"Mr. Yuuichi! While you work out, you still maintain your passion for voice actors. What is your deepest motivation?!"
"Hmm... it must be love, right?"
On the TV screen, Ikekoshi Yuuichi stood by the ship's railing, his long hair and the mosaics fluttering in the wind. Amidst the sea breeze, he looked toward his fiancée with a gaze filled with a super-saturated solution of tenderness.
"Yukari has supported me for a very long time, so I return that support with my passion!"
"Yuuichi!"
"I see! What a deeply moving story!"
The camera shook up and down twice, as if even the cameraman was moved by the touching tale. Finally, amidst the tossing of the waves, the Dolphin promotional video officially concluded.
As Miyazawa Yuu pressed the channel button on the remote, the theme song for Magical Girl Lalako began to play, and he tossed the remote into Kohei's hands.
"As you can see, this is the promotional video the director painstakingly edited for us on short notice. How is it?"
"Clap, clap, clap... how should I put this?"
The room was silent. Everyone sat in front of the sofa for a long time, unable to recover from the visual impact. Finally, Kujou Maki reluctantly clapped half-heartedly. "It's... very unique?"
"Indeed. The only question is, how on earth did this pass the censors?! Is this something that can be broadcast on TV?"
Iori slammed the table repeatedly. Miyazawa Yuu saw the coffee table's "health bar" dropping by -1 and noticed Iori shifting into a hostile state, so he offered some perfunctory comfort: "It's fine. Anyway, it's not like they're going to take us off the air."
"You're actually using 'not being taken off the air' as the goal, Yuu, you bastard!"
"Well~ you guys didn't have any objections when we were filming. Why are you blaming me now?"
Ignoring Iori's thoughts, Miyazawa Yuu responded to all the disdainful glares with dissatisfaction. Finally, he turned with a sycophantic smile toward his mother-in-law.
"So, Mother-in-law, with our joint efforts, the filming was a complete success!"
"Please don't include us! And that's too fawning!"
"Is this the face of a sycophant? How shameless..."
One by one, they stood up from the sofa to distance themselves from Miyazawa Yuu. Whether it was the truly innocent Chisa or the "fake-innocent" Kohei, none of them wanted to admit that the mess on the TV had anything to do with them.
Honestly, putting that kind of thing on the screen felt a bit like an act of revenge against society.
The omnipresent mosaics felt like the most ruthless mockery of human standards! It had smeared the niche PaB spirit all over Japan's face.
As for Kotegawa Sayaka...
"Yes, thank you all for your help!"
"Eep!"
Squeezed to the ends of the sofa armrests, Kujou Maki and the Forelady felt the air being sucked out of the room. No matter how hard they tried to breathe, they couldn't catch a single breath!
Is this the pressure of a strong person? To be able to create an absolute "dead zone" in the human world—it was terrifyingly formidable!
"Come, Yuu. Let's go to the back room and discuss your reward. How about it?"
Sayaka shifted from her previous cross-legged posture to sitting with hands on her knees, brimming with anger. She didn't care if her daughter was nearby; she pointed toward the room behind her, clearly intending to "beat the child" behind closed doors.
This guy! She had only escaped for a little while because she was too shy to interact with her daughter, and he had turned the interview into that!
Recalling how many people she had treated to dinner and how many favors she had called in for this interview, her heart ached so much her facial muscles clenched, and her pinky finger shook unconsciously.
"Hiss... my intuition tells me it's best not to follow you, Mother-in-law!"
"Your intuition is quite accurate! Get over here!"
"Wait! Wait! I can explain! At least let me explain!"
Being grabbed by both legs and dragged backward, Miyazawa Yuu threw his arms around the troubled Nanaka, struggling desperately to win a chance to explain.
"For some reason, I get that awkward feeling of being at a friend's house when they're getting scolded by their parents."
"Truth be told, you're right!"
"Huff... huff... hmm?"
Hearing that Kohei and Iori actually dared to comment, Kotegawa Sayaka glared fiercely. Her sharp gaze scared the two scumbags into shifting a few centimeters closer to Aina and Chisa.
Although Yuu was tough, without transforming, he was still mortal flesh. If Auntie "did him in" and wasn't satisfied, she might come for them next. They needed to have some "stabilizing objects" nearby!
"Phew—! Speak! If it's not good news, even Nanaka won't be able to save you!"
"Yes, yes! The director called me. The ratings exploded! 87% higher than other exploration programs in the same time slot!"
"Isn't that just more embarrassing?! How is that good news!"
"Of course it's good news, Mother-in-law! No matter what, even if it's embarrassing, 'black-publicity' is still publicity. For a business, isn't customer traffic enough?"
The grip on his legs loosened. Miyazawa Yuu didn't react in time, and his knees slammed into the floor. The "funny bones" in both legs were triggered, sending a jolt so intense his eyes rolled back— "Eep!"
"Be careful, Yuu. It didn't hurt, did it? Also, that expression is so cute..."
Pulling her boyfriend onto the sofa, the single-seater had no room left, so Kotegawa Nanaka could only have him lie across her lap in a bridal carry, with his legs dangling off the side.
On the other side, Kotegawa Sayaka walked over to Kohei and spread her hands, giving him a look that said "you figure it out."
The latter understood instantly. Ignoring the fact that the Lalako livestream was still on, he obediently handed over the TV remote—no joke, while Lalako was more important than his own life, she was a small fry compared to Auntie Sayaka!
"Are you saying that this art form, fluttering with the sea, was actually widely accepted?"
Replaying the recording of the program, Kotegawa Sayaka squinted. The more she watched, the more she suspected this kid Yuu was lying to her just to stay alive!
If this kind of thing was widely accepted, had all normal humans in Japan died out?
"Yes, and it seems Yuuichi has been dubbed something like 'Japan's New Era Atypical NEET Showa Sunshine Youth'?"
Nodding firmly to show he wasn't lying, Miyazawa Yuu guaranteed that there was probably no one in idol groups more popular than Ikekoshi Yuuichi right now!
While the PaB club's behavior was hard to accept and imitate in reality, the internet provided distance. The nonsensical act of "drinking while naked" happened to perfectly align with the mental state of Japan's youth.
Plus, Yuuichi was good-looking and had established a persona of loving diving and sports, so he was being highly promoted by official channels.
"They say that although his head isn't quite right, compared to NEETs who rot in their homes without anyone noticing, the media outlets prefer his type!"
"It's true! Mr. Ikekoshi's encyclopedia tags have changed too, exactly as Yuu said!"
There was no need for debate. In the information age, Yoshiwara Aina used her phone to search, and the reaction to the show and Ikekoshi's reversal in reputation were all plain to see.
Looking at the top ten trending topics—attained purely by merit without buying a spot—and the Dolphin tag on it, Kotegawa Sayaka, though baffled, could only acknowledge her employees' efforts.
"It seems the publicity worked. John! Victory banquet!"
"It's been ready for a long time!"
Poking his head out from the kitchen, John secretly noted that his boss was someone who was "tough-talking but soft-hearted." She had clearly told him to prepare the banquet long ago, yet she insisted on "testing" her employees.
Time was short and the task heavy; he hadn't actually cooked many dishes himself, most were pre-ordered takeout, but there was plenty of beer and drinks!
"Long live the Store Manager!"
"Oh! There's alcohol, Iori! Today's labor wasn't in vain!"
"You bastard, it was clearly me who did the vast majority of the work!"
The suffocating atmosphere of interrogation vanished without a trace. Launching off the sofa, Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kohei grabbed beers in their mouths and ran to help serve the food.
Sighing in relief, Kotegawa Chisa was glad her mother's good mood remained. Savouring the belated care, she tentatively reached out her hand to the older woman.
"Mom, let's go eat! You worked hard today!"
"...Mmh."
Rising and using her sunglasses and height to hide her fluster, Kotegawa Sayaka thought for a long time before finally turning and taking Chisa's hand, as if turning her back would allow her to maintain her "cold" persona.
"!!!"
A smile instantly filled Chisa's face. It was a look of satisfaction that Kotegawa Nanaka hadn't seen in a long time.
Reaching out to hold Yuu's hand with fingers intertwined, she leaned back against the sofa, her body soft with happiness. Her voice was so quiet only Miyazawa Yuu could hear it.
"Thank you, Yuu. Little Chisa is very happy~"
"Eh? But on my end, I can only see Nanaka-san's smile, and it's super beautiful!"
"Meanie~"