Before distributing, Hiko had asked Maeda Daiko, who worked at the front desk, about everyone's schedules.
"This is today's schedule for company personnel..." Maeda Daiko handed the recorded form directly to Hiko.
Hiko read it for a while, then handed the form back and thanked her.
After that, he asked Ai to carry the bags with him as they walked around the company distributing them.
"Thank you for your hard work. These are comfort gifts. She is a newly signed idol and also my classmate. Please take good care of her from now on."
He would repeat this sentence every few distributions at each location.
In truth, Hiko knew that even without giving out anything, just bringing Ai along and directly asking people to take care of her, without being overly friendly, would still achieve the effect he wanted.
But Hiko didn't think that was enough.
Why not do it when spending just a little money and saying a few embellished words could make everyone willing?
Why make himself appear arrogant and overbearing? Why ruin the company's atmosphere?
Everyone in the company, unless they had just joined within the last two days, knew that Hiko was the president's nephew.
Furthermore, after Hiko visited the company a few times, rumors even spread that the president had entrusted some tasks to his nephew to train him.
Wasn't that a clear piece of information revealed by the president himself?
He planned to let Hiko join the company and learn to manage things.
He was already looking for opportunities to train his abilities.
Therefore, if you dared to disrespect Hiko, you might immediately be transferred to a troublesome position, or even fired for something as trivial as stepping in with your left foot first.
Or perhaps he would disgust you, pile endless tasks on you, and even assign a superior to manage and scold you until you couldn't take it anymore and resigned.
And then the company wouldn't even need to pay compensation.
Now, the president's nephew was personally handing out gifts to comfort you and asking you to take care of his classmate. Compared to those second-generation heirs who relied on connections to get in but acted arrogant and overbearing, this was much better.
So, even though twelve-year-old Hiko brought nothing more than cheap taiyaki as comfort gifts for the employees, almost all of them appeared honored, or at least very excited and happy, replying with phrases like: "Certainly," "Okay," and "We'll take care of her."
As for what the employees truly thought, Hiko could more or less guess.
But this was his small plan all along, to tour the company with Ai and let everyone know that she must never be bullied.
Otherwise, they shouldn't expect to stay here in the future.
However, Ai only thought Hiko was simply handing out small gifts as greetings to the employees.
How could she have guessed the hidden meaning behind it?
Only those who had spent time in society and gained experience could understand that Hiko bringing someone to distribute comfort gifts wasn't just about asking them to take care of Ai.
After all, the company belonged to the Saito family; whether they wanted to support Ai, take care of her, and give her resources was ultimately up to the president. This was merely a heads-up for them.
While accompanying Ai in distributing the gifts to company employees, Hiko also introduced her to their current positions and job responsibilities.
But since there were too many people, Ai grew shy. After meeting a handful, she said she had already been introduced to too many and hoped to meet the others next time.
This fell short of Hiko's expectations.
'It's the curse of knowledge again.' Realizing this, he gave up on the idea of continuing.
Ai was still a student, not yet a working adult.
Recalling the list of names and the total number of employees, Hiko noticed he had only distributed about a dozen gifts.
There were still plenty of taiyaki left in the bag.
"Never mind, let's go straight to the dance studio."
"Can I start practicing now?" Ai asked, puzzled. She had assumed Hiko intended to give out all the gifts, so stopping after so few didn't make sense to her.
"Hm, I also need to finish distributing the gifts at the dance studio," Hiko replied, taking another taiyaki from the bag and biting into it.
The situation had changed from what he had expected. He had originally done all this to make Ai feel more comfortable in the company.
But seeing her like this now, continuing would only be counterproductive.
'Never mind, I'll go by myself later.'
"There will definitely be a lot left in the end. Aren't you eating any more?" Hiko asked, biting into the fish head of the cake.
Sweet red bean paste.
Indeed, the classic flavor was the best.
Ai shook her head. "I have to practice later; it's not good to eat too much."
Hiko skillfully led Ai to the dance studio.
When they opened the door and entered, the room was about two hundred square meters. With few large items inside, it felt rather empty.
Ichigo, dressed in a suit and sunglasses, was watching several girls practice.
"Ai, you're finally here." Hearing the door open, Ichigo looked over. Seeing Ai, who was supposed to come today, he walked toward her.
"And why are you here too, you little rascal?"
"Actually, I didn't want to come. I just wanted to see how you'd train her," Hiko said casually. "Though I don't think your methods will be that great, it's probably just dance practice, vocal exercises, and singing, right?"
"Don't underestimate the idol industry!" Ichigo snapped, furious at his words.
Even though what Hiko listed were indeed the basics, he still had to explain everything properly to Ai, who didn't understand yet.
"An idol, so-called, is a beautiful dream woven from lies. That is what fans expect of an idol."
"Therefore, singing ability, acting skills, and stamina are indispensable conditions."
"But that doesn't mean having these guarantees success. Besides these, one also needs outstanding looks and temperament, as well as constant stage performances. Only then can one gain fans."
"But don't think that guarantees success either. Many idols in the industry have been exposed to scandals and were forced to graduate in record time."
Ichigo went on, "Therefore, an idol absolutely must not have any weaknesses. You need to create the image of a perfect idol, because if you're caught, you'll be disgraced immediately..."
As the president launched into another long speech, Hiko silently carried over a dozen boxes of taiyaki, walked up to him, and shouted, "Catch!"
Ichigo instinctively stretched out his hands to catch the packages Hiko tossed.
But with so many falling at once, he only managed to grab five or six. The rest fell to the ground.
He suddenly realized he had been tricked by Hiko again.
"Sai! To! Hi! Ko!"
Ichigo roared each word.
Being toyed with like this, his dignity felt trampled. He wanted to grab Hiko and teach him a lesson
to make him learn to respect his elder.