I Just Want A Single Ending!

After a brief celebration in his mind, Kamigawa Saku refocused on Togawa Sakiko in front of him.

For now, he needed to figure out how to handle the conversation. Deciding how to use the learning card could wait until he got home.

"Is that all?" Sakiko asked, clearly unsatisfied with his answer.

Back when she didn't know any better, she'd accepted his claim at face value. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to a 50/50 ad revenue split back then.

But now, was he really trying to fool her by saying that again? Did he take her for an idiot?

"Are you saying you don't believe you're worth that amount?" Kamigawa asked with a smile.

"I'm just saying that I don't think I'm worth that amount right now," Sakiko replied confidently.

It wasn't that she lacked confidence; she was fully aware of her potential.

But self-worth had to be grounded in her current reality.

If she'd already achieved something significant, she wouldn't question receiving a 50% share and wouldn't have needed this conversation.

But to give her half the revenue when she was still inexperienced? It was completely irrational, and she couldn't accept it.

All she wanted was compensation equal to her contributions.

"So you're saying that in the future, you could be worth that price?" Kamigawa asked, following her line of thought.

"I never said that."

Sakiko knew better than to overestimate herself.

In this field, she was still learning. Making such a bold statement now would be far too premature.

Kamigawa replied warmly, "Then why not think of it as me investing in your future? I believe you'll do great things here and add substantial value to my account."

"Sure, you could define it that way," Sakiko conceded.

"Exactly," Kamigawa continued, then added, "But investment doesn't usually mean giving this much support and revenue up front. You're practically doing charity at this rate."

Because of her family background, she understood a bit about investments.

"Since we're being direct, let's get to the heart of it," Kamigawa said, noticing the time was right to fully explain.

"Fine by me."

Sakiko straightened up, ready to listen intently.

"First, I have a question for you. When you realized that your compensation was exceptionally high, far above the industry standard, what did you think?" Kamigawa asked, pausing after each word for emphasis. "That's one of the questions I mentioned you'd need to answer."

"First, I was shocked. Then, I just didn't understand."

Since it had only happened the day before, Sakiko remembered her reaction vividly.

"Did you, at any point, feel grateful to me for giving you such a high salary? Or maybe you thought you'd lucked out, felt pleased with yourself, or felt like you were worth a lot? Even just a little?"

"I suppose… yes, there was a bit of that," she admitted.

She couldn't deny it entirely.

At the time, she'd been puzzled, but to say she didn't feel even a hint of happiness would be an exaggeration. Surely, she'd felt something along those lines.

"What I mean by 'investment' is that gratitude you felt."

Kamigawa began explaining slowly.

"Since you felt that way, imagine if you'd gone months without realizing this. How do you think you'd feel then?"

"…"

Sakiko pondered the scenario he laid out.

If three months had gone by with her receiving both a paycheck and a 50% share in ad revenue, that would amount to a sizable sum.

And by then, she'd have improved her quality of life and saved a good portion of it.

At that point, if she finally realized the truth, her first reaction would likely be embarrassment. She'd feel she'd taken too much from him and want to return the money—then, like today, she'd want to discuss it with him.

But as she thought further, she shook her head.

No, things wouldn't have been like today at all.

Knowing him for three months would mean they'd have built a much stronger relationship.

With three months of collaboration, their interactions wouldn't be as tense as they were now.

There was even a chance that if their work went well, she might start to feel her efforts were worth the compensation. With his persuasion, she could easily see herself eventually accepting the 50% revenue share as fair.

In that case, she'd only feel gratitude toward him.

Which meant that the longer it took her to realize the imbalance, the more thankful she would feel.

As Sakiko worked through this in her head, she glanced back up at Kamigawa.

"You understand now, right?" he asked, still smiling.

"I do. But why are you so invested in getting my gratitude?"

Sakiko's suspicions deepened. His purpose clearly wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"Simple. To make money," he answered matter-of-factly. "The more grateful you feel toward me, the more motivated you'll be in your work. Isn't that right?"

"…"

Sakiko didn't respond.

It was true; that was something she'd do—to work harder as a way to repay him.

"So that's my goal. I just want you to work hard for me," Kamigawa admitted, looking slightly embarrassed. "Can we wrap this up? I don't want to discuss this anymore."

"No, that's not enough. I'm not satisfied with this answer."

Even if his explanation sounded reasonable, it still didn't fully convince her.

"If all you wanted was for me to work hard, you could've structured the 50% revenue as a performance bonus, telling me that the more effort I put in, the more I'd earn."

"Encouraging me to work harder out of gratitude is a roundabout method. The other approach is far more direct and effective."

"If your goal is to make money, there's no reason to complicate things, and certainly no need to wait so long."

"This contradiction makes no sense."

There was no way someone as smart as Kamigawa Saku, the top student in his grade, wouldn't understand this simple logic.

"To be honest, you're pretty annoying, you know that?" Kamigawa sighed. "Do you really need to know my true intentions? Can't you just take my word for it?"

"So, you are hiding something."

Sakiko knew he wouldn't give up his true motive so easily.

"Who just casually reveals their true thoughts to someone?" Kamigawa replied, taking another sip of his coffee. "Do you still want to hear it?"

"Of course."

Sakiko's curiosity about his motives only grew.

---

Greetings, esteemed reader.

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