CH 11

It was a few days after Mitsuhiko Okaya had moved into his new apartment.

Okaya’s ex-wife, Misae…… was in front of his former apartment.

“Hey …… dear…… open up …… It’s me.”

Misae said this in front of the door of Okaya’s room.

“Hey dear ……, let’s start over after all.　Okay?”

The reason why Misae came here is simple.

She………..ran out of money.

Okaya sent Misae’s personal belongings, including high-end furniture, to her parents’ house.

They were immediately put up for sale, and as a result, a considerable amount of money was obtained.

…… Nevertheless, she lost all of it, in just a few days.

The reason is …… simple.

She was obsessed with a man.

The man …… was Kisogawa, the man she was having an affair with.

She thought that if she gave him money, he would get back together with her again.

But …….

“Hey, dear!　Hey!　Can’t you hear me?”

There was no reply from inside.

She wondered what was going on……

“Dear ……?　Please…… don’t be angry, come out …… hey! Dear!　Hey!”

Dondon don!

Don don don don!

“Don’t ignore me!　I’m here to apologize, so come out!　Hey! Oi!”

Eventually, Misae came to the conclusion that Okaya was out of town.

“Dear…… is the one who is at fault.……”

In her pochette, Misae pulls out something.

It was a …… duplicate key.

“Dear……you’re carelessness. …… You didn’t collect the key.……”

When Okaya talked to her about divorce …….

He had collected the duplicate key.

But Misae had actually created additional duplicate keys in advance and had it hidden away.

“This is not intruding. …… What’s wrong with a wife going home to her own house~……”

Misae smiled viciously.

Obviously, she had lost her mind.

She put the duplicate key into the …… keyhole.

Ga chi!

“Wh? Eh……?　Why ……?”

Ding!　Ding!　Ding!

“Hey!　Why won’t it open!”

…… It’s simple.

This is because the keyhole has a different shape.

When Okaya left the apartment, he returned the key and changed the keyhole as well.

The landlord of the apartment said he didn’t need to go that far.

But Okaya had thought of the possibility and changed the key and keyhole with his own money.

As a result of ……, Misae was unable to open the lock.

“Open ittttttttttttttttttt!　Hey!　Open the dooooooooooooooooooor!　Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey”

But…… no matter how much she pleaded, Okaya did not come out.

Gaku…….She nodded helplessly.

“He doesn’t answer …… the phone, he doesn’t open …… the apartment, he doesn’t answer …… why ……?　Hey, why did you abandon me ……?”

Rather than abandoning her, he divorced her. ……

In addition, the person who pulled the trigger was Misae herself. ……

Misae kept her mind balanced by making herself into a tragic heroine.

“Mou…… money. …… I don’t have any money and I don’t know who to go …….”

…… Working for herself is not an option for her.

She has never worked since she was born until today.

She met Okaya in college, and ever since she got married, she had an uncomplicated life. ……

“………….”

Misae took out her phone and contacted [him].

After a few calls, she finally got through.

“K-kusuo-san?　It’s me, ……. Misae, …….”

The person on the other end of the phone is Kusuo Kisogawa

She was Misae’s lover.

“Ah, ……, what?　I’m busy right now, right?”

From the other end of the phone, she could tell that Kisogawa was in a bad mood.

“I-I’m sorry, Kusuo-kun. ……”

“Tsk……!　And what do you want?”

“Umm, …… you know, did you get the money …… from the other day?　I transferred it.”

Yes,……, Misae made money by selling furniture and other items that Okaya had given her as a favor,…….

She gave it all to Kisogawa, of course.

“Yeah, it’s arrived. So, what about it?”

“Eh, ……? U-uhm, ……. It’s ……, you know?　Can we try …… again?”

…… Misae had lost her home in Okaya and immediately tried to return to Kisogawa.

What a light-hearted woman.

But …….

“Ha. I don’t want to”

“W-Why ……?”

“Hey, old lady. You’re no longer needed.”

“Not…..needed?”

“Yeah. business settled, I’m done. Good night.”

She has no idea what Kisogawa was talking about.

But …… this much she understands.

Even her…… affair partner dumped …… her.

“W-wait!　We used to love each other so much!”

“Uwa annoying. You’re so annoying”

“I’m not annoying…..”

“Besides, I have many other women.　I don’t have a problem without you. Sorry.”

“Other women?　What is that!　You’re having an affair!　You’re the worst!”

“Gee-ha!　You’ve been having an affair too. What are you talking about, old lady?”

…… sadness of betrayal and …… anger came to her heart.

“I’ll just take the last of the money and be grateful. I’ve already gotten everything I can squeeze out of you, so I’m going to reject your email for now.”

With a mumble, Kisogawa hung up the phone unilaterally.

“No way…..you’re lying……you’re lying……you’re lyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!”

She was abandoned by Kisogawa and by her …… ex-husband Okaya.

She can’t even tell her parents …… about this disgraceful thing. She can’t rely on them…..

“Hey! Dear!　Help me!　I’m in trouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuble!”

And then.

“Uhm, …….”

“Dear!?　……Eh?”

There was a police officer in uniform.

“P-Police ……, w-why ……?”

“There’s been a call in the neighborhood, and you seem to be shouting. …… Could you tell us a little bit about it?”

Behind the policeman was the landlord.

She guessed that the resident of the next room had contacted the landlord, who in turn had called the police.

“No!　You’ve got it wrong! It’s not me!”

The police just came to ask about the situation …….

Misae thought that they might catch her.

“You got it wrong! You got it wrong!　You got it wrooooooooooooooong!”

Baaaaa……!　Misae ran away.

Before the policeman could stop her, …… she runs away, crying miserably.

On the other hand, speaking of Kisogawa Kusuo……..

“That old lady was really creepy…”

Kisogawa was in the editorial department of Takanawa Books, a publishing company owned by the Takanawa Group.

“What’s wrong, Kisogawa-kun?”

“Oh!　Toshie-san, good morning!”

The person who called out to Kisogawa was Toshie-san, the editor-in-chief of TAKANAWA Books.

A brilliant woman in her early thirties, she had risen to the position of editor-in-chief of a major publishing house.

She’s also the one who kicked out …… Okaya because she didn’t see his talent.

” Yeah, good morning, Kisogawa-kun.”

Fufu, Jyunikane smiles.

Despite the fact that he called her by her first name, Toshie, she did not pay attention.

In fact, she even seemed to be pleased to be treated like a woman in that way.

“Well, I’m in trouble because someone I know is pestering me.”

“Well that’s a problem. I know a good lawyer, I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you!　Toshie-san, you’re so kind!　That’s my beautiful, talented editor!”

“You’re so good at flattering me. ……”

She blushed

Seeing this, Kisogawa inwardly laughs wickedly.

(You’re still a little old lady.)

“By the way, Kisogawa-kun. I hope you’ve finished the last volume of [Rushia] sensei’s book.

Rushia is [Rushia Kaida ].

Rushia Kaida.

She’s the third most popular and talented author in the romance industry, after Kamimatsu, the divine author, and Shirama Oji, the author of AMO.

She is one of the three authors supporting the company right now.

“It’s perfect!”

“So, ……, I’m sorry for leaving you to work on such short notice. Okaya suddenly quit, so I asked you to take over.”

The book is coming, and that person in charge was Okaya.

But since Okaya resigned, he was replaced.

…… But since Okaya had almost finished working on Rushia’s manuscript, there was almost nothing for Kisogawa to do.

It was just …….

“No problem!　I think I can get along with Rushia-sensei!”

“Yes …… good to hear. This is the end of “Senmoshi,” but …… Rushia-sensei still needs to write more, so please continue with the next one.”

“Senmoshi” is ending. It hurts to lose the dollar-box content, right? If she release it, she can make money, so why is she ending it herself, Rushiya-sensei?”

Senmoshi [Sensei, could it be that ……Senmoshi is dead?]. It’s the title of a novel.

It’s Rushia Kaida’s debut novel.

It was an entry for the Newcomer’s Award.

…… Incidentally, it was Okaya who discovered Senmoshi.

“Hey, Toshi-san. Is it true that Senmoshi was supposed to be rejected?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was going to drop it because I thought that suspense stories wouldn’t be popular in novels, but Okaya-kun put a stop to it.”

Okaya had originally been pushing hard for the grand prize.

However, once a work was not selected, it could not be given the grand prize. ……

As a result, it became an “honorable mention,” and Okaya and him worked together to revise it, and Rushia made her debut.

However, that year’s grand prize work was eventually discontinued after one volume due to poor sales.

However, Senmoshi, which was released at the same time, became a very popular work with more than 10 volumes and even became an anime. ……

Okaya had the foresight to know what he was doing.

But …….

“Well, that’s our editor in chief!　It was Toshie who discovered Tammoshi.”

…… That’s not possible.

It was Okaya’s achievement. But ……

“Who knows”

She took Okaya’s credit.

Because she allowed her subordinate (Okaya) to be [selfish], …….

Senmoshi was a big hit, or so he thought.

“So, Kisogawa-kun. I asked you to take care of Rushia-sensei. This is the end of the series, but please don’t let her escape.”

“Yeesh!　I won’t let her go! We’ve already talked about the next one the other day, and I’m 100% sure she’ll write the next one for us!”

“I’m relieved to hear that. Good luck, Kisogawa-kun. I’m expecting more from you than anyone else.”

Jyunikane is leaving.

Now, …….

Piriri-ri-ri… ♪

There was an incoming call on my desk landline.

“Yes, yes, TAKANAWA Books …… Ah!　Rushia-sensei!　Good night!”

The other party to Kisogawa’s call was from the Kaida Rushia.

” Yeah, thank you for the last volume of Senmoshi!　I want to publish your next work by the end of this year, so I want to have a meeting about………… What?”

Katan…….

Without thinking, Kisogawa dropped the phone.

“U-uhm……!　Sensei!　Rushia-sensei!　You’re joking, right?”

“…… I’m not joking. Okay, I’ll make it clear.”

Rushia says over the phone.

Her voice was trembling with …… anger.

“Rushia will not write another book here!　An editorial department without Okaya is worthless!”

Buchin ……!

“R-Rushia-sensei! Oi, you’re lying!　Hey!　Oiiiiiiii!”

Kisogawa called back again.

But the call was blocked.

“What’s wrong?　Is there some kind of trouble?”

Hearing the commotion, Jyunikane came over, worried.

“I-It’s nothing!　It’s no problem!”

…… Kisogawa was in a hurry to do something about it.

But why did she suddenly say she wouldn’t write about it…..

“I-I’m!　I’m going out for a bit!”