Chapter 289 - I Quit Being Human, and I Quit Being Japanese
One week later.
I had been summoned to a Sumire TV meeting room and was being bombarded with questions.
Familiar producers and ADs were rattling off questions, spitting saliva as they spoke.
"It's rare for you to bring a project proposal to us, Nakamoto-san. It seems the higher-ups have already given their permission. Just who on earth are you, and why is this conversation progressing so smoothly?"
Most were asking out of pure curiosity, but some were openly expressing distrust.
It certainly wasn't unreasonable for them to find it strange that a comedian who appeared out of nowhere was being entrusted with such a major task.
"Please keep this between us."
I took my smartphone out of my pocket and presented a two-shot photo with a certain individual.
"...Ah."
Immediately, an atmosphere of relief spread through the meeting room.
"They are a major supporter of ours, after all."
Modern television stations have already begun to lose their ability to earn through advertising revenue.
This is because the decline in viewership has led to a departure of sponsors.
Eventually, corporate commercials will likely make the internet their main battlefield.
A declining industry—that is the image that clings to the television industry, but in reality, the employees are still high earners.
This is because, as if to make up for the drop in viewership, tie-up movies for dramas have started to become hits.
Furthermore, I hear they are making enormous profits from real estate management as well.
Movies and land flipping. These two businesses have become the new sources of income for television people.
And both of those businesses are said to have a rotten connection with a certain race of people.
"To think Nakamoto-san was a Yakuza type."
That's right.
Using Gondo's office as my backing, I had flashed a photo of myself making a scene.
I still consider myself a law-abiding citizen, but since I was invited to a so-called "female body mound" party hosted by Gondo, I have participated five times. Local police were coming normally too, so isn't this just like a neighborhood association?
I only took home four girls, so if you look at it through squinted eyes, I think I'm innocent.
"This is Gondo Construction, right?"
"This guy was just a low-level grunt back during the Bubble era."
"Was this place part of the Kansai group?"
Because they have come to earn money through industries with deep ties to the Yakuza, the television industry is once again closing the distance with them.
Therefore, if you show that you are an associate of the underworld, they will accept it instantly.
I truly think it's a good thing that the ethics of this industry are broken.
"If that's the case, then I suppose so."
The program staff all relaxed their posture at once, and the mood shifted to a harmonious one.
"Um, you wanted to host an idol program, was that it?"
"Yes," I replied with a nod.
"If possible, I'd like a group that is large in number and popular."
"You're greedy, aren't you?"
The elderly producer gave a wry smile while holding a cigarette.
"In that case, how about 'Moon Girl'?"
"? I've never heard of them."
"Do you know 'Sun Girl'? They're a unit made up of the under-members from that group."
I knew Sun Girl. They were a popular idol group among young people, with a center girl who radiated an incredible presence.
"Their center is about to collapse."
"What do you mean by that?"
"She's becoming emotionally unstable. It seems she's injured her knee as well, and whispers are circulating that her graduation is imminent. Please, don't let this leak out."
"Sun Girl was a group that relied heavily on their center, wasn't it...?"
"That's why the whole group will likely collapse. Thanks to that, we are currently training the substitute, Moon Girl, at a rapid pace."
It's what you call "switching to the next one."
The entertainment industry is a dry world.
"All of them were amateurs until yesterday. There are no strange entanglements—and if you wish, Nakamoto-san, you may lay hands on a few of them. How about these terms?"
"Can I ask one thing?"
I raised my right hand to ask a question.
"Rather than 'a few,' can I lay hands on all of them?"
A heavy silence enveloped the meeting room.
"T-That's... well, it depends on your stamina, Nakamoto-san, and we're essentially saying feel free... but just to confirm, the majority of the members are minors, and there are even middle schoolers mixed in?"
"On the contrary, they are very welcome."
Because younger people tend to level up faster.
Of course, the staff, having no way of knowing such circumstances, had faces that looked like they wanted to say, "This guy is dangerous."
"...Ah, there is also one elementary schooler belonging to them."
They asked with their eyes, Are you going to lay hands on this child too?
My answer, of course, was:
"Any young woman is fine, so anyway, won't you let me take them all home?"
They must be thinking, Isn't this guy even worse than the Yakuza?
...I can't deny it. From the perspective of modern Japan, my words and actions are undoubtedly "evil."
But now is not the time to be obsessing over small details, and above all, I am no longer Japanese.
It was about four days ago—I asked Sugitani-san to help me obtain Burkina Faso citizenship.
Just by going there, I can marry all the members of my harem, and legally, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
By the way, Burkina Faso is a republic located in West Africa, and it is the country with the highest ratio of polygamy in the world. One can tell it's a wonderful country just from that single sentence.