponpoko-san belongs, President Fujiwara Seigo has asked me to use it as much as I can.

He seems to be a sharp guy, though I have exchanged e-mails with him once or twice.

I suspect that one of the executives of the Fujiwara group is also holding this responsibility.

After Ponpoko-san leaves the guest lounge, I ask Asuka Nitani to sit down, and I sit down across from her and next to Lolisla.

「I heard about it. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles」

I opened my mouth and Nitani nodded with her eyes downcast.

「...Yes, I still don't know what's going on」

「Yes, it was very scary」

Mimura looked at me with her cheeks puffed up with a candy ball.

「Did you get hurt?」

「That's, well... the maid helped us」

I can't help but laugh.

I had asked Lili to send reinforcements, but I had hoped that she would at least do something about her clothes.

A maid's uniform in Okinawa would have stood out.

It looks hot.

「I heard the culprit is... Ichida?」

「Well, perhaps she is the culprit or one of the masterminds 」

Nitani gave me a somber look in response to my answer.

She seemed to be in a state of disbelief.

**c

「Actually... there is a big job offer for you, it's a campaign image model for an airline company, and it's a billion-dollar job」

Nitani's eyes widened.

「To put it simply, Ichida-san is teaming up with a producer and they are planning to take over the airline」

「Wh-wh-what...? What do you mean?」

「I was going to tell you this after things had progressed a bit further, and... the reason I didn't tell you to be too revealing during the swimsuit shoot was because I had that image in mind as well」

Nitani looked somewhat relieved and murmured quietly, "I see..."

「The story came from an outside source, but the airline likes you, and the contract is based on the premise that they will use you as their image model」

Mimura elbows Nitani and says, "That's great."

「But as a producer, he wants to bring in Ichida-san. I don't know the reason yet, but... what would happen if her face was injured?」

「For that reason... Ichida?」

「I don't know who drew the plans, but I'm sure Ichida-san is behind it」

I heard Nitani grit her teeth.

「I can't forgive her...」

Lolisla interrupted, leaning back against the sofa.

「So, what are you going to do now?」

「Well, we don't want to make a big deal out of it」

「It can't be!!」

**a

Nitani stood up and leaned forward. I stared into her eyes.

「It's for your own good, too, you know? Are you going to make your debut with a scar from the big scandal?」

「B-But I don't want to accept the situation without doing anything...」

「Oh, who said anything about accepting it without doing anything?」

Nitani looked up at me as I stood up with a puzzled look on her face.

「Don't worry, I'll make sure Ichida and the producer know exactly who they were fighting with」

At my words, Nitani happily interrupts me.

「Oh, I get it! You're going to have the maid from "Zukkyun☆Maid Starlight" attack them, aren't you? Well, she's very strong」

「Huh? What? Zukkyun? What?」

「Uh... Well, the maid said that "Zukkyun☆Maid Starlight" is KKO's anti-scandal department...」

「Ah, yeah! That's right, haha... hahaha...」

Probably, the maid was playing dumb.

I think it was Freesia's influence, but those maids' sense of humor is twisted in a strange way.

「But I won't do such a barbaric thing. I'll call Ichida and the producer and push them into a corner. When they try to take the blame, you guys show up. And I'll make them pay a penalty that will be unbearable for the rest of their lives」

As I say this, Lolisla immediately adds.

「One more thing, as someone who has experienced this before, I can tell you that this is really a disaster」

「Experienced? What?」

Nitani and Mimura looked puzzled.

「Huh? What is it? Do you want to hear it? Do you want to hear it? But, umm... I can't tell you...」

Lolisla grimaces and folds her flat chest.

I wonder how excessive her need for approval is.

I was appalled at the mollusk's willingness to bring herself into the center of the conversation.

.

Thanks for reading.