Bribing

Regardless of the past of YoYo Day Care, the fact that it had fallen into decline was undeniable. If they wanted to continue surviving and developing, they would have to rely on their own efforts. That's why Yuga didn't pay much attention to this matter.

On the other hand, Misaki, who had gone out for a walk due to spending too much time in the studio, was intercepted by someone.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Misaki from YoYo Day Care?"

"Yes, it's me. What's the matter?" Misaki asked with a surprised expression, looking at the two tall men in black suits and black sunglasses in front of her.

"Are you planning to kidnap me? I'm really poor, I have no money."

The two men were burly, and they didn't look like good people at all.

Upon hearing Misaki's words, they almost spat out blood. Kidnap? One of them was just a bodyguard, not a kidnapper!

"You've misunderstood, Miss Misaki! We're not here to kidnap you. Our boss would like to have a talk with you."

Despite thinking "What the heck," the two sunglass-wearing men managed to maintain their poker faces as professional bodyguards.

Misaki knew, of course, that they weren't here to kidnap her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have appeared so openly on the street. She understood that they were targeting her boss.

You know, despite Misaki having the appearance of a naive and innocent girl with a somewhat coarse voice, she had a keen intuition. Her act of pretending to be clueless was just to make them lower their guard. Whatever their intentions were, playing dumb was never wrong.

"Your boss? Who's your boss?" Misaki asked, genuinely curious this time.

This time, Misaki wasn't pretending. She was really curious about who wanted to confront her boss. Their sneaky behavior and the fact that they specifically mentioned "Miss Misaki from YoYo Day Care" made her confident that they were after her boss.

Believe it or not, despite Misaki's appearance, her heart was quite sharp. Her previous act was just to make them underestimate her. Whatever their goal was, acting ignorant was the right strategy.

"You'll find out when you get there." The two men remained cautious and didn't reveal their boss's identity.

"Okay."

Misaki compromised and knew that being trapped here by them wouldn't end well for her.

So, Misaki was dragged into a car, her arm nearly pulled apart. She thought, "They said it's not a kidnapping, but it's not much different."

Sitting in their car, Misaki was taken to a high-end café in the town center and led into a private room.

Once inside, she saw a middle-aged man in a silver-white suit sitting in the room. The two bodyguards stood at the door and didn't enter.

"Hello... Hello there... Hehe... Hehe..." Misaki nervously laughed while speaking.

This time, her anxiety wasn't an act. This middle-aged man seemed very imposing, and Misaki couldn't help feeling nervous.

"Please have a seat, Miss Misaki." The middle-aged man smiled politely, gesturing for Misaki to sit down. He appeared gentlemanly, but the word "hypocritical" came to Misaki's mind.

"I wonder why this gentleman has invited me here?" Misaki sat down and nervously inquired.

"Have you ever considered pursuing a more promising opportunity, Miss Misaki?"

Without answering Misaki's question, the middle-aged man asked her an oddly phrased question.

"What do you mean? I'm having a bit of trouble understanding." Misaki pretended to be puzzled.

It seemed they wanted to steal their clients, Misaki thought.

"I believe a smart young lady like Miss Misaki wouldn't have trouble understanding my meaning." The middle-aged man took a sip of the coffee in front of him and then looked at Misaki with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Misaki realized that the man saw through her act of playing dumb, so she straightened up and asked, "May I know your name, sir?"

"It's not necessary for Miss Misaki to inquire about my identity. You just need to answer whether you're interested or not," the middle-aged man stood up from his chair, walked over to Misaki, and asked.

Feeling the pressure from the man's gaze, Misaki mustered up the courage and asked, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. What do I need to do?"

"Miss Misaki only needs to do something trivial."

"What exactly?"

"You should be aware of the exclusive Pokéblock formula from YoYo Day Care, right? Just hand it over."

So, that's their intention!

"But, but, I signed a confidentiality agreement with YoYo Day Care. If the formula is leaked, I'll be legally responsible," Misaki hesitated and explained.

"Don't worry about that. We will take care of that for you." The middle-aged man patted Misaki's shoulder and laughed heartily.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"What will you do with me after I hand over the Pokéblock formula?" Misaki looked nervous.

"Have you heard of Truly Adorable Day Care? It's even larger and more powerful than YoYo Day Care. Once this is done, I'll recommend you there, ensuring a bright future for you."

The middle-aged man's words were filled with temptation, offering Misaki a promising future.

After pondering for a moment, Misaki asked cautiously, "Can I take some time to think about it? This matter is related to my future development. If I'm not careful, I could ruin my reputation. I want to think it over."

"Of course, you can take your time to think about it." The middle-aged man didn't want to pressure Misaki too much and agreed readily. "Here's my contact information. Let me know when you've made up your mind."

With that, the middle-aged man handed Misaki a piece of paper with his contact details.

Misaki silently tucked away the paper and then asked, "May I leave now?"

"Of course, please!" The middle-aged man made a gesture of approval and personally opened the door of the private room for Misaki.

"Both of you, escort Miss Misaki back." After opening the door, the middle-aged man instructed the two black-clad bodyguards standing at the door.

"Yes."

When Misaki returned to the store, Arata Sena was in the midst of helping customers select Pokémon eggs. Seeing Misaki return, he smiled and said, "Misaki, you're back! You were out for quite a while. What were you up to?"

Lost in thought, Misaki was startled by Sena's sudden voice and replied nervously, "Uh, yeah, I'm back. I just went for a walk and lost track of time." She then hurried back to the studio.

"What's wrong with her? Seems quite flustered," Arata Sena wondered aloud.

However, he didn't dwell on it and continued attending to the customers before him.