After the shoot with Biyong wrapped up without a hitch, he was slowly getting ready to leave, and I was waiting for Hikari-san, who was supposed to come over.
"By the way, Boss, who else is coming?"
"Ah, Hikari-san agreed to lend a hand."
"Eh!?...Well, then I'll excuse myself first..."
Biyong was shocked at the mention of Hikari-san and tried to hastily leave the office, but unfortunately...
"What's this? A muscle-bound duck like you, trying to ditch your senior and leave first?"
"Ah..."
The moment Biyong opened the door to leave, Hikari-san was already standing there.
"My apologies~!!!!!"
"Ah!? Hey, you damn duck bastard!!!"
Biyong instantly bolted out of the building, and watching that, I...
"How much did you torment him to make him run away like that?"
"Huh!? Who's tormenting who!? I just gave him some advice as a senior in the entertainment industry!"
"Advice with your fists, I suppose."
"Ahem... Well, so where's your daughter?"
"Kana-chan is here too, so watch what you say."
"Yeah, yeah, I know that much."
Just to be safe, I reminded her once more before leading Hikari-san to the set where Ruby and Kana-chan were waiting.
"What's up with these two? They're both collapsed."
"They were practicing Biyong's dance for a whole hour. So they're taking a break now."
"Huh~? They managed an hour? Couldn't you just edit it down?"
That wasn't wrong, but...
"They're my daughters. It's only natural they'd have some stubbornness."
"Sure, sure. Anyway, wake them up quick."
Following Hikari-san's words, I approached the two who were relaxing comfortably.
"Come on, Ruby, Kana-chan, time to get up and start the next shoot."
"Huh?"
"Wha... Yume-senpai, another shoot? Do we still have to exercise!?"
Ruby looked at me with weary eyes, while Kana-chan stared in horror, as if dreading more exercise, but I quietly pointed a finger behind me.
"Hey, kiddos, get up already. Your great senior is here—what's with the lying around?"
With a mischievous smile, Hikari-san spoke playfully, and upon seeing her...
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?"
"Eh... ehe... ehehehehehehehehehe!?"
The two of them reacted in a way that made me want to say, "Thanks for the dramatic response."
After calming down the two who were still flustered and unable to compose themselves...
"Honestly, Biyong alone would probably be enough, but for your smooth activities, I thought it'd be good to have someone higher up, especially from the idol industry, so I brought Hikari-san, who's on the verge of retirement."
"I'm only helping because a junior asked, so be grateful, rookies."
""Yes, yes!!""
"Hmm."
I didn't understand why she was standing there with such a confident expression, but... well, it should be fine?
"So then... how should we promote these kids? Since I'm an idol, I do occasional personal broadcasts, but that might be a bit much... Should I have them appear on YouTube like that Biyong?"
"That sounds good. Honestly, that would likely attract more viewers."
"Hmm... Editing, we can leave to our people... Biyong's content was an hour of dance, right?"
"Yes."
"As for me... what should I do?"
Hikari-san tilted her head and looked at me as she spoke.
"How should I know... Actually, lately, the kids have been pushing to create a YouTube channel called Hoshi Ai Channel and start activities..."
"Wait, isn't that unrelated to now?"
"Kill two birds with one stone and promote us too. Today, just focus on promoting our B-Komachi girls."
"B-Komachi... Hah! Interesting?"
Hikari-san laughed and glanced at Ruby, who seemed uncomfortable under the gaze and cautiously averted her eyes.
"Hmm... Okay, how about we start with something like a talk show?"
"A talk show?"
"Oh, and by the way, I've dropped that damn masochist character act."
"I'm aware. Since you're close to retiring, you boldly protested to the Director about quitting it..."
Frankly, my heart was racing like crazy back then.
"And the Director allowed it, so~ I ditched it in the last broadcast~"
"Though your personality doesn't seem to have changed much."
"Well, most folks from the back alleys are like that~"
As we chatted and prepared for the shoot, Ruby and Kana-chan cautiously approached.
"Y...Yume! Wh...what do we do!?"
"Do about what?"
My daughter seems really nervous. Well, it can't be helped. In terms of career, she started later than Ai, but unlike Ai, she wasn't an underground idol; she ran on a pre-laid rail and achieved a dome in just a year, becoming a legend in the idol world. No wonder she's tense.
"Uhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh."
"Hey, Yume~ This one's completely broken."
"Ah....."
It wasn't Ruby who was the problem—Kana-chan was the biggest issue...
Ruby managed to hold on thanks to her fan spirit, but Kana-chan seemed unable to cope.
"Ruby, you try calming Kana-chan down. I'll think about the content to do with Hikari-san."
"O...okay!!"
Ruby, who had hoisted Kana-chan up, dashed to the back... Wait, how did she hoist her?
"Now then, while the noisy idols are resting, what should we do..."
"The safest bet would be a talk show, don't you think?"
"I was thinking the same, but hmm..."
"Oh, is it because of the project Hikari-san is currently planning?"
"Yeah. Since they're the ones who'll carry on after me... Oh!"
Hikari-san pondered for a moment, then as if realizing something, clapped her hands together.
"You could appear too, right?"
"Huh?"
Flustered by the sudden offer, I let out a dumbfounded sound.
"No, no, from the start, word's already out that you're pushing that kid Aqua, you know?"
"Well, that's..."
Since I intended it from the beginning, it's only natural...
"But hey, look at this? Hoshino Aqua and Hoshino Ruby are from the same agency? Then obviously, no one would think it strange if you're pushing Hoshino Ruby, right?"
"I suppose... so?"
"Bingo! Ta-da! With you and me, two big names, we can post on YouTube—could hit hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, in an hour?"
"Ugh..."
It was such a spot-on point that I had nothing to say, so I just nodded quietly in response.
"Alright, then bring those two over quick!"
"Sigh... Got it."
Well, doing a broadcast with my daughter was one of my dreams anyway, so thinking of it as gaining experience early should be fine.
In the end, I brought them back, but Ruby and Kana-chan were still showing signs of nerves, so I finally said.
"First off, I'm somewhat of a name myself, so the four of us will film a video in a talk show-like format. The editing will be handled by the staff from Hikari-san's YouTube channel. Just answer questions when Hikari-san or I ask, and if you're curious about something, ask back... Yeah, think of it as a Q&A sort of thing. Got it?"
"Come on, come on, your seniors are saying this, so being too nervous is bad for your health~"
Hikari-san seemed more relaxed now that she wasn't acting that masochist role anymore, and Ruby quietly tried to raise her hand, but...
"Hmm! Questions later, when the shoot starts, okay? Sweetie?"
"Y...yes, ma'am!?"
"Don't bully our idols too much."
"Yeah, yeah~"
"By the way... you didn't come alone, did you?"
"Huh? No way I'd come alone when I 'borrowed the name,' right? Of course, we need to do a proper shoot!"
"Occupational hazard, huh..."
"Well, I am an idol, after all~"
" 'After all'..."
That makes sense. Hikari-san's main job is probably...
"Ah~ I just want to retire and make new drugs in peace~!!"
"Don't say that out loud!?"
The self-proclaimed, worst alchemist who makes drugs as she pleases... that's Hikari-san's epithet.
The executives each have epithets that match their traits, given by Director Kuma himself—no sense of style, but the characteristics are spot-on.
Even me or senior... never mind, let's move on.
"Okay, okay! Looks like the shoot prep is done, so let's start right away~!!"
""Y...yes!!""
"Don't be too nervous, okay?"
I'm already worried...
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