Sakura was seated directly opposite Kyle, at the other side of the desk, a drop of sweat gliding down her face, as she was brought under his oppressive gaze.
It almost seemed like ages ago since she was last put in such a position. The worst part of it was that, just like last time… she had no idea why his mood was so sour!
Due to her enhanced senses, she could hear his agitated heartbeat, and she could swear she had never seen him this way.
'He wasn't even like this when he was nearly blown up in the Comission…'
What then could have made him so jittery?
For some time, an uncomfortable silence hung between them. Kyle was sliding through his phone, a look of disbelief on his face as he did.
It was almost as though he was trying to convince himself that what he was seeing was not real.
'Have we been found out? Have the heroes discovered who Kyle is??'
Recently, the villain rankings have been updated. It was no surprise that after the stunt they pulled, Kyle was now occupying the number one position.
If they were to discover who he was, Sakura could kiss her peaceful life goodbye!
Sakura began to sweat profusely, her heart racing as she thought about the multiple possibilities.
She would be put in jail which means she would have to drop out.
Kikimaru café would close, so she would loose her source of livelihood!
'This can't be happening—'
"Sakura." Kyle called out, his voice monotonous.
Sakura swallowed.
"Y-yes?"
He interlocked his fingers in front of his face and propped his elbows on the bench.
"What happened to all my money?"
"…?"
Sakura blinked. "Sorry?"
He slid his phone towards her and she picked it up to check the screen. It was the financial report for the past month.
"Haaaa—!" She sighed.
She had never felt so relieved to see Eliron lose money.
"Ohh, thank God!" She breathed out while laughing. "I thought it was something serious!"
Only after speaking did Sakura realise the terrible mistake she had made.
"Is… is this funny to you?"
The atmosphere in the room shifted as Kyle fixed an annoyed gaze on her.
Sakura sprang to her feet, attempting to use her super speed to escape the room.
But even as she dashed earlier than him, by the time she got to the door, Kyle was already there, waiting for her.
He sighed. "We need to talk…"
"Ehe… Yes b-boss." She nervously chuckled.
•••
The original branch of Kikimaru café was running perfectly well.
Due to countless advertisement campaigns, it had practically become a part of multiple people's daily routine.
But it was a different case when it came to his new branch…
Apart from the opening ceremony where there had been a reasonable amount of sales, the new cafe was making similar sales as the old cafe.
When Kyle explained this to Sakura, she seemed a little confused.
"But isn't that good? The old cafe is making quite a lot of money—"
Kyle sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Sakura…" he began. "How many people can our older branch take at a time?"
"About fifty…"
"Alright, how many can this branch take?"
"Uhum, one hundre—oh, I see what you mean." She said when she finally understood him.
It was absurd to think that the older branch was making as much money as their new place.
Not only had much more money been invested in this place, it could also handle many more customers than it was currently taking.
'I need to boost our sales somehow.'
Running a secret organisation was in no way cheap. Kyle had to upgrade their tech anytime Sakura found an issue, there was still the issue of their super suits—
Currently, only Kyle had one, and it had cost him quite a lot, because of how compact it was.
And yet, that was not all. There was still the one million yen he borrowed from Tsumi.
Although it was not something he needed to immediately pay, Kyle would rather not owe for so long.
"We need to do some sort of promotion." He breathed out.
Sakura nodded. "The last bunny girl promotion we did boosted our sales by a large margin. Can't we just do that again?"
Kyle shook his head. "It hasn't been long since we did it, it won't have the same impact. We need something new."
"What about an advertisement campaign? We can get a nice billboard and—"
"That is even worse than your first idea."
Sakura sighed.
They ended up discussing a lot of ideas, some good, while others relatively bad. But it was only after some minutes of deliberation did the perfect idea hit him.
"We are going to get a brand ambassador!"
Kyle picked up his phone and dialed a ceratin number, a smile on his face, as he mentally calculated just how much money he could rake in with this new idea.
Early the next morning, at about 10 AM in the morning, Kyle was seated in the cafe, his eyes drifting to the clock every few seconds unitl—
Ring!
The bell above the door chimmed, and accompanying it was a lovely voice.
"We are here!" Nejire sang, a bright smile on her face as she lifted her hands into the air.
The room instantly felt warmer than it had been a few seconds ago.
"Lower your voice Nejire-chan. You're going to disturb the customers." Mountain Lady said as she emerged from the door behind her.
'Aha, it looks like they have arrived.'
Kyle needed to get an ambassador for the cafe, but he had no personal contacts with any of the heroes, so he called Nejire for help.
Both her and Mountain Lady had worked together at a point during her previous work study program, after which they became friends.
That was how she was able to get her to come.
'I couldn't have asked for a more perfect ambassador.'
Mountain lady was in her popular phase, especially amongst many youths. Using her was a sure fire way to get more traction.
Nejirie's eyes scanned the crowd, landing on him then she waved.
"What's up Kyle!" She held Mountain Lady by shoulders and smiled.
"I brought her as promised."
Kyle high fiber Nejire once he got to her. "Welcome Nejirie!"
He handed her a basket, filled to the brim with her favourite pastries.
"Hehehe." Nejire chuckled darkly, hugging the basket to her chest. "Nice doing business with you buddy."
Then Kyle turned to the Mountain lady and smiled politely, offering her his hand for a handshake.
"Good morning. I am Kyle, the owner of this place. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Mountain Lady looked a little surprised as she shook his hand. 'He's the owner?' She mused.
She was already aware of the existence of the cafe as she was actually a regular, and a fan of Kikimaru cafe.
Just that whenever she went, she took her mask off to avoid being recognized, so she was never the object of attention.
That was why she did not hesitate to take the ambassadorship deal.
'I would have never thought the person who ran my favourite coffee place would be this young.' She thought.
"Nice to meet you too." Mountain Lady smiled.
She then glanced around the place. "So, where do I sit?"
Kyle smirked and pointed at a seat at the center of the café. "For now, all you both have to do is sit right over there..."
They had already discussed everything over the phone so there was no need for further explanation.
When Mountain lady and Nejire took their seats, Kyle called Sakura to his side. "Is it ready?"
Sakura nodded and the two of them smirked mischievously.
"Let's put it up."
Five minutes later, outside the café, there was a large sign saying.
— Have coffee alongside Mountain lady and Nejire chan!
Not even up to one hour later, the cafe was filled to the brim.
Kyle scoffed as he watched them line up like ants. 'It's like taking candy from a baby…'
..
(1/3)