Ever since 1991, Japan had fallen into a period of economic recession.
After the bubble burst, all that remained was devastation.
News of banks collapsing, companies laying off employees, and stock prices plunging played out over and over again in newspapers and on television every day.
Even doctors, a profession so highly respected in society, could not remain entirely unaffected. Kiryu Kazusuke knew that from personal experience.
But no matter how bad the economy became, there would always be a wealthy class.
And a place like “Kagura Club” provided a haven that money could buy for women who could not find emotional satisfaction from their husbands and felt all the more anxious amid the economic downturn.
At this moment, Kiryu Kazusuke was honestly somewhat hesitant.
It was not that he had any reservations about requesting Dr. Imagawa Ori as his companion. Rather, he had heard a thing or two about the level of spending in a place like this.
The first-time experience package might not be considered expensive, but that was only the price of admission.
He only had 20,000 yen on him. At most, it would probably cover the seat charge, and perhaps a request fee on top of that.
Was he supposed to sit down, not open a single bottle of liquor, summon Imagawa Ori over directly, and tell him that during Suzuki-san’s surgery tomorrow, he wanted to perform temporary fixation using Kirschner wires?
Hmm…
It did not seem entirely impossible.
After all, the worst outcome would be getting thrown out. Imagawa Ori surely would not want anyone to know about his part-time job either, so he probably would not do anything to him.
Having made up his mind,
Kiryu Kazusuke strode toward “Kagura Club.”
When he arrived at the entrance,
the waiter at the door, dressed in a proper suit, bowed slightly and extended a hand—not to open the door for him, but to stop him.
“Sir, may I ask what business you have here?”
“I’m going in.”
Kiryu Kazusuke froze for a moment, not yet reacting.
“I’m very sorry, but our establishment has a rule: we only receive female guests.”
The waiter wore an apologetic smile as he spoke, then pointed across the street.
Following the direction of his finger,
Kiryu saw a sex-industry establishment called “Night Butterfly.” The guests coming and going there were, without exception, all men.
Kiryu Kazusuke immediately understood.
However, it was not as if he had truly come to experience the sex industry.
The problem was that if he could not even enter “Kagura Club,” then there was no way he could converge Imagawa Ori’s worldline divergence.
Did he have no choice but to give up?
Seeing that Kiryu Kazusuke remained standing where he was, showing no intention of leaving, the waiter assumed he did not believe him.
“Sir, rules are rules. I’m truly very sorry, but I cannot let you in.”
And so, he explained one more time.
Kiryu Kazusuke responded twice and took two steps back.
Just then,
a white Nissan Cedric pulled up by the roadside.
The car door opened, and a middle-aged woman in a dark blue suit, dressed with exquisite care, stepped out from the back seat.
After the driver opened the door for her, he circled around to the other side and took out two paper bags printed with the Mitsukoshi Department Store logo.
The woman took the bags and walked straight toward “Kagura Club.”
Kiryu Kazusuke noticed that when the waiter at the door saw her, the smile on his face became noticeably more sincere and enthusiastic than before.
The waiter jogged forward to greet her, bowing even lower.
“Nakamori-san, good evening. Your visit tonight truly brings honor to our humble establishment.”
“Is Imagawa-kun here?”
“Yes, yes, he is. Imagawa-kun only started work a short while ago today. I’ll go call him over at once.”
As the waiter spoke, he attentively took the shopping bags from her hands.
Just as Nakamori Sachiko was about to go inside, she caught sight of Kiryu Kazusuke from the corner of her eye. She immediately stopped, walked over, and looked him up and down for a while.
Kiryu Kazusuke was somewhat slender, with a well-proportioned frame. Having only recently graduated, his face still carried a trace of youthful air that had yet to be polished away by society.
Under the neon lights at night, his entire person had a clean, slightly inexperienced quality.
“Are you new here?”
Nakamori Sachiko suddenly asked. Her skin was very well maintained, making it impossible to tell her exact age from her appearance.
Before Kiryu Kazusuke could say anything,
she turned to the waiter again and said, “Forget it. I’ve been getting a little tired of Imagawa-kun lately. Have him accompany me tonight instead. What’s his name?”
“Huh?”
Kiryu Kazusuke was stunned.
The waiter also hurried forward, leaned close to Nakamori Sachiko, and lowered his voice, explaining anxiously.
“I’m terribly sorry, Nakamori-san. This gentleman is not an employee of our establishment. He…”
“Not one of your employees? Then what is he doing standing here?”
As Nakamori Sachiko spoke, a trace of displeasure appeared on her face.
The waiter beside her was practically breaking out in cold sweat.
In the era after the collapse of the bubble economy, guests like Nakamori Sachiko, who still maintained high-spending habits, were already rare.
If he offended her, then he might not be able to keep his job.
At the same time,
a faint red light flashed across the depths of Kiryu Kazusuke’s eyes.
【Nakamori Sachiko: Why still won’t Imagawa-kun let me get my hands on him? Hurry up and let me have you! I heard a very handsome girl came to the place next door. I really want to switch. Where did this stinking man come from? I’ll use him to give Nao-kun a little sense of crisis.】
【Convergeable Worldlines—】
【Branch One: Pretend you are a newcomer here to apply for a job. You do not think pleasing women is anything shameful. (Reward: 10% cashback on Nakamori Sachiko’s bill tonight)】
【Branch Two: Compete with her for Imagawa Nao’s companionship tonight. (Reward: 20% cashback on your bill tonight)】
Kiryu Kazusuke could not help taking a couple more looks at Nakamori Sachiko.
Those inner thoughts were truly hard to judge.
However, he soon shifted his attention to the two worldlines that followed.
The former.
If Nakamori Sachiko was going to open champagne, then the total spent tonight definitely would not be low.
If he handled it properly and coaxed her into opening a few bottles of high-end champagne to boost sales or the like, with a single night’s spending of seven or eight hundred thousand yen, Kiryu Kazusuke’s assets could double.
The latter.
Although the cashback rate for this option was as high as 20%, twice that of the former,
the problem was that it referred to Kiryu Kazusuke’s bill. In other words, would that not mean he had to pay out of his own pocket?
Therefore, he quickly made his decision.
Kiryu Kazusuke smiled and asked, “Nakamori-san, although I don’t work here, you could still bring me inside, couldn’t you?”
Nakamori Sachiko, who had been about to step into the club, stopped.
She turned back around and looked at Kiryu Kazusuke again.
Seeing this, the waiter beside them immediately became nervous. He quickly stepped forward and blocked the space between them.
“Sir, please leave at once. Otherwise, I will call the police.”
“Did I tell you to speak?”
But Nakamori Sachiko merely lifted her hand. Her voice was not loud, yet the waiter instantly fell silent as if chilled to the bone.
Then, with renewed interest, she looked Kiryu Kazusuke up and down again.
“What’s your name?”
“Kiryu Kazusuke.”
“Then I hope Kiryu-kun won’t make me regret this decision.”
After saying that, Nakamori Sachiko turned away.
She instructed the waiter, “Arrange a seat for him as well, right beside me. Put the bill under my name.”
The waiter looked troubled. Leaning forward slightly, he said in a low voice, “Nakamori-san, the club’s rules…”
“Rules?” Nakamori Sachiko’s expression immediately darkened. “Is my face less important than your club’s rules?”
The oppressive aura unique to someone in a position of power came rushing at him.
“N-no… that isn’t what I meant. I’m sorry, Nakamori-san. I’ll arrange it right away!”
The waiter hurriedly bowed and agreed, then led the two of them into the club.
The interior decor of Kagura Club was extraordinarily luxurious.
Soft lighting, sofas covered in high-grade velvet, and the air was filled with a mixture of expensive perfume, alcohol, and the faint scent of tobacco.
The waiter led them through the hall to a booth with an excellent location.
Nakamori Sachiko casually placed her handbag on the sofa, took off her coat, revealing a dark blue dress underneath with a perfectly tailored fit. Around her neck hung a string of full, lustrous pearls.
“Please call Imagawa-kun over.”
“Also, open a bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé.”
However, the first person to speak was Kiryu Kazusuke, not Nakamori Sachiko!