The theme of "stand-in romance" has been an area that makes people's teeth ache since ancient times, but this issue clearly didn't exist for Kohei.
Given his fanatical devotion to voice actors, as long as he could have close physical contact with a beautiful seiyuu—even just as a stand-in—it was enough to satisfy his modest heart.
However, for Yoshiwara Aina, this was currently an unbearable pain in her life!
Although they hadn't officially established a relationship, she had already defaulted to Kohei being her boyfriend. Lending her boyfriend out to act in a romantic scene felt like her head was turning a bit too "green"!
But for the same reason as before—since they hadn't confirmed their relationship—she didn't seem to have the right to stop him from making a choice.
Helpless, she could only try to shift the responsibility, trusting that Miss Muranaka Yukari probably wouldn't want to act in a romantic scene with a total stranger either...
"I'm fine with it! As long as it helps Yuuichi, I'm willing to do anything. Besides, people in this industry aren't that picky about acting in scenes together~"
"Eh?"
Aina thought Yukari would also strongly object, but to her surprise, the other woman agreed as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Yoshiwara Aina's entire body froze on the spot.
Dammit! She had forgotten that people in show business don't have special emotional hang-ups about acting. When Yukari did voice acting, her "husbands" and "boyfriends" probably yelled into microphones all the time.
"Ah... no, wait, Miss Yukari. Aren't you and Mr. Yuuichi supposed to be together forever... and all that?"
Her lips trembled with panic. Aina's eyes welled with tears as she gestured wildly, trying to reverse Yukari's overly open-minded way of thinking.
However, hearing this, Muranaka Yukari tapped her cheek and tilted her head, explaining with a face full of innocence, "Of course! That's why Yuuichi is absolutely forbidden from even the suspicion of cheating!"
"Then you..."
"I'm fine, because I'm a fiancée who could never possibly cheat, right~?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Facing his fiancée, who was hugging his arm and snuggling against him, Ikekoshi Yuuichi nodded helplessly to prevent her paranoia from acting up and making her want to commit a lovers' suicide with him.
"Eh? Is that so? Then I have no problem... Kohei! Inhale—!"
Cold sweat poured down. Betrayed by the engaged couple's combined front, Yoshiwara Aina's pupils shook; for a moment, she couldn't find another excuse to block them.
Turning stiffly, she tugged at Imamura Kohei's sleeve with a sorrowful expression, then burst into tears and shrank into a corner, wallowing in self-pity.
"Ah, ah~ Aina has suffered a total defeat."
"Lacking the courage to go all-in, she only hopes to push the power of decision to others to get a perfect ending... it's really a childish way of thinking."
Miyazawa Yuu offered no effective advice for the current situation; this was his way of respecting the relationship between Kohei and Aina.
Leaning against the wall with Iori, both actually felt a bit bad for the despondent Aina, but the girl couldn't expect them to "administer justice" for everything.
Making herself look weak, hoping others would help, clearly holding Kohei's heart yet not daring to state it clearly, while feeling fear and rejection toward outside intrusion...
Aina... is truly a "cunning" woman!
"..."
Aina's mood was very off; Kohei knew this well. Frowning as he looked at her lonely, small figure—resembling a solitary little animal—his gaze became exceptionally long and profound.
Under normal circumstances, if a famous seiyuu were willing to act in a scene with him, and even allowed stripping and drinking, he would have agreed excitedly. But now...
"Aina."
"Mmh! I'm not unhappy at all!"
Her body flinched. Realizing her sulking was a bit too obvious, Yoshiwara Aina quickly stood up and pressed two fingers against her dimples to force a smile.
"Ahaha, I'll wait here..."
"Aina, do you want me to go?"
Before she could finish, she looked at Kohei, who was standing sideways facing her with a look of disappointment, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed hard.
According to her usual persona, she should pretend not to care and wave him off, telling him to go have fun. But she had a vague premonition—if she dared to let go, both she and Kohei would end up hurt!
A newly established intimate relationship is very unstable. To use his terminology, she was currently at a branching path in a Galgame where she couldn't save her progress!
"I... no, I don't want Kohei to go!"
"Yoshi! Sorry, we can't help out here!"
"I see. Sorry for making such a difficult request."
Imamura Kohei directly waved it off and refused. Although Ikekoshi Yuuichi was disappointed, he could only accept it, nodding with a wry smile to say it was fine—with Yuu leading him from the side, he should still be able to establish the persona.
"???"
Looking at the harmonious scene, Aina's face turned into a literal doodle—two circles and an inverted triangle for eyes and a mouth, while her nose simply vanished.
It went... that smoothly?
The plot was supposed to be Kohei looking at his favorite seiyuu, clutching his chest in agony as he ruthlessly refused for her sake, while Ikekoshi Yuuichi begged in tears!
"Um..."
Approaching Ikekoshi Yuuichi, Yoshiwara Aina looked like a child who had done something wrong. She hid her hands behind her back and asked guiltily, "Mr. Yuuichi... aren't you angry?"
"Why would I be angry? Kohei is Aina's boyfriend. Isn't it only natural that Aina wouldn't want to lend him out?"
"Boy—! Boy-boy-boy-boyfriend!"
"Is he not?"
His ears were nearly deafened. Ikekoshi Yuuichi was truly a high-EQ talent capable of surviving the entertainment industry; he had instantly stepped right into the only "strike zone" in Yoshiwara Aina's heart!
"Not... well, not exactly yet, hehehe... hehe!"
"That laugh is super disgusting, Aina."
"Seems she's getting ahead of herself. I suggest a round of 'bamboo shoots fried with meat' to clear the kid's head!"
The ruthless roasting began. Honestly, Aina's current state was exactly like a middle-aged uncle who had just gotten a bargain on a train. Iori's use of the word "disgusting" was not misplaced at all!
Walking over and giving her a hard knock on the head, Miyazawa Yuu gently pushed Aina toward Kohei's position, lest she continue to display the PaB club's bottomless lack of standards to the outside world.
"...Thanks, Aina."
"No, it's nothing. I'm the one who should thank Kohei for being willing to accommodate me!"
Their eyes met. The height difference between Kohei and Aina wasn't too large; standing together, they only needed to adjust slightly to get the perfect perspective.
They said nothing more. For this pair, silence was the best form of communication.
They weren't like the high-EQ pair of Yuu and Azusa-senpai, who were born knowing how to communicate and express feelings. Therefore, every step they took toward each other was exceptionally precious.
"Mmh, I understand. It would be great if it succeeds~"
On the other side, after consulting with the director for a short while, Miyazawa Yuu finally came up with a plan that would allow filming to continue.
Walking over to the two who were just short of pouring their hearts out to each other, he roughly tugged Kohei's ear and fitted a wireless headset with a mic onto his head.
"Waaa! Yuu, what are you doing?"
"Nonsense, I'm making up for it. I told the director we can split the costs 50/50 and send out two boats so you and Aina can sync up with the program at sea."
Pointing to a small boat that was coming over, Miyazawa Yuu felt like he was playing the role of both father and mother, breaking his back for these "living ancestors" of the PaB club without even getting any thanks.
But since he was planning to inherit Grand Blue and the PaB club, he brought this on himself!
"I'll handle the part where Ikekoshi can't loosen up. You and Aina just help handle the dialogue issues. If you do a good job, the Manager will give you guys a holiday in a couple of days!"
"A holiday?!"
Kohei's eyes lit up, and his mind instantly became active. Although Aina's current attitude was still ambiguous, a trip out together would definitely strengthen their shaky foundation!
"That's right!"
In reality, there was no holiday. Miyazawa Yuu planned to have himself and Nanaka-san cover the workload for the whole group to earn them a "victory vacation."
"What do you say? You in or out?"
"IN!!!"
...
Half an hour later, the two boats headed out to sea. Watching Aina and Kohei take another step forward, Kitahara Iori stood on a wooden cleat on the deck with a gratified smile on his face.
Turning around dashingly, he imitated a hero hiding his fame and merit, pulling his phone from his pocket—[Kohei might actually be getting a girlfriend!] (Group Sent)
Heh! Did they think he would just honestly give them his blessing? In their dreams!
These guys all left and dumped the mountain of odd jobs on him. If Kohei actually succeeded, Iori would probably be the only one left unloved in the PaB club! Unforgivable!
His facial expression contorted. The aura of jealousy radiating from Iori made Kujou Maki, who was passing by, shiver in fear—"Did Iori get dumped? I thought he and Kohei were on good terms!"