Third-person: Hoshino Ai
A woman with long blue hair, whom Hoshino Yume had called 'Senior', approached Ai, Aqua, and Ruby. They were anxiously watching Yume, who had fainted while still standing, unsure of what to do.
"Oh my, oh my. The kid who usually seems like he'd never get hurt now has a knife stuck in his stomach?"
The woman, as if observing a fascinating scene, peered around Yume for a moment before turning her head to gaze at Ai, Aqua, and Ruby.
"Ah~ so that's how it is?"
"Huh?"
Ai was momentarily confused by the Senior's cryptic words, but she soon regained her composure. She crawled over to the woman, grabbing her arm desperately.
"So... so our Yume will be okay, right!? Please say yes! Please!!!"
"Oh my? You're kind of cute, aren't you? So that's why our youngest takes such good care of you?"
"...Yume?"
Though flustered, Ai thought this might be a chance to learn about the Yume she didn't know. But in that moment—
"No, that's not the issue! It's our Yume!!"
"Quiet."
"Gasp!?"
Ai felt a murderous intent she had never experienced before radiating from the Senior's tone. The woman glared at Ai, who kept trying to cling to her, causing Ai to fall backward in fear.
"Mama!?"
"Mama!"
Aqua and Ruby immediately rushed to Ai's side. The Senior, who had watched the scene from start to finish, nodded as if understanding something.
"Hmm... so those twins are your children with our youngest, right?"
"...Huh?"
At the Senior's words, Ai looked at her with eyes that screamed, 'How do you know that?', while Aqua and Ruby stared at the woman as if thinking, 'What nonsense is this?'
But the Senior lightly brushed off their gazes.
"Well, it's because those twins have a bit of our youngest's hair color, you see. At least from the information I have, there are almost no men in Japan with the exact same hair color as our youngest."
"Anyway~ first, we should check on him."
The Senior slowly moved to where Yume was, examining him from head to toe before focusing on the most critical part: the kitchen knife embedded in his abdomen.
"No wonder they call him a ferocious dog. He used his abdominal muscles to constrict the wound and stop the bleeding."
"Hmm... luckily, it seems he narrowly avoided a vital spot. It doesn't look like our youngest was the initial target."
"You over there... it was you, right? They were after you from the start?"
The Senior deduced the situation solely from Yume's wound and the surroundings, her tone making it seem as if she had been there from the beginning.
"So... is Yume going to be okay?"
Still trembling from the earlier murderous aura, Ai approached and asked timidly. The Senior smiled, amused.
"Ahaha~ you're really an interesting kid, aren't you? When I saw you on screen, I thought you were just a doll full of lies. But now, seeing you like this, you're absolutely bursting with emotion for our youngest?"
"...Eek!?"
Ai's face turned red, embarrassed at being read so easily. Finding that reaction cute, the Senior switched to a friendly, older-sister vibe and patted Ai's head.
"Uhuhu, let's talk later about what you like about our youngest. There are plenty of surprising episodes you'd be shocked to hear, you know? The reason he rose to his current position might even be because of you."
"Really!?"
"Yes~ But more importantly, isn't it fine if you don't explain everything to your kids behind you just yet?"
"Ah."
At the Senior's words, Ai slowly turned her head back. Aqua and Ruby, realizing that everything they had just heard was true, stood frozen in place.
"First, let's go to the hospital, shall we?"
The Senior lightly wrapped up the situation.
"Oh, right. You all didn't hear anything today, and you didn't see anything. Understand?"
"""Yes!! We understand, Senior!"""
"Good."
Ai, Aqua, and Ruby followed behind the Senior, displaying an even more thorough obedience than Yume would have expected to prevent any information from leaking out. Among them, Ai refused to let go of Yume's hand as he was carried away.
First-person: Hoshino Yume
"This is......"
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a pure white ceiling. I immediately realized I was in a hospital.
Fortunately, seeing that I had arrived without any issues, I knew the Senior's handling had been reliable. I let out a sigh of relief as I tried to sit up.
"Guh..."
The pain from the knife wound in my stomach was sharper than I expected, but it wasn't unbearable. I forced myself to sit up in bed and pressed the call button to check my condition.
The moment I called for a nurse, the person who opened the door and entered was not a nurse.
"Ai?"
"Yumeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Hey, wait...!?"
Ai rushed in and hugged me immediately. And of course...
"Guh!?"
I felt a severe jolt of pain in my abdomen, but it seemed Ai didn't care at all.
If only your self-centered personality would tone down a bit at times like this...!!
I looked at the faces of the people who followed behind her: Saito, Miyako, Ruby, Aqua, and of course...
"You've arrived, Senior."
"Yes. Is our youngest's body doing okay?"
The Senior, who entered last, lifted Ai effortlessly with one hand and moved her to the side of the bed, then faced me.
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to come personally, Senior."
"What? Our youngest asked for help, so of course this senior had to come, right?"
"Thanks to that, the situation was handled safely."
"Huhu, don't worry. I'll make sure to extract information from that guy we caught, you know? You know that this senior is best at uncovering hidden secrets, right?"
"Yes, I'll leave that part to you."
I decided to add an explanation for those who didn't understand my conversation with the Senior.
"As you all know, our company has ten executives. Among them, three—including me—are at an even higher level, which Senior probably told you about."
"Those three each have a specialty—or perhaps I shouldn't call it a specialty, but rather an area where they excel."
"Among them, I'm probably in the combat division."
"Another one is exceptionally skilled at hacking; you can think of him as handling most of the information warfare."
"And the Senior here is..."
Before speaking, I briefly shifted my gaze to the Senior, asking with my eyes: 'Is it okay to say?'
'Yes, it's fine to say,' her eyes replied.
"The Senior's specialty is what you might call interrogation, for convenience."
"""Huh?"""
At my words, everyone looked back and forth between me and the Senior as if thinking, 'What nonsense is this?'
"Oh my~ well, it's natural not to believe it. But this senior's specialty is extracting information from naughty children who hide things, you know? Of course.... Uhuhu♥"
Her heart seems black, Senior.
"Well, that's part of it, but Senior is also the best doctor recognized by our company. So I wasn't without reason to feel safe when I fainted."
"Oh, right, youngest. Want me to tell you something interesting?"
"Yes?"
The Senior made eye contact with Ai before looking back at me.
"Will you tell him, or should I?"
"I'll tell him!"
"Alright~ our youngest better prepare his heart firmly~"
"What do you mean...?"
What does it mean to prepare my heart firmly? Don't tell me the dome concert was canceled?
"Um, Yume..."
"Ai, don't tell me the dome concert was cance..."
"Aqua and Ruby are actually Yume's children!!"
"............"
Huh? Did I hear wrong? What are you saying...
I looked at Ai with eyes that pleaded, 'Don't lie,' but Ai's gaze was more serious than ever. When I glanced at the Senior with a 'surely not' look...
"Oh, of course, we finished the genetic test while you were out. They're 100% your children."
"What is this... that means...."
That I had relations with Ai? Such an absurd thing... don't tell me...!?
I suddenly remembered back when Ai was attending Lalaly. There was a day when I felt inexplicably exhausted, and that day, I definitely drank a beverage Ai gave me...
"Ai, don't tell me. No, right?"
It can't be. Please say it's not. This is... this is....
"Ehehe★"
No way.....
My consciousness sank back into deep darkness. And in the midst of it, strangely, I felt somewhat relieved.