After clothes shopping, it was time for dinner, but they still hadn't decided what to eat. Even now, no one had any good ideas.
The other two seemed to have little enthusiasm about food, so in the end, Kuroba Akira took charge and proposed,
"Let's just go to a family restaurant, then."
Family restaurants in Japan offered plenty of choices at reasonable prices.
Like Saizeriya—though it claimed to be Italian, it was really a Japanese invention. Even in this world, it was just as widespread. Back in his university days in his previous life, Akira had often gone with his roommates to enjoy the classic "poor-student set meal."
"Eh? Just a family restaurant? It's rare for your big sis to treat—how about something more expensive, like yakiniku or sushi... Well, maybe famous hand-made sushi is a bit too expensive, but conveyor-belt sushi should be manageable!"
"Then isn't that just about the same as a family restaurant? And sushi's a no-go for me—I don't really like fish."
Actually, Akira had briefly thought about going to Adachi Ward, known for its Chinese community, for some hometown flavors. He'd heard the Chinese restaurants there were pretty authentic. But it was already pretty late; taking the train there would take about forty minutes and involve troublesome transfers.
Besides, even if they went, he didn't know which restaurants were good. Chinese cuisine was vast—after choosing Chinese food, there'd be another struggle deciding exactly what to eat, leading to yet another round of indecision.
Though Ginza also had Chinese restaurants, they catered mostly to business clientele, meaning their prices were sky-high—way beyond Tashiro Benika's budget.
"Akira-kun, you don't like fish?"
Shiginomiya wasn't particularly interested in tonight's meal, but she was intensely interested in Akira's likes and dislikes.
"Mm. Seafood in general isn't really my thing."
"I see..."
Shiginomiya carefully noted this down in her heart. She'd make sure to write it down properly once she got home. This was how she'd start gradually learning about him.
Tashiro Benika had also lived inland in her previous life, and similarly wasn't a fan of seafood, so she agreed wholeheartedly:
"Yeah, me neither… Alright, then let's go eat at Gusto!"
Gusto was a common family restaurant here, with branches everywhere—almost rivaling Yoshinoya. Mostly Western-style dishes, but it also served Japanese staples like ginger pork and miso-simmered fish, as well as plenty of desserts.
Incidentally, it was a frequent setting in many anime and light novels, with plenty of famous scenes unfolding there—because, after all, it was where students often gathered.
Once dinner was decided, the three quickly headed over. Gusto closed at ten, and it was barely eight now, so there was plenty of time.
Upon arriving, Akira swiftly placed his order, deliberately choosing dishes that Class Rep hadn't made for him yet in her bentos.
Dishes he'd already tasted—like Japanese-style karaage—he was sure wouldn't taste as good as Class Rep's version, so there was no point ordering those here.
Quietly, Shiginomiya noted all the dishes Akira ordered—these must be foods he liked.
After placing their order, Akira brought up a new topic.
"Benika-san, while we have the chance, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it? Akira, seeing you look so serious, is it something really important?"
"Kind of. It might affect your future."
"My future…? Hehe, don't tell me you want your big sis here to marry you?"
Benika had instinctively teased him, forgetting Shiginomiya was sitting right beside her—and immediately felt an intense, terrifying pressure radiating from her right side.
Her glare is scary!
Uu… don't look at your big sister like that, please—I'm sorry, I shouldn't joke around like that…
From now on, she'd better avoid making jokes like this when Shion-chan was around…
At that moment, Benika learned firsthand what a truly "murderous gaze" felt like.
"Please be serious, Benika-san. When I say your future, I mean your future career plans."
"Oh?"
"I'd like you to become Shion's manager."
Both women facing Akira showed stunned, puzzled expressions.
"Eh? Mine?"
"Manager?"
Akira anticipated their reactions, calmly nodded, and explained:
"Yes. Benika-san, you probably already know—Shion is currently preparing to become a seiyuu."
"Mm. Shion-chan's voice acting is already really good—I figured she'd debut pretty soon."
"At her current pace, Shion could probably debut next year. But at that point, I'll still be a student. I won't have enough time to accompany her to auditions and jobs."
"Oh, I see… So she'll need someone who can accompany and take care of her."
"Exactly."
Usually, if a minor debuted as an entertainer and had their family's support, it would be their parents who acted as assistants or managers.
But Shiginomiya had run away from home… Even though her wealthy stepfather would likely give enthusiastic support if asked, Shiginomiya herself would never agree.
"There's another reason too—I'm a guy."
"What kind of reason is that? What's wrong with you being a guy, Akira?"
"That's the most important reason. Being a guy means it's not suitable for me to publicly accompany her everywhere. A female star with a male manager of the same age—it sounds pretty suspicious, doesn't it?"
"That… now that you mention it, it does sound a bit shady…"
From the very beginning, Benika had misunderstood the relationship between Akira and Shiginomiya.
Even now, she still felt there was some ambiguity between them.
Currently, it might just be one-sided affection on Shion-chan's part—but they spent all their time together. With daily closeness, it wasn't impossible their relationship might advance further.
Given Shion-chan's looks, if she kept actively pursuing him, even Akira—mature-minded as he was—might have trouble resisting.
That was probably why he'd approached her about this—to prevent himself from making mistakes that could ruin Shion-chan's future…
Benika fully understood Akira's intentions.
"I mentioned before that I want Shion to debut as a pure-type seiyuu, so we can't leave any hidden dangers. Even if Shion never promotes herself using her looks, once she becomes a top-tier seiyuu, paparazzi will still dig up gossip."
Shiginomiya recalled the first time they met, when Akira had asked her if she was a virgin… He'd said then that he wanted to turn her into a pure, idealized goddess in fans' hearts.
At that time, Shiginomiya hadn't really thought much of it—because back then, she hadn't truly fallen for Akira yet.
But now, she realized how crucial this was—something that could determine whether or not she could stay close to Akira-kun in the future.
Right now was still the training period, so she could stay at home, waiting for him to return from school. She could always stay by his side, playing around, sleeping in the same room together… But these days would eventually come to an end.
After she became a professional seiyuu, their time together would drastically decrease… They might rarely meet, and even when they did, she couldn't act too intimate—because people might misunderstand.
I hate this… I really hate this…
This… is just too cruel…
But… I can't disrupt Akira-kun's plans…
I must listen to him… After all, it was to help me become a seiyuu that he brought me home…
If she couldn't fulfill that goal, wouldn't she become worthless in his eyes?
Only now did Shiginomiya wake up, as if from a dream.
These sweet moments she'd been living were nothing but an illusion…
From the very start, her path of love had been fated to clash with her career path.
She'd fallen for someone she shouldn't have.
This was a bitter, hopeless love.
---
T/N: pooor sad guy
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