Chapter 66: Younger

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Translator: Soafp

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After contacting Kokoa's agency through Airi, just as Nodoka had suggested, we arranged a meeting with her manager the very next day to discuss the details.

“…Why is Kokoa-san here again?”

Not only the manager but Kokoa herself was sitting across from me and Airi.

Last time, I had needed to persuade her directly because she opposed the idea.

But this time, there should have been no reason for her to attend personally.

“Moo~ Sponsor-sama, don't say something so cold when we're already this close!”

“Well, we are close enough that you snuck out of the hospital and got your finger bitten by me.”

“My bite mark from Sponsor-sama is still there, you know~”

“…Miyoko, remembering that still annoys me, so be quiet!”

“Okaaay…”

So the story about informing the agency beforehand really had been a lie after all.

Somehow, Kokoa-san struck me as the kind of person who lived completely freely.

Whether that personality suited the idol industry or not, though, I had no idea.

“Ara, I'm sorry, Fukagawa-san. I tend to lose my composure a bit whenever Miyoko is involved…”

“Ah, no, it's fine. I understand.”

Putting it nicely, she was free-spirited.

More realistically, she was probably a serious troublemaker.

“So then, so then! Is it true Sponsor-sama is buying me a car!?”

Kokoa-san's eyes sparkled as she leaned so far forward it almost made me recoil.

Her manager quickly pushed her shoulders down and made her sit properly again.

“…Can I ask something first? Can Kokoa-san even drive?”

“Huh? Of course not! I'm still in middle school, so I can't even get a license yet!”

“…Wait, middle school?”

“Huh? You didn't know?”

I had been so focused on how to save her that I'd barely looked into who she actually was.

No, more importantly, she absolutely looked like a college student.

“…Don't tell me you repeated a bunch of grades because you focused too much on idol work?”

“No!! I'm a genuine third-year middle schooler! Next year I'll finally be a high school girl!”

I see.

That explained why some of her behavior seemed strangely immature.

The fact that a middle schooler was already working under a “menhera-style” idol concept really showed how brutally competitive the idol industry was.

I forced myself to stay calm and continued.

“I understand. That was our lack of research.”

“No, this is information we should've provided from the start, but things have been hectic lately…”

“There's one thing I'm curious about. How does Kokoa-san usually travel?”

“Ah, well…”

The manager awkwardly averted her gaze.

“As you can see, our agency isn't very large, so for nearby jobs and lessons, we generally have everyone meet on-site themselves.”

“So everyone uses trains or buses on their own.”

“…Yes. Of course, for distant events like the guerrilla live show the other day, staff members drive their personal cars, or we use trains and planes and rent vehicles afterward.”

In other words, it wasn't unusual at all for Kokoa-san to be using the train the day after tomorrow.

“Does Kokoa-san happen to have an important schedule that day?”

“Ah, yes. There's a fan event. It's an important one we've been preparing for over two months. I've already warned Miyoko repeatedly not to be late.”

If it was that important, why weren't they driving her there instead of making her take the train…?

Was that simply normal in the idol industry?

Or was it unique to this agency?

“In that case, it'd probably be best if we arranged transportation starting the day after tomorrow.”

“That would certainly help, but… would a new car even arrive that quickly?”

“No, for now I plan to arrange a dedicated hired driver. If the agency intends to hire a personal manager or driver for Kokoa-san later, then we can provide a new car as well.”

That said, as a sponsor, supporting her for only a single day would feel unnatural.

Honestly, it would've been simpler just to hand them a car outright…

“A personal manager!? That's practically top-idol treatment!!”

Kokoa-san's eyes lit up instantly.

It didn't really mean much to me, but apparently it was an unusually big deal.

Even the manager looked somewhat flustered.

“U-Um, we sincerely apologize, but we can't promise to hire additional staff at this stage…”

“Ah, yes, of course. In that case, how about we provide a dedicated hired car service for one month for now?”

“Yes, I'll discuss it with our president. Thank you as always for taking such good care of our Miyoko.”

“I said I'm Kokoa, not Miyoko!”

If the agency had no plans to hire extra staff, then simply giving them a new car would accomplish nothing.

At any rate, having a dedicated driver would be more than enough to avoid the train accident the day after tomorrow.

Still, the idea of paying ongoing personnel costs forever wasn't exactly appealing.

“Kokoa-san. This might sound a little strange, but…”

I did my best to look serious as I continued.

“Please do not use the train the day after tomorrow. Under any circumstances.”

Even if I arranged private transportation, it would all be meaningless if she suddenly acted unpredictably again like when she escaped the hospital.

Judging by the timing, the accident would probably happen on her way home after the fan event.

That was why the possibility of her making some random detour still worried me.

Maybe fate itself would try to balance things out somehow.

“You've been emphasizing ‘the day after tomorrow' an awful lot. Is it just me~?”

“Well, I'm simply worried about your safety. At events where you interact with large numbers of strangers, you never know what could happen.”

“Is that reeeally all~? You sound kinda suspicious~”

Completely oblivious to my concern, Kokoa-san giggled behind her hand.

…That part of her was undeniably middle-school-like.

“Well then, Sponsor-sama. I actually have a great idea.”

“A great idea?”

“Yes! Since you're sooo worried about me during the fan event, then—”

Kokoa-san suddenly sprang to her feet and rushed straight to my side.

“Come work with me at the event the day after tomorrow!”

---

“Haaah?? You decided to spend the entire day with that idol the day after tomorrow!?”

After returning home, I explained everything to Nodoka.

As expected, the first thing I got in response was complaining.

“Don't tell me you're trying to seduce an idol too…”

“As if. What exactly do you think I am? She's still a middle schooler.”

“She'll be in high school next year though. Isn't that within your strike zone, Ren?”

“…”

Apparently, Nodoka genuinely thought I was some outrageous womanizer.

In reality, I wasn't even that popular.

The current situation was just unusually complicated.

“Well, it probably won't be anything major. I'll just help out with miscellaneous work or something.”

“I think it's already weird enough that the sponsor is helping with chores…”

“Better than going there and doing nothing.”

Honestly, I didn't know much about the idol industry to begin with.

There probably wasn't much I could do.

At most, I'd carry equipment around or hand Kokoa-san water while saying “good work.”

“Hmmm… Then can I come too?”

“Hm? You too, Nodoka?”

“What, is that not allowed?”

“It's not that…”

Ah, right.

She was worried about me being around Kokoa-san.

Even with Airi present, she probably couldn't relax just sitting at home waiting.

“Alright. I'll ask the agency first. But what should your role be?”

“Role?”

“I'm technically acting as the company president, and Airi is the secretary. I figured it'd be more natural if you had some kind of title too.”

“Th-Then…”

Fidgeting with her fingers, she continued in a tiny voice.

“M-Maybe… your wife…? Eheh… just kidding.”

Despite acting like a complete introvert all the time, when Nodoka suddenly said something this cute out of nowhere, even my own face started heating up.

It's not like I had a ton of romantic experience either, so honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to respond.

So instead, I just gave a small laugh and gently patted Nodoka on the head.

Airi, who had been listening nearby, chimed in.

“Wouldn't that be fine? At Ren-kun's age, ‘fiancée' probably sounds more natural than ‘wife.'”

“R-Really? Senpai, don't you want a role like that too?”

“I'm fine. Honestly, I'm more attracted to the ‘mistress secretary' position than fiancée.”

“Huh? R-Really?”

Nodoka didn't seem to understand what Airi meant.

…To be honest, neither did I.

“Anyway, the day after tomorrow, no matter what else happens, we absolutely have to stop Kokoa-san from getting on a train.”

“Then why don't we just hold an afterparty ourselves after the fan event and drag things out?”

“That could work too. Either way, the safest option is keeping her somewhere we can keep an eye on.”

Nodoka gave a small nod.

“Once the day after tomorrow is over, we won't have anything to do with Kokoa-san anymore, right?”

“Yeah. Honestly, the fact we got involved with her again at all is already abnormal enough.”

To begin with, it wasn't normal for the same person to face death twice within less than a month.

But at that moment, none of us knew yet.

None of us realized we would continue being involved with Kokoa-san for a long time to come.