"Hey, Shiranui."
"My sister is in the same class as you. I hope you two get along."
"Wait, what?!"
Aqua's sheer audacity in this moment was a clear sign that he had inherited traits not just from Ai, but from Yume as well.
Meanwhile, Shiranui Frill stared blankly at Aqua, who had just approached her.
"I know you. You were in 'Sweet Today,' weren't you?"
"...I'm surprised you know that. It wasn't exactly a massive hit."
"I heard things through the grapevine in the industry, so I checked it out. It was good."
"...Thanks."
Aqua gave his thanks, a bit taken aback by the unexpected compliment.
"Besides, you're an actor that Hoshino Yume personally looks after. It would be weirder not to know who you are."
"...I guess that makes sense."
Aqua thought to himself that bringing Yume to the set back then had been the right call.
Yume's current level of recognition had grown steadily while working alongside Ai. He was now in a position as a top-tier actor that no one could question.
"I worked on a shoot with Yume recently, too. He was incredible. And watching your performance, I thought I saw a resemblance. It makes perfect sense why he's backing you."
"Well, I've learned a lot from being by his side."
While he had indeed learned some acting, Aqua was different from Yume. Assuming he used every resource at his disposal, he could mold himself into someone like Hoshino Ai or someone like Hoshino Yume.
Of course, he still had a long way to go.
After finishing her conversation with Aqua, Frill turned her gaze toward Minami.
"Oh... I've seen you on the cover of Mid-Jump. Minami-san, right?"
"Yes!!"
Minami replied, clearly impressed that Frill knew who she was. On the other hand...
'This is crazy... Shiranui Frill knows both of them...!'
As Ruby watched in awe, Frill approached her.
"And you are..."
"Uh... well..."
"I'm sorry, what kind of work do you do?"
"Ah, I... well, right now, not much of anything..."
Ruby avoided Frill's innocent gaze as she answered, but...
"Is that so? Well... good luck with your hard work!"
"[CRASH!?]"
Ruby was devastated by that pure-hearted encouragement. As a result...
"Miyako-saaaaaaan—!!!!!!!! Make me an idol right now, pleaseeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!"
She was currently pestering Miyako at the Ichigo Production office.
"Don't rush me... I can't just snap my fingers and say, 'I'm making an idol group, here, go audition.' It doesn't work like that."
"If we want to build a proper group, we need to hire a legitimate scout and follow the right procedures."
Yume, who was working in front of Miyako, chimed in as well.
"Exactly, Ruby. Don't you think you're being a bit too impatient?"
"Dad, you're way too optimistic! If things stay like this, I'm going to end up being the outcast at school!"
"...Oh?"
Aqua thought he saw a flicker of red flame in Yume's eyes at Ruby's words, but he just went back to reading his book. After all, what else could you expect from a man who was a total fool for his daughter?
Miyako, noticing that look in Yume's eyes, also made an effort to avoid his gaze.
"Finding girls that pretty is hard. Usually, the ones with actual drive get snatched up by auditions for the major agencies..."
Miyako's words were cold, hard reality.
"That's true. On our end, Hikari-san is scheduled to retire soon, so we're preparing an idol group to fill that gap. Most potential talent is already converging on my company..."
Since Hikari's retirement was practically confirmed, Yume's company was also running other idol projects, which only backed up what Miyako was saying.
"Then... how about Kotobuki Minami-chan from the performing arts department? She's really cute and has a massive ch—"
"She's with another agency, so that's a no!"
"And Ruby, I keep telling you, you need to refine your vocabulary. What kind of phrase is 'massive chest'? You should at least say..."
"Yume, whatever you're about to say is probably going to be just as weird, so you can stop right there."
"Yes, ma'am."
Yume, who had been about to say 'thoracic region,' fell silent thanks to Miyako.
"Sigh. Anyway, unless they're unattached, I'd rather avoid friction between agencies."
Aqua pondered for a moment at Miyako's words.
"Someone unattached... huh?"
Yume was also thinking, and soon his eyes flashed as someone came to mind.
"If it's someone without an agency... there is one."
Yume and Aqua's eyes met.
"A freelancer who's famous but doesn't have much work... and has a pretty face."
Yume nodded. It had to be Arima Kana.
***********
Yume's POV
Realizing who Aqua was talking about, I spoke up.
"You're talking about Arima Kana, right?"
"Exactly."
"Eeeeh!? The Loli-Senior!?"
Ruby, I'm not sure you realize how incredibly rude it is to call her that.
"Well, I have some business to attend to, so I'll be heading out. Aqua, Ruby, make sure you get home safely."
"Okay~!"
"It's not like we have a choice anyway. The staff you provided are going to take us home."
That's true.
In fact, with the exception of school, I had agreed with Aqua and Ruby to have security accompany them whenever they were out.
When they left Ichigo Production late at night, our cars would even take them directly home.
Of course, I wanted to do the same for their morning commute, but since they mostly walked after school, I settled for just providing security for that part of the day.
As I left the Ichigo Production building, I gave a brief greeting to the staff waiting outside.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked it up.
[Yume—!!!!!!!!]
"Ai, I've told you before, you don't have to scream every time you call."
[Who cares about that!! Where did you go and leave me behind!?]
"I told you, I have some business today."
[Exactly!! What kind of business do you have to keep secret from me, your wife!? Is it more important than me!?]
"No, no, Ai, wait, just calm down... It's company business..."
[Then you can just tell me!!!!]
"Sigh... I'll tell you when I get home, so will you forgive me then?"
[Hmph! Absolutely not!!]
She's so stubborn at times like this. I don't want to waste energy, but...
"Alright. When you're back, let's go on a date later. How does that sound?"
In the end, this was the best card I had to play.
[A date?]
"Yeah, a date. We've both been so busy lately that we haven't had a chance to go out."
[So you'll stay by my side all day long?]
"Sure, sure. If that's what you want, I'll stay with you the whole day."
[...Then, if you add one more thing, I'll forgive you.]
"What is it?"
As long as it calms your temper, I'll listen.
[Let's stay the night somewhere out that day.]
".....Huh?"
Did I hear that right? Stay the night? For real?
[I won't forgive you otherwise.]
"Urgh..... fine, I get it. Let's stay at a hotel that night."
I didn't have much of a choice. If I didn't agree, she really would be mad all day...
[....Hehehe!!! Yes!! Then hurry up and finish your business so you can report back to me!! And we have to plan the date and book the hotel, so come back fast!! Fast!! It's important, so I said it twice!!!]
"Yes, yes. I understand, Princess."
With that, the call ended.
"Phew... I guess I'll have to ask my senior to come over to the house that day..."
Lately, I felt like I was becoming overprotective, but the lingering anxiety made me realize I truly was a parent.
I suppose this is what parental worry feels like...
Besides, my senior truly cares for Ruby and Aqua like they were her own children, so she probably wouldn't refuse the request.
I began slowly laying out my plans as I walked toward my destination.
My destination was a building located on the opposite side of my company. As I entered...
"Welcome, Master Yume. We've been expecting you."
"Can I be shown in right now?"
"Yes, he is waiting for you."
Thanks to the secretary who had come out to meet me, I was able to head straight to the top floor in no time.
When the elevator doors opened, a massive set of double doors greeted me. I pushed them open and walked in. "Yo, Junior. Welcome. I've been waiting."
"It's been a while, Senior Saiki."
The person greeting me was Saiki, the last of the three Great Executives, including myself and my female senior. He was characterized by his dark blue hair.
Unlike my senior and me, Saiki had reached the rank of Great Executive solely through his information-gathering skills.
Of course, that didn't mean Saiki was a slouch when it came to fighting, but there was likely no one among the executives on the same level as my senior and me.
In that regard, she and I were in a completely different 'league.'
However, what we couldn't match was Saiki's information-gathering prowess.
Calling it information-gathering was almost an understatement; to be blunt, his hacking skills were terrifying. Even for my senior and me, it was impossible to keep up.
He had told me himself that it was that overwhelming ability that allowed him to sit in the seat of a Great Executive.
The reason I had come to see Saiki was simple.
"Hmm... Junior, I looked into 'that guy' just like you asked, but honestly? He's clean."
"If he's clean, doesn't that mean there's nothing illegal going on?"
"Well... I see it differently. He's *too* clean, and that's what's bugging me."
"Is that so?"
It seemed he hadn't made a single move since then.
"Since it's your request, I'll keep looking... but are you really sure it's this guy?"
"...I don't have hard evidence to prove it yet, but my 'instinct' tells me it's him."
I couldn't exactly say I had seen it in a past life, so I had to resort to a lie this time.
"Well, if you say so, Junior. And one more thing."
Saiki handed me some documents.
"The guy who leaked our internal information... I finally found him."
"!? You found him!? Where!?"
"He's dead."
"...!?"
Dead...? So he wasn't just in hiding all this time?!
"There isn't much detail, but the DNA from the corpse matches a guy who was an executive candidate for our company ten years ago."
"....I see."
"Well, it figures. He was always jealous of you."
"...."
That was true enough, but what I couldn't understand was why he had been killed.
The information he leaked was just basic data on our executives. Information on the three Great Executives was almost non-existent.
"You look like you don't understand."
"Well..."
I didn't quite finish my sentence, but Saiki nodded and continued.
"Disposing of an informant is one thing, but maybe he was just no longer useful."
"Even if he was just a candidate, I remember him being quite capable in combat. How could an ordinary civilian..."
Unless a trap was laid.......
"A trap?"
"A trap, huh... wait, I have the blueprints for the building where the body was found."
I checked the blueprints Saiki sent me.
"....The central part of this building was poorly constructed. It was weak enough to collapse with even a minor impact."
".....Ha! You mean he confirmed all that, lured the target there, and made it look like an accident? This guy doesn't seem like an amateur in our line of work."
"Phew..."
Just how deep does your web go... 'Kamiki Hikaru'?
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