"So, is this your reason for bringing back a whole horde of people?"
At the filming site, looking at the "demons and monsters" Takahashi Aina had brought back, Oshima Keiko folded her arms and took a deep breath. She glared at her own artist with eyes of varying sizes, brimming with repressed fury.
This was a critical turning point that would determine the rise or fall of her career, yet she dared to fool around like this? Did she really think she was an immortal star among Japanese models?
"Um..."
Performing a well-behaved dogeza, Takahashi Aina tilted her head pitifully and nodded in a fawning manner.
Fearing her manager would continue to blow a fuse, she quickly added: "But don't worry, it's definitely not a whim! This person—this person is the one who revived Mr. Ikegoshi's project. He's very amazing!"
"I know this kid. He's the main culprit responsible for your drop in popularity, right?"
As Takahashi Aina's manager, Oshima Keiko might be a newcomer to the workplace, but she was a legitimate, professional "pro" from a specialized background.
Compared to Aina—a pure model who saw success and simply thought "Wow! Amazing!"—Keiko's academic experience had exposed her to many successful cases. She had long since de-mystified the idea of an ordinary person successfully launching a "brand."
In her eyes, steadily building a persona was the royal road; everything else was just aggressive, underhanded tactics!
Furthermore, this kid was just a flash in the pan, yet Aina revered him as a "Teacher"!
"Oshima Keiko! Also, I must say, Aina seems to have been chanting your glorious name quite often these past few days, Teacher Yuu!"
Approaching Yu with a distorted, high-intensity smile, Oshima Keiko tilted her head in a seemingly friendly manner. However, her words held a sharp subtext as she extended her slender hand in a threatening gesture: "My ears have practically grown callouses from listening to it!"
"...Hello?"
Miyazawa Yuu observed the extended hand with great focus. After confirming there was no strange liquid stuck to it, he forced a fake smile and reached out to shake the short-haired woman's hand.
Of course, he was merely reasonably suspicious that she might have smeared glue on her hand, or perhaps hadn't washed after picking her nose.
After all, the thick "scumbag aura" radiating from her was so strong that if he hadn't been told she was Miss Aina's manager, he would have thought she was a senior who had graduated from some past year of the PaB Club!
"Keiko-san! You can't talk to Teacher Yu like that! He's a kind person who came here to help..."
Takahashi Aina couldn't watch any longer. Blushing, she hugged her manager and forcibly dragged her toward the temporary rest area set up by the equipment crew.
Teacher Yu, Mr. Kohei, and Iori were all good people who had given up their own play time to help. She absolutely could not let her domineering manager ruin everyone's kindness!
"Miss Aina, superstitious belief in metaphysics is undesirable. Please trust my plan!"
"Hiss... I get the feeling this duo is somehow strangely subtle?"
"Exactly!"
Watching the manager lady struggle unwillingly even as she was dragged away, Miyazawa Yuu felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if he had seen this situation with someone else!
Iori and Aina shared the same sentiment. Moreover, this had definitely happened nearby. If they remembered correctly...
Their gazes locked onto Kohei simultaneously, making the latter break out in a cold sweat. They remembered the last time they went to karaoke with Miss Mizuki—Kohei had been dragged away in a similar fashion while shouting that Miss Kayano was number one in the world.
"...Undoubtedly, she belongs to the same category as Azusa-senpai! I seem to have been targeted!"
The final verdict was passed immediately. However, Miyazawa Yuu's expression remained calm and unfazed. After all, if he could tame Azusa-senpai herself, what was there to fear?
Besides, he didn't have much... interest in Miss Aina anyway, so he shouldn't be seen as a competitor, right?
"Don't jump to conclusions. I personally think there's a huge gap between her and Azusa-senpai!"
Holding up a finger, Imamura Kohei felt his reputation was at risk of being collateral damage, so he quickly explained: "Keiko-san's attitude toward Miss Aina is clearly that of an 'Oshi' (idol fan). Actually, she has no romantic feelings!"
"Eh? Then how do you explain her behavior just now?"
"It's likely because Miss Aina talks about Yu too much, creating a sense of crisis, which in turn triggered her dissatisfaction?"
Frowning as he looked toward the rest area, Imamura Kohei couldn't reach a definitive conclusion. After all, he just liked voice actors; he wasn't a delusional, obsessive solo-fan.
However, if this followed an anime plot—"Yuu! Be careful. You might get stabbed the moment you open the door!"
"Hey, hey! That got terrifying all of a sudden. Is she really that extreme?"
A shiver traveled from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Miyazawa Yuu looked at Kohei with a skeptical gaze, suspecting the guy had rotted his brain from binge-watching. How could anyone in real life be so petty over such a small thing?
Besides, Aina was there. Even if Oshima Keiko wanted to do something, she would definitely be stopped!
"Everyone! Sorry, I've already given Keiko a stern scolding. I'm truly very sorry!"
"It's fine. May I see your planning sheet..."
Just as he was calculating whether he should order a chainmail vest for self-defense, Miyazawa Yuu turned around defenselessly at the sound of the voice.
However, when he saw Takahashi Aina's state, his body froze. A chilling sensation spread from his heart because Aina currently had a pair of scissors stuck in her chest.
A massive bloodstain surged from her chest, dyeing half of her white skirt red, contrasting sharply with the girl's pale yet smiling face.
Furthermore, behind Aina, Oshima Keiko followed slowly with hollow eyes, her body covered in spray-type bloodstains, her hand reverse-gripping a dripping fruit knife over ten centimeters long.
"Aah! Murder! Miss Aina, are you okay?!"
A piercing scream erupted from beside him. Yoshiwara Aina was similarly startled by Miss Aina's new look upon turning around. She instinctively rushed forward to check the other's injuries.
However, because of this, the distance between the "suspect" Oshima Keiko and Aina shortened to less than two meters. Imamura Kohei and Miyazawa Yuu, despite their shock at the "speak of the devil" timing, sprinted forward simultaneously!
"Aina, be careful! Miss Aina, how are you? Have you started hallucinating from blood loss? An idol shouldn't just reveal her real coordinates like that!"
"St-stay back! Don't come any closer!"
In the blink of an eye, Yoshiwara Aina fell into a warm embrace. She belatedly looked at the tense Kohei holding both her and the idol.
She poked her head out to glance at Yu, whose veins were bulging from his back all the way to his seat, his aura fully unleashed. Although she should have been terrified, she felt an instant surge of safety!
"How nice~ Aina has so many people protecting her."
"Eh? It's actually nothing~ Wait! Miss Aina, are you okay? For a knife wound, should you pull it out or leave it in?!"
"Ma, ma~ don't worry. This stuff is obviously fake!"
Two lines of fresh blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Lying in Aina's arms, Takahashi Aina grabbed the handle of the scissors in her chest and yanked it out hard. A large bloodstain instantly sprayed out like a mini-fountain, staining the ground red.
"See~"
"See what?! It's even more terrifying now! You're spitting blood—are you really okay?"
Tears instantly shot out. Yoshiwara Aina snatched the scissors, her hands trembling with hesitation for two seconds. Then, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she stabbed the scissors back into Takahashi Aina's chest!
She remembered from TV that if you recklessly pull out a knife, it causes massive hemorrhaging. In that case, plugging it back in would surely be fine!
"Chotto! Mmph~!"
Her chest stung for an instant, and Takahashi Aina let out a pathetic sound. As for the scissors Yoshiwara Aina had pinned her hopes on, they twisted directly into a pretzel.
Stunned on the spot, Yoshiwara Aina tilted her head in confusion and stabbed the other blade against her own chest.
"Eh? It seems to be... made of paper?"
"Exactly. These props are all made of hard paper pulp painted over to look real! Exquisite, aren't they?"
Clutching her chest, Takahashi Aina looked in surprise at how Aina's "steel-plate" chest perfectly repelled the damage, then explained: "So, there was no murder. Rest easy."
"And the blood in your mouth?"
"It's just a fake blood packet. But they're super easy to bite through, making it very inconvenient to talk!"
She opened her mouth to show the plastic film stuck to her back molars. Soon, a staff member ran over with a basin, letting Takahashi Aina spit the remaining waste blood into it.
"It was actually..."
"Fake?"
A false alarm. Exiting his heightened state, Miyazawa Yuu patted his heart, which had nearly jumped out of his chest, and breathed a long sigh of relief, thankful that nothing had happened.
To be honest, the prank was actually easy to distinguish. The fault lay with Kohei and his big mouth!
Right after he said something was going to happen, Aina came running over covered in blood. It would be weirder if he didn't have a stress response!
"Are you okay, Yu? Relax, how could there be so many accidents while we're out playing?"
"I'm fine. By the way, Yamamoto, you guys actually weren't scared at all."
Standing back up with Nanaka's support, Miyazawa Yuu looked at the others. He found that even the idiots like Nojima hadn't budged an inch, looking perfectly calm. He was instantly impressed!
After all, according to habit, the most normal reaction for these scumbags would have been to flee immediately, right?
"Hmph! Exactly! How could a little toy like that scare us!"
"Yu, don't look down on others. You have to admit your mental state still needs training!"
Exchanging a glance, Yamamoto Shinichirou and Nojima Hajime's gazes turned instantly firm. They began to play along with each other, acting arrogant as if they hadn't been scared at all.
Of course, if one ignored their constantly trembling calves, those words might have actually held some credibility.
"Hmph hmph! How is it? Our plan?"
Her tone went up with a hint of pride. Sneaking up from behind and pressing a dagger against Miyazawa Yuu's lower back, Oshima Keiko pushed hard. The moment the tip touched muscle, it immediately retracted into the handle.
"Summer Cooling Scare. The selling point is Aina's figure in a wet dress and the reactions of the young couples being terrified!"
"Eh?! Because you're feeling smug, has your attitude toward me improved as well?"
Being able to clearly sense the shift in Keiko's attitude, Miyazawa Yuu pressed his hands together and silently apologized to Azusa-senpai in his heart—
Ranking Keiko on the same level as her was completely lowering the average score for that tier!
By comparison, the former was not only purer but her loves, hates, and grudges were unexpectedly easy to understand. She looked exactly like a bright, sunny, cheerful girl!
"I-I did not!"
Her eyes widened as she felt looked down upon. Oshima Keiko clearly wanted Aina to praise her, but she didn't want to look too pathetic and lose "favorability" points. She could only hint again: "Even Teacher Yu was scared—doesn't that prove the plan is qualified!"
"...Though I want to say there were specific reasons, the fact that I was scared is indeed irrefutable."
Nodding truthfully, Miyazawa Yuu did not deny the fact that he was startled.
However, watching Aina mingling and playing with Yoshiwara Aina, he still offered a friendly tip: "But this plan relies heavily on coordination. It'll be hard to get a good variety-show effect, won't it?"
"It's fine. It will definitely work!!!"
Clenching her fist tightly, as the manager and semi-director, Oshima Keiko could already see Miss Aina bowing down in admiration of her successful plan.
And after that, she would proactively abandon the bastard Teacher Yu and fly over to hug her!
"Hehe!"
An arrogant smile gradually crept onto her face—but according to Murphy's Law, what followed next would, without a doubt, be an "accident"!