Chapter 78: Third person

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Translator: Soafp

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“Whaaat!?”

At Airi’s words, Nodoka let out a loud shout before I could.

“A d-date? You’re planning to leave Ren alone with Kokoa-san!?”

No, before that, I couldn’t even imagine Kokoa-san agreeing to it.

She was an active idol.

Because she took her work seriously, there was no way she’d casually do something that could invite misunderstandings.

And lately her popularity had been skyrocketing, so she probably didn’t even have the time for that.

“That’s not what I mean. We’ll all go on a date together.”

“Isn’t that just hanging out together? More than a date, I mean.”

Like when we all went to eat yakiniku yesterday.

“No, Ren-kun. Even if you’re doing the same thing, declaring that it’s a date changes the meaning completely.”

“Does it…?”

“It does. It seems you’re still trapped by fixed ideas, Ren-kun. A date doesn’t necessarily mean a man and woman going out one-on-one.”

“Well, I guess Senpai does have a point there.”

This was weird. Was I the one with strange common sense?

Whenever I talked with these two, I started wondering what normal even was anymore.

“But setting that aside, I’m her sponsor right now, remember? Isn’t it pretty bad if a sponsor asks an idol out on a date?”

Kokoa-san was probably only being kind to me because she was being considerate toward her sponsor.

If I suddenly invited her on a date, depending on how it looked, it could even come across like harassment.

“That’s true. Besides, if I had to watch Ren-kun flirting with girls other than us, I’d probably get a little jealous too.”

“…Then why bring it up in the first place?”

Even for Airi, there was no way she truly wanted even more girls getting involved with me like this.

Honestly, the fact that she was okay with Nodoka in the first place still felt unbelievable to me.

“Well, we don’t have to obsess over calling it a date. Like Ren said, wouldn’t it be enough to just hang out normally and become friends?”

“You’re just excited at the idea of making a new friend, aren’t you, Nodoka-san?”

“Ugh… T-that’s not it!? It’s not like I was thinking it’d be amazing to brag about being friends with a super popular active idol or anything!?”

Watching her like this, it seemed Nodoka had a surprisingly worldly side too.

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After they had more or less settled on a plan for dealing with Ren’s new “nightmare,” the next morning unfolded exactly as Airi and Nodoka had discussed the previous day.

The two girls gave Ren his “morning service.”

Though he panicked verbally, his body was far more honest.

Seeing that, the girls exchanged glances and laughed together, enjoying the quiet morning.

Afterward, the two showered together and moved to Airi’s room.

“Senpai, do you want me to brush your hair?”

“That’s sudden. I don’t mind, though.”

“To be honest, I kind of admire your beautiful long straight hair.”

“Really? Thank you. But Nodoka-san, you should keep your blonde bob the way it is now.”

“Why?”

“Because blonde bob is your defining trait.”

“That’s such a shallow reason!? Not because it suits me or anything!?”

Airi sat down in front of the table mirror.

Behind her, Nodoka picked up a comb and knelt on the floor.

Carefully, Nodoka separated Airi’s long hair into both sides and gently loosened the tangled parts with her fingers.

Then she slowly began combing through the ends.

“You’re better at this than me. I always just brush through it quickly.”

“But your hair is so pretty and silky! You have to take proper care of it!”

“You’re right. Ren-kun would probably be happy too. Speaking of which, doesn’t Ren-kun have an insane s*x drive?”

“That topic change was way too sudden. …Though, even after everything we did yesterday, he’d already fully recovered by this morning…”

“Despite how slender he looks, he’s really thick down there. And the amount is ridiculous too. Maybe he’s not a light novel protagonist after all, but an eroge protagonist.”

“Senpai, you really love dirty jokes. …I can’t exactly deny it, though.”

The two girls chatted endlessly about Ren.

Topics like what kinds of things made him happy, and what they could do to excite him even more.

It was nothing like ordinary girl talk, but for Nodoka, it was still a fun time.

“By the way, Senpai, why did you bring up dating earlier? Don’t tell me you really plan to make Kokoa-san Ren’s third girl?”

“What do you think, Nodoka-san?”

“…It’s not like I dislike Kokoa-san. She’s a little strange, but basically she seems like a good person. But that doesn’t necessarily mean she’d be the same in romance.”

“That’s true. I’m not saying we absolutely have to bring Kitayama-san into the harem either. But I think she could be useful as a countermeasure against Kitayama-san.”

“Eh? Yuzuki?”

Airi nodded.

“What do you think would happen if Kitayama-san wanted to monopolize Ren-kun and started treating us like obstacles, using whatever methods she could?”

“…We’d probably end up suffering somehow. At the very least it’d be exhausting. And it’d be the same for Ren.”

“Exactly. So we shift the structure. Make it so that, in Kitayama-san’s mind, her enemy isn’t us—it’s Miyoko-san.”

“…!”

They would redirect Yuzuki’s target.

Not simply make girls compete over being Ren’s woman.

Instead, make Kokoa compete with her over the position of “third girl.”

“From Ren-kun’s perspective, whether the girls around him can get along with each other would also be an important factor when evaluating them, wouldn’t it?”

“What is this, some kind of contest?”

“We can just stand behind Ren-kun with our arms folded and watch leisurely while Kitayama-san and Miyoko-san fight each other.”

“Hehehe,” Airi laughed with a villainous grin curling at her lips.

Honestly, to Nodoka, Airi’s plan sounded a little outrageous.

After all, they didn’t even know whether Kokoa liked Ren yet.

It felt like the conversation had jumped way ahead.

Still, she could clearly tell that Airi’s idea took Ren, herself, and everyone else into consideration.

“Alright, I get it for now. Though in the end, it all depends on whether Kokoa-san falls for Ren or not.”

“She definitely will. Ren-kun is that kind of boy.”

“In a way, Senpai’s trust in Ren is seriously intense… By the way, how many girls are you actually willing to allow?”

“Well, this is just my personal opinion, but I think three is the ideal number.”

“Three?”

Airi nodded.

“Ren-kun’s Ren-kun, and his two hands. That makes three.”

“Isn’t that way too crude!?”

“If there are any more than that, it’ll become too hard for Ren-kun to satisfy all the girls properly. That’s important, right?”

“I’m not saying it’s not important, but I thought you’d have some deeper reason!!”

Once again, Nodoka was reminded that among all of them, the strangest one was definitely Airi.

---

“Alright then, thank you in advance. Yes, goodbye.”

After finishing the breakfast Nodoka had made, I contacted the detective.

This time, I asked him to investigate the talent agency Kokoa-san belonged to.

…At this rate, I might end up becoming one of the detective agency’s best customers.

After hanging up, Nodoka—who was sitting on my lap like a cat—looked up at me and asked,

“How long did they say it’ll take?”

“About two weeks for an interim report.”

“That’s longer than I expected.”

“Well, detectives need time to prepare and make plans too.”

In fact, the detective was famous for being one of the best in the industry, so he was normally fully booked.

But money talks, and I somehow managed to get them to prioritize my case.

“So for now, you’ve already done everything you can regarding Kokoa-san, right? Ren, what are we doing today?”

“No idea… By the way, aren’t you going home, Nodoka?”

The moment I asked, Nodoka puffed out her cheeks.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You want me to leave?”

“No, not like that. I’m just asking if you really want to stay with me that much.”

“O-of course I do! I’m your pet, remember? If you leave me alone, I’ll die.”

“What are you, a rabbit?”

She was too cute, so I gently patted her head.

Still, I wondered if her parents would be worried with how much time she spent at my place…

Then again, Anna-chan was usually at our house too, and apparently her parents worked late almost every day anyway, so maybe it was fine.

“Oh, right. There’s something we have to do. Let’s do that today.”

“That?”

“Summer homework.”

Summer vacation was already halfway over.

Normally I was the type to steadily work through assignments little by little each day, but this year’s summer had been so hectic that I’d fallen way behind.

“Eh.”

“Don’t tell me you were planning to do it all right before school starts?”

“N-n-no I wasn’t!?”

“Then you don’t mind starting now, right?”

“Ugh…”

Apparently I was going to have to help Nodoka with her homework too.

Even if her dream was to become a pet—no, a housewife—instead of going to university, she was still a high school student. She had responsibilities.

Airi, who had been sitting on the bed, suddenly sprang to her feet.

“Ren-kun, I think I just remembered something really important I need to do.”

“What?”

“Something I absolutely cannot tell Ren-kun about.”

“…Just how badly do you two want to avoid summer homework?”

I grabbed Airi’s wrist as she tried to escape.

“I’ll help you, so just sit down and do your homework quietly today.”

“I’ll cheer you on from the side. I even bought a cheerleader outfit recently.”

When had she bought something like that…?

I’d ask her to wear it later.

But right now—

“Nope. Airi, you’re my slave, right? Then obey your master.”

“Ugh… That’s unfair. If you say it like that, I have no choice but to obey.”

Looking slightly dejected, Airi went to the next room and brought back her textbooks, workbooks, and notebooks.

Nodoka’s things were still at her house, so she’d have to go get them later.

Then suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Come to think of it… I wonder if Kokoa-san’s doing her summer homework properly.”

With how busy she was as an idol, maybe she hadn’t even touched it.

Though honestly, she seemed like the kind of girl who’d manage everything responsibly herself.

Still, it made me curious.

At the very least, if she kept up with school, her idol work would probably go more smoothly too.

For some reason, both Nodoka and Airi’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

“You’re right, let’s invite Kokoa-san too!”

“Huh? Right now? There’s no way.”

“You don’t know that, Ren-kun. I have Miyoko-san’s contact info, so I’ll ask her right now.”

“…You two aren’t…”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

“You’re not planning to use Kokoa-san showing up as a distraction so you can avoid dealing with your homework, are you?”

“N-n-n-no!?”

“Nodoka-san, be quiet for now. Your tsundere reactions are giving everything away.”

“E-eh!?”

Airi pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly.

Seriously, when had she even exchanged LINE info with Kokoa-san…?

Ping.

Only a few minutes later, a notification sound rang from Airi’s phone.

With a smug grin, she showed me the screen.

“She says tomorrow’s her day off, so she’s free. Which means we should postpone our homework until tomorrow too, Master?”

“…”

Their talent for pushing things off until later was honestly terrifying.