Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

With a smile, Bronya began to finish off her opponent.

"Woo..."

Being 'bullied' by her two sisters, Kaguya blushed, lowered her head, and stammered, unable to speak.

......

"By the way, boss, you look kind of familiar. You look a bit like Sagiri's idol."

Because of Nangong Yu's deliberate joke, Izumi quickly relaxed and was no longer as nervous as she had been at the beginning.

There was no other way; he was the only savior the mother and daughter could rely on. They couldn't afford not to be nervous; what if they said the wrong thing?

Of course, Ms. Izumi was not without precautions when meeting her boss alone.

On one hand, there was the city center location she chose, and on the other hand, there was Sagiri at home. As long as they could maintain communication, Sagiri could call the police in time even if she encountered danger.

However, it seems unnecessary to call the police now, as my boss appears to be a good person.

Nangong Yu had been cutting his steak with a knife and fork for a long time, but finally got fed up and asked the waiter to bring him a pair of chopsticks. Completely ignoring the strange looks from others, he picked up the steak and started eating it in big bites.

Upon hearing Izumi's voice from the other end, he quickly looked up and said in a somewhat muffled voice.

"Who is Sagiri's idol?"

"It's that old scoundrel Nangong! What a coincidence, his name, Yu, is the same as your pen name, boss!"

Somewhat envious of the boss's nonchalant attitude towards others' opinions, Ms. Izumi struggled to eat a piece of beef with her knife and fork before smiling and speaking.

After saying that, he found it amusing and made another joke: "And you guys look so alike, could it be that you are the old scoundrel Nangong, boss? Haha, just kidding."

She waved her hand gently, amused by her own words.

Nangong Laozei (a nickname for a scoundrel) is making butter with her? What an international joke! If word gets out, Pokémon fans will tear me apart.

"Really, Mom, don't talk nonsense. How could the boss possibly..."

Before Sagiri's voice on the screen had finished, Nangong Yu, having finished the last bite of beef, wiped her mouth with a napkin and casually replied, "That's me. My name is Nangong Yu."

Ding dong!

The metal knife and fork fell onto the plate with a crisp sound, and Ms. Izumi froze on the spot, her smile freezing.

Sagiri on the screen was so startled that her mask fell to the ground with a thud, revealing her face without her realizing it.

That incredibly cute little face made Nangong Yu silently give it a thumbs up.

Not bad at all, at least one-tenth as cute as Seele was when she was little.

In his heart.

Across from her, Ms. Izumi remained stunned for a moment before recovering. Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked up the knife and fork, forcing a smile as she said, "Really, boss, don't suddenly joke around..."

"Yes, yes, boss, don't joke around. That, that's that old scoundrel Nangong..."

Seeing the mother and son who refused to believe it, Nangong Yu naturally wouldn't blame them.

It's like if you told a gamer in your past life that Kaleidoscope was created by Miyazaki and that Happo-sensei was just a pseudonym of Miyazaki, that person would probably call you an idiot.

The current situation is similar to this; the fact that Izumi and her son didn't say anything harsh seems to be because he is their boss.

"Just a moment."

Verbal explanations were meaningless, so Nangong Yu simply took out her phone, snapped a picture of her plate that the waiter hadn't yet cleared away, and then tapped a few times on her phone.

"Boss, what are you doing?"

Somewhat puzzled by the boss's actions, Ms. Izumi asked in bewilderment.

After a while, Nangong Yu put down his phone and looked at the person opposite him with a smile: "Now, open your phone and take a look at the blog of the old thief Nangong that you all talk about."

His voice made the mother and son's hearts skip a beat again.

That tone... no, it can't be true, can it?

Her heart began to race, and before Izumi could even unlock her phone, Sagiri's shocked voice came through the screen: "It really is that old thief! Mom, Mom, the boss really is that old thief!!!"

At this moment, Ms. Izumi also clicked on Nangong Laozei's blog.

The latest post above was published just one minute ago; it showed an empty plate after the meal was finished, along with a caption.

"I still don't feel comfortable using a knife and fork. Chopsticks are much more comfortable."

The empty plate and the pattern on the table below it were exactly the same as the one in front of her.

"......"

Seeing the mature young woman speechless with shock, Nangong Yu's already smiling lips curled up again.

To be honest, he's starting to understand those protagonists in novels who like to play dumb to fool others; the moment the truth is revealed is truly satisfying.

There's a sense of satisfaction in having actually acquired something.

It just feels a bit awkward to keep calling him "old thief".

"What's wrong? Is there any need to be so surprised?"

He feigned confusion, a smile playing on his lips.

"Of course I'm surprised!!!"

Miss Izumi clearly wanted to slam her fist on the table, but she quickly remembered that they were outside, so she suppressed her excitement and called out in a low voice.

"Surprised that your boss is that Nangong?"

"No, it's surprising that the old scoundrel Nangong was originally a butter maker."

"..."

Nangong Yu's smiling face immediately fell, and she gave Izumi a death stare.

Realizing she had misspoke, she hurriedly covered her mouth, but quickly let go, anxiously explaining, "I'm sorry, boss, I didn't mean to say what I really thought!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Izumi was stunned again, and then her face changed to an expression that looked like she was about to cry.

I should have just kept quiet; how did I say something wrong again?!

"Is that what you really think? It seems it's time for our collaboration to end~"

With a twitching mouth, Nangong Yu uttered words that nearly made Miss Izumi's soul tremble.

"No, no, boss! It's all my fault! Please don't abandon my child and me! Waaaaah..."

"late!"

"No way!!!"

......

Finally, after the waiter arrived, Ms. Izumi stopped her mournful wailing, and Nangong Yu stopped teasing her.

"Sorry, boss."

"Alright, alright, I forgive you."

Seeing the pitiful look on her face, Nangong Yu immediately waved her hand.

"really?"

"real."

At this moment, Ms. Izumi asked cautiously and expectantly, "Then, about work...?"

"Don't worry, I'll leave it to you!"

Nangong Yu's assurance finally put Miss Izumi at ease, and she looked at him gratefully, saying, "Thank you, boss!"

“You were the ones I trained from the beginning, and I wouldn’t be happy to work for someone else.”

After all the hard work I put into teaching Izumi-san that anime-style art, who will work for me now that she's gone?

"Then I'll work for you for the rest of my life!"

Completely oblivious to the ambiguity in her words, Sagiri on the screen instantly blushed.

"That's so cheesy! Speak properly!"

Pretending not to notice, Nangong Yu responded with a disgusted expression.

While eating the dessert brought by the waiter, Ms. Izumi, who had been grinning foolishly for a while, suddenly said, "Boss, you really are that old scoundrel Nangong."

Why are you asking now?

"No, it's nothing, it's just, hehe, could you give me and Sagiri an autograph or something? We're both your fans!!"

Seeing his somewhat excited expression, Nangong Yu clicked his tongue.

"You two are fake fans, you still can't recognize me even when I'm in person!"

"I'm so excited, I can hardly believe it! Boss, could you please sign your autograph for us?"

"Okay, okay, I'll ask the waiter for paper and pen when we leave."

"Great!!"

Not only Ms. Izumi, but Sagiri on the screen also cheered excitedly.

After finishing dessert, Nangong Yu finally got down to business.

He took out his phone, opened his email, and sent out all the files he had prepared in advance.

"I just sent the next project proposal to your email. You can start working on the CG composition when you get back."

"Oh~ what kind of visual novel is it?"

Ms. Izumi's eyes widened in surprise. She took out her phone to check, saying as she did so, "It's not going to be like the previous White Album, is it? There are still a lot of people on the forums criticizing you, boss."

"I'm just a game developer, why blame me?"

Saying something completely unreasonable, Nangong Yu then added with a smile, "However, the plot this time is relatively simple. As for the genre, I'd call it 'moe-style trash.'"

"Cute but useless?"

Repeating the name she had never heard before, Ms. Izumi opened her email with a mixture of doubt and curiosity. The title of the latest email was the name of the game.

She read it aloud softly.

"Senren Banka?"