Chapter "403"
Producer
The baseball-capped, mustached, sunglasses-wearing ojisan who exited the batting center walked toward his luxury foreign car.
Yaegashi Kogoro.
He was counted among the successful in the television industry as a well-known, capable producer. However, Yaegashi himself would wryly smile, slightly taken aback by such evaluations. Because that assessment didn't come from people who knew him well.
Sliding into the driver's seat, he started the engine and played a slow-tempo, tasteful jazz piece through the car speakers. He'd started listening to it thinking it might go over better than trying to look young and listening to popular music, but by now he'd genuinely come to like it.
He made a call, instructing a subordinate to check the schedule for an available reporting team, and began jotting down notes in his notebook so he wouldn't forget what he had just discussed.
"Heh heh, but kids that age fighting monsters... what an unbelievable era we live in. But well, since I'm stuck in a managerial position myself, I guess you never know what'll happen in this world..."
Meeting those youngsters had caused him to suddenly recall his own youth.
Yaegashi, the incompetent fool. Back in his AD days, he was often yelled at like that, and he'd lost count of how many times he'd been kicked in the ass. And not just by his superiors, but naturally by the talents too, and their managers. There wasn't a day he didn't have to bow his head in apology over complaints or snide remarks.
[Be more efficient! Get it together and work smarter!]He was told that countless times.
But those who did work efficiently and smartly all, for some reason, vanished before Yaegashi did. Some aimed higher and moved to other networks, others got promoted, became drunk on power, abused their authority, and self-destructed.
Yes, so it's nothing special. Yaegashi is in his current position simply because those above him left, and he was moved up by default.
And when you're involved in making programs for many years, shows that somehow catch the zeitgeist and become hits just appear. It was merely a coincidence that this happened consecutively for him; Yaegashi didn't think for a second that it was due to his own ability.
Because behind those shows, there were also numerous programs that ended without making a sound or leaving a mark.
But to those who didn't know his past, Yaegashi's laid-back, unfazed attitude came across as that of a capable yet unassuming, easy-going person, and this ironically ended up further boosting his reputation.
At any rate, Yaegashi knew he himself had no talent, so he listened carefully to the opinions of the young staff under him and incorporated them into program production, which led to him producing hit after hit.
So, when sharing drinks with the few remaining old colleagues who knew him well, they would tilt their heads and share a wry smile, saying, "Back in the day, you were the biggest fool, the most incompetent, always getting your ass kicked... It's kinda strange, huh."
"Still, to think the girl we were looking for had such a childish feel to her..."
The beautiful girl who hit back-to-back home runs thanks to the physical abilities gained in the dungeon was a female college student named Kurai Rua, who looked even younger than a high school student.
"Hmmm... Not what I expected. But for interacting with the Jrs., that might actually be better. Fans don't like it when they get involved with same-age or older members of the opposite sex. Right. With her looks, she could easily fit a little sister position... And if some challenge goes completely off the rails, it can be wrapped up with a 'Geez, get it together, onii-chans!' Yeah, yeah, this is good..."
Constructing the program in his head, Yaegashi nodded repeatedly as he organized his thoughts.
His demeanor was noticed by high school girls leaving the batting center, who remarked, "Huh? That ojisan is still in the parking lot, isn't he?"