A beautiful appearance, a prominent family background, extraordinary talent...
The girl named Toyokawa Sakiko was, without a doubt, a true princess in the eyes of the world.
If nothing unexpected had happened, she would have lived her entire life without ever worrying about money, free to celebrate her youth and pursue her dreams.
However, it seems that God might not only be a girl, but perhaps also a mischievous gremlin who thrives on chaos.
The moment you think nothing will go wrong is usually the moment something does.
The psychological shock of falling from the grace of a Roman noble to the level of a kneeling beast of burden was not something one could easily accept. [T/N: The original text uses a pun, falling from 'Luómǎ guìzú' (Roman nobility) to 'luómǎ guìzú' (kneeling mule-and-horse clan), to emphasize the drastic loss of status.]
It wasn't until she came face to face with the harsh beast of reality that the young girl realized how laughable the soaring bird of her dreams was against the gravity of the real world.
But even so, fate was not yet done with her.
Even though she had already fallen from the sky into the dust, fate seemed intent on dragging her further down into a dark, bottomless abyss.
After leaving the Toyokawa family, Sakiko not only bid farewell to the wealthy lifestyle that once suffocated her but also shouldered an enormous debt that most people could never imagine.
And now, the rights to that debt had fallen into the hands of Kamijou Mutsumi.
On the surface, it might not seem like a big deal—it was just a matter of paying back a different person. But for Sakiko, these were two entirely different concepts.
After all, no matter what, she was still the young lady of the Toyokawa family.
If she had been given a choice in the past, she could have continued to be that young lady. But her pride and deep sense of family loyalty made her choose her current life.
Therefore, while the debt was real, the Toyokawa family would not pressure her too harshly.
But with Kamijou Mutsumi, it was impossible to say what he would do.
After all, this debt was no small sum for anyone. Why would Kamijou Mutsumi take on this burden?
It couldn't be out of pure kindness, nor could it be for the sake of her useless, alcoholic father who relied on his daughter for support, could it?
Toyokawa Sakiko was well aware of her attractiveness to the opposite sex. She could guess Kamijou Mutsumi's motives with her eyes closed.
In just a few seconds, she had already imagined the entire plot of a drama series titled The Fallen Noble, Toyokawa Sakiko.
Kamijou Mutsumi wouldn't even need to use any special tactics. Just as he said, he could simply send people to collect the debt while she was at school, and that would be enough to shatter her dignity completely.
"What... do you want?"
The girl bit down hard on her pale lips, staring stubbornly at the young man.
However, the confusion and despair deep within her eyes were difficult to hide.
What was she supposed to...
"You."
"?"
"Ahem, Miss Toyokawa, haven't my intentions been clear from the very beginning?"
Although Sakiko's current expression was exceptionally sweet and tempting, Mutsumi felt that if he kept teasing her, he'd see her flying in the sky the next day. [T/N: 'Saki in the sky' is a fandom meme, often implying a dark end like suicide or a complete mental breakdown.]
Joking about it was one thing; seeing it happen for real was another.
"Now, Miss Toyokawa, you should be interested in my proposal, right?"
"Your proposal..."
Hearing Mutsumi's words, Sakiko finally recalled the reason he had approached her.
"...Is... for me to voice a character in your anime?"
She looked at Kamijou Mutsumi with hesitation, her expression suddenly turning strange.
You spent all that money... just to have me voice a character in your anime?
Even in her current predicament, Sakiko couldn't help but think he was insane.
After all, with that much money, you could buy a small animation studio. What kind of voice actor couldn't you hire?
Was she really that valuable?
Even with her personality, Sakiko couldn't help but feel a little flattered.
"This is the contract and the script for the first three episodes... Your salary, minus necessary living expenses, will be used to pay off the debt."
"That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"...I don't suppose I have the ability to refuse, do I?"
After a long silence, Sakiko replied, biting her lip.
No matter what Kamijou Mutsumi's true intentions were, she could only choose to obey. She had no power to resist.
But she had come to terms with it. If he really tried to do anything untoward, then at worst, she'd just take him down with her.
With that thought, Sakiko accepted the contract and script from him.
However, she had little interest in the contract's details.
Again, if things went south, she'd just have a meltdown and drag him into it.
Instead, she wondered what kind of anime was worth such a massive investment.
As she looked at the script's cover, she couldn't help but frown slightly at the four large characters written on it: "Toyokawa Sakiko."
There's no character name?
She didn't dwell on it, figuring she'd find out eventually.
However, Sakiko's composure didn't last long. The very first line of dialogue was enough to make her break.
「I have something to say today. I'm quitting CRYCHIC.」
Sakiko: "???"
She had never expected to see the name "CRYCHIC" in a script.
And...
Sakiko felt as if she were back on that rainy day, a day she would likely never forget for the rest of her life.
How... did he know?
"This line..."
Standing before Kamijou Mutsumi, Sakiko, who had just calmed down, had her composure shattered once again in a matter of seconds.
"...What is the meaning of this line?"
"Why does it mention CRYCHIC?"
The damn past is still haunting me!
"Because I'm a fan of CRYCHIC..."
Facing the emotionally distressed Sakiko, a well-prepared Kamijou Mutsumi answered with a smile.
"...I feel that an anime based on the story of CRYCHIC would definitely be a huge hit."
"...Based on CRYCHIC..."
As expected of Sakiko, she quickly regained her composure.
If it weren't for the previous events that had already shattered her defenses, she wouldn't have lost control so easily.
"So that's why it had to be me?"
"...You, sir, have a truly awful personality."
Even though the person before her was her creditor, Sakiko couldn't stop herself from saying it.
Kamijou Mutsumi's actions were, without a doubt, tearing open her newly formed scabs and pouring chili oil on the wound.
Just recalling the past was painful enough; now he wanted to turn it into an anime for the whole world to watch for free.
You really know how to torture people!
Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly felt that Kamijou Mutsumi did indeed have "ideas" about her, but those ideas stemmed not from desire, but from hatred.
However, regardless of his intentions, she had no power to resist.
"Now you're misunderstanding me. Can't you see my passion for CRYCHIC?"
A twisted MyGO!!!!! fan is still a MyGO!!!!! fan. Besides, is there any MyGO!!!!! fan who isn't twisted?
"...Let's just say that's the case. Contact me again when you need the voice work done. If there's nothing else, I have to get to my job."
No matter what happened, she still had to go to work.
"Alright. But let's exchange LINE IDs to make contact easier."
Now that his goal was achieved, Mutsumi had no intention of making "Customer Service Saki" quit her job to become a full-time voice actress for him.
It wasn't necessary for now, and he wasn't in a position to demand it.
Besides, if he pushed her buttons any further, she might really have a breakdown on him.
Sakiko obviously had no reason to refuse the request to exchange LINE contacts.
However, upon seeing Kamijou Mutsumi's LINE username, Sakiko once again felt her composure crack.
「I've never once felt happy being a capitalist.」