Inside a sleek black luxury car, Hachiman and Erina sat side by side.
The two were currently on their way to discuss an acquisition with a gaming company.
As expected of the Nakiri family, they had already identified a suitable company in such a short ti.
Breaking the silence in the car, Hachiman initiated the conversation.
"Erina, how's the advancent exam going? Smoothly, I assu?"
"Of course. You still doubt my abilities?" Erina replied with a confident smile.
Recently, while Hachiman was busy preparing for his final exams, Erina, Alice, and the other first-year students of Totsuki were also undergoing their advancent exams.
Thanks to Hachiman's intervention, Totsuki Academy hadn't fallen into chaos as it did in the original story, and the exams proceeded smoothly.
Moreover, after extended periods of Hachiman's "guidance," Erina's culinary skills had far surpassed her original trajectory.
Currently, her culinary abilities were likely at the peak of Level Four. Even compared to many seasoned alumni, she wouldn't be outshined.
Of course, there was still a noticeable gap when it ca to top-tier chefs like Gin Dojima or Joichiro.
However, even so, with her current skills, Erina was undeniably unmatched among her peers.
Well, that is, excluding the "cheat" that was Hachiman himself.
Not only Erina, but Alice and Hisako had also made significant progress in their culinary skills under Hachiman's occasional guidance, far exceeding their abilities in the original tiline.
"Is that so? Naturally, I'm glad everything's going well," Hachiman remarked.
Seeing Erina's confident deanor, Hachiman couldn't help but smile.
"By the way, do you have any information about that gaming company?" he asked.
"Of course," Erina replied with a nod. She pulled out a folder and handed it over. "Here you go. This is the company's profile."
Taking the folder, Hachiman began to flip through the docunts.
The company was called Eagle Jump. It wasn't a large corporation; the entire team consisted of just 20 to 30 people.
However, despite its small size, the company was well-organized.
Moreover, they had previously developed a ga called Fairies Story that received widespread acclaim.
Like many small companies, though, the success of Fairies Story left them overly optimistic.
Brimming with hope, they poured all their energy into creating a sequel.
Unfortunately, what they had hoped would be a hit turned out to be a disaster.
Fairies Story II, the sequel they had invested their heart and soul into, perford disastrously in the market.
Its sales were dismal, barely reaching a third of the original ga's numbers.
This failure caused the company's financial chain to snap.
To develop Fairies Story II, Eagle Jump had invested all its resources, believing it would be a massive success.
Who would have thought it would end this way?
Adding to their woes, the unsold ga discs piled up, further straining the company's finances.
Now, they couldn't even sustain basic operations, let alone start a new project. With no other choice, they decided to sell the company.
After reading through the docunts in his hands, Hachiman nodded in satisfaction.
Overall, Eagle Jump t his requirents perfectly. Though the company wasn't large, it had a well-established frawork and had produced a highly successful ga in the past, proving its capabilities.
The most crucial point was their current financial predicant. With their funding chain broken, it wouldn't be hard to secure the acquisition at the right price.
Placing the folder aside, Hachiman smiled. "As expected of the Nakiri family, finding such a suitable company this quickly."
"Heh, naturally," Erina replied smugly, clearly enjoying the praise. However, a mont later, her expression shifted as she seed to recall sothing, her deanor turning shy and hesitant.
"Actually… there's no need for you to envy . As long as…"
Seeing her expression, Hachiman couldn't help but chuckle.
He understood what Erina was implying. If they were to get married in the future, he, too, would benefit from such resources and connections.
Although Erina maintained her usual proud and haughty deanor around others, she couldn't help but soften when she was with Hachiman.
Sotis, she would even act a bit spoiled around him. Their relationship was so close that they were essentially one step away from becoming a couple.
Erina's bashful behavior, however, only fueled Hachiman's urge to tease her.
"Don't worry," he said with a smirk. "We'll beco the kind of couple you're imagining soon enough."
Hearing his teasing remark, Erina blushed furiously, her ears turning bright red. Embarrassed, she reached out and lightly punched his chest.
"Who… who wants to be in that kind of relationship with you!" she retorted, her voice laced with both irritation and shyness.
As she spoke, Erina glanced subtly in the direction of the driver, her ssage clear:
There's soone else here, so behave yourself.
However, Hachiman rely raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring her unspoken warning.
He leaned closer, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"Erina, take a guess. What do you think I want to do right now?"
Seeing him refusing to back off, Erina panicked internally.
If it were just the two of them, a kiss—or even sothing more—might have been acceptable.
But with soone else present, there was no way she could allow that to happen.
"No, stop it! Don't do this," she whispered, her tone tinged with both pleading and embarrassnt.
Hachiman chuckled wickedly at her reaction. "Alright then, Erina, agree to one condition for , and I'll stop."
Realizing she was being cornered, Erina puffed her cheeks in protest. "You're taking advantage of !"
"Exactly," Hachiman admitted shalessly. "So, Erina, will you agree or not?"
He leaned in even closer, reducing the distance between them to almost nothing.
Erina, genuinely flustered now, hurriedly whispered in defeat, "Alright, alright! I'll agree to your condition!"
Having achieved his goal, Hachiman leaned back into his seat with a victorious smile, clearly pleased with himself.
Seeing this, Erina let out a quiet sigh of relief, though she quickly turned to glare at Hachiman with a hint of annoyance before turning her head to look out the car window.
Hachiman, unfazed by her sulking, simply smiled and closed his eyes to rest as well.
About half an hour later, the driver's voice broke the silence.
"Miss Nakiri, Mr. Hikigaya, we've arrived."
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