Akane slipped into her indoor slippers and stepped out of her room. Her home was a detached villa, the kind of sprawling, modern estate that whispered of generational wealth and quiet influence.
Her room was on the second floor, a spacious sanctuary that overlooked a manicured garden. She made her way downstairs toward the dining room, her movements fluid and practiced.
Despite her status as a "young miss," her household wasn't the rigid, old-fashioned caricature one might see in a period drama. Her father, Ichinose Hirotaka, had seen to that personally. He'd insisted on a modernization of their internal traditions. There were no "Master" or "Madam" or "Miss" titles here; it was the twenty-first century, after all.
The staff addressed Akane by name. Her parents were referred to as the Boss and the Lady of the House. It was a corporate-flavored familial structure that suited them perfectly.
When Akane entered the dining room, she found her father already seated.
Ichinose Hirotaka didn't look his age. He was lean and tall, with sharp features framed by gold-rimmed glasses and a clean, swept-back hairstyle. He had the look of a shrewd but undeniably handsome executive. While his eyes were different from Akane's, his straight nose and high cheekbones made the biological connection undeniable.
Akane's roommates, Emi, Hana, and Aki, had spent two years speculating about her family background. They'd guessed "upper management" or "business owner." None of them would have guessed that her father was the Ichinose Hirotaka.
He was one of the titans of the Federation's internet industry. Specifically, he was the architect behind Centree, the nation's dominant search engine and data portal.
In the past few years, Centree had evolved from a simple search tool into a massive conglomerate, acquiring and funding promising tech startups through aggressive angel investment. It was Hirotaka's eye for potential that had turned Centree into a force that shadowed almost every aspect of digital life in the region.
Because of the scale of his operations, Hirotaka was rarely home. Even for Akane, catching him or her mother, Ichinose Sayuri, for a simple phone call was an exercise in scheduling.
Akane took her seat beside him. "Dad? What brings you home early?"
"I heard from Suzuki-san that you'd returned for the break," Hirotaka said with a warm smile. Suzuki-san was the family's primary driver. "And as it happens, the National Internet Summit is being held in the city next week. I'll be staying for a few days."
"What about Mom?"
"She's in the States handling the IPO logistics for the new subsidiary," he replied. "She's tied up for the foreseeable future. However, there's a seat for you at the summit if you want it. You could attend in her place and start meeting the right people. What do you think?"
Akane shook her head. "No. I don't want to meet them yet. Not as 'Hirotaka's daughter.'"
She looked at him with a quiet, certain intensity. "I want to meet them as myself."
Hirotaka paused, then let out a short, appreciative laugh. "I see... so you've decided on the independent route after all?"
"I have," Akane said, a playful grin touching her lips. "I didn't choose Computer Science just to cruise through a management role at Centree. But I'm also realistic. Starting from zero without a budget is a waste of time. I'd rather take a starting grant from you and Mom and see how fast I can run."
Hirotaka laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair, a rare gesture of affection. "And here I thought you'd insist on doing it all without our help."
"Hardly. One year of focused work with the right capital is worth ten years of struggling in a garage. I'm ambitious, Dad, not an idiot."
"Fair enough. So, what's the plan? What are you looking at?"
Akane's expression sharpened. She'd clearly been thinking about this. "I've been watching the market. You've got Centree for data and search. Penguin handles the instant messaging. Aliex has the e-commerce locked down. Manga World owns the comics space. It looks crowded, but there's a massive gap in dedicated entertainment hubs."
"Go on," Hirotaka said, leaning back.
"Specifically, web novels and video-centric ACG culture," Akane explained.
Hirotaka shook his head. "We've already discussed those at the board level. Centree is actually planning to acquire two established firms in those sectors soon to bring them into the ecosystem."
"Web novels, sure. And video platforms like NicoVideo are big for general content. But a platform dedicated to ACG?" Akane looked at him with a clever, knowing light in her eyes. "Dad, you underestimate the size of the community. I've done the math."
"The engagement numbers across the three largest ACG forums grew by over twenty-six percent last year alone. We're talking millions of active, high-retention users who don't have a dedicated home. They're scattered. If someone builds a vertical platform, specifically something that integrates video, social, and the specific culture of the fandom, it won't just be a niche. It'll be the dominant cultural hub for the next generation."
She wasn't just a "miss" in a villa. She was a Computer Science major with a strategist's mind, and she was already looking past the horizon of her father's empire.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]