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Hoshino Yume's POV
"I wonder if Aqua and Ruby are doing okay at school..."
I couldn't help but worry. It wasn't exactly a normal school, so what if they got bullied or something?
Would Ruby and Aqua be able to make friends properly?
As a father figure, I felt like it would break my heart if they couldn't make even a single friend...
Even though I'd gone to work after sending the kids off, I couldn't focus at all. Probably because today's schedule was with Ai.
"Hum~ hum-hum~ ♬"
"Ai, aren't you worried at all?"
"Huh? About what?"
"What do you mean 'about what'... I'm talking about Aqua and Ruby."
"Ah~ I'm sure they'll do fine, right?"
"What kind of mother are you?!"
"Hyaa?!"
I gave Ai a sharp flick on the forehead.
"Ouch...! I mean, it's not like you or I can interfere with their school life anyway, Yume!"
"...Is Ai actually saying something sensible?!"
Is hell freezing over tomorrow or something?!
"Hey~ Yume, I might look like this, but I *am* over thirty, you know?"
"Then I guess you can start by acting less like a child."
"Aww~ ★ But I'm still a kid in front of you, Yume ★"
As she said that, she clung tightly to my left arm while we were in the car. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
Ah, that reminds me...
"You know Hikari is joining us for the radio broadcast today, right?"
"Ehh~ I'm not really a fan of Hikari."
"Huh?"
Did something happen between Hikari and Ai? In a way, Ai is Hikari's senior as an idol, but...
"Well, she's always hanging around you, Yume."
"It's not really hanging around... Hikari and I just don't really get along that well."
"Then why are you two always so close whenever you meet, hmm?"
The life drained from Ai's face, her eyes turning dull and cold as she gripped my arm even tighter.
"Sigh... I can't help it. Hikari is an executive at my company. And I'm staying on good terms with her because she might be able to help Ruby with her idol activities in the future."
"...Even if that's true, I still don't like it."
"Yeah, yeah. Who could ever stop our little princess?"
I pulled Ai's head down onto my lap and stroked her hair as I spoke.
"Hehehe... D-Don't think you're off the hook just because of this!! When we get home today, I'm going to be twice... no, three times as clingy!!"
"Sure, sure."
In the end, it seemed I had no choice but to indulge her.
We arrived not at our usual station, but at one operated by my company. Ai and I headed straight for the radio studio.
After sending Ai to the waiting room first, I headed elsewhere.
"It's been a while, Hikari."
"Oh? What a surprise. You're actually the one coming to say hello first?"
"I say hello to you all the time."
"Hahaha!! True. So, where's that perfect little wife of yours?"
"I sent her to the waiting room ahead of me."
"Good, good. That's probably for the best. Isn't that girl a bit too jealous?"
"Ugh..."
I couldn't really deny Hikari's words.
For the record, Hikari is two years my senior. Considering my senior and I recommended her for the idol life ten years ago, she's certainly charming, but...
The biggest reason Hikari became an idol was...
"Sigh... I'm getting tired of playing this character. I wish I could just be my normal self from the start."
"Can't be helped. It was the Director's order."
"I know~! And I don't want to disobey the Director who took me in, so..."
This woman was even shorter than Ai. Because of that, the first thing Director Kuma said when assigning her the idol role was:
"Hikari, when you become an idol, you're going to be a 'mesugaki'!"
For the record, my senior and I both felt deeply sorry for her when we heard that.
Of course, Hikari tried to refuse at first, but...
"In the end, she couldn't say no, and it's been ten years..."
"Aren't you planning to retire soon anyway? I heard rumors you're planning to hand over your idol work to one of the girls under you."
Except for me, who acts, and my senior, who does voice acting, Hikari—who is currently active as an idol—is getting up there in age for the industry and has been planning a new idol project.
"I know~ I really should retire soon. I think ten years is enough. Besides, you and your sister are still going to stay active, right?"
"Yeah. He hasn't told us to stop, so we'll keep at it."
For us executives, the Director's orders are our top priority. Most of the time, if the Director doesn't say anything, we don't have much else to do.
"Anyway, get back to the waiting room and take care of your wife. The radio show starts soon."
"Got it."
I bid Hikari farewell and headed back to the waiting room where Ai was waiting.
"Pout."
"...Why are you sulking again?"
The moment I stepped in, I saw Ai with her cheeks puffed out, clearly annoyed. It caught me off guard.
"Where have you been, Yume?"
"I was just catching up with Hikari."
"Hmph."
"Seriously, it was just a casual chat. Could you please stop looking at me like that...?"
Ai's jealousy really is something. Sometimes she acts like a child who's afraid of having her parents taken away.
"Fine, I'll let it slide this time, but don't let it happen again!!"
"Yeah, yeah."
I spent all my energy soothing Ai right up until the broadcast was about to start.
When the time came, Hikari came to our waiting room.
"Long time no see, little wifey."
"Ugh... hello."
"Hahaha! You're the senior idol here, so why are you so awkward?"
"That's..."
Ai's expression clearly said: *I can't exactly talk back to her since she's my senior at Yume's company.*
"I'm just kidding, just kidding. Don't be so stiff."
"Even I'm shocked by the gap between 'Idol Hikari' and the Hikari I know personally. Ai is the same."
"Oh? Isn't it a bit rich for you to say that when little Ai over here is quite the liar herself?"
"Gah?!"
It was a sad truth that was hard to deny.
Most of the people at our company knew about the relationship between Ai and me, and many of the female executives had even exchanged numbers with her.
Hikari, standing right here, was one of them.
Back in Ai's early idol days, Hikari was the first person, other than my sister, to realize that Ai was living a lie.
"Okay, okay. That's enough picking on my wife."
"Yume~..."
I mean, Ai, do you have to naturally sink into my arms right now?
I didn't say it out loud, though.
"Haha! Sorry, sorry. I only say it because she's much better now than she used to be. Though the turning point was probably when you got stabbed, right, Yume?"
"I guess so. I was waiting for someone to come along and break Ai's cycle of lies, but I didn't expect it to be me."
"You're surprisingly dense in some very specific areas, aren't you?"
"I know, right?!"
Ai? Are you agreeing with her?
"Anyway, are you guys ready for the show?"
"Is there anything even to prepare?"
"Not really."
Then why did she ask?
"Alright, let's go~"
"Let's go, Ai."
"Okay, Yume!"
Yume, Ai, and Hikari—the three of us made our way to the radio studio.
Once we took our seats and the setup was complete, the staff member on the other side of the glass gave the signal.
3
2
1
'Click!'
"Hi-ho~ ★ Welcome to the great Hikari-sama's radio show! I know you're all just a bunch of unemployed piggy losers with nothing better to do, but Hikari-sama will welcome you anyway, so let's hear you oink!~"
Wow... I've seen this for ten years, but I'll never truly get used to it.
Even I feel this way, so Ai—who's never seen this persona up close—is naturally looking even more shocked than I am.
I guess it makes sense, since Ai never had much interest in other celebrities even when she was active...
"Mhm mhm ★ Well, we'll start with our usual advice segment, but today, Hikari-sama's junior and his wife are here! What are you doing? Hurry up and introduce yourselves!"
"Ahem... Hello. I'm Hoshino Yume."
"Hi there~ I'm Hoshino Yume's wife, Hoshino Ai~ ☆"
"A-ha ★ Now that the junior has introduced himself, let's start taking some advice requests from you piggies~"
Fortunately, the radio show itself was fairly normal. Hikari's way of speaking was... well, a lot to handle, but I mostly just felt bad for her having to maintain that persona.
As we continued taking questions...
"Thanks for the question, 'Water Witch'~ Let's see... 'Who has the worst personality at Yume and Hikari's company?' A-ha ★ To think there's a piggy out there who would ask something like that! Go drop dead! ★"
"But since Hikari-chan is so kind? I'll make an exception and tell you! Junior! On the count of three, we say it together, okay?"
"Yes."
The person with the worst personality is definitely...
"3, 2, 1."
""Me! ★ (It's Hikari.)""
"Eh? That was instant."
Since Hikari and I said it at the same time, Ai looked back and forth between us in surprise.
"I mean, it's not wrong! ★ After all, Hikari is nothing if not consistent!"
"That's true. You're almost too consistent for your own good."
"Hmm~ then Yume, I just got curious about something!"
"Hmm? Suddenly?"
What could she possibly be curious about?
"Speak up~ Hikari-chan is curious too~ ★"
"Yume, you're an executive at the company, right? So besides you, there are nine others. Who is the scariest? Is it the senior?"
".......Hmm."
"......(Glance)"
I thought about it for a second and met Hikari's eyes, but she was giving me a very cautious look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well... Honestly, excluding the senior, every single executive, including me, would point at the youngest. ★"
You almost broke character there. Am I really that bad?
"Wait, really? Yume is the scariest?! Even though he's the youngest?!"
"Hehe~? I guess our youngest's wife doesn't know. Should I tell you what our youngest used to be called ★?"
"I want to know!!!! So much!!!"
"Wait?!"
I tried to stop Hikari before she could say anything, but Ai climbed onto my lap and hugged me tight.
"I'll hold Yume down!!"
"Hehe~ ★ I don't like how you're speaking so casually to me, but you're a junior's wife, so I'll let it slide! Better be grateful to Hikari-chan! ★"
"Back when our youngest became an executive, his nickname was actually the 'Blood-Stained Ferocious Dog'~!"
"Hey?! Mmf... mmph... mmph!!!?"
Ai, did you just cover my mouth with both hands?! Are you really that curious about my cringe history?!
"Heh~? Yume, you were hiding a secret like that~? You were being a liar too, weren't you?"
"Mmf!! Mmph!?"
Let go of me so I can talk!! Besides, I can see you're planning to tease me about this for the rest of our lives!!
In the end, I was turned into a complete laughingstock as the radio show came to a close.
Once the broadcast was over and Hikari returned to her normal self...
"Hahahaha~ By the way, how long has it been since you heard that nickname?"
"I was hoping to never hear it again for as long as I lived."
Who even came up with such a useless name?
"Oh, by the way, the person who made that up was Director Kuma."
"God dam—"
"Ah-ah, no cursing."
F—... hell...
While I was talking with Hikari, Ai—who had gone to the restroom—naturally slipped between us.
"So, how did Yume get that nickname?"
"Hmm? Oh... why was it again?"
"What?!"
Ai asked about the origin, but fortunately, Hikari didn't seem to remember. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Yume, tell me why!"
"...No."
I am never telling her. What was Director Kuma even thinking? If dying of embarrassment was a thing, I'd be a corpse right now. Seriously.
"Are you reaaaally not going to tell me?~"
"Ugh..."
When she started acting cute and trailing off her words like that... I... I just...
"Sigh... fine. I'll tell you. I'll tell you."
"Yay!!"
"You're such a pushover for your wife~"
I don't have a choice, damn it.
"It was... shortly after you gave birth to Aqua and Ruby."
"Our company received a pretty massive request back then."
"It was a huge operation where all ten of us executives had to participate to take down a certain organization."
"During the mission, my senior and I got separated from the other executives."
"That's when a group of them surrounded us and charged."
"To be honest, my senior and I... our physical abilities are a bit different from normal people, right?"
"Naturally, we took down almost a hundred organization members who came at us."
"Director Kuma saw the two of us covered head-to-toe in the blood of those guys, and I guess that's when he coined the name."
"There. Now you know."
Man, I really didn't want to hear that name ever again, but now that Ai knows, she'll probably tell Ruby, and then it'll get to Aqua too.
I don't know how I'm going to look them in the eye now.
"Oh, right, right! I remember now~"
Hikari clapped her hands as if it had finally clicked.
"There was actually a bit more to it, wasn't there?"
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
Was there? That was the end of it as far as I remember.
I looked at Hikari with a puzzled expression, and she gave a sly grin.
"I actually joined you guys in the middle of it, remember? Wasn't it something one of the guys said that made you completely snap?"
"What did he say?!"
"Did he say something?"
I was confused as to how Hikari knew something I didn't even remember myself.
"Wait, if you joined us in the middle of it, shouldn't it have been easier to suppress them?" I asked.
"Are you kidding? You and your sister were absolutely terrifying."
Was it that bad...? I barely have any memory of it, so I wouldn't know.
"What did someone say that made Yume so angry?!"
You're still curious about that, Ai?
"Hehe~ Listen closely, little wifey. This is what that guy said back then:"
[I'm going to find every single person you know—your friends, your family—and kill them all!!!!]
"Ah."
I remember now. Hearing that was when my senior and I both lost it. It's finally coming back to me...
"I knew it! You're always thinking about us, Yume!! I love you so much! I love you, love you, love you!~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥"
"Yeah, yeah."
It was a little embarrassing, but not enough to push away the Ai who was currently clinging to me.
"Sigh... I really need to get married soon... Otherwise, I'll be single well into my forties..."
"I'll pray for you."
"Good luck!!"
"Well, I have another schedule, so I'll be off. See you at the company, junior."
"Yeah, see you later, Hikari."
Hikari left for her next job, and since this radio show was our last schedule for the day, Ai and I quietly drove home and waited for Ruby and Aqua to return.
In the process, thanks to Ai monopolizing my lap, I got a leg cramp for the first time in my life.