Vice President WATAME's Rebellion: The Tsunomaki Hololive Takeover Plan! - The Chairman's Office at Midnight and an Unexpected Accomplice

It had been three days since that secret strategy meeting in the break room. That day, she and Marine had listed out the chairman's misdeeds on paper—but those were still just copies. The real documents were locked away in a cabinet inside the chairman's office. Watame sat at her desk, sneaking glances at the chairman's office door. Above her head, her fluffy sheep ears drooped flat with worry. " Today's the day, huh..." Today, President Fuwawa was out from the morning, supposedly on a preliminary inspection for a company trip. Marine had proposed they use that opening to infiltrate the chairman's office. And on top of that—Marine had even succeeded in borrowing the company's master key from Fuwawa. Using that sweet-talking charm of hers, something like: "Hey, President, lend me the master key for a bit, I gotta organize the warehouse~" Watame gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. (I-I'm scared...) Her palms grew damp with sweat. But—she had to do it. Watame took a small, deep breath. She wanted to change. She wanted to end these days of being nothing but Fuwawa's errand girl. She believed in Marine. Just thinking that gave her a tiny spark of courage. Ten o'clock at night. All the office lights were off, and only the emergency lights cast a pale blue glow in the hallway. Outside the window, the nightscape of Minato Ward's skyscrapers glittered and sprawled. On the fifth floor, only Watame and Marine remained. Watame could hear her own heartbeat pounding unnervingly loud, and she couldn't calm down. " M-Marine, I still don't think I can do this..." Her voice trembled. Her long, off-white hair swayed gently over her shoulders. The hair at the sides was braided and tied together in the back with a large ribbon. Her bangs were cut straight across above her eyebrows. Beneath them, her big, round brown eyes now nervously stared into the depths of the hallway. " What're you talking about? It'll be fine. A sailor never goes back on her word—ah, well, I'm a woman, but still." Marine placed a hand on her hip and looked down at Watame. Her deep navy ponytail, like the depths of the sea, swayed behind her. The anchor tattoo on the back of her right hand seemed to float faintly under the emergency lights. Her golden eyes sparkled mischievously even in the darkness. " Listen, Watame. In situations like this, the one who acts bold wins. If you're all jittery, it just makes you look more suspicious." Marine pulled the master key from her pocket. A small tag was attached to the silver key. It was engraved with the words: "Kadomaki Company – All Rooms." " Alright, let's go. Vice President." Marine squeezed Watame's hand tightly. Her hand was surprisingly warm. When they reached the chairman's office, Watame's feet stopped involuntarily. A plate reading "Chairman's Office" hung above the door. It was a room that normally only opened once a month for the board meeting. The chairman was someone dispatched from the parent company, Zeppeki Holdings, and was usually elsewhere. " W-We're really doing this..." Watame clutched tightly at Marine's sleeve. " If you're scared, you can keep watch out here." Marine peered into Watame's face. Her golden eyes narrowed more gently than usual. Watame shook her head slightly. " I'll do it. I'm doing this too." She wanted to change. She didn't want to run from that feeling anymore. Marine grinned. " Now that's the face I like to see. I love it." A small *click* sounded, and the chairman's office door unlocked. The chairman's office was pitch black inside. Only the light from the streetlamps filtering through the window faintly outlined the room. It was about twenty-five square meters. A heavy wooden desk, and bookshelves covering an entire wall. A dark-colored carpet covered the floor. The air was chilly, carrying the scent of an unoccupied room. " Let's hurry. The cabinet's over there." Marine approached the steel cabinet beside the desk. There was a keyhole on the top drawer of the three-tiered cabinet. She inserted the master key and turned it gently. *Clunk.* The drawer opened. Inside, files were neatly arranged. The label read: "Expense Reports." " Found it! This is it, Watame!" Marine quickly pulled out the file and began taking pictures with her smartphone camera. Watame watched, her heart pounding. (We did it... Now we have the evidence...) That was when it happened. —*Tap.* —*Tap, tap.* Footsteps approached from the hallway. Watame's body froze solid like stone. " Eep..." She let out a tiny shriek and crouched down on the spot. Marine returned the file to the cabinet and covered Watame's mouth with her hand. " Shh... quiet." The footsteps stopped right in front of the chairman's office door. —*Creeeak...* The door slowly opened. Standing there was— Nerissa Ravencroft. Straight black hair that reached down to her waist. Her bangs were so long they nearly covered her eyes, hiding half her face. Her narrow eyes, harboring a cold, pale light, gleamed sharply in the darkness. As always, she clutched a ledger in her hand. " ...Well, well." Nerissa murmured in a flat, toneless voice. " A secret meeting in the chairman's office, late at night. The vice president and a new creator. What exactly are you doing?" Watame couldn't even make a sound anymore. Her mind went completely blank, and her legs trembled. (It's over...) " If an employee trespasses into an executive office at night without permission, it's grounds for disciplinary dismissal. Were you aware?" Nerissa, expressionless, stepped one foot into the room. The air grew so tense it felt ready to snap. But—Marine was different. " Hey there, Director Nerissa! What a coincidence! You working overtime too?" Marine spread her arms wide and laughed as if she'd just run into an old friend. " Ahh, we were just taking a little tour of the chairman's room. I'm still new here, y'know, wanted to get a feel for the company atmosphere. And then—well, you know?" " A tour, you say. At ten o'clock at night. Using a master key." Nerissa's pale eyes narrowed sharply. " Stop lying. You're investigating the chairman's misconduct, aren't you?" Silence fell over the room. Watame squeezed her eyes shut. (It's no use now...) But—Marine was still smiling. " Heh, you figured it out fast. Then, let me ask you something in return—why are *you* here?" Marine took a step forward. " You're investigating the chairman's misconduct too, aren't you? Director Nerissa." A silence of several seconds enveloped the chairman's office. Nerissa, expressionless, stared intently at Marine. A cold gaze and burning golden eyes clashed in the darkness. " ...Yes." Nerissa admitted it curtly. Then, she placed the ledger she was holding onto the desk. " I have spent half a year gathering evidence of the chairman's fictitious expenses. This is that file." The cover of the ledger had "Notes on the Vice President's Failures" handwritten on it—but the contents were different from the title. When Nerissa opened the pages, multiple suspicious transactions were recorded there. "Huh... This is..." Watame couldn't help but exclaim. It contained a wealth of information that she and Marine didn't yet know. Not just companies registered on vacant lots. Overseas remittances to business partners, unexplained large entertainment expenses—. " Amazing... Director Nerissa, you did all this by yourself?" Watame stood up and peered into the file. Nerissa glanced at Watame's face for just a moment. " I despise waste and inefficiency in this company more than anyone. The chairman's misconduct is the worst example of it. Therefore—" She cut her words short and turned back to face Marine. " Instead of reporting each other right now, why don't we join forces?" Marine preempted Nerissa's words and extended her hand. " If we combine your information with ours, we can get even bigger evidence. What do you say? Not a bad deal, right?" Nerissa, expressionless, stared at Marine's hand. And then— " ...If it is a limited cooperative relationship, then." Nerissa grasped Marine's hand in return. Her cold fingertips touched Marine's palm. " Alright! It's settled!—Come on, Watame, you too!" Marine pulled Watame's hand over, making it a three-way handshake. Watame, still confused, held both Marine's hand and Nerissa's hand. Marine's hand was warm, and Nerissa's hand was cold. " I-I... I don't really get it, but..." Nerissa, whom she had thought was an enemy, actually shared the same goal. It was a strange feeling—a mix of happiness and fear, wariness and relief. After that, the three of them decided on rules for sharing information right then and there. They also discussed the division of roles. Marine would devise the overall strategy, Nerissa would analyze the evidence, and Watame would monitor internal company movements—. " However, this is solely for the purpose of exposing the chairman's misconduct. I will not involve myself in any plan to take over the company." Nerissa made that point clear at the end. " I know. But if you ever change your mind—you're always welcome." Marine said it with a laugh. Eleven o'clock at night. Watame and the others left the chairman's office. The hallway was still dark and quiet. The pale blue light of the emergency lamps stretched their three shadows long. " Houshou Marine." Suddenly, Nerissa spoke. Her voice was so small that Watame couldn't hear it. Marine turned around. " If you are merely using the vice president—I will not forgive you." Nerissa's pale eyes stared at Marine as if piercing through her. The smile vanished from Marine's face for just an instant. But—it quickly returned to her usual boisterous grin. " ...Who knows what you're talking about." Saying just that, Marine turned back toward Watame. " Alright, let's go home, Watame! You've got an early day tomorrow too, right?" "Y-Yeah." Watame sensed that something had passed between Nerissa and Marine. But—she couldn't bring herself to ask. The next morning. Watame arrived at the company earlier than usual. The morning sun streamed in through the fifth-floor windows, brightly illuminating the office. Watame was waiting for Marine in the break room. The electric kettle gurgled noisily, steam rising up. After a while, Marine came in to make some coffee. " Oh, Watame. You're early." " Marine, um... about yesterday, with Director Nerissa..." Watame looked up intently at Marine's face. "Director Nerissa said something just to you on the way back, didn't she? What was it?" Marine froze for just a moment. " Eh? What, you're curious about that? Jealous, are ya? You've got a cute side, don't you!" Marine patted Watame on the head. "I-It's not like I'm jealous or anything!" Watame's face turned bright red, and she shook off Marine's hand. " It's fine, nothing to worry about. I'm definitely on your side, Watame." Marine smiled, her golden eyes narrowing. But—Watame felt like something was hidden behind that smile. Holding onto that nagging feeling, Watame gripped her mug tightly. (Marine is hiding something.) (But—) Watame took a sip of her coffee. (Even so, I believe in Marine.) It was strange. The old Watame wouldn't have been able to trust someone like this. But—now, she could. Even if Marine was hiding something, she wanted to be on Marine's side. Watame was a little surprised at herself for feeling that way. Lunch break. Watame secretly placed a small package on Marine's desk. Inside the little package was *youkan*. Then, she wrote a message on a sticky note with a pen. *'Thank you for everything. No matter what happens, I'm on your side, Marine-senpai.'* Her handwriting was just a little shaky. But—this was Watame's honest feeling. When afternoon work began and Marine returned to her seat, she noticed the package on her desk and looked puzzled for a

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Episode 3

Name: Vice President WATAME's Rebellion: The Tsunomaki Hololive Takeover Plan!
Author: Novelia

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