I Was Abandoned by My Fiancé and Betrayed by My Best Friend—A Story from Rock Bottom - Chapter 20

(…Mmh…)

My consciousness…

—Everything is still hazy.

Gradually, my consciousness begins to take shape and become clearer.

(Did I do it again?)

My eyelids open.

My vision fills with light.

“…Where is this?”

I look around, but everything is pure white.

It doesn’t seem to be a hospital or infirmary.

‘…Can you hear me?’

I thought I faintly heard a woman’s voice.

‘…Can you hear my voice?’

—I heard it!

“Y-yes!”

Right after I replied, the white scenery suddenly gained color.

A clear blue sky.

I was standing inside a white stone temple, on a familiar white cloud floor.

And there was the beautiful goddess with smooth golden hair!

Her body, her dazzling ample chest—everything was wonderfully oversized.

“Lady Aphrodite!”

‘Miharu, you’re doing very well. I’m always watching over you.’

“Ah, yes… Thank you.”

As I smiled shyly, Lady Aphrodite gave a faint smile.

‘Actually, I’ve been watching you lately, and there’s something that’s been on my mind, so I appeared in your dream.’

“Wh-what is it?”

‘You’ve been losing consciousness frequently recently, haven’t you?’

Her words reminded me of several instances.

“Yes. You’re right. I just did it again, actually.”

I gave an embarrassed laugh and stuck out my tongue slightly.

Then, Lady Aphrodite’s expression became troubled.

“Is something wrong?”

‘I’m sorry, Miharu. It seems that after taking the third capsule, your body can no longer handle it.’

“…That’s true. Ever since I took the red capsule, I’ve been feeling that way.”

‘Yes. Normally there shouldn’t be any side effects, but no one has ever taken all three before.’

“Is that so?”

More importantly, were there even other people who received the capsules…

‘I came to deal with that.’

“What will we do? Is there something I should do?”

‘No. Miharu, come here.’

I approached as Lady Aphrodite instructed.

Then, her body began shrinking before my eyes.

‘Now, come to me—’

As I was about to kneel beside Lady Aphrodite, she pulled me into an embrace.

“Ah!”

I was enveloped in a warm, calming aura, held against her soft chest.

“…Somehow, this feels soothing.”

She placed a hand on my cheek, gently lifted my head slightly, and kissed my forehead.

“…Eh?!”

‘—Stay like that. Close your eyes.’

I closed my eyes, following Lady Aphrodite’s gentle voice.

I could feel Lady Aphrodite’s warm aura spreading from my forehead throughout my entire body.

Then, something in my brain grew gradually warm and became crystal clear.

Suddenly, I sensed something round in my mind.

(…Is this a pinecone?)

I didn’t really understand, but I trusted Lady Aphrodite and focused on the soft sensation.

—About a minute passed in subjective time.

‘Miharu, it’s finished.’

“Ah!”

I had fallen completely asleep.

“Lady Aphrodite… I’m sorry.”

When I apologized, Lady Aphrodite smiled warmly.

‘You looked so comfortable that I left you be. The ritual is complete.’

“So fast! You work quickly.”

‘Hehe. You shouldn’t lose consciousness anymore now.’

I didn’t feel any particular change in my body.

But since Lady Aphrodite had guaranteed it, it should be fine.

“Thank youuu~. Lady Aphroditeee~”

While nuzzling against Lady Aphrodite’s thigh, I fully enjoyed the dream.

◇ ◇ ◇

I woke up.

I could see a white ceiling and smell a faint scent of disinfectant.

This time, I was definitely in the infirmary bed.

“You’re awake… Are you okay?”

Kiryū-san noticed I was awake and spoke to me.

“…Yes. I’ve caused you trouble again, haven’t I? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, how are you feeling?”

He asked in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

Thanks to Lady Aphrodite’s protection, both my mood and physical condition were completely restored.

“Yes. I’m feeling very good. It seems like I got some proper rest…”

“I see.”

Just those two words.

But then Kiryū-san stood up from his chair and spoke again.

“…You did well.”

“Eh…”

“You changed a situation that the entire sales department couldn’t handle even when working together.”

His voice was calm and measured.

But the corner of his mouth in his profile seemed to relax just slightly.

A warm feeling slowly spread through the depths of my chest.

(…I want to be more helpful to this person)

Thinking this strongly, I got up from the bed.

◇ ◇ ◇

After that, through Kiryū-san, the matter regarding Ms. Shinoda was brought before the board of directors and unanimously approved.

The cause was immediately identified, and the company disclosed everything to the public through media and magazines.

Then they held a press conference where the president sincerely apologized.

—Luminarie Cosmetics’ credibility temporarily dropped.

However, because they quickly conducted product recalls and compensation, the situation was contained.

In fact, their good and swift response was recognized by everyone, and Luminarie Cosmetics’ credibility actually grew significantly.

—And as this issue came to light, it would spread to competing companies including Mirage Cosmetics, leaving its mark…

◇ ◇ ◇

Two days after that.

Ms. Shinoda came to the company again.

And while she was there for negotiations with the legal department, she came to see me.

“Ms. Shinoda, I’m terribly sorry for all the trouble this time—”

“That’s enough. I saw your company on television. You kept your promise.”

“Yes. Managing Director Kiryū took the lead in persuading the upper management.”

“Is that so? That person kept his promise to me after all.”

Light shone in Ms. Shinoda’s eyes.

“Although the settlement negotiations are still ongoing, please let me say this. Thanks to you, Ms. Shinoda, the company was saved.”

I spoke while looking directly into Ms. Shinoda’s eyes.

She let out a small sigh and replied.

“…I couldn’t forgive them, so I stormed in. That’s all.”

“But…”

“If you insist on saying that, then it’s the achievement of you and Managing Director Kiryū, who listened to my words and acted immediately.”

I thought differently in my heart, but she continued speaking.

“Honestly, what happens to the company doesn’t matter to me at all… But you properly listened to what I had to say. That alone I will absolutely never forget.”

After saying this to me definitively, Ms. Shinoda finished the tea in front of her.

Then, she looked straight into my eyes and asked.

“Forgive my rudeness, but could you tell me your name one more time?”

“Yes. I’m Udo Miharu.”

“Miharu-chan, is it? Please tell me the kanji characters too.”

Ms. Shinoda took out a memo pad and pen from her golden bag and wrote down my explanation.

“Thank you. I’ll remember it.”

Ms. Shinoda smiled brightly.

“Starting today, I’m your fan. Please remember that.”

“Th-that’s… thank you.”

Ms. Shinoda chuckled at my reaction, then confessed quietly.

“Just between us, I had some intention to harass from the beginning too. I thought I’d test how far you’d show sincerity.”

I shook my head.

“It was because of your voice that we were saved too. Thank you.”

I gave a slight bow.

At my series of words and actions, Ms. Shinoda fell silent for a moment, then laughed heartily.

“…I’ve really taken a liking to you! Let’s exchange contact information!”

“…Y-yes.”

We both took out our smartphones and exchanged information.

After that, she declared to me with a beaming smile.

“I’m Shinoda Yoko. I’m the president of Yasaka Trading Company. If anything happens to Miharu-chan, I’ll help you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

We shook hands firmly enough to be slightly painful and Ms. Shinoda left.

—And so, another acquaintance who would influence my life was added.

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