Chapter 250: Uesugi Takes the Field!

Watching Hironaka Mariko—who was standing before him with her head severed and limbs detached, tongue lolling out thirty centimeters—sporting an expression that was simultaneously annoyed and excited, Uesugi Muneyuki gave her a playful tap, and Hironaka Mariko could only immediately revert to her original appearance.

"Is Fuji TV being sincere?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

No one understood Fuji TV better than Hironaka Mariko; the entire Odaiba Building was her own private Cursed Grudge Haunted House, and everyone who entered the Odaiba Building would be tainted by her aura.

"Very sincere, incomparably sincere," Hironaka Mariko nodded. "It will be held after the press conference ends. Shirakawa Mai was invited that very day, and that old ghost Kameyama even said at the Board of Directors meeting that even if it costs ten times or even nine times the price, we must invite you. Furthermore, the Fuji TV Green Room has also been opened for you."

"Green Room? What is that?" Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow, a bad premonition forming in his heart.

"It's a secret facility inside Fuji TV used for Pillow Business to entertain key figures. Remember the Nakai entertainment incident I told you about last time?" Hironaka Mariko said with a strange laugh. "As long as you are willing to appear on the program and maintain a stable partnership with Fuji TV in the future, you can pick any of Fuji TV's female anchors."

"Speaking of which, that new recruit Tsutsumi Reimi is really quite good. Nakai really liked her and specifically requested her, but he ended up being scared limp by me. Uesugi, shall we do it?"

"Forget it, I'm not lacking women by my side," Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't help but retort. "Besides, it's too dangerous inside a television station. What if I get discovered or recorded? Once they have leverage, I'd be a slave to Fuji TV for the rest of my life."

"What are you afraid of? You have me!" Hironaka Mariko said with a wicked grin. "I can make the cameras malfunction, I can make the recordings tainted with a Cursed Grudge and turn them into *Ring* tapes, and I can even make the parties involved shut their mouths."

Oh?

Hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki felt a bit tempted. If he could guarantee his safety and not get caught with leverage, having an occasional friendly match with a Fuji TV female anchor wouldn't be bad—each taking what they needed without having to take responsibility.

"Besides, that old ghost Kameyama is truly very sincere," Hironaka Mariko said, suddenly sighing. "After all, I am a female anchor who came out of Fuji TV, and old ghost Kameyama didn't treat me poorly. Uesugi, old ghost Kameyama intends to build a super IP around you, from interviews and fixed talk variety shows to television drama adaptations. This station is truly sincere about wanting a win-win situation with you."

It was clear that Hironaka Mariko truly had deep feelings for Fuji TV; by the end, she even let the term "this station" slip out.

After all, Fuji TV was the first major case Uesugi Muneyuki experienced and the first television station to broadcast him live. He also felt it was acceptable, and Senior Sister Mai had also said that it would be best for him to increase his exposure and fame, which would make the existences in the Inner World retreat in the face of difficulties.

After thinking it over, Uesugi Muneyuki made his decision.

Let's do it!

Make a name for myself and score big!

Uesugi Muneyuki quickly returned the call, expressing his agreement to participate in the recording of the Fuji TV variety show.

Having received a definitive answer, the Fuji TV side was overjoyed and immediately summoned a large group of scriptwriters overnight to begin designing the script.

It had to be explosive enough, invasive enough of privacy, and satisfy the voyeuristic desires of every viewer in front of the television, while also staying just near Uesugi Muneyuki's bottom line so as not to make him angry.

And the vague, obscure, and ambiguous relationship between Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai was the most important part of the entire program!

"Speaking of which, is it really okay to let a Trainee who isn't even an official member serve as the sign-holding girl?" At the planning meeting, an employee immediately expressed their concerns regarding Department Director Abiru's decision. "Director, this kind of special nomination behavior might affect the outside world's evaluation of our station. We always need a suitable reason."

Department Director Abiru frowned and nodded in agreement, but he couldn't exactly say that because he accidentally learned that Yamaguchi Maho and Uesugi Muneyuki had a sexual relationship, he wanted to use this little Idol to test Uesugi Muneyuki, right?

Then he would just use a pretext. Abiru Kazuhiko suddenly remembered something. "By the way, isn't Miyawaki Sakura, who is in the same group as Yamaguchi Maho, not only acquainted with Uesugi Muneyuki but also very familiar with Shirakawa Mai?"

"Yes, Director." At this, all the middle and senior management at the planning site nodded. Some people at Fuji TV had witnessed Shirakawa Mai taking the initiative to greet Miyawaki Sakura that day.

"Nominating a Trainee to participate in a Golden Time program is indeed strange. Then let's do this: we'll invite Miyawaki Sakura as well and tell the public that she is the lead. That way, Yamaguchi won't seem so conspicuous, and since Miyawaki Sakura is familiar with both Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai, it's appropriate for them to do the program together." Abiru tapped the table with his fountain pen.

The price for a little Idol to appear on a program was dirt cheap; give them a few thousand yen as an appearance fee and the little Idol would be happy to the heavens. For a top-tier Golden Time variety show like this, little Idols were even willing to pay out of their own pockets to get on the show. Not to mention a dignified FNS Production Bureau Chief like Abiru, even if a scriptwriter from the production team just leaked a little bit of news, there would be plenty of little Idols willing to pay to get some face time.

Although YKC48 already showed signs of decline, its national popularity was still sufficient. Inviting a top member wouldn't cause much suspicion even if it seemed slightly out of place.

Thus, when the news that Fuji TV wanted to invite her reached Miyawaki Sakura, the little Sakura was stunned by the pie that fell from the sky.

Just because she was familiar with Mai-sama and Uesugi-san, she was getting on Golden Time?

Oh ho ho ho~ That's exaggerated, she could even get face time on Golden Time like this!

She had won without even trying.

The pure and cute Kagoshima girl hugged the framed photo of herself with Bai Chuan and rolled around on her bed in excitement.

The Legend of Sakura!

I, a Miyawaki Hideyoshi who warms high-heeled shoes for Oda Mai, will one day become the ruler of the Idol world!

It starts today~

After rolling on the bed for a while, a trace of gloom suddenly appeared on the little Sakura's face.

The task "they" entrusted to her had made absolutely no progress. If this continued...

Forget it, if she couldn't even be a good Idol, how could she continue to investigate further?

Only by being a good Idol first would she have the qualifications to touch deeper places!

The little Sakura quickly became happy again.

……………………

Amidst all the intense preparations, on October 13th, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived at the Fuji TV Odaiba Building studio as scheduled, with Ikeda Erena accompanying him.

The two arrived quite early, but when they arrived, the entire program recording site was already packed with people. Lighting technicians, makeup artists, stylists, photographers, scriptwriters, and the prop team were all there, with dozens of people standing around.

"Why do we have to come to the television station to record a program again?" Ikeda Erena was wearing a standard urban professional suit with a pencil skirt, stockings, and high-heeled shoes. The tall beauty complained, "A perfectly good day off, all wasted."

"Hehe, looking at corpses on field assignments all day gets boring too. Isn't it interesting to come to the television station occasionally to play around and see what Fuji TV has prepared for me?" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

"............ I always feel like you only came for your Senior Sister Mai," Ikeda Erena gave Uesugi Muneyuki a very annoyed look. "Pervert!"

"Whether I'm a pervert or not, Master Ikeda, you know best!" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Ikeda.

With just this glance, Ikeda Erena felt her whole body go soft. The tall beauty was both charming and coquettish, and she let out a low moan of "Pervert~" before letting him off.

After all, being with him, she had also become a bit... perverted.

"Uesugi Muneyuki-san has arrived!"

Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki appear, a staff member immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and, like stars surrounding the sun, bowed to greet Uesugi Muneyuki.

Department Director Abiru was also present. He came over to shake hands with Uesugi Muneyuki, signaling that they had arrived early and should rest for a while as the studio was still being prepared.

"Hello everyone, I am Uesugi Muneyuki, please take care of me." Uesugi Muneyuki greeted everyone simply, then saw YKC48's Agent Imamura leading a girl wearing a female Idol outfit toward him. "Hello, Uesugi-san, I am YKC48's Agent Imamura. This is our group's Trainee, Yamaguchi Maho. She will also participate in today's program. Please take care of her."

"Please take care of her." Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at the female Idol standing before him.

Yamaguchi Maho was clearly meticulously dressed today. Her long hair hung over her shoulders, tied with a cherry-blossom pink ribbon bow at her ear. A school-style white shirt was tucked into a dark blue plaid pleated skirt, and her straight legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings, shimmering with a pearlescent luster under the spotlights.

"Hello, Uesugi-san, I am Yamaguchi Maho." The girl's eyes, filled with anticipation and excitement, made Ikeda Erena beside them instantly smell a different scent.

"Mm, hello, please take care of me." Uesugi Muneyuki didn't think too much of it. This female Idol didn't have anything particularly outstanding about her appearance or temperament; her face was slightly pretty, but not as good as Master Ikeda, let alone Miss Minami and the others. He just nodded politely and prepared to go to the lounge with Ikeda to rest, and incidentally check if his tall beauty was wearing what he requested today.

"Wait!" Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki about to leave, Yamaguchi Maho hurriedly said, "Uesugi-san, we have met before, do you remember?"

Eirina frowned: This woman's gaze is not right!

"?" Uesugi Muneyuki's face showed a look of confusion; he tried to scrutinize this little Idol for a while, but still did not recognize who she was.

To Uesugi Muneyuki it didn't matter, but to Yamaguchi Maho, Uesugi Muneyuki's reaction was no different than placing her entire person on the Fuji crater for a LeMay-style barbecue roast!

Sure enough, the Agent and Department Director Abiru of Fuji TV saw this scene, and expressions of doubt appeared on their faces, along with a bit of displeasure at feeling deceived welling up in their hearts.

Is Yamaguchi Maho lying?

"It's... it's just like this!" Yamaguchi Maho grew anxious; she felt the expressions of the Agent Imamura and Department Director Abiru looking at her like a liar, tears were already swirling in her eye sockets, and in her desperation, she hurriedly pulled off her hairband, gathered her hair behind her head, and made a bun hairstyle: "It's like this!"

Now Uesugi Muneyuki had a bit of déjà vu.

Seeing the girl's bun, then scrutinizing her face again, the already blurry memory finally surfaced in Uesugi Muneyuki's mind.

Oh, oh, it's the person who had connected; after more than a year and still wearing clothes, I almost didn't recognize her.

"Oh, oh, it's you." Uesugi Muneyuki finally recognized who Yamaguchi Maho was, but his face became even more confused: "Aren't you called Sakura Maho? Why did you change your surname?"

"That was a pseudonym." Yamaguchi Maho saw that Uesugi Muneyuki finally recognized her and let out a sigh of relief; at the same time, the memories from Princess Connect surged into her heart, and a blush stained the girl's face: "Ve, very happy to be able to meet you again..."

"Mm, please treat me well." Who knew Uesugi Muneyuki would have no reaction; he nodded and said it indifferently before turning to leave.

Beside him, Ikeda Erena let out a sigh of relief.

So it was just a small fry.

Just at this moment, the sound of a name being called came from the studio again: "Shirakawa Mai-san, you're up!"

Hearing this name, Erena instantly bristled and entered a state of combat readiness.

A new storm has already appeared.

This one is the true enemy!

(End of this chapter)