Having secured a very reliable consultant, the turmoil in Tetsuya's heart had largely subsided. Coupled with the fact that the next day was a workday and he wouldn't see Anon immediately after waking up, he was able to get to sleep without issue.
However, whether it was because the stimulation from Anon had been too intense, or because his own desires had reached their breaking point, he had a very absurd lucid dream that night.
First, he dreamed he was lying on an inexplicably spacious bed. The surrounding background and even the feeling of the bed itself were completely unfamiliar to him.
Then, before he could observe the room any further, the scene before his eyes changed in a way that terrified him.
Besides Hoshino Ai, who for some reason was straddling him, and Chihaya Anon, who was gently licking his neck and cheeks at his side, he thought he could vaguely make out the faces of Togawa Sakiko and Nagasaki Soyo in the blurry, chaotic depths of the image...
The scene was so divorced from reality that he realized he was in a dream almost instantly. Yet, the softness and warmth, identical to his memories, gave him an incredibly dissonant sense of reality even within the dream.
In the dream, he had no ability to resist. Immobilized, he could only let these girls do as they pleased. And the girls themselves seemed to feel no regret or resistance for their actions; on the contrary, they were even talking amongst themselves about something...
Unfortunately, a dream was just a dream. He couldn't hear what they were saying at all, nor could he figure out what was happening.
But thankfully, he didn't need to ponder these questions that were destined to have no answers. Because at that moment, the overwhelming sense of immorality, guilt, and irresistible pleasure had combined to form a stimulus strong enough to wake him—
"Wait, what's going on!?"
Just like that, with a cry of alarm, Tetsuya shot up in bed.
The next second, the
sunlit room and the fact that his clothes were still on made him let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew, thank goodness it was just a dream..."
Tetsuya gently patted his chest, trying to calm his racing heart.
"Or rather, it could only be a dream. A scene that unrealistic could only happen in a dream!"
That being said, this ridiculously absurd wet dream still caused a physical reaction that prevented him from immediately getting out of bed.
"Too much has been happening lately... it's messing with my head."
While silently berating himself for his absurdity and lewdness, Tetsuya desperately tried to distract himself, attempting to forget the dream as quickly as possible.
However, a short while later, after he had calmed down, washed up, and prepared to read on the living room sofa as usual, the memory of last night's lap pillow and Anon's unbelievable posture in his dream made it impossible for him to settle down.
Just sitting on the sofa, his mind couldn't help but be flooded with the sensation of lying on Anon's lap yesterday and the "massage" that had destroyed all his mental defenses.
"...I'll just go to the studio."
For him, making clothes was always the best way to forget everything and stay calm.
At this thought, Tetsuya hurriedly left this no longer "safe" place and headed for the studio—
...
"Oh my, Tetsuya-kun, what brings you in so early today?"
As soon as he arrived at the studio, Director Hasegawa asked with a look of surprise.
"Don't tell me you're running out of time for the [Summer Zodiac] costumes?"
"Ah, no, that's not it... There's still plenty of time."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"It's for my own reasons. Please don't worry about it, Director."
"I see..."
Since it was a personal matter, Director Hasegawa naturally wasn't going to pry.
Besides, she had another matter she wanted to discuss with him when she found the time.
"Speaking of which, Tetsuya-kun. How are the preparations for starting your own business coming along?"
"Ah, about that..."
Tetsuya then briefly explained to Director Hasegawa about his partnership with the Nagasaki Economic Consulting Firm.
After listening, Director Hasegawa nodded, quite surprised.
"I didn't realize you had such impressive connections. That's great. I was just thinking about whether I should help you contact some factories I'm familiar with, but it seems you don't need that anymore."
"Yes."
Tetsuya nodded.
"Thanks to Nagasaki-san, all that's left for me to do is choose a store location and formulate a business strategy."
"Do you have any ideas right now? Are you going to prepare a mini fashion show to launch the brand, or are you going to use online marketing to open up sales channels?"
Director Hasegawa asked.
"For a new brand, the beginning is the most important part."
"...I'm afraid I can't make a decision right away."
A wry smile appeared on Tetsuya's face.
"Everything will have to wait until after the [Summer Zodiac] live is over."
"Is that so..."
Director Hasegawa hummed thoughtfully for a moment, as if she partly understood, then said:
"I don't know the specifics of your situation, but as your senior, I'd recommend you at least have a rough plan. Especially in such a harsh environment, it's even more important to make some preparations in advance, like deciding on a brand ambassador and some basic commercial tie-ins."
"As for an ambassador, I have someone in mind... the two members of [Summer Zodiac]."
Tetsuya answered honestly.
"But that will also have to wait until after the May live."
If the May live went smoothly, he would immediately discuss a partnership with their agency.
With [Summer Zodiac]'s fame, if he could get them to endorse his brand, it would definitely bring him considerable exposure.
Hearing his choice of ambassadors, Director Hasegawa showed a look of approval.
"[Summer Zodiac] is indeed a perfect choice. And considering you've worked with them multiple times, it seems I don't need to worry about that... So what about commercial tie-ins? Do you have any general ideas?"
"I haven't had time to think about that yet."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"Do you have any recommendations, Director?"
"Since you already have [Summer Zodiac] as your face and ambassadors, you need to be very careful about who you choose for tie-ins. While high exposure is undoubtedly a good thing, a starting point that's too high can also limit your promotional avenues."
Director Hasegawa analyzed, pinching her chin.
"In that case, your partner would have to be at least a reputable advertiser or a popular internet influencer... Ah, that's right. It seems a few of the girls I know who are still modeling have been following a beauty blogger."
"I think her name was something like 'Nyamu-chan'... Have you ever heard of this blogger?"