CH 2

Act 1 - The Hungry Idol Part

1-2

After school, I head straight to my part-time job.

The place I'm working at is a room in an apartment building about a fifteen-minute walk from the station. When I open the front door, I see several pairs of shoes in disarray and the presence of several people.

When I open the door at the end of the straight corridor, there're adults working moving their pens.

The woman sitting at the far end is my employer, a mangaka, Yuzuki Himiko-sensei.

"Thank you for your hard work, I bought you energy drinks." (Rintaro)

As I hold up the bag from the convenience store in my hand, they all turned to look at me at once. Probably they haven't slept at all, their bloodshot eyes are a little scary.

"Rintarooooo~! Thank youuuuu~!" (Himiko)

"Sensei, you're scaring me. How long have you not been asleep?" (Rintaro)

"Don't worry, it's only been two nights." (Himiko)

"It's not okay at all." (Rintaro)

I let out a sigh and hand out energy drinks to her and her assistants.

This is the workplace of a successful mangaka, Yuzuki Himiko-sensei.

I'm hired as her assistant, and I'm in charge of drawing the background and applying the tone.

I usually come here when days off, but when things get rough, I come here after school to help out.

"Haa~......, you're a thoughtful cousin to have, yea." (Himiko)

"Energy drinks are only a stopgap measure, so go to sleep as soon as you're done." (Rintaro)

"You don't have to tell me. I think I'll pass out." (Himiko)

"You'll die young you know......." (Rintaro)

As Yuzuki-sensei said, she and I are relatives. This is why she hired me, and now I've learned the job and I'm a force to be reckoned with in this workplace――or she thought so.

"I'll get to work." (Rintaro)

I sit down at the seat prepared for me and receive the manuscript with the line drawings from Yuzuki-sensei. I draw the background with the composition as specified, and put the tones in the positions as specified. It's not an easy job, but once I got used to it, I didn't find it hard.

The new MilleSta song that was being talked about today is playing in my earphones as I work in silence.

"――――Rintaro, It's time for you to go home." (Himiko)

"What, I'm not finished yet." (Rintaro)

"It's already twenty-one o'clock. I can't let a minor work any longer. Plus, there's only one page left, so I'm pretty sure I can make it." (Himiko)

"......I see. I'm sorry, but I'll leave you alone." (Rintaro)

"Yup! See you next time!" (Himiko)

Yuzuki-sensei gives a thumbs up, suddenly energized by the prospect of the manuscript.

She usually draws at a steady pace, but the fact that she was working until just before the deadline meant that she had put a lot of effort into drawing the story.

In fact, the manuscripts I saw while she was working were of a higher quality than usual and made me gasp several times.

Originally, Yuzuki-sensei is an artistic person, and she is extremely particular about her works. That's why she finishes her work without compromise, and I feel sorry for her assistants who have to go along with her regardless it's their job.

They look like dead people. It's a wonder they're still alive.

"Th-thank you for your hard work......." (Rintaro)

After I said that, the blue-faced zombies――――no, I mean, the assistants, wave off to me. To be honest, I'm a little scared.

I leave the apartment and head for the station.

My house's three stations away from Yuzuki-sensei's workplace, so five stations away from the school in total.

I get off the train at the last station, along with a group of office workers who had just finished working late.

Perhaps because it's a late time, but I feel a little relieved to see the same scene as usual in front of the station.

However, in the midst of all this, a luxury car that can be called a foreign object suddenly enters into such a scene.

(Whoever drives that car...... must have lived around here.)

I guess they don't have trouble with money. How envious.

With such sarcasm in my voice, I'm about to start my usual way home.

However, I can't help but stop when I see a figure coming out of that luxury car.

She has beautiful blonde hair and a style that way beyond that of a high school students.――――She seems to have disguised herself with a hat on her head and a mask as well as sunglasses on her face, but she's definitely the popular idol, Otosaki Rei.

It's probably a pickup car. After getting off the car, Otosaki and the driver seem to have a word or two with each other, and then left the station.

Perhaps because the area in front of the station is sparsely populated, no one seems to have noticed Otosaki's presence so far.

If that's the case, it'll be best for me to leave without getting involved. She and I have been classmates since this spring, and we're not friends or anything.

Besides, I don't want to be responsible for any scandal that might arise because of me.

I walk past her, pretending not to notice her at all.

――――That's when the trouble occurred.

"......!"

Suddenly, Otosaki's body sways. I reflexively reach for her body and support her before she touches the ground.

Through her sunglasses, my eyes meet her bluish eyes.

"Shidou......-kun?" (Rei)

"Y-yo, what a coincidence. I was just about to call out to you when you suddenly fell down, it's startling me." (Rintaro)

She smiled a distant smile and spoke in a soft tone of voice. She is the pinnacle girl in the class hierarchy.

If I give her a bad impression with my usual tone of voice, I don't know how I will be treated in the class.

If you are in the position of Otosaki, you can disrupt the high school life of a classmate you don't like with a single word....... As one would expect, I'm exaggerating it, ain't I?

"Uugh......." (Rei)

"You don't look well, do you want me to call an ambulance? If you're not comfortable with me, I can call an adult for now――――" (Rintaro)

"I'm....... hungry." (Rei)

"......Huuh?" (Rintaro)

Otosaki's stomach growls loudly. It looks like, all of this unwell look of hers comes from hunger.

"......I'm worried you lost consciousness." (Rintaro)

"Auuu." (Rei)

I took the support off of her and then she falls to the ground. After I had done that, I couldn't help but give her a look of regret.

"A-AAAH!, My bad――――no, I mean, I'm sorry! I thought you were not feeling unwell, so I was caught off guard! Hahaha!" (Rintaro)

"......You're terrible." (Rei)

"Ugh." (Rintaro)

Aaa, I can't fool her.

Just perfect time, I'm getting tired of this forced smile. I'll just treat her like I always do. If I'm going to get a bad reputation, there's no point in trying to make it any worse.

"Tsk....... and you said you're hungry. In this day and age, is that enough to make you unable to move? Normally." (Rintaro)

"I don't know you talked that way, Shidou-kun......." (Rei)

"It doesn't matter right now. Just tell me about yourself." (Rintaro)

"...... It's not usually this bad. But today's lesson was special. I'm tired, hungry, and I can't move anymore." (Rei)

"Lesson......." (Rintaro)

As expected of a top idol. In order to give the best performance in front of the public, she has to work hard every day.

"As long as you get eat, will you be able to move?" (Rintaro)

"Maybe......." (Rei)

"Maybe is not good enough. Well, it can't be helped. I'll go and get――――." (Rintaro)

As I'm about to say 'get you something to eat', I shut my mouth.

Even if I go into the nearest convenience store, I'll be leaving her here for about five minutes. In addition, even though the place was not crowded, she's starting to attract attention from the people around.

It's only a matter of time before people find out that she's Otosaki Rei, and there's a chance that someone with malicious intentions will take her somewhere while I'm gone.

Even though we're not close, it's not a problem that can be dismissed as unimportant.

"I may be worrying too much, but this is just in case. If you feel uncomfortable, just bear with me." (Rintaro)

"What?" (Rei)

I turn my back to her and crouch down on the spot.

"I'll carry you on my back. Come on, get on." (Rintaro)

"Where are you going to take me?" (Rei)

"To my house. I'll make you some dish." (Rintaro)

"Is it okay?" (Rei)

"As long as you're okay with it. If you don't want to go to a man's house, I'll leave you at the nearest diner. I have to use up some meat that expires today, so I'll just go straight home." (Rintaro)

"It's homier than I imagined......" (Rei)

"Sorry about it then, I'm aware that it's not my character. So, which's your choice?" (Rintaro)

"......Then, I'm going to Shido-kun's house. I'm interested in Shido-kun's cooking." (Rei)

"That so? It's not really a big deal. But if you're disappointed then, don't blame me, okay." (Rintaro)

Otosaki, who barely moved her body, puts her weight on my back.

The two large bulges hit me through uniform and I stiffen, but I stand up, trying to get rid of the naughty thoughts. (PTW/N: Hou noice~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

Although I can feel her weight, Otosaki's body was relatively light.

Is this also the mystery of the female body――――.

"Then, let's go." (Rei)

"Why you take the command." (Rintaro)

She probably hasn't found out that she's Otosaki yet. So I quickly walked to my house before it becomes a bad rumor.