It seems I need to pay a bit more attention to the protection of Ai, Aqua, and Ruby.
"By the way, have you heard anything about Hikari?"
"Do you mean Hikari-san?"
I haven't heard anything specific... Is something going on?
"It seems Hikari's retirement ceremony is going to be quite lavish."
"Lavish, you say... What, are they renting out a dome or something?"
"No."
He smiled wryly at my words.
"They say they're going with our company-style lavishness. Oh, of course, Director Kuma said it himself."
"Wait a minute. So that means..."
"Yeah, you and senior are confirmed."
"Sigh..........."
It looks like I'll have to get physical after a long time.
"Hahahaha! Well, isn't that good for you? It's been quite a while since you've gone wild."
"Who do you take me for, some mad cow?"
"Not a mad cow, but a rabid dog, right?"
"......Grr."
It's sad that I can't even deny that.
"Well, I'll let you know when things are confirmed. Then, go wild properly for old times' sake, junior."
"Understood. Then, I'll take my leave."
"Yes, oh, and one more thing."
"Hmm?"
Saiki-senpai tossed a light note at me as I was about to leave.
"Your son is on a new variety show, I see. 'Starting True Love From Now' or something?"
"..........Wow."
What were you thinking, appearing on such a show, Aqua?
Can you, who's mentally over 40, really do well.....?
"Well, since you're doing it anyway, cheer him on."
"Understood."
In the end, I put the note I received from senpai in my pocket and trudged home, thinking I'd be pestered by Ai.
Upon arriving home, the living room light was on, and as I headed to the living room, thinking Ai must still be awake,
"Zzz... Zzz..."
"Sigh."
Ai was asleep with her head leaning on the sofa, so in the end, I
"Hup."
"Mmm."
picked Ai up in a princess carry and took her to the room. For reference, Ai and I were living in the same room.
After carefully laying Ai on the bed and covering her with a blanket,
"Sweet dreams, princess."
'Mwah.'
After giving her a light kiss on the forehead, I went back down to the living room to organize the information I received.
Before closing the door, I thought I saw Ai's face redden, but I figured it was nothing and left the room.
In the end, I spent the whole night organizing the information, and after getting scolded by Ai who woke up early, I had to sleep without even seeing Aqua and Ruby off to school.
For reference, this was possible because there was no schedule.
***********
Third Person Perspective: Hoshino Aqua and Ruby
Thanks to Ai, who forced Yume to fall asleep, Ai saw Aqua and Ruby off to school instead. Upon arriving at school, Aqua and Ruby quietly watched someone from behind a wall.
"Well-groomed, glossy hair..."
"A face that still retains its innocence..."
"And a naturally airhead-like character....."
"Definitely! Based on my years of chasing idols, someone like that can rake in incredible popularity from seasoned otaku!"
At Ruby's idol-otaku-like remarks, Aqua's expression soured.
"Your perspective and analysis are absolutely disgusting. If Dad saw this, he'd grab the back of his neck and collapse."
"Huh!? There's no way Papa would do that!"
"......"
Aqua gave up and let it go.
"So if she seems popular, isn't that good? It wouldn't hurt to try scouting her."
"Well, yeah, but..."
At Aqua's words, Ruby hesitated slightly.
"You know, Loli-senpai and I have a peculiar connection, right?"
"Did we?"
At Ruby's words, Aqua wondered if they were that close, but
"But somehow, she's always mean to me!?"
"That's... probably because you keep calling her bubble-brain or whatever, isn't it?"
Aqua delivered a factual blow to Ruby.
"Anyway, I'll call her out, so just have a talk. If you think you can't get along after that, treat it as if it never happened, and then you can formally ask Dad."
"....Okay."
Before they knew it, after-school time arrived.
Arima Kana, the protagonist of Aqua and Ruby's story, was checking drama reactions on her phone.
[Looking back, I realized Arima Kana's acting is on a whole other level.]
Reading praise for herself, her face relaxed unconsciously, but
[That stalker role, the acting was so creepy it only evoked disgust, but upon closer look, his face is too handsome, it's complicated...]
When Aqua's story came up, memories from the filming site flashed in Kana's mind, and her face turned red. At that moment, a message arrived on Arima Kana's smartphone, and the sender was
[I have something important to discuss. Can you spare some time after school?]
".....!?"
'What is this... what is this... important talk, all of a sudden...'
'Ehh~? Maybe that? That's troublesome... ehh~?'
Arima Kana fixed her makeup in front of the bathroom mirror while continuing to have various delusions, and when school ended, she headed to the place Aqua had told her.
Back to Aqua and Ruby,
"I've been wait..."
"I've been waiting. You're late."
The person waiting for Arima Kana wasn't just Aqua but Ruby as well.
"Ah!? I'll wait forever..."
Arima Kana's expression soured.
"Didn't you say you had something important? Why is your little sister here too?"
Arima Kana looked at Aqua behind Ruby and said,
"The one with something to talk about isn't me, it's Ruby."
"Haa, I got nervous for nothing."
Kana casually sat on a swing in the playground and looked at her phone.
"So... what is it? I'm not free either, so wrap it up in 20 seconds."
"Wow~ your attitude is blatant...."
At Kana's blatantly annoyed attitude, Ruby quietly approached Aqua.
"Brother!? If I ask her to be an idol here, isn't that like saying she's as cute as an idol!? My pride is soaring!!"
"What pride are you showing off?"
"You want to start idol activities as soon as possible, right? Is this the time to be stubborn?"
At Ruby's frustrating attitude, Aqua pointed out her current situation directly.
Thanks to that, Ruby's expression darkened, then
"That's right. You're absolutely correct."
She slowly walked up to Kana.
"Arima Kana-senpai, won't you be an idol with me?"
She took a step forward to fulfill her dream.
"Huh? An idol? What's this, suddenly..."
At the sudden request, Kana was slightly flustered, but
"Ichigo Production is moving forward with a plan to form an idol unit, and they're looking for members."
"Miss Arima, I heard you're freelance, so... to put it bluntly, a scouting?"
Ruby spoke while slightly turning her head, as if hiding her embarrassment.
Seeing that, Kana's eyes widened.
"........Is this really about scouting?"
"It's a serious, earnest talk."
"Give me a moment to think."
Kana hugged her knees with both hands.
[ No, this isn't right.]
[ If I start idol activities, I'll lose 'young actress roles' and 'idol roles' with high metabolism will become my main focus.]
[ If the idol roles don't become hits, I'll lose both.]
[ The risk of self-producing is too high... but]
Kana looked at Ruby's face, then memories from her child actress days came back.
[ Hoshino Ruby... from this girl, I sense something reminiscent of Ai-senpai, who was a genius idol and now the top actress, and at times, I also feel Yume-senpai's unique aura.]
[ I only worked with Ai-senpai once, but she was talented enough to be popular, a 'real deal' with great appeal.]
[ My entertainer's intuition senses 'potential' from Hoshino Ruby in front of me now.]
[ But Ichigo Production isn't a major company, and this new project has no track record.]
[ If anything, most of the current work revolves around Hoshino Ai-senpai, and even if they start an idol project, it's obvious that the top priority will be Ai-senpai.]
[ Even if Yume-senpai's company is behind Ichigo Production, but originally... am I cute enough to succeed as an idol...]
[ Even with the name value of Yume-senpai and Ai-senpai, I'm not foolish enough to take such a reckless gamble. So]
"Sorry... but."
Just as Kana was about to refuse,
"Please, Arima Kana."
Aqua knelt down in front of her.
"Be an idol with my little sister."
At his sudden action, a flustered Kana stammered.
"B-but... I-I'm not that cute..."
"No, you are cute. I wouldn't ask you to be an idol without thinking."
"Arima is much cuter than other idols around."
"I think I can entrust my precious little sister to you."
"Uh... but..."
Almost swayed by Aqua's words, Kana tried to refuse again.
"Please, be an idol."
"I-it's impossible!!"
"Please."
"I said I won't!?"
"I'm asking because I trust you, Arima."
"Really!!!"
"No matter how many times you ask, impossible is impossible! I absolutely won't do it!!!!"
There was a time when I thought that.....