Business Advisor at the Chamber of Commerce 14: Confronting Miura [#CreativeAward2025 #WorkNovelCategory]

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The next day.
Miura was leaning his elbows on his desk, deep in thought.

“Miura-san... I need to talk to you.”

Miura looked up and stared at Yuto.
“...What do you want?”

Yuto held out his smartphone screen.

“The arson is just the beginning. You are doing the wrong thing. Shut down the shopping district immediately. Otherwise, an even bigger incident will happen next.”

Miura read it once, then set the phone down without changing his expression.

“...I see.”
Miura sighed quietly.

“...At first, I was only thinking about crushing your plan, but ever since that arson happened, something has been bothering me.”
“In other words—someone is acting on their own behind my back.”

A chill ran down Yuto's spine.
“Then... who sent this email?”

Miura muttered in a low voice.
“...There is a possibility that people 'above' in the Chamber of Commerce are involved.”

Yuto's eyes widened.
“What!? But, would the Chamber of Commerce really do something like that...?”

“...Normally, no.”
Miura opened his desk drawer and took out a stack of documents.

“I only found out recently, but I heard that Sakuragawa City and some members of the Chamber of Commerce were pushing forward with 'a certain plan'.”

“And that is... this.”
I looked down at the cover of the stack of documents he tossed down.

“Sakuragawa Shopping District Redevelopment Plan”

Yuto gasped.
“What is this...?”

“Simply put, it's a plan to buy up the land of the Sakuragawa Shopping District and attract major corporations.”
“In other words, your efforts to revive the shopping district have become an obstacle to that plan.”

Yuto clenched his fists.
“How could you...!! Then, does this mean this threat was meant to force the shopping district to shut down!?”

Miura nodded bitterly.
“Likely. I didn't know it went this far either. Maybe I was just being used after all.”

Yuto trembled with anger.
“I will never let that happen! We are going to protect this shopping district!!”

Miura gave a wry smile, looking at him like a child who had just played a prank.
"I knew you'd say that. ...So, I'll lend you a hand, too."

Yuto looked at Miura with a surprised expression.
"Miura-san...!?"

"I can't just overlook such a cowardly method. Besides..."
Miura narrowed his eyes, a tiny wrinkle forming at the corners.

"If a fool like you had been around in my day, maybe things would have been different."

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