Chapter 77-78 – Preparations – 1
[MC POV]
I finished my passionate lovemaking with Haruka in her room while the sun was high in the sky.
In other words, it was lunchtime.
It had been a short but intense session—I had arrived at nine in the morning.
Afterward, I went outside to get some food for Haruka, who had passed out in the middle of our encounter. And there, I found…
"…Did you finish your business with my daughter?"
Miharu-san was looking at me with a somewhat cold expression.
No, to be precise, I already knew why she looked that way.
Haruka's moans had been loud enough for her to hear everything. Realizing that, I felt like I was in deep trouble again, though only for a brief moment.
"Haa… Just hurry up and eat."
She must have accepted that this relationship between Haruka and me was inevitable. She sighed deeply and spoke without honorifics. But her gaze was full of disdain, as if I were trash.
After eating the meal she had prepared, I pulled out the contract and explained my plans.
"Haaam… Mom, are you already here?"
"I was worried about you… Haruka! What kind of outfit is that?!"
In the middle of my explanation, Haruka appeared wearing a reverse bunny girl outfit, causing a brief interruption and commotion.
After calming the situation, I explained everything again to Haruka and Miharu-san.
As soon as I roughly outlined what I wanted Haruka to do, I immediately heard her answer.
"I'll do it."
"Haruka, you should think carefully about this…"
"I don't want to make Mom suffer either."
Hearing her words, Miharu seemed to realize she couldn't stop her. She put her hand to her forehead and nodded.
"Okay… If that's what you want…"
Thanks to that, I quickly got Haruka to sign the contract.
As I put the signed contract into my bag, I asked, "Ah. Before we start, tell me if you need any equipment or personnel. I'll try to get them before we begin."
I had seen a supercomputer before, but I didn't really know what was needed to operate one. That was definitely an expert's area.
So, I turned to Haruka, whom I considered the most knowledgeable expert on the subject.
After thinking for a moment, she asked for just one thing.
"A programmer."
A programmer?
Her answer caught me off guard. It was so different from what I had expected. But after listening to her explanation, I quickly understood why she needed one.
She mentioned many things, but the core reason was simple.
"I'm good at handling computer parts and settings, but I'm not skilled at detailed programming."
It made sense. Handling hardware and programming were completely different fields.
You might wonder what the difference was, but honestly, I didn't know either. In my past life, I had asked a programmer a similar question and ended up with a two-hour lecture. That much I understood: they were different.
'That guy's eyes were scary back then…'
Anyway, I nodded at her words and started thinking about where I could find someone capable of programming. But that worry was quickly resolved.
"Actually, if it's okay, I know someone. Would you like me to introduce her?"
Unexpectedly, Miharu-san offered to help.
'No. How?'
It sounded harsh, but I honestly didn't think she would know anyone in this field.
"Well…"
To my surprise, Miharu-san explained that someone at the house where she worked as a housekeeper had knowledge of programming—or something similar.
I told her I couldn't just hire anyone, but she insisted, "She is so skilled that foreign companies even request her work."
Hearing that, I felt a bit more confident. The term "foreign company" always carried a subtle sense of trust.
I thought about it for a moment and decided it would be good to meet her. I asked Miharu-san if I could arrange a meeting next time.
Then, I heard something unexpected.
"Could we possibly talk over the phone? She has a phobia of men."
"What?"
"She had a bad experience, so it's difficult for her to meet men face-to-face."
"Hmm…"
If that was the reason, I couldn't help but understand.
I thought for a moment and then said to Miharu-san, "Since I need to check her skills first anyway, please ask her to send me her portfolio."
I gave her my email address and a temporary phone number for contact.
For reference, the phone number was my personal one. Miyuki had given me a phone as a gift, saying she wanted to hear my voice every day.
After conveying everything, we talked about various things before I finally left Haruka's house.
…
…
[MC POV]
A few days later, I checked the portfolio of the person Miharu-san had mentioned and realized she was definitely skilled.
To be precise, I had consulted an expert—Miyuki's husband's friend—for advice.
'Ah. How did I get that advice?'
Well, I hypnotized Miyuki's husband, tricked him into inviting his friend for a meal, and then hypnotized the friend as soon as he arrived.
After examining the friend and discussing, he confirmed that the person was definitely a master.
'If someone in the industry says that, then they must be truly skilled.'
So, I told Miharu-san that I wanted to speak with the programmer. She kept her word and even suggested meeting in person instead of over the phone, as we had initially planned.
[I told her that this would be a good opportunity to overcome her phobia of men by meeting a man for business purposes. Of course, I would be there with you guys during the meeting.]
It seemed Miharu-san had put a lot of effort into persuading her.
'If the contract with that person goes well and the results are good, I should definitely repay her,' I thought as I ended the call with a thank you.
While I was finishing the call, there was someone with me.
"Is it a married woman again this time? Pout…"
It was Miyuki. She was sulking beside me.
She was puffing out her cheeks in disappointment. So I gave her an explanation about the meeting.
"No. This time it's really for work."
Perhaps because of similar incidents before with the lovers I had created through hypnosis, Miyuki was quite wary. Most of those lovers disappeared once the hypnosis wore off, and except for one, none lasted more than a week.
Anyway, if one wondered why I was with Miyuki, the answer was simple.
"Stop with the strange misunderstandings. Did you make an appointment with the power plant manager?"
"Yes. I have secured an appointment."
It was all preparation for Bitcoin mining.
One might wonder why I was meeting with the power plant manager for that.
There was no need to overthink it. Mining required a massive amount of electricity, so I needed to secure it at a low cost. And the easiest way to do that was…
'Hypnosis and bribes.'
What I had realized while practicing hypnosis over the past few days was that it worked better when there was a plausible situation linked to it.
For example, in a case like this, if I hypnotized someone and said I was buying electricity cheaply in exchange for a bribe—and then actually gave them the bribe—the hypnosis would last longer, and they would accept it more naturally.
'No. Maybe it wouldn't even need hypnosis. They might just accept the bribe willingly on their own.'
Anyway, for this reason, I was planning to build a factory near the power plant.
Sure, the cheapest way to use electricity would be to set up a base in a country where electricity was cheap.
'But this body isn't free to move around, and it's a hassle when I need to handle things quickly.'
Since I didn't have a proper middle manager to oversee operations yet, it was easier to manage things myself. Also…
'If I can solve the cooling problem, which accounts for a large portion of electricity costs, with a snow woman, then mining in Japan can be profitable.'
Of course, that would only be the initial stage. Once operations were stable, I would have to move mining to rural China or another country with cheap electricity.
Miyuki spoke in amazement after hearing my plan.
"When I listen to Master, it feels like I'm talking to my husband's friend, not my son's friend."
"You mean I'm smart?"
"Hehe. Yes. You're smart, and it feels like you're confident that this will definitely succeed in the future."
Hearing Miyuki's words, I felt a small twinge inside.
I actually knew that this would rise in the future.
Of course, I didn't show any signs of being flustered like a novice. Instead, I just sighed deeply and muttered,
"I wish I knew the future."
That was my true feeling.
What would have happened if I had known the future in my past life? Would I have imagined a brighter future in a place where death and screams echoed every day? Or would I have taken a more active role in the big plans the higher-ups were drawing?
Well, it was all meaningless speculation. I had already come too far to dwell on that.
I was lost in thought when Miyuki suddenly parked the car on the side of the road after hearing my words.
"Oh, we're almost there—Kiss?!"
Then, she abruptly unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed my face with her slender hands. A moment later, she pressed her lips against mine for an intense kiss.
I stared at Miyuki in bewilderment for a moment. I was really caught off guard by the sudden kiss. But soon, I roughly understood why she had done it.
'Is this comfort, or more like pity?'
Maybe it was my dead-fish eyes—the same ones I often had in my past life. With those eyes, it wouldn't be strange for Miyuki to react this way.
Just looking at them, it might seem like I was ready to give up on life entirely. Well, that might have been true in my past life, but I had no intention of doing that now. There was no need to explain it.
I thought that to myself and let myself enjoy the kiss with Miyuki.
Knock...! Knock...!
[Is anyone there?]
Unfortunately, what happened next had to be postponed due to a sudden police crackdown.