Click!
The apartment's iron door opened. As the lights came on, a blonde woman in a pale blue dress walked in.
By either Eastern or Western standards, her beauty was exceptional. Her features were deep and carried an exotic charm, yet they did not lack the delicacy and refinement valued in the East. Most striking of all were her unusual pale green eyes, which seemed almost spiritual, as though they could see through everything. Even comparing them to gemstones would only diminish them.
At that moment, however, those beautiful green eyes looked slightly dim. The blonde woman closed the iron door with a tired expression. As she stepped into the entryway, she pulled loose the blue ribbon tying up her hair. Her soft golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
She casually removed her spotless white lace gloves and tossed them onto the floor. Even the elegant blue dress on her body slid down from her tall, full figure after she unzipped it.
The moment she returned home, she stopped maintaining her graceful and refined exterior.
Compared to the blonde woman's formal appearance, the apartment was crude. It barely met the standard needed for an ordinary person's daily life. There were no luxurious decorations, no comfortable carpets, and no fashionable high-end modern furnishings.
Worse, the room was far too messy. More than a dozen pairs of shoes lay scattered chaotically in the entryway. The living room floor was strewn with all kinds of daily items—blankets, toothpaste, and eaten pizza boxes—and the most terrifying place was the kitchen. A small mountain of unwashed dishes had piled up in the sink, giving off waves of unpleasant odor.
This was the true Kumamoto Alice.
Ever since she had resolved to leave Britain's upper-class social circles and experience another kind of life, she had been like this.
In the morning, no maid woke her and dressed her in complicated gowns. In the afternoon, no one delivered exquisite tea snacks to her. She had to personally handle food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
For a young lady of Britain's upper class, the difficulty level was practically hell.
"Why did I only realize today what kind of life I've been living? This is the house I live in? It's far worse than Stephen's house."
Wearing only pale blue underwear, she kicked aside an empty can on the living room floor and mocked herself in frustration.
Until now, she had merely maintained her life at the bare minimum. Her clothes were washed at the public laundromat downstairs. Her meals were either takeout or convenience store bentos.
When she reached the living room, Kumamoto Alice collapsed onto the sofa piled with clothes. A faint stirring in her heart made her feel inexplicably uneasy, along with an urge to cry.
She missed her old life endlessly.
She missed the maid who obeyed her every command.
She missed the social world where everything revolved around her.
"What an unlikable man. His performance before was clearly rather excellent."
Kumamoto Alice buried her face in the pile of clothes and murmured in disappointment.
All the good impressions she had of Kamiyā Yuu vanished like smoke. In the end, she labeled him as mediocre.
An ordinary man.
A man without the slightest charm.
And not a gentleman either.
"Just how much do you think I gave up?"
During their private meeting, she had almost wanted to shout those words in response to Kamiyā Yuu's answer.
An animation company worth tens of millions of dollars?
As long as she wished, all she had to do was announce in Britain's social circles that she intended to start a company. With her reputation, even without any financial guarantees, she could have obtained investments exceeding hundreds of millions of euros in a very short time.
However, before coming to Japan, she had already announced her withdrawal from the social world.
She had abandoned her privileged lifestyle, abandoned her status in high society, and abandoned her pride, only to end up being rejected.
Without question, she was the loser.
When she lowered her head and spoke submissively to Kamiyā Yuu, she knew she was afraid of leaving Yosuganosora Animation Studio.
But if she had hysterically screamed those words out loud, she would no longer have been merely a loser, but a defeated stray dog, equivalent to throwing away all her dignity and begging desperately.
In the end, Kumamoto Alice still could not cross that barrier in her heart.
—Why did things turn out like this...
She raised her head and stared blankly at the wall, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
That day, the lights in Kumamoto Alice's home stayed on the entire time. Lying collapsed on the sofa, she struggled inwardly until late into the night before unknowingly falling asleep.
...
Was it really fine to dismiss Kumamoto Alice just because of the hot spring incident?
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like nothing more than a slightly excessive prank. Dismissing such an important and highly capable employee because of it appeared petty and inexplicable.
Unfortunately, in certain respects, Kamiyā Yuu was indeed quite petty.
Although he usually appeared easygoing, he actually possessed a personality that could be called prideful. What Kumamoto Alice had said and done in the hot spring gave him a sense of panic, as though events had slipped out of his control.
Then, during their private meeting, her utterly unconcerned attitude completely provoked that pride.
What Kamiyā Yuu saw was an arrogant person who did not care about his feelings or attitude at all. Her playful treatment of him was as casual as if she were dealing with her own servant.
During his private conversation with Kumamoto Alice, much of what Kamiyā Yuu said was false.
Even dismissing her had been a decision made on the spot after seeing her proud posture.
Kumamoto Alice's personality was far too arrogant, to the point that she ignored Kamiyā Yuu's own pride.
In essence, this decision to dismiss her had merely been spoken in anger. His goal had been to knock down Kumamoto Alice's arrogance a little.
But unexpectedly, as he kept speaking, and because seeing her flustered expression felt rather satisfying, he ended up leaving himself no way to retreat.
The so-called final sliver of hope was actually his desire to see Kumamoto Alice truly lower her head.
Kumamoto Alice failed to do that.
When she said she would not do anything similar again, she had not recognized the essential mistake she had made.
...
Kumamoto Alice's resignation letter was submitted to Kamiyā Yuu for approval by Morishita Aoi after the company vacation ended.
No words were asking her to stay.
No world-ending event occurred to stop Kumamoto Alice from leaving Yosuganosora Animation Studio.
Everything proceeded in an orderly and stable fashion.
Under the confused gazes of the company employees, Kumamoto Alice left. The next day, she boarded a plane back to Britain.
Kamiyā Yuu and Kumamoto Alice gave the same explanation for her resignation: something had happened at home. It was the simplest reason, yet one that left people unable to question it.
Among the company's higher-ups, those who knew a little of the inside story also came to speak with Kamiyā Yuu. After asking about the reason, they either agreed or silently accepted the resignation.
Of course, Kamiyā Yuu only gave vague answers. What he expressed was his firm determination to dismiss Kumamoto Alice.
At present, the positions of animation director and art director at Yosuganosora Animation Studio remain vacant.
Even without Kumamoto Alice, Yosuganosora Animation Studio continued operating very smoothly.