Ayashima Tower. The 42-story super-high-rise building soaring in Minato Ward's Akasaka gleamed like a mirror across its entire facade, catching the midday sunlight. Sara stopped in front of the entrance. (*So massive...*) Looking up, the building's peak disappeared into the clouds. It felt like an illusion—as though the structure led to some other dimension entirely. The sense of oppression was incomparable to the station building she used for her commute. She felt her heartbeat quicken. The appointment was at 3 PM. The clock now read 2:50. Coming early had been the right call. A receptionist in a navy suit noticed Sara. "Welcome. What brings you in today?" A flawless smile. Professional courtesy. Behind that smile, Sara sensed hidden fangs—a readiness that seemed to say, *I'll connect you if you have business, but security is prepared.* "Um, well... I received a call from Yano-san at the Ayashima Group..." Sara hesitated even saying the name. The receptionist's expression shifted. The smile remained, but the wariness in her eyes softened. "Understood. Let me confirm that for you." The receptionist operated a tablet. Seconds later, she looked up. "You must be Sara-sama. This way, please." She guided Sara past the escalators to a special elevator entrance. Something appeared to be embedded in the glass walls—biometric authentication, perhaps. There, the receptionist handed Sara a card key. "This is your exclusive card. Simply hold it up to the machine, and the VIP elevator will activate. It will take you directly to the reception floor on the 42nd level. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask." Exclusive card. VIP elevator. 42nd floor. Each word stripped away Sara's sense of reality. (*Is this really a place I'm supposed to be...*) She held the card to the machine. The elevator doors opened silently. Inside, the space was white-based, illuminated by subdued lighting. The quality was incomparable to a business hotel elevator. The doors closed. The elevator began its ascent. Smooth. No vibration. No sound. A sensation of floating. The view through the window changed constantly. Tokyo's cityscape grew smaller and smaller. (*What am I doing...*) A question rose from the depths of her heart. The daughter of a tea farmer from Shizuoka. An office worker at a mid-sized food trading company. A plain OL earning 340,000 yen a month. Why was someone like her heading to the top floor of the Ayashima Group? That night came back to her. The gentleman she'd seen in the upscale residential district. The way he'd shown consideration to an elderly woman. At that moment, something had seized her heart. She never imagined that person was the same man from that night... The elevator continued upward. 40th floor. 41st floor. 42nd floor. The doors opened. The reception floor. She was speechless. The moment her feet touched the floor, another world spread before her. Marble flooring. Walls in an elegant deep navy. A single chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing softly. Through the windows, Tokyo's cityscape stretched out in full view. Tokyo Tower was right there. (*Is this really inside a building...*) It felt like she'd wandered into a corner of a palace. Then a man appeared. A man in a black suit. Perhaps in his early thirties. He wore silver-rimmed glasses. Behind those glasses, his eyes were cold and sharp, radiating a light that seemed to see through everything. His expression was blank. No smile, no anger. Simply standing there, he made the air itself feel taut. "You must be Sara-sama. I am Yano Kiyoshi, secretary to Ayashima Ryuichiro, director of the Strategic Planning Division of the Ayashima Group. Thank you very much for coming despite your busy schedule." Yano's voice was completely flat. As though he were making a routine confirmation. Yet beneath it lay unmistakable pressure. "Um, yes... thank you for having me." Sara instinctively strengthened her polite speech. Something about this man suggested that treating his formality carelessly would invite something dangerous in return. "This way." Yano guided Sara to the reception room. That was when it happened. "Thank you for your hard work, Yano." Another man appeared. The man she'd seen that night in the upscale residential district. Dressed in a black suit, his black hair was sleek and well-groomed. His eyes were sharp and narrow. Those eyes held a clear navy-blue brilliance. His features were perfect—almost too perfect. Yet beneath that perfection lay an untouchable distance. "This is Sara-sama," Yano introduced. The man—Ayashima Ryuichiro—looked at Sara's face. In that moment, their eyes met. Sara's fingers instinctively interlaced on her left hand. A habit that always surfaced when she was nervous. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ayashima Ryuichiro. Thank you very much for coming despite your busy schedule." Ryuichiro's voice was calm. Polite, full of consideration. It had the same quality as the voice he'd used with the elderly woman that night. Yet something was different. Beneath that voice, she sensed calculation. "The pleasure is mine... thank you." Sara sat in a chair in the reception room. Ryuichiro and Yano sat across from her. Yano's expression was completely blank. Ryuichiro wore a faint smile—not genuine, but entirely a social courtesy. "Then, if I may, I'd like to get straight to the point..." Ryuichiro began carefully choosing his words. "I have a certain request for you, Sara-sama." "Ah, yes..." Sara held her breath. "The truth is, I'm being pressured by my family to proceed with an engagement to a particular family..." Ryuichiro paused. In that moment, his eyes seemed to flicker with something like pain. "I wish to avoid that engagement." "Eh...?" Sara's mind went blank for a moment. The second son of the Ayashima Group wanted to avoid a family-arranged engagement? "In other words," Yano said, opening his mouth. "Our master intends to establish an engagement with another party in the near future, thereby invalidating the current engagement proposal. We would like you to be that 'other party.' The duration is six months. The compensation is five million yen." When those words reached Sara's ears, time seemed to stop. (*Eh...?*) Five million yen. Five million yen in six months. That was 830,000 yen per month. More than double her current salary. "We await your response. If you have any questions..." Ryuichiro said quietly. "Why... me?" The question escaped Sara's lips before she could stop it. "I judged you to be the right person for this." Ryuichiro looked directly at Sara. "My family belongs to high society, and an fiancée must possess appropriate refinement and background. However, if you are an 'outsider' like yourself, it becomes convincing. There's a high likelihood you'll be seen not as a calculated engagement, but as a genuine romantic one. And..." Ryuichiro paused slightly. "That night, I saw how you tried to help the elderly woman. I felt that you're someone who resists lying. That's why I believed you would honor the contract." (*Ah... he was watching me that whole time...*) Sara's cheeks flushed slightly. "However," Yano spoke again, his voice turning even colder. "Should there be any breach of contract, we will pursue legal action. Through leaks to the media, exposure on social media, and every other means at our disposal, your life will be destroyed. Do you understand?" Those words sent something cold down Sara's spine. "Yano. That borders on coercion, doesn't it?" Ryuichiro gently restrained him. "My apologies. However, protecting my master's interests is my responsibility." Yano remained completely unmoved. Ryuichiro turned his gaze back to Sara. "I won't force you. You're welcome to leave if you wish. However, I believe you should judge for yourself how beneficial this proposal might be for you." Hearing those words, Sara felt something shake deep in her chest. (*Five million yen...*) She could pay off her student loans completely. She could double her remittances to her parents. Her parents' faces came to mind. Farmers. A life that was never affluent. Since coming to Tokyo, she'd been desperately scraping together money each month to send them what little she could. That could all change. "But... lying is..." Sara murmured. "I'm not good at lying..." "That's precisely why you're the right person." Ryuichiro said quietly. "Because you're bad at lying, people will believe your engagement is real. A clumsy performance carries far more conviction than a perfect one. You need only be yourself. Simply be at my side as my fiancée for six months." Those words caught something in Sara's heart. *"Just be yourself."* She could do that, it seemed. But it was still a lie. "There's no need to take time to consider." Yano produced a contract and slid it toward her. "Here are the terms. We'd like the contract finalized this month. Ideally, today." Sara took the contract. The contents were straightforward. Ayashima Ryuichiro and Sara would maintain a six-month engagement. During that period, Sara would attend official Ayashima family events and fulfill her role as fiancée. Compensation: two million yen upon contract start, three million upon completion, totaling five million yen. In case of breach, Sara would bear all responsibility. "We'll provide two million yen upfront." The delivery was purely businesslike. "The remainder will be paid after six months." (*Two million yen... right now...*) Her student loans. Monthly payments of 25,000 yen. Six more years remaining. But two million yen could pay off most of it. And she could increase her remittances to her parents. (*But... lying...*) Conflict erupted within Sara's heart. Sincerity. Her own conviction. And practical necessity. The two collided violently. "If you cannot decide, you're welcome to leave." Yano's cold words settled the conflict. (*There's no going back now.*) She picked up a pen. A ballpoint pen. A high-end silver one. "Sara-sama. Are you truly certain?" Ryuichiro asked once more. His voice carried genuine concern for the other person. "Yes..." Sara nodded. "I understand. I accept." She moved the pen across the paper. A signature. Writing her own name. Sara. Inscribing her name into the contract. In that moment, something shifted. "Thank you very much." Ryuichiro bowed slightly. Whether genuine gratitude lay in that gesture or merely calculated courtesy, Sara couldn't determine. "Then, let me explain the schedule going forward." Yano operated his tablet again. "Starting tomorrow, you'll receive instruction in high-society etiquette. We'll assign a dedicated instructor. Dining manners, speech, deportment, attire, and so forth. We anticipate a two-week period." Everything was completely planned. "Your schedule will be managed by us. Can you follow our instructions?" "Yes..." Sara nodded quietly. As she left the reception room, Ryuichiro saw her off. His gaze held something complex—a feeling that calculation alone couldn't explain. There was something there beyond mere strategy. Descending in the elevator to ground level, Sara reflected. (*Is this really the right choice...*) Guilt lay heavy in her chest. Yet simultaneously, she felt relief. The reality of two million yen overwhelmed that guilt. When she stepped out of the entrance, Tokyo's bustle enveloped her. Ordinary people. Ordinary lives. It felt as though only she had stepped into a different world. (*Sincerity. Lies. Contract. Five million yen.*) All of it existed at once. What would become of her from here on? The answer to that question remained unseen.