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As I pondered how to handle the father, the hunter arrived. I had no plan in mind. Kotori hugged me, and I patted her head; she seemed to enjoy it immensely. Kaori let out an audible sigh, but for me, it’s practically reflex.

“Kotone, I have a favor to ask!”
“What?”
“Please join me in the evening parade!”
“No.”

She asked with energetic puppy dog eyes, but I managed to decline. The power was immense; I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d accidentally said yes. But fortunately, I was prepared and managed to say no.

“Pretty please?”

Her plaintive tone made my heart skip a beat, but I still refused. If I get approval for the meeting with higher-ups, I’ll be busy afterward. Moreover, I’ll need to join the final event that coincides with the parade.

“Then please join me, Kaori!”
“Why!?”

Kaori shrieked; she had just caught a stray bullet, it seemed. I had warned her—she’d definitely get dragged into this, just not in the way I had anticipated. Letting go of me, Kotori hugged Kaori and unleashed her puppy dog eyes again.

“F-fine then.”

And she’s down. It takes hardened nerves to resist that. Still, why is Kotori looking for another person for the parade? There should already be someone else chosen for the second slot.

“Don’t tell me you reserved the parade for a day?”
“Yes, father did.”
“You twelve-family people are unbelievable.”

The scale of their actions astounds me. I can’t even begin to guess how much it costs to reserve an entire parade. Yet, I can understand the motive: he wants to see his daughter at her best. Absolutely over-doting.

“And your father is?”

In the worst case, he might be in the park somewhere. With his personality, he’d probably come just to see his daughter in person. However, against my expectations, Kotori shook her head.

“He’s confined at home by mother.”
“Good.”
“I can’t even imagine how your family life is.”

I can easily imagine it. Mother Fumidzuki probably discovered that he’s doing something in secret. Then he was made to fess up, got smacked, and finally confined in some room. There’s nothing as easy to imagine as the Fumidzuki household situation.

“Kotone. It’s all set. They need you at the conference room.”

“Alright. Kotori, introduce Kaori to the staff. There’s things I have to manage.”
“Understood. Kaori, this way.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

As long as they agree. If they refuse, that just means my role here is done. I can’t think of any different ideas and if they manage to get someone else to help, then that will solve the problem. However, if they adopt my plan, there’s a lot of stuff to be considered.

“I am grateful that you all gathered here despite your busy schedules.”

The conference room is filled with an air of nervousness. That’s natural. After all, they have to deal with a rich daughter’s whim in such a busy time. Normally, they’d probably just ignore something like this, but with it being a daughter from one of the twelve families, they have to tread carefully.

“As for why I gathered you all here, it is to present a solution for the park’s current issue. Naturally, the right to turn it down is yours, so please be at ease.”

I don’t really need them to accept. I’m just presenting a suggestion. Whether they adopt it is all up to the park management. This might end up being a waste of time, but I don’t plan on forcing them to agree with me.

“Your songstress is unavailable. And with her replacements also absent, it is necessary to find a different substitute. Fortunately, I believe there are qualified candidates currently within the park.”
“And they are?”
“The choir club members are currently visiting as part of our field trip. The performance quality will certainly drop; however, if it’s presented that they were made to sing in commemoration of the field trip, will that be a justifiable enough reason?”

This is the solution I thought of. It is a bit forced, but I’m not smart enough to come up with a different solution. The problem now would be whether the choir club agrees or not. Also, there’s the issue of how they’ll handle similar requests in the future.

“It is a viable idea, but there’s a problem regarding that.”

After deliberating for a while, it seems like they’ve decided that it’s viable as a plan. However, a problem that will appear if they adopt this idea was made obvious. And that is, wouldn’t the quality of the performance be too low?

“If there was a professional who could cover for them, then it’s doable. But if not, it’ll be questionable if they can even sing properly.”

It’s a plan I came up with precisely because there’s no professional available to call, but even I agree with their answer. In other words, their question is whether amateurs can properly sing in front of an audience. Being unable to perform at your best because of anxiety isn’t uncommon. However, we can’t allow failure in this situation.

“Then, if it’s possible, is there someone who can cover for them?”
“If there is, then it’s good. Rather, it would be better to request that person directly.”

That’s true. Rather than putting your trust into some amateurs, having a professional perform is a lot more reliable. As for singers I know, Isami is definitely the first to come to mind. However, she’s busy with another event. In that case, is there anyone else?

“There is. I know of one professional singer that I may be able to get in touch with.”
“Oh, and who might it be?”
“Sherry.”

The guy who smugly asked me was stunned for a moment before expressing his surprise. The first thing one would think of when hearing that name is naturally the famous singer Sherry. I have never met her before. But I do have a way to contact her.

“Then what if we request for her instead?”
“Is it alright for the quality to rise exponentially, then? Do you have any singers that can sing as well as her?”

We can’t have the quality be too low, but we can’t have it too high either. This is only meant as an alternate for their usual show; we’re not trying to hold the best performance ever. Moderation is key. The ones that will be affected by future comparisons will be the regular singers, after all.

“We will only ask for her assistance. I believe you understand the risks of leaving everything to her.”

I’m sure it’ll attract a lot of guests. However, if that happens, the future night shows might be held in comparison with her performance, and that would be deadly. Will they take the risk? Or will they choose a safe path? And there’s also the issue of performance fee.

“Can you really contact her and get her agreement for this?”
“There is no way to know without trying.”

It’s obvious, but Sherry has the right to decide. Moreover, it’s doubtful that she’ll just accept my request when she doesn’t even know me. The connection I have isn’t with her, but with her immediate family.

“I see. Then please try to get in touch with her. Depending on the reply, we will act accordingly.”
“Alright.”

Now then, time to make the call. I’m not contacting her directly, but her in-law instead. By whatever twist of fate, today is her day off. It’s fine if she picks up; if not, then I’ll just call someone else. There’s a few I can call, after all.

“Akane, I have a big favor to ask.”

Now then, I have no idea how things will go from here on out. While the park management is taking a risk, I’m taking a risk as well. After all, I’m dealing with the Shimotsuki family.