Chapter 19: Career Paths

I was working overtime again today.

That said, I wasn’t really focusing.

When I glanced around, no one else was there, but the computer at the desk beside me was still on, a file open on the screen.
Yet, the one who should’ve been sitting there—my junior, Akeura Kana—was nowhere to be seen.

"Senpai, you really are a pervert, aren’t you?"

The voice came from under my desk.

"N-no, I’m not!"

"Then why aren’t you wearing anything?"

"Because you told me to, Kana-chan!"

"Eh? I don’t remember saying that."

You totally did.

"Anyway, let’s get back to work already."

"Yeah, we should. If we don’t finish soon, poor Meg-chan will be waiting all night. It’s already this late, after all…"

Honestly, what are we even doing in the middle of work hours?

"Work, huh… I kinda wanna quit…"

I muttered that while picking at some fries in our usual family restaurant.

"Then quit, nya."

"Nyako, just give me, like, five hundred million yen."

"I’ve cut ties with a lot of freeloaders before, but you might be the biggest one yet, nya."

"Maybe I should just buy a lottery ticket…"

Would be nice if I won seven hundred million, huh.

"Even if you quit, you’d have nothing to do, nya. Tama was all ‘woohoo!’ at first too, but got bored in a month. Real life’s dull, nya."

"Then I’ll just spend all day tangled up with Kana-chan."

"Still craving more training, huh… But really, humans function better with a bit of stress, nya. Keeps life interesting."

Guess that’s true.

"Do you feel stressed right now, Nyako?"

"Being an underground idol is nothing but stress, nya. Sure, it’s fun getting attention, and there are good fans—but there are also plenty of troublesome ones, nya."

That sounds dangerous…

"You don’t have stalkers or anything, right?"

"I’m careful about that sort of thing, nya."

She probably has it rougher than I do—
even with seven hundred million yen in the bank.

"How about you, Sashou? You feeling stressed?"

I looked at Sashou, who was sitting across from me.

"Yeah, I feel it. Still have to bow my head to people, and look out for my subordinates."

"Running a company sounds tough."

The weight of that responsibility must be on a whole different level compared to us regular employees.

"Sure would be nice if money came easy…"

"You could make it fast, nya."

"Oh yeah? How?"

If I could, I’d already be doing it.

"Just suck off some old guy or get all slippery in a bathhouse. With your looks and skills, you’d make millions in no time, nya."

"No way. Why would I become a sex worker?"

I do have the confidence to make a guy finish in five seconds, but it’s not exactly something I plan to put on my résumé.

"Still, if you want quick cash, that’s the fastest route, nya. Selling sex is the easiest money. Well, in a way, Tama’s selling sex too, nya."

She is an idol, after all.
Not in the literal sense, but it still falls under that same category.

"Maybe I’ll become an idol too…"

"Could be good, nya. But like sex work, there’s a time limit—you should think about what comes after, nya."

She’s right.
It’s not a job you can do in your thirties or forties.

"What about you, Nyako? What’ll you do next?"

"Tama’ll go back to part-time work, nya. Not much choice, since once I’m back to being a guy, I can’t do this anymore, nya."

True enough.

"So, idol’s off the table then."

"Then it’s back to sex work, nya. You’ve got charm and you’re already trained—you’d sell fast, nya."

"No way. Guess I’ll just stick with my current job. Thinking long-term, a stable income’s probably best."

Considering Kana-chan and the fact that we might have a kid someday, I’d rather have something secure.

"That’s the normal route, nya… Anyway, that’s how it is for us. Use it as reference, nya."

Nyako said that while glancing at Chihirochi.
We’d been talking about all this because Chihirochi was struggling to decide on her career path.

"So… the takeaway is that I should just get a regular full-time job?"

Chihirochi asked for confirmation.

"The job that earns the most is sex work, nya. But you’d hate that, and starting a business isn’t easy either, nya."

"Yeah, that’s true… I don’t think I could do that."

"Chihirochi, you’re not going to college, right?"

I’d heard about that before.

"Yeah. My family doesn’t really have the money for it, and I’m done with studying anyway."

"Can’t blame you for that."

Being a student means plenty of free time and fun—but studying itself really is awful.

"Er... Eromi-neesan, why did you choose your current company?"

"It wasn’t really a choice. It was just one of the places that accepted me. After that, I checked the conditions and thought, ‘Eh, that’s fine.’ Honestly, there’s a lot you don’t know until you’re actually in. Company presentations only tell you the good stuff anyway."

"I-I see…"

"Still, it’s a good idea to ask your teachers or upperclassmen for advice. And if Sashou knows the company, she might be able to tell you its reputation."

When I said that, Chihirochi turned to look at Sashou.

"If I know it, sure. But of course, I don’t know most companies."

Well, that makes sense.

If she had business ties with them or worked in the same industry, she’d hear the rumors—but otherwise, there’s no way to know.

"Hmm…"

"Well, these days people call it a ‘job gacha’ for a reason. In the end, it’s luck. Even if a company’s good, your boss might suck, or you might just not fit in. I thought I’d joined a pretty crappy company myself, but now… not so much."

"Really? You complain about it all the time, though…"

"Yeah, well."

"I mean, I’m busy, so of course I complain. But I’ve gotten used to the work, and apparently they’ve started to expect things from me. Plus, I had this super cute, busty junior sitting right next to me, and that helped me hold on. And hey, that girl ended up becoming my girlfriend."

"I see."

"Anyway, even if you get a job, it’s not like you’re stuck there forever. If it gets too rough, just quit. Don’t overthink it—take it easy."

"Got it. You actually say decent things sometimes, Eromi-neesan."

"Do I?"

"Would you rather I tell a dirty story instead? Like the time Kana-chan ordered me to work with no panties on?"

For the record, that was the day before yesterday.

"I’m good…"

"Then focus on your work."

"And you’re literally telling her everything, nya."

Hey, the real story starts after work—when we’re walking home together.