"Section...head!" Miku deliberately dragged out the pronunciation, a strange smile on her face. The dishes in the bento box in front of her looked much better than before, showing that her cooking skills were also improving by leaps and bounds.
"Hey, Miku, I told you to just call me whatever you always do." Finally free from the title "Shimokawa-senpai" at work, Naga, though still feeling a bit unreal, was completely at ease around Miku after being promoted directly to section chief. With the salary gap that had always bothered him reversed, he suddenly found Miku much cuter than before. All those excuses before were just descendants of saving face.
"Didn't you ask me what happened last time?" Miku looked around to make sure that neither Yui nor Kae, her two biggest rivals, had shown up, and then said mysteriously, "I asked a friend to find out, and it's quite interesting."
"I knew it, Miku wouldn't let me down." Naga swallowed and looked at her nervously.
"The woman the section chief raped really was Seto." Miku looked around and lowered her voice. "My friend happened to be involved in this case. The perpetrator confessed that after drinking some alcohol, he got carried away and sneaked into the house while Seto went out to take out the trash. He ended up sleeping in the storage room. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he inexplicably went into Seto's bedroom and found her having a nightmare. The blankets were on the floor, and her underwear was all messed up. He couldn't resist and… uh… did that to her. Strangely, according to his confession, Seto didn't wake up the whole time, and the forensic examination showed that she wasn't under any drugs. But that doesn't affect the determination of the crime at all, so nobody really cares."
"Ah…" Miku blushed slightly as if she remembered something else. "He also mentioned something strange, though it's not really related to the crime itself. Apparently, Seto himself had no experience, and a fresh tear was indeed detected there after the rape, but the section chief insisted that he didn't feel the hymen at all, and there was no bleeding afterward." She chuckled, her face flushed as she whispered, "My friend said it's probably because his foreskin is too long and he couldn't feel it. But there was no trace of Seto's blood left at the scene, which is another strange thing about this case."
Naga chuckled dryly, shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice, and asked, "So... is it really necessary for a male to be in charge of the publicity department?" This was a tactful inquiry into why he had been promoted. The envy he had attracted was probably countless.
Miku smiled slyly, her eyes sparkling as if she were hiding something. "If you ask me, it's definitely because Captain Kuroki has taken a liking to you. How about it, how about you play the role of a gigolo to soothe the lonely heart of this gloomy old woman?"
If the object of his affections were Keiko Kuroki, becoming a male escort wouldn't be bad. Of course, Miku couldn't know this idea. Naga scratched his head and put on a silly expression. "I don't know anything about how to comfort a woman. Why don't you practice with me, Miku?"
Miku's face flushed bright red, and she tapped his hand with her chopsticks, saying awkwardly, "Who, who wants to practice with you? I'm young and beautiful, I don't need anyone to comfort me."
At this point, Kae, who had been deliberately given a lot of miscellaneous tasks, finally arrived at the restaurant. Naga's promotion strengthened her resolve, and as soon as she confirmed his location, she walked over with her tray without hesitation.
"If only Ai were here," Naga sighed. At least then he could talk about dreams instead of getting involved in the open and covert battles between women.
Perhaps feeling that age posed no significant threat, Kae and Miku, despite knowing that Naga's most blatant expression of affection was for Ai, still viewed each other as their biggest threat. Having never experienced anyone fighting over her, Naga managed to maintain a detached and detached attitude.
"Congratulations on your promotion to section chief, Yumeno-kun. This is just a small gift, please accept it." As soon as Kae sat down, she took out a delicately hand-sewn pendant and handed it to Naga with a smile.
If it weren't for the recent development of his relationship with Yui, which gave Naga further expectations, he probably would have already succumbed to Kae's watery, shy, and adoring gaze.
Men are definitely most susceptible to this.
"Um, as a congratulatory gesture, tonight... tonight I'll treat you to noodles!" Miku's voice accidentally rose too high, attracting the attention of several tables around her. She quickly added, "My junior, whom I personally mentored, has been promoted, so it's only right that I treat him."
Cultivation? If fixing computers every day counts as cultivation, or if he was promoted to head of the information security department, he might be able to agree with it to some extent.
Was this dream-devouring experience merely a promotion beyond the norm? Naga wondered, a sense of bewilderment creeping into his mind. He felt that something unnoticed was quietly happening.
He didn't expect that the personnel changes wouldn't end there.
One week after Yumeno Naga took office as the head of the publicity department, Nagaba Mari, a former employee of the publicity department, announced her marriage and resigned. The department head, Onoda Yuki, was dismissed for embezzling public funds.
Miku Shimokawa was transferred to the Public Relations Department as its head, Anzu Kobayashi replaced Mari Nagaba, Kae Matsushima officially became a staff member in the Human Resources Department, and the front desk was taken over by a new employee.
Naga, who was at a loss in the completely unfamiliar environment of the Publicity Department, was naturally grateful for the transfer. Miku, who had left the Publicity Department because she couldn't stand the harassment from the section chief, suddenly became an assistant he had to rely on. Moreover, half of the four subordinates in the new office had become pleasing to the eye, which was a wonderful thing for a man.
The only drawback was that the sudden increase in workload deprived him and Koga Yu of their time for an affair, and the frequent social engagements and the regular overtime work gradually caused Maeda Reiko to fade out of his life.
For the next ten days or so, Naga did not have any contact with a woman's delicate body.
He was somewhat distressed to discover that he had reached the point where the mere smell of Miku's perfume would trigger a manic sexual urge.
Unable to choose between the three options, Naga could only pin her hopes on dreams that might reappear at any time. She prayed sincerely every night before sleep, hoping that the woman in her dreams would be somewhat similar.