“This is Mr.
Asama Kazuomi, the trainee staff member assigned to the Training Department as of today.”
Ms.
Hayakawa’s gentle voice drew Kazuomi back to reality.
His face was flushed with excitement, and he stood ramrod straight.
“Yes!
My name is Asama Kazuomi!
Starting today, I will be relying upon the guidance of all my seniors!
Please do not hesitate to assign me anything within my abilities!
I look forward to working with all of you!”
As an inexperienced newcomer, it was vital to establish himself as hardworking and willing to endure any task.
That was especially true in a Japanese workplace, where hierarchy and seniority were rigidly observed.
Having chosen to enter the workforce at eighteen, Kazuomi knew he had to prepare himself for everything that choice entailed.
For several nights after signing the contract, he had been too excited to sleep.
He had devoted a considerable amount of effort to perfecting his self-introduction.
That effort appeared to have paid off.
The dozen or so staff members seated throughout the office, varying widely in age, applauded to welcome him.
At that moment, two knocks sounded against the door.
It opened, and a kindly elderly man entered from outside.
He narrowed his eyes in a cheerful smile.
“Oh?
Are you holding a beginning-of-term rally?
I hope I am not interrupting.”
He walked in with complete familiarity.
The moment Kazuomi recognized him, he froze.
This was the elderly gentleman who had questioned him during the interview.
The reactions of the other employees were entirely different from the polite welcome they had offered Kazuomi.
Every experienced staff member immediately rose from their seat and greeted the old man with restrained deference.
“Mr.
Yoshida!
What brings you to inspect the Training Department?”
“Is there something you need to tell us?”
Judging from their reactions, the elderly man clearly occupied an extraordinary position within the academy.
While Kazuomi silently considered that fact, the old man noticed him.
His expression immediately became difficult to interpret.
“Oh?
What a surprise.
Aren’t you the reckless young fellow from the interview?
I never imagined a complete amateur like you would actually make it into the academy.”
He shook his head in apparent disappointment.
“Our personnel assessment system may require serious reconsideration.”
Kazuomi swallowed.
This was becoming troublesome.
He had never expected this seemingly kindly old man to speak with such complete disregard for tact.
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere changed like falling dominoes.
Everyone’s gazes toward Kazuomi became strange.
“Wait.
Is he really the trainer who entered our academy without even obtaining a license?”
“Were there really so few applicants this year?”
“No way.
Since when did Tracen Academy lower its standards this far?
But if Mr.
Yoshida himself said so…”
The staff began whispering among themselves.
The favorable first impression Kazuomi had worked so hard to establish shattered instantly because of one sentence from the old man.
Why did he have to bring that up now?
Kazuomi could only stand there smiling awkwardly, though inwardly he was crying out in misery.
When he signed the agreement, the chairwoman had explained that he was the first person accepted through the academy’s new special trainee program.
He was essentially an experimental case.
For that reason, they had not even required him to possess a trainer’s license.
In simpler terms, he had stumbled into incredible luck and happened to be chosen from among the newcomers.
To put it politely, fortune had smiled upon him.
To put it less politely, he had entered through the back door.
Kazuomi had believed only the academy’s upper management knew.
He had never imagined the old man would expose him without the slightest hesitation.
Now even maintaining ordinary workplace relationships would be difficult.
Some people were already looking at him differently.
Whether the rumors were true or false, there would certainly be no shortage of gossip behind his back.
The culprit, meanwhile, remained completely oblivious—or pretended to be.
Still smiling pleasantly, the old man turned toward the ever-reliable Ms.
Hayakawa.
“Ms.
Hayakawa, who has been assigned as this hot-blooded young fellow’s supervisor?”
“The chairwoman previously designated Mr.
Koji Okino, who is due to return to Japan today.
I do not believe he has reached the academy yet.”
Ms.
Hayakawa answered without hesitation.
The name meant nothing to Kazuomi.
The elderly man, however, fell silent for a moment.
“Hmm.
Koji, is it?”
He considered the matter, then shook his head.
“No, let us change that arrangement.
I will take responsibility.
Assign Ms.
Tojo as the boy’s supervisor instead.”
Ms.
Hayakawa paused.
A troubled expression crossed her face.
“Ms.
Tojo should currently be arranging matters for the senior-division students returning today.
Should we not ask for her opinion first?”
“I will notify her myself.
As for the chairwoman, I will leave that explanation to you, Ms.
Hayakawa.
I would prefer not to disturb her personally.”
With one sweep of his hand, the elderly man settled the matter.
Since he had gone that far, Ms.
Hayakawa could only nod in acceptance.
Tojo?
The name awakened a memory Kazuomi desperately wished to forget.
The elite woman who had cornered him so mercilessly during the interview—the one who had glared at him as if she wanted to pierce straight through him—
Her name had been Tojo, had it not?
The realization made Kazuomi’s limbs turn cold.
Sweat began running down his back.
It can’t be.
Surely it can’t be that much of a coincidence.
Yet the moment the other staff members heard the name, their gazes toward Kazuomi became distinctly pitying.
“They’re assigning Senior Tojo to supervise him?”
“Do you think the new kid will end up crying?”
“She’ll definitely reduce him to tears.”
Kazuomi understood at last.
That seemingly kind old man was not merely complicated—he had deliberately plotted against him.
You miserable bastard!
You set me up!
Was this not the workplace equivalent of slipping stones into his shoes?
But as a newcomer with absolutely nothing to his name, Kazuomi could only swallow his anger.
For the sake of keeping his promise to his sister, he would have to press forward no matter how many obstacles stood in his path.