Ai then periodically contacted Tanaka to mend their relationship. As a result, she began to offer him requests.
They were not that important, but she offered them both as a thank you and a way to maintain their relationship. And she provided a healthy reward.
However, this generated some unexpected publicity.
Tanaka fought a unique monster on the boss room of the tenth floor.
He faced something that could very well have killed him, and easily won with his overwhelming power. This was uploaded to the internet, and he used mister move suppressor in the fight.
This product that was not even out in the market received attention, and it sold out the moment it was put up for sale by the seeker association.
Portacool was the same, in that wherever Tanaka went, it grabbed a lot of attention.
Because of this, they already had over a hundred pre-orders despite the high price tag.
This was meant to support Tanaka, but led to an increase in business for their company.
They might very well end up breaking sales records, but it was not all good for Honto.
One of the wealthy people living in the neo utopia set sights on Honto.
It was rapidly growing, but it most certainly did not have the funds to expand nationally, let alone globally.
They had measures against a hostile takeover, but if they were breached from the outside, there was nothing they could do.
When the president of this company visited in person, she wondered what it was about, but it was all about showing off not only their financial power, but also that they employed many professional seekers.
They stood behind a seeker they employed, and intimidated them with violence. That was definitely not how negotiations were done.
Ai’s father and chairman Genichirou was a former seeker.
He was old, but not decrepit, and his accomplishments stood equal to those of the current president of the seeker association.
They had no reason to fear seekers who could only pass the fortieth floor, and had overwhelming power.
The seeker felt the difference in power, and must have felt a cold sweat running down his back.
“I heard you, but I have no intention of agreeing to a merger or become a subsidiary. Please leave.”
“…I would not have come here if I would leave so easily. Please consider this calmly. Your company is growing rapidly, but it will hit a roadblock soon enough. You must understand this. You can only expand to areas with dungeons. As the number of seekers increases, there will be more competition. Don’t you think it makes sense to join our national company?”
“I do not. You are not interested in our products, you want our connections to the seeker association, correct? We received reports. You spoke to other companies as well, right?”
She said with a smile, and the other person went silent.
She had pretty much figured out why they wanted connections with the seeker association.
Gladiators, the spectacle where seekers were put up against each other.
It was recently announced that participants would be removed from the seeker association’s registry. Many withdrew after this.
Without seekers, there was no show.
Neo utopia was built for the wealthy, and a lot of money was put into building this arena near it, including subsidies from the country. Also, gambling on gladiators was planned to be made legal.
This had to be a success as far as the organizers were concerned, and the president that visited Honto just happened to be one of the organizers.
Genichirou figured they were buying out companies related to seekers to put pressure on the seeker association, and glared at this president.
They were desperate. Desperate to secure seekers and their cash cow.
And Ai did not want to sell Honto for this.
“Please leave.”
She said coldly, but the president did not move.
It seemed that was not an option.
And as Ai felt this was a problem, the door opened and Tanaka entered.
“Ah, you’re in a meeting. Excuse me.”
Tanaka was about to leave after looking around, but Ai stopped him.
“It’s okay Tanaka, stand behind me.”
Tanaka was startled by this, but figured something was happening and did as she said.
They talked a bit more, but Tanaka looked down on the president the whole time, who felt offended and left, saying they would be back.
“What was that all about?”
“You glared like that and don’t even know?”
She thought for sure his hostility meant he knew what was going on and was on her side.
But she figured Tanaka was just that way, and explained. He did not seem interested at all.
Then he was given portacool, but his eyes looked vacant when he brought it back.
◇ ◇ ◇
“There’s too much to do.”
She mumbled as she took a document on top of her desk.
She intended to continue supporting Tanaka, but without neglecting her job.
She felt after that president’s visit that her company was weak when it came to actual force.
That would not be a problem while her father was alive, as he was a seeker who conquered the fiftieth floor. His power meant ordinary seekers could not challenge him.
But after he was bedridden with an illness, there were those who looked down on them. It proved that even a seeker that stood far above the rest was not invincible.
That president brought a seeker as a show of force, and it proved that they looked down on Genichirou despite his monstrous strength.
The document in her hand was a list of pro seekers considering retirement.
It was given to her by the seeker association, which encouraged related companies to hire seekers as a way to keep the neo utopia in heck,
This was a secret document given only to companies they trusted, and served as a test of said companies.
If this document was leaked or used for nefarious purposes, the company would be quickly identified and ties would be cut.
Even companies that served them well for a long time would be easily cut off.
The current president of the seeker association could very well do that. And so, it had to be handled with care.
This was a chance. It would be best if they could form a contract with Tanaka, but sadly, he refused. She was not looking for a substitute, but she wanted to hire pro seekers to build up their self-defense potential.
She wanted to build a new age for Honto that did not rely on her father. With that decision in her heart, she began compiling a list of seekers to approach.
◇ ◇ ◇
The smartphone rang. It was her daughter.
It was five o´clock, later than she thought.
“Yes? I’ll be home soon. Ah, dinner? We had hamburger steak yesterday so…”
It seemed she was asking when her mother would be home. She was not alone at home, but she called because she wanted her mother to be home soon.
Her daughter seemed to have done some thinking when her grandfather was ill, and treasured her time with her family.
If she was simply lonely, she just had to spend more time with her, but it was not that. She looked lonely if even just one person was missing.
Her husband knew that as well, and made sure to be home by eight at the latest.
“I’ll be home in a bit. Ah, with grandpa.”
That reminded her that her daughter was happy when she saw Healing Magic. That light must have felt like salvation to her.
She wondered if she should call Tanaka and invite him to visit, as she ended her call with her daughter.
But after being in contact with Tanaka again, she lost touch with him after the new year.
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neo yutopia
Utopia*
Hida, your translation app is picking up that word with a Y because thats how the japanese pronounce/spell it.
Maybe double check to make sure its not a propper name and then make a filter for that term.
It’s not a problem with software or anything, it really is just me. I need to have it be auto replaced because I’ve locked onto that spelling even though it’s also spelled “utopia” in my native language.