That night’s main dish for dinner was twice-cooked pork 'huí guō ròu'.

The pork belly was not the flimsy paper-thin slices sold at supermarkets.

A solid block of meat had been bought, sliced into hearty pieces about five millimeters thick, briefly parboiled once and then used in proper fashion.

It was paired with roughly chopped cabbage, vividly colored green peppers and long green onions.

Everything was stir-fried over high heat with a special sweet-and-spicy miso sauce, enriched with the heat of chili bean paste 'dòu bàn jiàng', the sweetness of sweet wheat paste 'tián miàn jiàng' and the deep savoriness of fermented black beans 'dòu chǐ'.

Juuuuu!!

The aroma of scorched miso and garlic rising from the wok filled the small living room.

Plated out, the pork fat glistened as it clung to the sauce and the contrast with the crisp vegetables assaulted the appetite almost violently.

“Let’s eat.”

At the call, four pairs of chopsticks moved at once.

The place was the living room of Kujō Hibiki’s tower apartment.

Me, Hibiki, Karen and the newly added bodyguard Saotome.

Four adults sat shoulder to shoulder around a dining table meant for two.

Honestly, it was cramped.

If I flared my elbow even slightly, I would bump into Karen next to me and my knees were almost touching Saotome across from me.

It was a dinner table packed at maximum density, making yesterday’s decision to move entirely understandable.

But the food tonight was so good it made us forget the discomfort.

“…Mmm!”

Karen let out a suggestive sound the moment she took a bite.

“What is this! The meat’s so tender, but when you chew it the fat just bursts with sweetness… The cabbage is sweet too and this miso sauce alone could make me eat three bowls of rice!”

She bounced a sauce-coated slice of pork once on her bowl of white rice and shoveled it in with gusto.

It was an eating style unbefitting of a national star actress but as the cook it was a satisfying sight.

“…Not bad.”

Saotome across from us was also moving her chopsticks at a fierce pace despite her expressionless face.

Her eating style was that of a trained soldier.

No wasted movement at all.

Back straight, chopsticks traveling the shortest distance between plate and mouth.

Yet her eyes faintly gleamed behind her sunglasses and she was so engrossed she didn’t even notice grains of rice stuck near her lips.

‘…She’s settled in fast, considering it’s only been a day.’

After I revealed the secret of my ‘previous life’ yesterday, her attitude had softened.

She was still diligent about her work but the excessive ‘handling me like fragile cargo’ had subsided, replaced by the distance of a ‘trusted partner’.

Thanks to that, she no longer cleared the area every time I stood up to use the bathroom.

It was very comfortable.

Hibiki was also going back and forth between twice-cooked pork and rice when she suddenly stopped her chopsticks.

She took a sip of water, wiped her mouth with a paper napkin and then spoke in a slightly heavy tone.

“…So, Jō. Sorry to bring this up during dinner but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it? About the move? I’ve cleared my schedule for apartment viewings.”

“No. It’s work.”

Hibiki took a tablet out of the bag at her feet and set it in the small gap on the table.

On the screen was a proposal document written in garish red text and the profile photo of a woman.

The woman in the photo was a beautiful woman with sharp eyes that seemed to glare straight at us, radiating pressure.

“Teito Television’s Head of Production, Godai Satsuki. Karen, you’ve at least heard the name, right?”

Hibiki’s voice dropped another notch.

Karen’s hand froze mid-meal.

“G-Godai Satsuki? That ‘Empress’?”

“Empress?”

When I echoed the word, Karen explained with a pale face.

“Anyone in this industry who doesn’t know her is an amateur. They say she’d sign a contract with the devil if it meant ratings, the most terrifying producer in television. Talents she sets her sights on get sucked dry down to the marrow and tossed aside or offered up as sacrifices to the ratings gods…”

“That’s quite a reputation.”

“It’s true.”

Hibiki stated flatly.

“She contacted us directly. A massive Sunday golden-time special she’s in charge of. She wants you as the ‘main guest’.”

Pff!!

Karen nearly sprayed out the tea in her mouth and hurriedly covered it with her hand.

Saotome quickly handed her tissues.

“C-Cough… A golden-time special!? And as the main guest!? Hibiki, that’s a variety show, right? Are they trying to put Jō on display!?”

“I refused at first.”

Hibiki said while rubbing her brow.

“I told her Akutsu Jō is an actor, not a variety talent and that we won’t cheapen his value. But she wouldn’t back down. The terms were too outrageous.”

Hibiki counted them off on her fingers.

“First, the fee is ‘whatever we ask for’. She’ll accept our quoted amount unconditionally. Second, she’ll allow editorial supervision rights, with a written guarantee that there will be no malicious editing that damages Jō’s image. And the clincher… she even offered a contract stating that Teito Television will fully back my future film productions.”

Carrot and the stick.

No, this was a threat wrapped in money and power saying ‘refuse and you’ll make an enemy of the top TV network’.

“…What’s the content?”

“The tentative title is ‘Emergency Special! Closing in on the True Identity of the Legendary Villain Akutsu Jō’. …In short, they bring you into the studio and let a panel of female comedians and talents poke and prod you, a so-called ‘beast show’.”

Karen screamed.

“N-No! Absolutely not!”

She clung to my arm.

“Jō, you might not get it but variety shows are hell! Especially for men… you’ll just be treated like a ‘cute toy’!”

“A toy?”

“Yes! They’ll swarm you with body touching, go ‘kyah you’re so cute!’ while patting your head and make you blush with suggestive questions!”

She looked genuinely worried.

Indeed, from watching this world’s television, men were consumed by female talents as objects to be doted on.

Puppies you want to protect or pets you can tease endlessly.

That was the only role men were allowed.

“If you go into that den of lionesses, Jō will be sullied! It’ll definitely turn into a broadcast accident!”

Tears welled in Karen’s eyes.

She was worried my dignity would be trampled.

…She’s kind.

But…

“…Sounds interesting to me.”

I poured the remaining twice-cooked pork sauce over my rice, shoveled in the final bite and grinned.

“Jō? Are you serious?”

“I have no intention of becoming a toy or a pet. But I’ve always believed that if someone picks a fight with me, I’ll buy it.”

I tapped the tablet on the table. Godai Satsuki’s photo.

“And this ‘Empress’ looks eager to cook me up. …Wouldn’t it be fun to give her food poisoning instead?”

As I flashed a fearless smile, I noticed Saotome react subtly behind her sunglasses.

‘…Hmph.’

She didn’t say it out loud but her expression spoke volumes.

Unlike Karen, she wasn’t worried.

If anything, she pitied them.

The TV executives about to swallow the ‘poison’ known as Jō.

Saotome knew.

This man was not some ‘frail male’.

A beast show?

Which side would end up in the cage?

A faint, conspiratorial smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

‘With Lord Jō, there’s no problem. If anything, the ones being hunted will be the TV station.’

Receiving Saotome’s silent approval, I turned back to Hibiki.

“Let’s accept it.”

I drained my glass of water and said, “But...”

I deliberately rubbed my thumb and index finger together.

“The fee was ‘whatever we ask for’, right? We just happen to need funds to build our new house. Make sure she knows it won’t come cheap.”

Hibiki looked exasperated for a moment, then chuckled and relaxed her shoulders.

She might have been waiting for this answer.

“…Alright. If that’s what you say, I’ll commit as well. Leave the management to me.”

Hibiki picked up the tablet and stood with a resolute expression.

“I’ll contact Satsuki. Hehe, I can already picture that woman’s shocked face.”

“Ehh!? You’re really going on!? I’m not responsible for this, okay!?”

Only Karen was clutching her head and screaming but the die had been cast.

Thus, my first appearance on a television variety show was decided.

No one in the industry yet realized that this would not remain a simple guest appearance but would instead be etched into Teito Television’s history as a ‘legendary broadcast accident’.