"Since it's something anyone can do, is your price of ten million yen appropriate?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Hasegawa replied, "Boss, you said to investigate people related to the entertainment industry, and that's not just one or two individuals. There are at least tens of thousands. So this price isn't actually expensive; I'm just earning a hard living."
"If you still insist on this price, then we have nothing more to discuss," Hiko calmly replied.
"Nine million yen. This workload isn't something I can quickly handle alone, and investigations cost money. Plus, you need their photos, and I'll have to find a way to get those," Hasegawa argued, trying to protect his profit. "On average, each person is less than five hundred yen."
"That's your problem. I think your price still has a lot of padding," Hiko refused to budge and shifted the topic. "A regular employee's salary is about three hundred thousand yen a month. I could hire thirty people to form a team to help me investigate."
"I don't expect them to be fast, but it's not hard for each of them to investigate a hundred names and match photos every day, right? And the more they do, the more proficient they'll become. The number could even increase then."
"Boss, this isn't a math problem. You also need a venue, coordination, and hiring for a month doesn't just mean salary, you'll need sufficient benefits. Otherwise, who would work for you?" Hasegawa quickly countered. "Besides labor costs, you also need to rent a venue and equip them with computers…"
Hiko scoffed at his words. "Why not just recruit students who already have computers at home? And I'm not planning to pay them a fixed salary. I'll settle their wages based on the results of their investigations and matches. For each completed person, they'll be paid 100 yen."
"What do students know about investigations?" Hasegawa pointed out sharply. "And if you really only let students investigate, it'll definitely go wrong in the end."
"Are you referring to duplicate investigations? I thought of a countermeasure from the start. Just let each of them independently investigate one block," Hiko had already anticipated the problem of duplicate targets being submitted due to too many investigators.
"Since you have so many ideas, Boss, why haven't you hung up yet?" Hasegawa noticed Hiko was still on the line and asked directly, "So, what conditions can you offer me?"
"Five hundred yen per person, prioritizing all members currently active in the entertainment industry," Hiko said firmly. "And the profile needs to include more details such as age, height, weight, and place of origin."
The reason Hiko offered this price was something he had considered from the very beginning.
His earlier arguments were only meant to drive down the price.
In any case, the maximum amount he could pay was five million yen. He needed to save the other half for Ai's stage venue fees in two months.
Until then, he had no idea when his next income would come, so this was the most he could spend.
And after Ai's performance, the system would surely issue the reward for the "Cultivating an Idol" quest.
Although he didn't know what the reward would be, cultivating an idol definitely cost money. Since Ai's performances were part of that cultivation process, he estimated the reward would include funds for future use.
After all, turning a profit from a debut performance and earning back the initial investment was harder than winning the lottery.
The price increase was because he felt that relying only on names and photos might lead to issues where the ages didn't match the timing of the photos.
It might be the same person, but the information might not have been updated for years.
And he might need this information later, so it had to be reliable enough to become a resource.
"Are these the conditions you decided on from the beginning?"
Hasegawa was silent for a moment before continuing, "Why do you want to investigate so much information on so many people?"
"So, what's your answer?" Hiko ignored his confusion and pressed, "Are you taking this price or not?"
"I'll take it!" Hasegawa gritted his teeth and accepted the job.
"Good, then when do you plan to start?" Hiko asked.
"We need to meet first, then sign a contract. You pay me a deposit, and then I'll start," Hasegawa explained skillfully.
"If you're free now, you can come to my office."
"Okay, what's your address?"
…Hiko took a taxi to the address Hasegawa provided and saw a sign above the roadside: (Hasegawa Detective Agency)
It was in a rather remote area.
Hiko had originally thought that an acquaintance introduced by the president, if not part of a large detective agency, wouldn't be located in such a shabby and out-of-the-way place.
But since he was already here, he decided to go in and take a look.
He walked to the third floor of the building marked by the sign. At the end of the hallway, he found the agency's office.
Could it really just be a single rented room?
Hiko had a bad feeling, but he still pressed the doorbell.
"Coming." A muffled voice came from behind the door, followed by approaching footsteps.
Click.
The door was opened by a man in his thirties with a stubbled chin. He was wearing cotton slippers, and the collar of his suit jacket was tucked awkwardly into his shirt instead of properly arranged.
He seemed unreliable.
That was Hiko's first impression of Hasegawa.
"Are you the client?" Hasegawa looked at Hiko, recalled the young male voice on the phone, and asked cautiously.
"I am the client, Saito Hiko," Hiko nodded. "Saito Ichigo is my uncle; he introduced you to me."
After speaking, Hiko noticed cardboard boxes, binoculars, camera tripods, video recorders, and several machines he couldn't identify, all scattered haphazardly across the floor inside.
"The room's a bit messy, don't mind it. Let's go inside and discuss the details," Hasegawa said as he walked back in, clearing clutter from the table to make space to sit.
Although the room was messy, there was no unpleasant odor, which reassured Hiko somewhat. He hadn't expected such a remote office and a messy room, it just felt a bit unreliable.
The space was about fifty square meters, but with the clutter, it looked much smaller.
"Alright, this is the contract I just drafted. If you look it over and it's fine, I'll print it out."
Hasegawa led Hiko to the desk where the computer was set up. He opened a file, and the contract terms popped up.
Hiko saw that Hasegawa had already prepared a general contract template. That alone made him seem not entirely unreliable, so Hiko patiently began to read through it.
"Here, here… these need to be modified."
Hiko instructed Hasegawa to type and delete sections of the contract, adjusting it so it matched the information he wanted.