Chapter 104: Housewarming Party ①

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Translator: Soafp

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There was still a little left to unpack, but most of it was finished.

…Even though there wasn’t that much stuff, it was more exhausting than I’d expected.

Maybe it was because this was my first time moving and I didn’t really know what I was doing.

“G-Good work.”

Yui handed me a cold drink.

As expected of my childhood friend.

She knew exactly what I’d want to drink at times like this.

“Thanks. Good work to you too, Yui.”

“No. If anything, I can’t thank you enough. You’re letting someone like me live with you.”

As I twisted open the cap, a thought crossed my mind.

The confident Yuzuki from before was gone.

No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t think that was a good change.

And yet, I didn’t want her to return to the way she used to be.

The fact that I felt that way made me seem selfish and contradictory.

“Kokoa is here too!”

Suddenly, Kokoa-san’s face appeared upside down, filling my entire field of vision.

…Apparently she’d leaned over my shoulder from behind.

“Kokoa-san, thank you for helping today as well. We finished much sooner than expected thanks to you.”

“It’s nothing! Ren-sama has helped me so much already, so this is just my way of saying thanks!”

Kokoa-san smiled brightly.

As expected of an idol, that smile was unfairly cute.

But it was probably that very smile that caused misunderstandings among her female classmates.

“Shall we talk now? About what we promised.”

“Ah, yes!”

I stood up from the living room floor and headed toward my room.

Two sets of documents had already been prepared on the desk.

For now, I picked up one set and handed it to Kokoa-san.

“I think you’ll understand what Nagasawa-senpai is like now if you read this.”

“What is this…?”

“A background investigation report on Nagasawa-senpai, commissioned from a private investigator.”

A third-party report would carry more credibility than anything I could explain myself.

Kokoa-san swallowed hard.

Then she slowly began reading.

Her eyes darted across the pages.

Soon they widened in shock.

“W-What…? I-Is this really true?”

“Yes. This is the Nagasawa-senpai I know….Your Ko-kun.”

“N-No way… He could be a little mean sometimes, but Ko-kun was always so serious and sincere…”

Personally, I couldn’t even imagine the serious Nagasawa-senpai she was describing.

“I have this too.”

I took out my smartphone and handed it to her.

The screen displayed the article about the photography club.

“W-Wait… I’ve seen this article before… This was about Ko-kun…?”

“Yes. The Nagasawa-senpai I know…”

Facing the girl who looked on the verge of tears, I deliberately continued in a calm voice.

“…is a man whose hobby is seducing girls who already have boyfriends.”

“Ugh…!”

Kokoa-san covered her mouth with both hands and nearly gagged.

Her hands trembled violently.

Then large tears began spilling down her cheeks.

“…It’s a shock, isn’t it?”

“A-Ahaha…”

She forced an awkward smile.

“Honestly, I was prepared. During the summer festival, I had a feeling something serious had happened. But… I never imagined it was this bad…”

I took out a handkerchief and quietly handed it to her.

With a choked voice, she thanked me and accepted it.

For someone who had suffered both at school and at home, her memories with Nagasawa-senpai were probably irreplaceable.

After all, she’d gone so far as to become an idol because she wanted to see him again.

(I really do feel a little guilty.)

I was telling her the truth about who Nagasawa-senpai had become.

That sounded noble.

But in the end, it wasn’t all that different from speaking ill of someone behind their back.

At the same time, I couldn’t say it would have been better for her never to know.

What the right answer for Kokoa-san actually was…

I couldn’t tell.

Only an uncomfortable heaviness remained in my chest.

“So that’s why you broke up with Yuzu-san too, Ren-sama…?”

“Yeah… I happened to discover what kind of person Nagasawa-senpai was. I begged Yuzuki not to get involved with him, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“A-And then you fought…”

“That’s right. I also knew he was targeting Yuzuki, so I was nearly in despair. I thought… if she was going to be stolen away anyway, it would hurt less to break up first.”

I avoided mentioning my precognition and only explained what I reasonably could.

I still didn’t think Kokoa-san would believe something like that the way Nodoka, Airi, and Yui had.

Still, that meant…

“You think less of me now, don’t you?”

“Huh? Why would I think less of you, Ren-sama?”

“Because Yuzuki never actually cheated. I broke up with her just because I thought she might. Doesn’t that make me… a pretty terrible person?”

In the end, disaster had been avoided.

But if I hadn’t broken up with Yuzuki back then, that nightmare would have become reality.

Anyone who didn’t know about my ability would think my reasoning was absurd.

But Kokoa-san shook her head firmly over and over.

“If I were in your position, I would’ve done the same thing. Being cheated on is like getting stabbed in the back with a knife. If you can avoid it beforehand, you absolutely should.”

She didn’t look like she was forcing herself to agree.

Those were clearly her true feelings.

For some reason, her words made me feel a little relieved.

Kokoa-san let out a small sigh.

“So that’s why Yuzu-san and Ko-kun were fighting so much at the summer festival… It finally makes sense now.”

“Yeah. That’s basically it. Actually, Yuzuki recorded video evidence. That’s what eventually led to that article.”

“So Yuzu-san almost cheated, but she didn’t in the end, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then that’s good.”

She smiled faintly.

“I was this close to hating Yuzu-san too.”

“…!”

I was genuinely surprised.

Yui and Kokoa-san had become fairly close.

And yet, Kokoa-san hated cheating so much that she could have turned against her in an instant.

Even more than the girls who had bullied her directly.

“Then please show me the next thing. You said there was something else about the agency, right?”

“Yes. But are you okay? If this is too much, we can talk about it another day.”

After all, we’d be living in the same apartment building from now on.

“Yes, I’m fine. Ren-sama really is kind.”

“It’s not that big a deal…”

“Truly kind people never think of themselves as kind, you know?”

“I-Is that so?”

For some reason, her words felt unusually embarrassing today.

Perhaps because they sounded more sincere than usual.

I handed her the second set of documents that had been sitting on the desk.

“You don’t have to decide anything right away. I just want you to seriously reconsider your situation with the agency.”

“O-Okay…”

She nervously began reading.

It didn’t take long before her eyes widened in disbelief.

“W-Wait… Yakuza…?”

“The agency itself isn’t a front company for organized crime. But it does owe a significant debt to them. I’m worried they could use that debt as leverage to harm you or the other idols.”

“T-That’s impossible…”

The shock was obvious.

The agency she’d trusted and relied on all this time was in such a situation.

“If organized crime ever decides to target the agency, they could demand control of the entire company in exchange for the debt. If that happens, resisting would be difficult.”

“Ugh… T-Then… w-what would happen to us…?”

“I seriously doubt people like that could run a proper talent agency. In the worst-case scenario…”

I looked directly into Kokoa-san’s eyes.

“They could use your status as a popular idol to force you into shady or exploitative work.”

“Ugh…!!”

Her hands gripped the documents tightly.

They had begun trembling again.

Learning the truth about Nagasawa-senpai had already been painful enough.

Now she was being confronted with this too.

It was like kicking someone while they were down.

“I felt this couldn’t be ignored… I’m sorry. I’ve also asked for additional investigations into people around you, especially Ayano-san.”

“Huh? A-Aya-chan too?”

“Nothing has been confirmed yet. There’s just something that keeps bothering me. If I find anything concrete, I’ll tell you then.”

“Okay…”

Kokoa-san weakly pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in them.

How was I supposed to comfort her?

…I’ve never been good at this kind of thing.

Scratching my head, I finally spoke.

“Kokoa-san, would you like to hang out with us today?”

“Huh? Hang out?”

“Yeah. I already told you that you don’t have to make any decisions right now. Let’s put thoughts about Ko-kun aside for the moment. Besides, today is supposed to be a celebration for the move. It would be a waste to end the day feeling depressed.”

Kokoa-san blinked several times.

Then she looked up.

“Y-You’re right! Let’s blow off some steam and have lots of fun!”

“Good. Is there anywhere you’d like to go? Anything you’d like to eat?”

“I want to try that!”

“What?”

She smiled brightly and casually took hold of my arm.

“Karaoke and photo booths!”