A considerable amount of time had passed since Ai finished her contract and began her idol activities.
So... it meant that the start of the original story was approaching. I was now 19 years old, Ai was 15, and she continued her activities as the unwavering center of B-Komachi.
I was somewhat relieved to hear that Ai had become friends with the other B-Komachi members after joining Ichigo Production.
After her official debut, the bodyguard assigned to protect her during her idol activities was, of course, me.
The company I belonged to now was a large bodyguard agency in Japan that everyone knew, and through continued work, I had managed to secure an executive position at the age of 19, not as a regular employee.
Using that privilege, I volunteered to be Ai's bodyguard, and the Director, who knew my circumstances, agreed to contract me out to Ichigo Production where Ai was affiliated, except for major incidents, so I was currently dispatched there.
Meanwhile, Ai, while progressing with her idol activities, went to study acting at a theater troupe as suggested by Saito Ichigo during the contract, and the person who recommended the Lalaly troupe was Kaburagi Masaya.
Thanks to that, I had to get acquainted with Kindaichi Toshiro, the representative of the Lalaly troupe, and after using the company's power to some extent to investigate, finding no major issues, I entrusted Ai to them.
"......So, it's almost time now."
Today as well, Ai was active at the Lalaly troupe, and I was spending time sitting in a cafe outside the building, drinking coffee until she finished.
And the biggest problem was probably that I knew Ai would form a relationship with Kamiki Hikaru and give birth to twins, the main characters, so I wasn't in a particularly cheerful mood.
But I had no intention of interfering. No, I felt that I shouldn't interfere.
It was because of a small anxiety that if I prevented that incident and the worldview I knew changed, it might become impossible to protect Ai with my current knowledge.
Honestly, after about half a year of joining the Lalaly troupe, Ai's expressions had diversified, and she was gradually transforming into the ideal idol, so to speak.
Her facial expressions were increasing, and now a perfect woman's face was becoming visible, so I thought fortunately, my choice wasn't wrong.
When I finished my coffee, a message arrived on my personal phone, and the sender was Ai.
[I'm done now, so Yume should come pick me up right away★]
"....So, the star is black."
For some reason, Ai always uses black when using emoticons.
Getting up from my seat, I entered the Lalaly troupe building where Ai was waiting. Greeting other staff members and arriving at the waiting room, there were other troupe members, and among them, the most noticeable figures were
Hoshino Ai and Kamiki Hikaru, these two.
They were laughing and chatting as if having an interesting conversation, and all members except me were watching with pleased expressions, but I was different.
Right now, those two were both wearing masks (lies) and talking.
Why?
What went wrong?
Where did things go awry?
From the outside, they seemed friendly, but from my perspective, they were checking each other... no, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they despised each other's existence.
My intuition was better than others', so my current thoughts probably weren't wrong.
First, if this continues, it might go wrong, so I decided to take Ai away.
"I came to pick up Ai."
"Ah, Yume~★"
When I called Ai, she ran to me with her usual face, grabbed my right hand, and
"Well, I'll be going now~"
She tried to pull me along, but due to the difference in physique, it might have been difficult, so as she grabbed my hand to pull, I also walked out.
And before leaving the room, I checked Kamiki Hikaru's face one last time and, from an angle only he could see, mouthed these words.
[If. you. do. any. thing. use. less. I'll. kill. you. you. brat.]
I don't know if he understood, but Kamiki Hikaru's expression stiffened, and seeing him sweat, I was satisfied and let myself be led by Ai.
Although Ai was pulling me, before I knew it, I was leading Ai, and when we got into the car provided by the company,
"Ugh~!! Yume, you don't have any separate schedule now, right~?"
"I'm not your manager, though."
"Aww~ at this point, aren't you my manager?"
"Sigh... I'm a bodyguard, a security guard. I don't have time to manage your schedule."
"Really~?"
"............"
No, perhaps the past was more comfortable. Lately, as her expressions diversify, I don't know how to react.
"Ehehe~ Yume is still weak to 'this', huh~?"
"Sigh..."
Ai had perfectly realized her talent at the Lalaly troupe and was actively utilizing it.
The person used as a test subject for that was none other than me, so while there was the disadvantage of having a hard time adapting to Ai's changing appearance, I was now just accepting it as it is.
With all actions perfectly calculated and the looks to back them up, it's no wonder she's not only the center of B-Komachi but also has the ability to be perfectly loved, I thought.
At home, she always practiced in front of the mirror, adjusting her eyes and mouth shape to create a smile, and adding her unique confident, my-pace personality, it's like giving wings to a lion...
"So~ so~ Yume, what's my schedule today~?"
"There isn't any, so sleep until we arrive."
"No way~★"
"Pfft....."
On top of that, lately, the frequency of her acting spoiled is increasing, so I wondered if I spoiled her too much during that time.
"So, you seemed friendly with that kid you were talking to earlier, getting along well."
"Eh~★ Yume, are you jealous~?"
"Why would I be jealous of kids?"
"Pfft~ Ai is no longer a kid, you know~"
"Hmph, come talk to me when you're at least 20 years old."
"Four years left?"
"Yeah."
With those words, as if in a good mood, Ai kept humming, and I felt a strange unease, but thinking it wasn't something to worry about, with no more schedules today, we returned home.
But at this time, the faintly visible water bottle in Ai's bag bothered me a bit, but thinking it was probably a drink she bought and drank during acting practice at the troupe, I decided to tell her to throw it away when we got home and continued driving.
********
Third-person Hoshino Ai
As always, after being active at the Lalaly troupe and waiting for Yume, a boy approached Ai.
That boy's name was Kamiki Hikaru, the person Yume was always wary of.
Kamiki Hikaru approached Ai and said,
"You worked hard today too. Ai-san."
"Yeah! Kamiki, you worked hard too★"
"You're still lying, aren't you?"
"Ahaha, what are you talking about? From my perspective, Kamiki is the one being more thorough, isn't he?"
"Is that so? Aren't you trying to fill some deficiency with lies, Ai-san?"
".......Maybe in the past."
"Not now?"
At Kamiki's words, Ai pondered for a moment, then smiled with a genuine expression, not a lie.
"Yeah, because I have Yume."
"Hoshino Yume... is it."
"At least he's older, so how about adding -san?"
"Haha, I'll think about it."
The emotion Hoshino Ai and Kamiki Hikaru felt could be described as mutual hatred.
"Sigh... well, honestly, arguing further won't help, so I'll give you the item I mentioned before."
"Honestly, it was half a joke, how did you get it?"
"Who knows. Isn't that what you're curious about, Ai-san? In the end, as long as you get the desired item, that's all that matters, right? Our work here will end next month."
"Yeah, yeah, that's right? Then I'll take the 'item'~"
"I don't know what you'll use it for, but I hope at least with that item, you're exposed as the worst liar. To your 'guardian'."
".....Ahaha. If you say more, I might 'kill you', you know?"
Ai's eyes instantly turned black as she glared at Kamiki Hikaru, and feeling even madness in that look, Kamiki momentarily couldn't say anything and his body stiffened.
But soon, Kamiki, wearing his mask again, smiled bitterly and said,
"Really... scary. People with talent for lying."
"We're in the same boat★"
From the outside, they were talking with cheerful expressions, but if one listened closely to their conversation, the content was the opposite of a harmonious discussion.
During the heavy conversation, Kamiki Hikaru handed Ai what seemed to be the item, a water bottle, and as Ai received it and put it in her bag, Yume appeared.
"I came to pick up Ai."
"Ah, Yume~★"
Kamiki couldn't help but shudder again at Ai's appearance, who was talking with a genuinely bright smile, not the false expression from when she was talking with him. Because the item he gave Ai was a fatigue-recovery drink laced with sleeping pills.
'Sigh... scary. Really.'
Feeling Hoshino Ai's madness once more, Kamiki Hikaru then made eye contact with Hoshino Yume, who was about to leave, and if the emotion felt from Ai was madness, the emotion felt from Hoshino Yume in front of him was
[If. you. do. any. thing. use. less. I'll. kill. you. you. brat.]
Fear. But within that fear, the small pleasure felt couldn't predict what future events would unfold.
Meanwhile, outside and in Yume's car, Ai kept watching Yume drive and said,
"Ugh~!! Yume, you don't have any separate schedule now, right~?"
"I'm not your manager, though."
"Aww~ at this point, aren't you my manager?"
"Sigh... I'm a bodyguard, a security guard. I don't have time to manage your schedule."
"Really~?"
"............"
Ai, thanks to Kamiki Hikaru at the Lalaly troupe, had diversified her expressions (lies), and if her feelings towards others were false, her feelings towards Hoshino Yume were always genuine, so she often exploited Yume's weakness, not really a weakness, by acting cute, knowing he would eventually give in.
"Ehehe~ Yume is still weak to 'this', huh~?"
"Sigh..."
While thinking about the 'item' received from Kamiki, Ai tried to hide her rising smile and continued asking about the schedule, and after realizing there were no schedules, her desire to arrive home quickly grew.
"So~ so~ Yume, what's my schedule today~?"
"There isn't any, so sleep until we arrive."
"No way~★"
"Pfft....."
Then, feeling warmed by Yume's concern for her interaction with Kamiki, Ai, hiding her embarrassment, took on a playful girl's demeanor and said,
"So, you seemed friendly with that kid you were talking to earlier, getting along well."
"Eh~★ Yume, are you jealous~?"
"Why would I be jealous of kids?"
"Pfft~ Ai is no longer a kid, you know~"
"Hmph, come talk to me when you're at least 20 years old."
"Four years left?"
"Yeah."
According to Yume's words, four years were left, but Ai had no intention of waiting four years.
'Yeah, no need to wait four years, right?'
Yume felt a chill as if his body was trembling, but no matter how inhuman Yume was, it seemed impossible to perfectly read inner thoughts.