"There are quite a few people in this studio. I clearly underestimated you."
With wine-red hair cascading over her shoulders and a form-fitting black dress tracing her curves, Akane Hongsaka (Akane Kosaka) stepped out of her Porsche.
She removed her sunglasses and scanned Rin Ito and the busy girls in the yard with a playful, half-smile.
"In that case, would you like to join us too, Akane-san?"
"Hmph... let me join?" Akane let out a chuckle, her gaze drifting between the girls. "Aren't you afraid I'll poach your people?"
"Baumkuchen is a circle of freedom. If you want to try poaching them, be my guest."
"Actually, I'm more interested in poaching you." Akane fixed her eyes on Rin Ito. To her, he was the real prize.
As someone who had built a circle from scratch during her student years and developed it into a powerhouse, Akane knew exactly what was required to gather such a crowd.
The simplest factor was money.
With enough money, almost anything is possible. For most people, "un-poachable" just means the offer wasn't high enough.
But that only applies to most people. For someone like Mashiro, money means nothing. And looking at Rin, he didn't exactly radiate the aura of a multi-millionaire.
The second factor was talent. Talented people are naturally drawn to one another, eventually forming circles and companies.
While hospitalized, Akane had carefully studied Rin's work.
Though she wasn't well-versed in the "underworld" (R18) scene, based on sales and publisher rankings, he was a decent manga artist.
However, she found it hard to believe that pure talent alone could gather this many girls, or make Fairy and Utaha fight over him so publicly.
That left the final, most metaphysical factor... Charisma.
This was a mystery. Perhaps the people attracted to him couldn't even explain it themselves.
Curiosity!
Akane was deathly curious!
What exactly was it about this man that drew these girls in?
"If you want to poach me, go ahead and try. But before you get to me, you might want to try poaching them first... Come, I'll introduce you."
Rin wasn't afraid of Akane taking his team. In fact, he hoped she would take an interest in them.
Baumkuchen was just a small circle with no resources. Being scouted by someone like Akane would be a massive opportunity for the girls.
However, he knew she wouldn't care for those who needed her resources, and those she wanted didn't need her.
Still, he wanted them to get familiar with her for potential future collaborations.
"Mashiro is currently drawing. I'll show you around first."
Rin had only given Akane Mashiro's name before she was hospitalized.
Her primary goal today was to meet the genius.
Despite her objective, Akane didn't refuse the tour.
She wanted to see the girls Rin had gathered and find out what made them stay.
After a tour around the villa, Akane hadn't found any answers; instead, she grew even more bewildered.
How on earth did he find so many top-tier girls!?
She couldn't wrap her head around it, but she had no more time to think.
Rin finally led her to the door of Mashiro's temporary studio. One glance through the door was all it took for Akane to confirm the truth.
The dazzling blonde hair, the porcelain skin, and those amber-red eyes that seemed devoid of emotion, focused entirely on the canvas.
Everything was exactly as she had seen in the news clips of Mashiro Shiina.
Rin was about to speak, but Akane stopped him.
She made a shushing gesture and gently pulled the door shut.
Seeing her so terrified of disturbing or offending Mashiro made Rin want to burst out laughing.
"Don't worry about disturbing her," Rin said with a smile, pushing the door back open.
"When Mashiro draws, she's in her own world. Just talking won't affect her at all."
"Are you sure?" Akane whispered. "I heard she's incredibly cold. If we disturb her, she'll surely be furious."
"It's fine, really." Rin could hear the tension in Akane's voice.
In professional settings, she always exuded arrogance and confidence, but facing a true genius, she was nervous.
She looked nothing like the legendary CEO of "Red Madder Projects."
"Mashiro," Rin called out. When she looked up, he continued, "This is Akane Hongsaka, the one I mentioned before."
Mashiro didn't say a word. She looked at Rin with her amber eyes for a brief moment, then immediately returned to her work.
"If you want to poach her, talk to her yourself. I've got work to do."
With a wave of his hand, Rin left the room. He wasn't worried.
To Rin, it didn't matter which circle Mashiro drew for; regardless of the logo on the book, Mashiro was his.
Once Rin was gone, Akane tiptoed into the room and closed the door softly.
She walked over to Mashiro, who remained silent, focused entirely on the paper.
What is a world-class genius artist currently drawing...? Mmm-mmph!!!
In the next second, Akane clamped her hand over her own mouth.
She knew Mashiro had drawn doujins for Rin's circle, but seeing it in person was a shock to the system.
On the paper, two bound girls were being ruthlessly milked.
The art was so vivid and mouth-watering that even Akane, a woman, felt a strange urge to have a taste.
"Is there something you need?"
Mashiro set down her pen and turned her face toward Akane.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you..."
"You didn't." Mashiro cut her off, her amber eyes staring straight at her. "Just say what you want."
"I am Akane Hongsaka, CEO of Red Madder Projects. This is my card."
Akane held out the business card, but Mashiro didn't take it.
Akane didn't get angry. Geniuses are allowed to be eccentric. The fact that she wasn't being kicked out was already a win.
"Give the card to him. Tell me what you want directly."
"Since you're being so blunt, Miss Shiina, I'll get straight to the point...
"Though it may be presumptuous, I'm very curious about you, Baumkuchen, and Rin Ito. Can we talk?"
Even though Mashiro told her to be direct, Akane knew she couldn't be too blunt if she wanted to poach her.
Understanding the bond between Rin and Mashiro was the key to stealing her away.
Facing the question, Mashiro parted her red lips slightly, her eyes narrowing with a hint of a sharp, phoenix-like tilt.
"No problem."
If Nanami or Rin were here, they'd recognize that look immediately.
Mashiro is in the mood to prank someone.