Chapter 21: Realizing the harshness of society after leaving her husband [Ex-wife].

　In the meantime, Mitsuhiko Okaya is having a peaceful dinner with three JKs.

　Meanwhile, Okaya’s ex-wife, Misae …….

“Uhm, Misae Nagano. I’m sorry, but we can’t hire you, I’m sorry.”

　This is the backyard of a family restaurant in Tokyo.

　Nagano is Misae’s maiden name.

　She was married and changed her name to Okaya.

“It can’t be……!　Why!”

　Misae had just arrived at her part-time job at a family restaurant a minute ago.

“The sign out front said we were looking for part-timers!　You wrote that it didn’t matter if you had experience or not!”

“Well, yes, but you see, I can’t hire Nagano-san …….”

“Why not?　Give me a reason!”

“That’s a little bit of a trade secret. …… Well, to be honest, it’s an order from the top.”

　Misae tries to grab the manager.

　But the manager avoided it easily.

“In short, I was instructed not to hire Nagano-san. I don’t know why, though.”

“No way…..!”

“I like your face, and I’d like to hire you, too. But I have to do what the boss says, I’m sorry.”

“………… It’s so unreasonable.”

“Society is unreasonable. No one will hire you if you’ve never had a part-time job or worked in the industry before.”

“S-Shut up!”

　Misae’s face contorted in anger and she turned to leave the backyard.

“I’ll never use this family restaurant again!”

　With that, Misae leaves the diner.

　The sign behind her said the name of the diner was [Kaida’s].

　It was a family restaurant under the umbrella of the Kaida Group, as the name suggests.

“What the hell!　Damn it!　Damn it!”

　…… Now, what had been going on with Misae since her breakup with Okaya until today?

　First, she had Okaya send her personal belongings to her parents’ house.

　Only then did she return to her parents’ house for a moment.

　Her father was often away from home for work.

　Misae took advantage of his absence to sell off all of his personal belongings.

　After collecting and selling all the things that could be worth money, she left the house.

　After that, she stayed at a nearby business hotel as her base.

　There was a reason for this, too.

“Ha…..?　I-I can’t rent a house…..?”

　As long as she was going to live, she needed a place to live.

　Misae had planned to go to the real estate office in front of the station and find a suitable cheap house, but …….

“I’m sorry. As a result of our screening process, we are unable to rent a room to Misae Nagano.”

　The biggest real estate companies [KAIKAI], [Kaida Apaman], and so forth …….

　No matter which real estate agency she went to, there was no one who would rent a room to Misae.

　…… Needless to say, the above real estate is under the umbrella of the Kaida Group.

　In today’s Japan, it is more difficult to find a company that is not part of the Kaida Group.

　The Kaida Group’s influence is felt not only in convenience stores, family restaurants, and other facilities commonly used by ordinary people, but also in banks and real estate.

　Now that she has fallen under the displeasure of the Kaida Group’s chairman, [Kogen Kaida], Misae is unable to live a free life in Japan.

“It’s a nightmare. ……”

　After failing an interview for a part-time job, Misae curled up alone in her hotel room.

　Guuuuu……

“Ugh ……, I’m so hungry …….”

　Misae has been staying in cheap business hotels for days.

　Of course, she was denied entry to several hotels, and finally managed to rent a cheap business hotel in a dingy basement.

　The only thing that was included was breakfast.

　Of course she was hungry.

“I had nothing to sell and I don’t want to stay in the …… wild. I can’t even go back to my parents’ house without …… dying!”

　Misae had not told her parents about her divorce.

　Her father was a strict parent.

　If the divorce was due to the other side’s infidelity, the daughter may still be entitled to a compromise, but she had an affair with the other man. ……

　…… But she can’t stay in a hotel forever.

“I’m almost out of money. ……”

　The money she had on hand was running out.

　She has been failing to get interviews for part-time jobs.

“I can’t rely on my parents. ……”

And then it happened.

Piririri♪

　The landline phone in my room rang.

“Yes?”

“Uhm, Nagano-sama. I’d like to know about the payment of the accommodation fee. ……”

　…… Misae has been staying at this hotel for the past ten days or so.

　At first, she was only planning to stay for one night.

　If she found a house and a part-time job.

　It was a tuna until then. ……

　Unable to find a part-time job or a house, she slyly extended her stay for two or three …… days, until now.

　She was kicked out of her previous hotel after extending her stay in the same way.

　If she gets kicked out of this budget hotel, there will be no more cheap hotels in Tokyo.

　Going to the suburbs, where prices are cheaper, is not an option for Misae.

(Of course I don’t want to live in an inconvenient place in the fucking countryside. ……!)

But Misae was foolish.

　There are plenty of facilities in the countryside that are not owned by Kaida.

　However, it is more difficult to find one in Tokyo that is not part of the Kaida group.

　That’s how big the Kaida group is…….

” Customer, it’s true that you have to pay for your stay when you check out, but you’ve already extended your stay by 10 days, and if you’re going to extend it any longer, can you please pay once?”

“Damn it!　I know! you’re so annoying!”

　There’s no point in yelling at each other.

　Rather, it is Misae herself who is causing trouble for the hotel.

　But yet, she is so arrogant.

“……When it comes to this”

　Misae took out a credit card from her wallet.

“Fu…..fufu…..dear…..I’m sorry, dear”

　Nichaa …… and Misae smiled wickedly.

　This credit card was made by Misae on her own, under the name of Okaya.

　Of course, the money was to be withdrawn from Okaya’s bank account.

　And Okaya doesn’t know that Misaka made the card without his permission.

“It’s because you abandoned me…….!”

　The reason why she kept this card without using it until now is because if she used it, it would be traced back to her.

　If money is deducted that he does not remember, he will find out why.

　And when he finds out about this card, she might not be able to use it.

　But Misae was cornered.

“If this happens, I’m going to max out the card one last time. ……!　You’ll have to suffer through next month’s payment!”

　Misae took the credit card under Okaya’s name and headed for the front desk.”

　Bang!　She puts the card on the front desk.

“Here!　Here’s your money!　Are you satisfied with this?”

　The front desk clerk didn’t give me a bad look, took the card and tried to complete the payment procedure.

　Peeeeeee!

“H-huh……?”

　The front man nodded his head.

“That’s funny. ……?　Huh…..?”

　Peeeeeeeee!

“How long are you going to keep me waiting, you lazy bastard!”

“Sorry, ……, I’ll go get the boss.”

“Chi……!　Hurry up, you piece of shit!”

　Soon after, the hotel manager arrives.

” Customer. This card has been declined.”

“HA……………………… …?”

　The suddenness of the situation caused Misae to freeze.

“Declined……? Eh, what …… do you mean ……?”

“The expiration date has long since passed.”

“Haa!?　Don’t be ridiculous!”

　Misae grabbed the card from the manager.

“The front of the card!　Here, look!　There’s still five years left to use it!　It can’t have expired!”

“Yes, but …… according to the system, the card expired a year ago.”

“That’s impossible. ……”

　Yes, it’s impossible.

　She has been using this card since she was married to Mitsuhiko Okaya.

Or rather, this card was in working properly when she made an expensive gift to Kisogawa just last month.

　So, why did the card expire a year ago?

　Stupid, that’s impossible.

“I-It’s a glitch on your side!?”

“Then why don’t you contact your credit card company?”

“I will!”

　Misae borrowed the phone and contacted the credit card company.

　…… By the way, the name of this credit card is [KAIDA Card].

　The parent company, needless to say, and the result is also self-evident.

　They told her that the card could not be used and that there was nothing wrong with the company.

“Damn it!　Why?　Why!”

　…… Well.

　Now Misae was in a situation where she could not use this credit card.

　And she’s in a situation that she can’t handle with the money she has.

　In other words, …….

” Customer, I would like you to pay 25,000 yen for 10 days of accommodation in our hotel.”

“U-0uuu. ……”

　25,000 yen.

　When her husband was here, she thought it was a small amount of money.

　It was the same price as when she treated herself to an expensive yakiniku for two on a date.

　The cost of one dinner (for two people. Of course, it was for Kisogawa, and I was paying for it myself.)

　Before, it was manageable.

　But …… now, she knows …… that the 25,000 yen is a lot of money.

　Yes, Okaya was a company employee of the TAKANAWA Group.

　TAKANAWA is one of the largest publishing companies in Japan.

　She didn’t realize it until after her divorce, but Okaya was working for a big company.

　Misaye, who had no interest in the publishing industry …… or Okaya’s work, didn’t seem to notice this …….

“I’ll be back in a few days.　And then I’ll pay you. ……!”

“No, you can’t. You have to pay now.”

“I said I’ll pay you in ten days!”

　Dang!　She slammed the front desk.

　However, the manager was not intimidated at all.

“If you continue to refuse, I will call the police.”

“T-The police!?”

“Of course, you’ve stayed here for ten days without paying.”

　The manager was about to put his hand on the phone.

“W-wait! Stop it!”

　Misae tried to grab the manager.

　The young hotelier stopped her.

“Let me go!”

　That’s when it happened.

Pi ̄ po ̄ pi ̄ po ̄ pi ̄ po ̄……♪

Batabatabata……!

“What?　The police!?　Why!?”

　The manager had not yet reported the incident, but several police officers arrived at the scene.

　Of course, this was the result of the power of Kogen Kaida .

　Even though the hotel was not owned by the Kaida Group, the company managing the surveillance cameras was.

Kogen was aware of Misae’s movements.

“Nagano, you must be Misae. Please come with me.”

“N-no, ……!　W-wait!　Wait!　Noooooooooooooooooooooo!”