Of course, Hiro had already planned his escape the moment he dropped the boxes.
As soon as the president started yelling, he bolted out of the dance studio without hesitation.
Right now, Hiro and the president were locked in a training bet—and the closer he stayed to Ai Hoshino, the stronger her buffed learning rate became.
That's why he intentionally stirred the president up—so the old man would storm off instead of hanging around.
All part of Hiro's plan.
After slipping out, he went straight to the president's office. He powered on the PC and began reviewing a set of materials, trying to test something: would Ai's buff still activate from this distance?
Ten minutes later, he could feel it—the knowledge he read was sticking like glue.
So... the buff worked, even if he wasn't in the same room.
"Guess I really can't hang around the company while she's training, huh…" he muttered.
With a sigh, he copied all the contact info stored in the president's address book. That was enough for today.
Then he returned to the dance studio and casually waved goodbye.
"Dance trainer, Ai, I'm heading home."
"Good! Scram already!" the president barked, still annoyed.
Ai nodded silently. She already understood the rhythm between them.
Once home, Hiro sat down at his desk, fired up his personal computer, and started digging into the contact list he'd copied.
Taro Yamashita. Ichiro Koyama. Sora Fujimoto. Hidehide Matsui...
He plugged the names into search engines and private databases, but most of the results were either dead ends or irrelevant.
The few profiles he found were just standard middle-aged clients—nothing like the person he was looking for.
This method was too slow. He needed intel, and he needed it fast.
A private detective. That was the next move.
But then it hit him—he didn't even have a name, an age, or a clear face for the guy he was hunting. Just a fuzzy memory.
What if... he had someone gather a complete photo database of people in Japan's entertainment industry?
If he scanned enough faces, he might recognize the man from memory.
Of course, researching the entire entertainment world himself would take forever. He needed professional help.
And there was one person who might know someone: the president.
He dialed immediately.
"Huh? A private detective?" The president sounded suspicious. "What the heck are you planning now? You're twelve."
"Just give me the contact. If you don't, I'll find one myself," Hiro replied flatly.
The president groaned. "Seriously, where do you learn this stuff? Fine, fine. I've got an old friend—Hasegawa. He's a detective. Here's the number..."
Hiro jotted it down, then called right away.
"Hello? Hasegawa-san?"
"This is Hasegawa." The voice on the other end was deep and gravelly. "What do you need?"
"I need someone to collect some information. Available?"
"What's the job? Exposing an affair? Digging up blackmail? I've got packages for both."
"No. Just basic info gathering. No following, no spying."
"Just research?" Hasegawa sounded unimpressed. "That's grunt work. Anyone can do that."
"Exactly."
"In that case, my fee might be higher than what you're willing to pay. You'd be better off finding a college kid."
Hiro paused.
He had a point. Maybe someone from the company could do it for cheaper.
"You're right. Thanks anyway. I'll find someone else."
"W-Wait! Don't hang up!" Hasegawa's tone suddenly shifted.
Hiro blinked. "Huh? What now?"
"You know this isn't just basic info, don't you?" Hasegawa said quickly. "Deep down, you know this job's going to be a pain. You just don't want to waste your own time."
"…That's not wrong," Hiro admitted. "But it's still doable without a pro."
What he didn't say out loud was this: in Japan, photographing people without consent was a legal gray area. Even company staff wouldn't be able to collect clean data without risking trouble.
That was his real bargaining chip.
"If you leave it to me, I'll get you a full, clean dataset. Even the hidden stuff—buried deep—I'll find it."
Hasegawa was pushing hard now.
Hiro leaned back in his chair. "I want a complete profile list of everyone in Japan's entertainment industry. Everyone under 40. Names, bios, and headshots. Can you do it?"
"What's your budget?" Hasegawa asked warily. "If it's too low, I'll have to pass."
"What's your price?" Hiro countered. "If it's ridiculous, I'll find someone else."
Hasegawa paused. "Wait... when you say 'entertainment industry,' do you mean a few agencies, or—"
"I mean all of Japan," Hiro said firmly. "Actors, artists, directors, investors. Anyone relevant."
A long silence followed.
Finally: "Ten million yen. That's the rate. I'll make it worth your while."
"I don't need blackmail. Just public data. Names, bios, and pictures. That's it. Sounds pretty simple, right?" Hiro said coolly.
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