My High School Business (先に生まれただけの僕)

I am the vice principal and office manager,

Kashiwagi Fumio.

Kashiwagi-san.

Please.

Ah...

I previously worked for a credit union,

before coming here...

A credit union?

I hold the title of vice principal,

but really I'm the office manager.

Behind-the-scenes.

That means you're my partner.

I look forward to working with you.

Likewise, I look forward to working with you!

I'm Oikawa.

Oikawa-sensei is the Head of Mathematics.

He also tutors Class 2.1.

- Oikawa-san... - Yes.

- Eh? - Huh?

What?

No...

At school he's Oikawa-sensei!

Ah...

I apologise.

Oikawa-sensei, what do you think of this school?

What do I think?

Anything needing improvement?

No, not really.

Nothing?

Pleased to meet you.

English teacher Shimazu Tomokazu-sensei.

In charge of Class 2.2.

Shimazu-san... No,

- Shimazu-sensei... - That's right!

What do you think needs to change at this school?

To change?

For instance...

Anything you think is wrong.

Wrong...?

I'm Yabe Hinako.

Head of Music, Yabe Hinako-sensei.

She's in charge of Class 1.1.

You also give violin lessons.

Yes!

The music room has 40 violins!

Annual maintenance is expensive...

What?

The money.

It pays for replacing worn strings, and so on.

Why violins?

Why not recorders?

Recorders...

Recorders?!

No no...!

Violins are a tradition from our past as a girls' school!

I'm asking Yabe-sensei.

I...

I'm still in my first year here,

so I don't know anything...

1 Month Ago Hirosaki, Aoyama Prefecture

Pleased to meetcha!

I'm Narumi of KM System Services.

Huh?

Apologies for my bad Tsugaru accent.

So you're a branch manager, at your age!

It's a heavy burden.

- Sit down. - Thank you.

Well well...

Your parent company is Kashimatsu Bussan?!

It's a general trading company.

Here.

We install office equipment like global IT systems

and can offer an inexpensive internet environment!

We also secure raw materials and support distribution.

Ah...

Where shall I put this?

Just here!

Okay!

Sorry for making you help with this!

Where should this...?

On top of that!

We're happy to assist our customers in any way.

Supporting companies like yours

is our job.

You're very persuasive, Branch Manager!

Thanks to working with people like you,

I learn new things every day.

Like the Tsugaru dialect!

I've learned a lot from how you do business.

Business is about communication skills.

Jump into the other person's heart.

That works for you because you look good.

It gives you an advantage!

It's the opposite!

At first, that president earlier

had a "What's with this youngster" expression.

It's hard to build trust after that start.

Sakai-san, hello.

Manager, I've got the Shimabira Industrial contract!

That's a veteran for you!

You're the only one who could've done it!

Nonsense!

Thank you!

Thank you very much!

Yes~!

Yesss~!

Yes!

You've worked hard, Narumi-kun.

Your Hirosaki branch is sure to make a profit this year.

Thank you, Deputy Director.

Our youngest branch manager,

yet you've eliminated the Hirosaki deficit in 2 years.

Senior Director Yagi is satisfied

that it was right to give you the job.

Senior Director Yagi?

You go back to Hirosaki tomorrow,

but you've done your job as acting branch manager

so come back to Tōkyō soon.

I can come back to HQ?

Physics teacher Gōhara Tatsuki-sensei.

He's responsible for Class 3.2.

Gōhara-sensei...

Senior Director Yagi dropped out of the presidential race.

Dropped out?

He was held responsible for the withdrawal from Singapore.

It's a project he'd promoted.

So we've also been dropped from the mainstream.

All his supporters are paying for it.

I'm now Deputy Chief of Accounting.

From deputy director to deputy section chief?

What did you want to say?

Your class expenses are too high.

Too high?

You buy a lot of lab equipment.

You want to skimp on education costs?

Office Manager.

- No! - It's money saving.

What will happen to me?

You know our group has an education division, right?

It's Keimeikan High School.

Keimeikan...

Founded in 1961,

it was originally a girls' school

but became co-educational when we acquired it 10 years ago.

You're being sent to Keimeikan High School.

Your title will be... Principal.

Eh?!

My name is Sugiyama.

Sugiyama Fumie-sensei is Head of Classical Literature.

She also tutors Class 3.3.

Careful what you say to her!

What was that, Office Manager?

Nothing at all.

Are you conscious of cost efficiency?

- I told you...! - "Cost efficiency"?

For instance, using both sides of paper.

Both sides?

The reverse of printouts is blank!

What?!

You want us to use both sides for tests?!

You can't do that!

I don't mean for tests!

Well then, for letters to parents?

Please be serious!

Why a school...?!

It's in the red every year.

It's utterly unprofitable right now.

The education business seemed like a good idea,

"Fostering Global Human Resources",

but it's too different from the group's business

and I suppose we didn't recognise the on-site conditions.

On-site conditions...?

All the previous headteachers have been selected from the faculty,

but they weren't up to it.

As a result, instead of a high-level school...

10 years have brought it to this.

Whoa, that's soft.

I'm Kawarazaki.

Kawarazaki Kōtarō-sensei, in charge of Class 3.1.

He teaches Biology.

How old are you, Principle Narumi?

I'm 35.

35?!

Seriously?!

So I'll rebuild the management of this school?

That's right.

Because I turned the Hirosaki branch around?

The business and school worlds are too different...

You're flexible, Narumi-kun.

You work well with youngsters and veterans alike.

The company recognises your skills.

Rather than a demotion,

think of it as lucky.

Lucky?

Ichimura Kaoru-sensei, in charge of Class 1.3.

- Ichimura-sensei. - Yes.

You know this school is in poor financial health, don't you?

Yes...

Are you aware the first step towards changing that

is to reduce wasteful expenditure?