Oko Shinomiya deeply furrowed his brow as he reviewed the three women's detailed dossiers – complete with photos, career histories, and family backgrounds, clearly compiled by professionals.
Yet seeing their profiles, Oko found himself conflicted.
Among them, Mai Sakurajima was the easiest to disregard – just a child star without powerful backing, simple to control.
But Utau Hoshina posed complications.
As head of Japan's foremost conglomerate, Oko certainly knew of the Hoshina Group – that massive zaibatsu spanning multiple industries.
The strength of the Hoshina Group was only slightly inferior to that of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu; yet, in certain specialised industries, such as food production and large-scale supermarket chains, where Hoshina excelled, even Shinomiya couldn't compete.
Many enterprises under Shinomiya Holdings even had cross-shareholding relationships with Hoshina Group's affiliated companies.
And Utau Hoshina was the young mistress of the Hoshina Group – its sole heiress.
Though somewhat neglected by her stepfather, she wasn't someone Oko Shinomiya could easily manipulate.
Frankly speaking, such heiresses were rarely used as marriage pawns even within zaibatsu circles.
Women like her were destined to be valuable bargaining chips for alliances with true social elites. Taking a zaibatsu daughter as daughter-in-law would make future control of the conglomerate's leadership uncertain after a century.
Moreover, if not intended for an arranged matrilocal marriage, the Hoshina family would never have allowed their heiress to dabble in the entertainment industry – what Oko Shinomiya considered a cesspool.
So Oko Shinomiya genuinely hadn't expected such a top-tier heiress to emerge from the selection.
But upon reflection, within entertainment circles, only this kind of dilettante heiress could maintain both top celebrity status and a completely scandal-free single life.
"This complicates matters."
Oko Shinomiya knew perfectly well that news of him selecting candidates for the Hidden Management Department's "imperial consort search" had likely already leaked.
After all, he'd deliberately exchanged shares with his third brother Un'yo and leaked the selection precisely to drape himself in the Hidden Management Department's intimidating authority, deterring both his enemies and that troublesome Desire Faction eyeing him.
Under these circumstances, for self-preservation, Oko couldn't possibly conceal this operation.
And with Utau Hoshina meeting all the criteria, failing to present her to Luo Shu would risk offending him.
Yet coercing the Hoshina heiress into an arranged marriage was equally impossible.
Oko wasn't foolish enough to needlessly antagonise the Hoshina zaibatsu.
Besides, he likely lacked the means to accomplish it anyway.
However, as an insider, Oko understood that sometimes achieving goals required no direct involvement.
With this in mind, Oko calmly instructed his secretary:
"After this concludes, arrange a meeting with Elder Daigo Hoshina for me."
"Understood!" The secretary nodded promptly, mentally reviewing intelligence on Daigo Hoshina.
The Hoshina family patriarch. Utau's great-uncle. An old-fashioned traditionalist with prior connections to the Shinomiya clan.
Oko's intentions in summoning him now were transparent.
If coercion failed, recruit allies within her own camp to facilitate the match?
As the secretary pondered, Oko examined the final candidate's profile.
Seeing Yoimachi Tsukino – a virtual idol whose information came solely from entertainment industry sources – Oko frowned.
Had industry insects not secretly photographed proof she was indeed a beauty, he'd never have considered such a risky candidate.
In his view, there was a clear distinction between a publicly visible superstar and some faceless singer.
Only universally recognised beauties who basked in stage spotlights could properly satisfy certain... darker masculine psychologies.
However, when Oko Shinomiya saw the subsequent documents, his expression darkened instantly:
"Transferred to an entertainment agency under Kashiwagi Investments?"
In the capital circle, there were no secrets—especially for conglomerates.
When Oko Shinomiya decided to borrow Luo Shu's influence, he had thoroughly investigated all available intelligence.
The fact that the recently established Kashiwagi Investments, only a month old, was backed by the Hidden Management Department had become hot news among Japan's true elite.
In fact, many conglomerates, including Oko Shinomiya, had recently been sending signals to Kashiwagi Investments, but none had received a response.
And now, the only singer-artist under an entertainment agency controlled by the Hidden Management Department was right before him.
Oko Shinomiya hardly needed to think to guess who stood behind this Yoimachi Tsukino.
Had he acted rashly without scrutinising the details, the consequences...
The mere thought of his secretary handing him such a ticking bomb to decide on made Oko Shinomiya want to kill someone.
However, he quickly regained his composure. After all, a useful tool like this secretary wasn't easy to replace once discarded.
Moreover, if this Yoimachi Tsukino truly was Luo Shu's kept mistress, then his publicly stated reason for selecting idols would have a plausible explanation.
After all, Luo Shu already had a precedent, didn't he?
With this in mind, Oko Shinomiya calmly said:
"Remove Yoimachi Tsukino from the list."
"Hmm... Also, inform our subsidiaries to prioritise collaborations with this artist if suitable opportunities arise."
Without waiting for his secretary's response, he added:
"Two spots are too few. Bring up the secondary candidates—make it three."
Understanding immediately, the secretary retrieved the secondary list and presented it without delay.
Oko Shinomiya flipped through the list before narrowing his eyes at one particular name:
"Ai Hoshino?"
"Why is a rookie idol on this list?"
Hearing this, his secretary immediately lowered his head and whispered:
"When selecting idols, the person you sent seemed to find this young idol... interesting."
'Someone I sent? That witch from the Desire Faction?'
Oko Shinomiya instantly understood the implication and hummed in acknowledgement, adding Ai Hoshino's name to the two already selected:
"Very well, include her."
"Yes, sir."
The secretary bowed, fully aware of what needed to be done.
It was simply a matter of acting as Oko Shinomiya's proxy to coerce the innocent - in this dog-eat-dog society, no one could escape the tainted system.
What did it matter if someone remained pure in the entertainment industry? Ultimately, they couldn't escape becoming playthings...
Ignoring his secretary's complicated emotions, Oko Shinomiya's expression darkened after issuing the order.
"First, they make me deliver idols to that Hidden Management Department director, now they plan to target these entertainers secretly..."
"Tch... these mystic side monsters fighting their battles while using me as their chessboard..."
"The Desire Faction..."
His resentful muttering gradually faded into silence within the office.