"Ku-Ku… Kusanagi-san?!"
Incredibly surprised, Sairenji Akiho never would have thought that the president of the company she was interviewing with would be so young, and her sister's deskmate, Kusanagi Sora, at that.
She was no stranger to him. Though they had only met once, her sister Haruna was always talking about him at home. It was hard to forget him even if she tried.
"Miss Akiho seems very surprised to see me. Actually, so am I."
"Rin, bring a chair for Miss Akiho," he said with a faint smile, instructing the girl behind him.
"Yes, Lord Sora," Rin replied, glancing at Akiho.
Not only was she an acquaintance, but she was also a stunning beauty. Rin now understood why he had chosen this woman at first glance.
"Please, have a seat," Rin said flatly, placing a chair behind her and then returning to her spot by his side.
A strange light in her eyes, Akiho was secretly impressed by this knight-like girl, but she still said politely, "No, thank you. I'm fine standing."
Though she couldn't figure a lot of things out, she hadn't forgotten that she was an applicant. How could she so casually sit down in front of the boss?
"Miss Akiho, please sit down. If Sairenji-san finds out I was acting like a president in front of her sister, she'll nag me about it later," he said, his tone pleading, as if asking her to do him a favor.
"Alright then, thank you, Kusanagi-sa… President," Akiho replied, a little amused and exasperated that she was being treated well because of her sister. But since he had insisted, she didn't refuse and sat down gracefully.
"You don't have to be so formal, Miss Akiho. Sairenji-san and I are friends. You can just call me by my name," the great demon king said with a smile, knowing that shortening the distance between people often starts with how you address them.
"I couldn't possibly do that. I'll just call you President," she replied, shaking her head. As a mature woman, she wouldn't get ahead of herself just because someone was being friendly and polite.
"If you insist, then do as you please," he said with a shrug. He knew she was still on guard, but he didn't push it.
Besides their connection through Haruna, they were just strangers who had met once. The current atmosphere was already quite good.
He wasn't in a hurry. As long as she fell into his bowl, he would have plenty of time and opportunities to conquer and corrupt her later.
"Let's get down to business. I looked at your resume, Miss Akiho. You used to be a fashion magazine editor at a publishing house, right? What made you interested in applying to our agency? Do you have any prior experience?"
Though he had already decided to hire her, he still had to go through the motions. He tapped his fingers on the desk and asked curiously.
"Well… actually, I just saw your ad online. The salary was very high, but there were no special requirements, so I just applied on a whim. I didn't expect…"
A little embarrassed, Akiho answered truthfully. She hadn't had much hope. So it really is because of Haruna…
"I'm sorry for troubling you. I'll leave now," she said apologetically, standing up.
She didn't even know what the job entailed. She was too embarrassed to expect them to give her such an important job just because of her sister.
"Hehe… you're overthinking it, Miss Akiho. The fact that you're sitting here means I've already chosen you."
"See? I've already thrown away all the other resumes," he said with a laugh, pointing to the pile of resumes in the trash can, knowing it was time to reassure her.
"Ah?!!!"
With a look of shock and disbelief, Akiho couldn't believe she had been chosen so easily. She had just admitted that she had applied on a whim and didn't even know much about the job.
"You might not know this, Miss Akiho, but one of my fiancées wants to be an idol, so I bought this agency. But I have to go to school and don't have much time, so I was hoping to find a secretary to help me manage the company and be my fiancée's manager."
"For me, it doesn't matter if the secretary is capable or can help me manage the company well. What's important is that I can trust them."
"And as it happens, of all the applicants, you are the one I trust the most, and the one I am willing to trust."
It had to be said, the great demon king was a smooth talker. His words were both frank and skillful. By explaining his purpose and requirements, he lowered her guard, and the line about "trust" even caused a ripple of emotion in the mature woman's heart.
"Is that really all?"
Feeling like she had been hit by a stroke of luck, she asked for confirmation again.
The salary he was offering was incredibly high, more than ten times what she was making at her old job.
"Yes, that's really all," he replied with a smile, spreading his hands.
"Your fiancée… is it that girl named Lala?"
She had heard a lot about him from Haruna and knew he had a fiancée named Lala.
But from the way Haruna talked about her, that girl, though sunny and simple and very likable, was also very thoughtless. Was she the one who wanted to be an idol?
She didn't mean to be sarcastic, but it just felt like a joke…
"Not Lala. Hasn't Sairenji-san told you? I have many fiancées. The one who wants to be an idol is Run Elsie Jewelria, another one of my fiancées," he replied, shaking his head. And when he said he had many fiancées, he wasn't at all embarrassed, but rather proud.
"Another fiancée?!!"
"I-I thought Haruna was just joking…"
Her eye twitching, Akiho was truly shocked this time.
As sisters, Haruna had almost no secrets from her. She remembered her often complaining that "Sora-san is great in every way, but he's just too much of a playboy with so many fiancées."
But she had never taken it seriously, thinking it was just her sister complaining because she had a crush on him and he wasn't paying attention to her. She had even taken the opportunity to tease her about it a couple of times.
But she never would have thought that her sister was telling the truth.
A man who openly had multiple fiancées… could this Kusanagi Sora be the legendary "scumbag beast"?!
She instinctively took a couple of steps back, her gaze towards him now wary and guarded.
"Hehe… Miss Akiho seems to be a little afraid of me all of a sudden. Did you hear that I have multiple fiancées and now think I'm some kind of scumbag beast?"
"Well, I don't want to explain myself. If you're not comfortable with it, then let's just forget it. Though it's a shame, I don't want my future secretary to be constantly on guard and afraid of me."
Naturally seeing her reaction, he didn't try to explain, but instead spoke in a regretful tone, as if he wouldn't try to stop her if she wanted to leave.
Rin, standing beside him like a guard, glanced at her, a sarcastic smirk on her lips, but said nothing.
If he had tried to cover up or explain himself to try to keep her, she would have left without hesitation. But seeing his calm and frank expression, she hesitated.
Though she was wary of a president with multiple fiancées who might be a scumbag beast, the temptation of such a high-paying job was also very great. She didn't know what to choose.
She couldn't help but recall what her sister usually said about him—
"Sora-san is very smart. Even though he never studies, his grades are always the best in the grade. No matter how hard I try, I can't catch up to him. Though he likes to tease people and seems very domineering on the surface, he's actually very easygoing and gentle, and trustworthy. A lot of girls at school like him…"
Someone her sister trusted so much couldn't be a scumbag beast, right?
Though the idea of him having multiple fiancées was hard to accept at first, on second thought, wasn't that proof of how outstanding he was?
Those girls couldn't be stupid. If he weren't outstanding and trustworthy, why would they like and follow him?
Thinking about it that way, Akiho let out a small sigh of relief and made her choice.
"If even Haruna trusts you, then I am willing to trust you too."
"I would very much like to have this job. Please, give it to me!"
Seeing the serious expression on her face, Sora smiled happily.
"Of course. From now on, this job is yours. Welcome aboard, Miss Akiho…"