NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: Arranging One's Public Image
As the company became more and more famous, it seemed that it was no longer enough for the President to continue the life of just throwing garbage down the hole.
The employees working in the newly rebuilt office were nagging Hiroki to buy a new suit, so he decided to go to a clothing store in town to buy one.
[Not just a suit, buy the whole set! Everything from the shoes to belts and ties! You have the money! The President’s image is the company’s image! Please be neat and tidy!]
A menacing female student part-timer was furious with him.
Looking at her, Hiroki wondered if he hired such a student.
He was always distant from the others and throwing garbage into the hole, and he left the details of the management to Ihida and the other staff members.
The number of people in the company has increased, and the number of faces Hiroki is unfamiliar with is gradually increasing.
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[Hmm…… With Customer-sama’s physique, I think it would be better to have a custom-made one……]
[I see……]
Because Hiroki thinks shopping was a hassle, he tried to buy one of the ready-made suits hanging at a men’s clothing store facing the street, but they didn’t have a suit that fit his physique.
[With a physique and broad shoulders like yours, the existing suits wouldn’t fit you.]
[Haahhh…… It was still close to fitting when I just bought suits like this last time…… but I’ve grown taller in the last few months……]
[Ahaha, surely, you jest.]
It sounds like a lie, but he’s telling the truth.
He measured himself last night and found that he had grown to 179cm.
(T/N: 5’10”. 160.3cm / 5’2″ average height for japanese men)
Hiroki has always wanted to be more than 175cm since he was a student, so he was happy, but he felt like it was a waste if he had grown taller now.
He really would have liked it if he had grown taller when he was young so he could become popular.
Even then, it’s not like he can correct the troubled young clerk’s thoughts and forcefully tell him that he’s telling the truth.
Nevertheless, for him to be unable to wear the suit he bought a few months ago…… Even though he may have worn that more than his favorite jumpsuit.
It seems that suits aren’t very cost-efficient clothings.
In the end, he went to a store in town that does semi-custom orders with the introduction of the clerk.
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[We have received your call, Gomi-sama.]
[I’m not really knowledgeable about these, so I will leave everything to you.]
The store Hiroki visited was on the street in town lined with stores, with a warm and elegant wooden interior and several rolls of expensive-looking fabrics on a square wall shelf…… A high-class store that Hiroki had never set foot in before.
After a tailor, a specialist craftsman, served him coffee, Hiroki’s measurements were taken while they chatted with each other.
Hiroki, who is a commoner at heart, was simply amazed at the service provided by a high-class store.
[When you have a great physique like Customer-sama———- which is often the case with swimmers, rugby players and other athletes———- First of all, the jacket and shirt don’t match, right? Ready-made suits are standardized for Japanese people with generally slouchy shoulders, so we adjust the silhouette by using padded fabrics. However, in Customer-sama’s case, this is no longer necessary. To adjust the silhouette, we first open the back fabric straight vertically.]
[Opening it vertically?]
[That’s right. Make a vertical tear in the fabric on the back. After that, the silhouette is adjusted to a V shape and sewn together again.]
[Then, is my shirt going to be done the same way?]
[Yes. The shirt needs to have a special silhouette as well…… so it would be best to have them made to order……]
What the short, gray-haired tailor was saying was interesting and Hiroki would have ordered a custom-made order for him, but he doesn’t have much time this time.
[I have several interviews starting next week, so I need to have it done quickly. Instead of that, I’d like you to find me three suits of the same size. Also, shoes, belts, shirts and ties…… I’d like a set of those as well.]
[I see…… Thank you very much.]
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After he gave his thanks and Hiroki left the store, the tailor was still bowing his head in the store.
Hiroki now finds High-class stores amazing.
He’s glad this store did not burn down in the fire.
Memorizing the name of this store in a good mood, Hiroki planned to patronize this store in the future.
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The city’s big fire apparently made national headlines, as news crews poured in from all over the country.
Hiroki doesn’t know if the University’s PR department did a good job or if Ishida was able to pull some strings, but the company was mentioned in the context of the flood of news reports, and being the representative of the company, he was suddenly forced to make an appearance, which was the cause of this ruckus regarding suits.
A reporter from a major newspaper who came to the company to cover the event brought a photographer with them and took many pictures while interviewing the company.
[And so, the company has gained a reputation for processing large volumes of waste at a great speed with new technology……]
[Yes. We have achieved dramatic waste compaction using technology developed in collaboration with the University. We can’t discuss the details of the technology because of the patents involved in it, but we have received high praise for this achievement.]
[However, some people say that the speed is too fast to process such large amounts of debris and building materials, and that you may have been dumping the waste somewhere else……]
[We understand that people would be concerned about new technology. That is why we have been monitoring posts to keep track of environmental pollution, and the tracked data is always available online. We believe that if you look at the data, we can prove that no pollutants are leaking from the site.]
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[I see, so you are saying that a company with excellent technology has emerged in the midst of this world that is being mindful of the SDGs.]
(T/N: Sustainable Development Goals, the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable world for all.)
[Thank you very much. Our company’s mission is to contribute to the community and solve environmental issues. It was a tragedy that that fire had occurred, but at the same time, we are proud that we were able to demonstrate our technological capabilities and achievements to help speed up the recovery process.]
The media loves words like “environmental issues” and “contribute to the community”.
As a major newspaper, the questions they would be asking had already been told in advance, so Ishida had prepared a script for the interview, telling a story that the media would like.
The article was published in the evening edition of the next day’s newspaper, and there seemed to be some response.
Hiroki thinks it was worth taking time out of his busy schedule to be interviewed because he received requests from neighboring municipalities for explanations and visits, and was able to secure contracts from several municipalities to handle their waste in the event of a disaster.
Incidentally though, Hiroki’s picture did not appear in the newspaper article.
Even though there were so many pictures of him that had been taken……