Chapter 2

Hmm. So you’re my producer, are you?

“I smell another woman.”

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. We’d solved one case, but that didn’t mean all the trouble was over. Right after Natsunagi and Hel had resolved their business, Yui Saikawa the super idol had turned up on my doorstep with a new problem.

This sort of thing had happened before, hadn’t it? Not only that, but due to a certain situation, she’d appointed me her producer.

“Saikawa, don’t go around sniffing my apartment.”

Saikawa was making snuffling noises like a puppy, and I gave her a disapproving look. We’d just been talking about a serious issue, and now this? Maybe I shouldn’t have let her in?

“Hm. I’m picking up a suspicious scent from this direction.”

“I told you, knock it off.”

Saikawa was just about to open the door to my bedroom, and I gave her a little shove.

“Ow! Kimizuka, you’re the only person anywhere who’d hit the world’s most adorable super idol.” Tears beaded in her eyes as she pressed a hand to her head.

“Adorably irritating” is a more accurate descriptor than “adorable,” I thought as I told her off. “That’s my bedroom. No trespassing.”

“It’s fine. I took a shower before I came.”

“I don’t get why that would make it okay.”

Besides, more importantly… “Natsunagi’s sleeping in there. Don’t disturb her.”

Sharing her memories with Hel had been a stressful experience, and she still hadn’t woken up.

“Oh-ho? Kimizuka, have you finally become a man?”

“What is wrong with you? It’s a complicated situation, all right?” I wanted to fill her in on stuff, that situation included, so I wished she’d hurry up and get back to her seat.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

Just then, SIESTA emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray with tea for three on it. Even though I knew she wasn’t the real one, the sight of Siesta in a maid outfit serving us from my kitchen was certainly a thing.

“Unpleasant gaze detected. I will eliminate the source immediately.”

“Don’t go full android on me. Put that gun down right now.”

“Hmm. Your couples’ comedy routine is alive and well, I see. You’re making me a little jealous over here.”

“It’s not a competition, Saikawa. Let’s get back on topic.” As we drank our tea, I shifted the conversation back to what we’d originally been talking about. “So, is it true? Your parents are suspected of fraudulent accounting?”

That was what Saikawa had told me ten minutes earlier, when she’d stopped by out of the blue.

Saikawa’s wealthy parents were suspected of having conducted some sort of illegal accounting. It was just now coming to light.

“…Yes. Well, I don’t know the whole truth yet, but the news will probably be on TV and online tomorrow. The media are already swarming my house.” Saikawa took a sip of her tea. She looked a little discouraged.

“I see… And so you escaped over here in the middle of the night?”

That had been Ms. Fuubi’s second piece of bad news.

Bat’s jailbreak, and the scandal involving Saikawa’s parents: Both were problems I couldn’t afford to ignore.

“Yes. I’m looking for a place that will shelter me for a little while.”

I see. So this was a request from a client. But… “Wouldn’t it be better to ask Natsunagi about that?” If she was going to be a freeloader, staying with Natsunagi would be a more convenient option than staying with a guy. Besides, at this point, she’d gladly lend Saikawa a hand as a detective.

“Yes, you’re right. And so what I want you to do, Kimizuka, is be my producer,” she said, finally getting back to the initial subject. “It’s going to be hard to go home or visit my agency for a while. I thought it might be faster to have you take over as producer.”

“Saikawa, are you trying to fob off an insane odd job on me?” I mean, I wasn’t trying to belittle the production industry by calling it an odd job, but come on.

“Congratulations, Kimizuka. Starting today, you are both the ace detective’s assistant and an idol singer’s producer.”

“Yeah, I sure feel like a winner…” I slumped back in my chair, sighing. “I guess I could do it, though.”

“…Huh? You will? You stopped fighting that really fast.”

Yeah, because pacing is important with stuff like this. That was something Siesta had told me to “work on improving” multiple times way back when.

“If I’m going to be your producer, then I’ll have to stick close to you, right? The security at this place isn’t good enough to really protect you, though.”

After all, this building was thirty years old. It didn’t have automatic locks, and the toilets didn’t even come with the standard bidet function. My apartment was a cheap one-bedroom; the rent was only 36,000 yen.

“In that case, you’re welcome to use my house,” SIESTA offered. “It has a decent number of rooms, plus a stock of groceries and daily necessities. The security is stricter than a downtown high-rise apartment building. It’s entirely underground, and I lived there in secret for close to a year without being detected.”

“I see. The room where you had us locked up, huh?”

In terms of space and safety, that place did sound as if it would fit the bill. Besides, there was one other thing I needed to be concerned about right now: Bat.

Natsunagi and I were his enemies. Now that he’d broken out of jail, we should probably lie low until we knew what he was planning… I’d also just been thinking it would be nice to get a break from my summer classes, so this was perfect.

“I see. So we’ll be cohabiting?” Saikawa murmured, putting a fingertip to her chin.

Cohabiting—Siesta had joked about that with me lots of times. For three whole years, it had been just the two of us on that dizzying journey with no clear destination. It was true that we’d spent several nights under one roof. She always got such a kick out of that. She’d smiled at me and called it “cohabiting.” But I’d always responded the same way.

“We’re just strategic roommates.”

“I heard everything!” Just then, with a click, the door behind us opened.

“…Natsunagi, don’t interrupt me when I’m sounding cool.”

We’d been right in the middle of the scene where my melancholy, sentimental profile stole the spotlight.

“I heard ‘cohabitation,’ and it just happened. It’s a fun word.” Natsunagi joined us at the kitchen table.

…Geez, she’s always like this. She didn’t seem tense at all. “Is everything okay now?” I asked casually. I meant her health and the past she’d just learned about, plus her resolution to become the ace detective.

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

It was just a brief exchange. However, from Natsunagi’s clear, determined profile, I could tell she wasn’t lying.

She’d shouldered Siesta’s will…and probably Alicia’s as well.

In front of that mirror, she’d settled accounts with her past.

“Now then, to recap—for now, we’ll shelter Saikawa and move into SIESTA’s hideout. Any objections?” Attempting to wrap up the discussion, I checked with SIESTA, Natsunagi, and Saikawa.

“Except for the fact that you’re taking charge of a discussion regarding the use of my house, I have no complaints.”

“As long as I ignore the fact that you’re acting like the protagonist even though I’m the detective, no objections here.”

“If I said I wasn’t afraid to live under the same roof as Kimizuka, I’d be lying, but I’ll put up with it!”

“…Great. So we’re all agreed.”

And that’s how the four of us began strategically rooming together.

“No, I have—!!!”

A sullen-looking blond agent burst in immediately afterward, but that’s another story.

Use proper Japanese

The next morning.

“—! I’m terribly sorry… I would— Yes, I’d like to refrain from giving an official response regarding that matter… Yes, if you’ll excuse me.”

The producer’s lackluster apology echoed in an underground room.

The only thing I could really do was keep telling the unseen people on the other end of the line that I was sorry. I didn’t know if there was actually any point to this; I was acting on my employer’s orders… Seems like I’ve always been somebody’s employee.

So, yesterday evening, I’d moved to SIESTA’s hideout. Early in the morning, after a nap, I’d started doing the work Saikawa had assigned to me. Every few minutes, somebody called the cell phone she’d given me with questions about the scandal or messages about jobs.

As an aside, SIESTA, the master of this house, had been gone since last night. She’d said she was concerned about Bat’s movements. I’d offered to help her, but she’d told me to “just concentrate on being Yui Saikawa’s producer,” and so here I was.

“ ‘Labor is evil,’ huh…” Finally managing to hang up, I sighed, gazing at the cell phone.

There was no way I could have successfully learned how to be an idol singer’s producer in a day. Without the magic words “my supervisor is currently absent,” I would’ve snapped under the stress and smashed the phone on the floor by now.

“…Man, this is ugly.” I shot a sidelong glance at the variety show on the living room TV.

As Saikawa had predicted yesterday, they were discussing her parents’ scandal. A commentator who wasn’t any sort of expert was throwing out all sorts of wild guesses and insisting that Saikawa herself had an obligation to explain.

“Oh, shut up, dude. Don’t you talk about Saikawa.” My irritation got the better of me; I yanked the cord out of the wall, and the TV went dark.

“…Haaah. I guess I’d better go wake them up.”

When I looked at the clock, it was almost noon, but there was still no sign of the other three. For starters, I headed for the room where Natsunagi and Saikawa were sleeping.

“Heeey, it’s almost…noon…?”

The first thing I saw when I stepped inside was two girls lying in bed. The covers had slipped off just a bit to reveal Natsunagi hugging Saikawa to her like a stuffed animal. Both girls were in their pajamas. They were breathing peacefully, and their tranquil faces were so sacred I wanted to gaze at them forever—but that wasn’t why I was here.

“C’mon. I’ll make breakfast for you, so get up already.”

They were both out cold, but I shook them awake.

“Mm… Breeeakfast? I want Schau Essen sausageees…” Natsunagi finally made it back from dreamland, rubbing her eyes.

“We don’t have Schau Essen, but we’ve got regular wieners, so hurry and wake up.”

“Yaaawn… Mm, I want to eat thaaat… Kimizuka’s wieneeer…”

“Natsunagi, go wash your face already. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Nooo, no, Natsunagiii… Kimizuka’s Kimizuka is more a fiiish sausage than a wieneeer…”

“Saikawa, you can’t say stuff like that just because you’re half asleep, all right? Wait, this means you even make fun of me subconsciously.”

I yanked the covers off them, then turned the thermostat down to eighteen degrees Celsius and left the room.

Charlie was next.

Since there were only two bedrooms, we’d played rock-paper-scissors to decide who’d sleep where last night. Unfortunately, I’d ended up sharing with Charlie. She slept way rougher than I’d thought, and she’d kept waking me up. But now she was trying to sleep.

As I was plotting the best way to get my revenge, I opened the bedroom door and saw—

“Charlie, what the heck are you doing?”

Charlie had her face buried in a pillow and was sniffing it loudly.

“That’s the pillow I was using…”

“K-Kimizuka?! Oh— Th-this isn’t what it looks like! You’ve got it all wrong!”

“…Uh. Well, you know. Different people have different, uh, preferences, so, yeah…”

“Hey, don’t take this so seriously! At least get mad! Hey! Look at me! Stop acting so uncomfortable!” Sweating bullets, Charlie desperately struggled to explain herself. “That wasn’t it! I thought I caught Ma’am’s scent on this pillow! That’s the only reason I was smelling it!”

“…I think that might also be a problem.”

“—! That does it! I’ll have to steal your memories!” With a wild gleam in her eyes, Charlie tried to shove me down onto the bed. “Sorry to do this when you just got your memories back, but I’m taking eighteen years’ worth of knowledge and experience!”

“That’s too much! Are you planning to turn me into an adult-size baby?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t know about Nagisa, but that’ll probably suit Yui’s tastes nicely.”

“Hey, what sort of tastes are you assigning your friends?”

Charlie roughly pushed me down onto the bed. “Just give up.” She leaned over me, her face red with anger and agitation, and just then—

“What are you two doing?”

The door stood open. Saikawa was watching us coldly. “Are you one of those ‘frenemy couples’?”

“ “No!” ”

We accidentally spoke in unison. We couldn’t afford to match up on anything else.

“Saikawa, that’s not it. You’ve got it all wrong!”

Then, as I was trying to fumble my way through an excuse…

“—Double. Kill.”

Natsunagi looked down on us with eyes so frigid it made the air- conditioning seem lukewarm. Then she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

“Th-this isn’t that, Nagisa! It was an assident!”

“You mean ‘accident’!!!”

Later on, the assistant ate and enjoyed it

After the “rise and shine” mess was over…

“I see it now.”

Natsunagi was standing in the kitchen wearing an apron. She was holding a ladle like a professional baseball player predicting her home run, and her eyes were narrowed keenly. When I’d started getting ready to make breakfast after that earlier trouble, she’d insisted on taking over for me.

She hadn’t been the only one.

“Can you even cook, Nagisa?” Charlie goaded her, also wearing an apron.

“Charlie…I’d never lose to you!”

“Huh. Then should we settle our score here and now?”

The two of them glared daggers at each other in front of the sink.

“Those two never seem to get along, do they?” Behind them, Saikawa murmured. She had her elbows propped on the table, with her chin resting in her hands. Natsunagi and Charlie had met about a week ago on that cruise and quarreled over Siesta.

“Having a cooking showdown as a proxy battle seems like a weird idea, but…”

I was at the table with Saikawa, watching the other two with a distant look in my eyes. They’d appointed us as judges for their contest… If their relationship had progressed to the fighting stage, though, this couldn’t be all bad. It seemed a lot healthier than feeling awkward about things that had happened a year ago, anyway.

“Well, I can’t imagine I’d lose to a girl like you, Nagisa.” Charlie combed her fingers through the blond hair she was so proud of.

“—! I’m the one who’s going to capture Kimizuka’s heart through his stomach!” Natsunagi retorted impulsively, but…

“…? Huh? What kind of contest was this again?”

“I was joking,” she muttered quickly, then turned to face forward.

“Kimizuka, can we get a quote about how incredibly cute Nagisa just was?”

“I didn’t hear it. I couldn’t hear a thing.” Instead, I turned to Natsunagi. “By the way, what are you making?”

“A sauté of blue Breton lobster and seasonal vegetables with mousseline sauce, maybe?”

“Are you planning to turn this into a cooking battle manga?”

Ignoring me, Natsunagi got a red lobster out of the fridge. Wait, she’s actually got the ingredients for that? Siesta eats way too well.

“…Um, so. Get good and hungry while you wait.”

Turning back around, Natsunagi winked and pointed the ladle at me.

“That’s weird.”

More than half an hour later, Natsunagi was floundering in the kitchen. She was watching the microwave. Inside it, something that used to be food was writhing like a black monster, apparently trying to burst out through the door. It was a disaster.

“But as long as I don’t open this door, we can’t say for sure that I messed it up, can we?”

“This isn’t Schrödinger’s cat. You’ve gotta open it sometime.”

Is she planning to make it so we can never use the microwave again?

“Ngh, I always make my own lunches, even…” Natsunagi’s shoulders slumped with dejection.

“Honestly! If you hadn’t tried to get so fancy out of nowhere, this wouldn’t have happened.” Charlie gave a disgusted snort at the mess. “I’ll make you some regular fried rice, so just sit tight.”

She pointed the frying pan at us as if it were a gun, then twirled back to the stove.

“That’s weird.” Charlie stood in front of the stove, racking her brains.

It had been another thirty minutes, and—I can’t say I was surprised—there was a mound of scorched black stuff in the frying pan.

“Maybe it’s one of those things that looks unfortunate but tastes surprisingly good?”

“If you really think that, eat it yourself. Don’t keep glancing at me.”

Sorry, but I’m completely sick of those two-panel, instant punchline comics.

“…I’m always busy, so I can’t cook for myself.”

Maybe living that way was part of being an agent. Charlie fidgeted with her hair, making excuses.

“Geez. This is going nowhere.”

Just then, our savior arrived.

“It’s lunchtime already. I’ll do it!” Rising from her judge’s chair, Saikawa tied on an apron and headed for the kitchen. “I’d like to have something ready to eat on hand too, so I’ll make curry. Nagisa, you cut up the meat. Charlie, steam another batch of rice, please.” Saikawa began dicing vegetables with a practiced hand.

“O-okay…”

“Um, sure…”

Shoulders hunched in embarrassment, Natsunagi and Charlie accepted Saikawa’s orders.

“Why is it that Saikawa always ends up being the most reliable one?” She was the only middle schooler in this group, too…

Saikawa overheard my mutter. “Heh-heh! I’ve been through quite a lot, you know.” She glanced at me over her shoulder, smiling wryly, and kept right on cutting vegetables as she did it.

Saikawa had lost her parents three years ago. I wondered suddenly if that was when she’d started cooking for herself.

“So I’m two steps ahead of both of you—younger and better at housekeeping.”

However, that glimpse of what she’d been through only lasted a moment before Saikawa began taunting the older girls… I don’t even have to tell you what the results were.

“Yui?”

“Uh, Yui?”

She was between two pairs of eyes glaring daggers that could have killed a wild animal.

“…K-Kimizuka. They’re scaring me…”

“Yeah, that’s one hundred percent your fault.”

It’s your story

The morning had been one thing after another, so I figured the rest of the day would be relatively peaceful, but I was dead wrong.

Saikawa’s work phone was ringing constantly, and it was all I could do to keep up. Meanwhile, Natsunagi, Saikawa, and Charlie had fun chatting and playing board games… C’mon, you people do some work too.

In any case, I’d spent the whole day working, but now I was finally taking a nice, long bath.

“…I’m beat.”

My voice echoed in the empty bathroom. Being alone made me remember that way too much had been happening lately. There was the kidnapping Siesta had set up, where we’d learned the truth of her death. Then, with SIESTA’s help, Natsunagi had remembered more of her past and even reconciled with her other personality. After that, just as one problem had been solved, here came Bat’s jailbreak and Saikawa’s scandal. Saikawa, Natsunagi, Charlie, and I had been forced to move to SIESTA’s hideout. We were living the fugitive life now.

“Yeesh. Not fair.” As I sighed, the same old ugly phrase slipped out. But this was a huge situation, and it had only been a few days. Nobody could blame me for complaining a little.

“…Siesta.”

And nobody could blame me for calling my old partner’s name, either. Yeah, it’s not as if I missed her or anythi…

“Man, this is bad.”

When did I get so weak?

I knew the answer to that right away. One year ago—on that day—Siesta had died, and now here I was. I shut my eyes to the truth, forgot my mission, fled into routine, and solved the little incidents I got dragged into. That was all I’d done, but I’d lied to myself and said I was carrying out the detective’s last wish.

What about me had changed since then?

I’d met Natsunagi, learned what Siesta felt, remembered my mission through Saikawa’s incident, and truly inherited the detective’s will after Charlie scolded me.

Had I had the wrong idea about all of that, though?

I hadn’t known Siesta’s past or Natsunagi’s. In the end, I was no different than I had been on that day. I was obliviously soaking in that same tepid water, just the way I’d—

“Guess I’ll get out.”

While I wasn’t paying attention, the bath had gone stone cold.

If I’d stayed in this water long enough, I bet I’d eventually have frozen to death, I thought. My head had cooled.

“Whoa. I may have to take back that ‘fish sausage’ remark.”

Suddenly I realized that the bathroom door was open, and Saikawa was standing right in front of me.

…Saikawa was standing right in front of me?

“Geez! What are you doing?!” I hastily ducked back down into the bath.

“Well, you know. I’ve been causing a lot of trouble, so I thought I’d at least wash your back.”

“You’re causing trouble for me right this minute! Shut the door, now!”

“Oh, honestly. If I must.” Sounding resigned, Saikawa closed the bathroom door. “There we go.”

“…Why are you still in here?”

“Huh? Taking a bath while chatting with a young girl was your greatest and only pleasure, wasn’t it?”

“Saikawa, is trashing my reputation a hobby of yours? …Besides, she was just really funny, that’s all.” Come to think of it, something like that had happened with Siesta, way back when.

“By the way, Kimizuka—you can shoo me out into the dressing room, but my left eye can see you naked through the door.”

“Turn around, right now. You’re only allowed to see me naked if you’re prepared to let me see you naked.”

“You’re acting like that’s a witty comment, but you really just want to take a bath with a girl, right?”

Man, Saikawa’s comebacks are top of the line.

“Huh, I see… So you and Siesta did this, too. That’s informative.”

“Don’t literally take notes. That’s not going to be on any high school entrance exam,” I told Saikawa through the bathroom door. “And, uh, I’d like to get out now.”

Then I chased Saikawa out of the dressing room and left the bathroom.

“The thing is, I’ve realized I don’t know much about Siesta.” Saikawa apparently wasn’t done with our conversation. This time, she talked to me through the dressing room door while I dried off. “Did you notice, Kimizuka? Siesta and I have no real connection to each other.” Now that she mentioned it, that was true. “Natsunagi and Charlie’s ties to her are much firmer. Natsunagi has inherited Siesta’s heart, and Charlie is Siesta’s first apprentice.”

“Only according to Charlie, but yeah.”

Still, I got what she was trying to say. Both Natsunagi and Charlie had met Siesta personally, a long time ago. Saikawa, though—

“Oh, but don’t think I’m trying to say I feel left out.” On the other side of the door, Saikawa sounded flustered. “You see, I think it’s why I’m able to stay neutral, to a certain extent.”

“Neutral?”

“Yes. For example, say the circumstances that surround us are a story. Who do you suppose is at the center of it?”

That was a pretty abstract question. Even so, one person instantly came to mind.

“That would be Siesta.”

I’d finished dressing, and I opened the door…but Saikawa wasn’t there.

“Yes, I think so too.”

I heard her voice from the living room. Did she mean we were supposed to continue this conversation in there?

“Well, without her, this story wouldn’t even have started.”

I’d been Siesta’s assistant for three years. Natsunagi was Siesta’s old friend, her mortal enemy—and now the inheritor of her heart. Charlie had looked up to Siesta as a teacher, and she still did. We were currently dealing with SPES, the enemy Siesta had been ordered to defeat.

The story that surrounded us was focused entirely on Siesta. She was the axis around which the world turned.

“But while I’m part of all that, I’m distant from Siesta. I’m the only one who is.”

When I went back to the dining room, Saikawa was there. She was holding a mug in both hands and blowing on it. “It’s hot milk. Have some, Kimizuka.”

“It’s summer,” I told her, but she already had some waiting for me, which made arguing sort of pointless. I sat down across from her.

“That being the case, there may be something I in particular am allowed to say. Isn’t that right, Kimizuka?”

I took another look at Saikawa. I’d been in such a hurry earlier that I hadn’t really seen her.

She was wearing pink pajamas, and I could smell the sweet smell of someone who’d just gotten out of the bath. Her hair hung loose. She wasn’t wearing her eye patch, and her left eye was as beautiful as a blue jewel.

“This is our story.”

She smiled. “It’s Natsunagi’s story, and Charlie’s, and yours, Kimizuka. It belongs to each of you. So all that matters is the question of what you want to do. I think that’s enough,” she said. She took a long, luxurious sip of her hot milk.

“Huh? Actually, no matter how you look at it, I’m the central figure in this incident. Why am I the one who’s helping you, instead of the other way around? Kimizuka, show a little more enthusiasm and lend me a hand, all right?”

“That was the most unfair thing this century.”

Produce an idol: A simple, pain-in-the-butt job

The next day…

Saikawa and I left SIESTA’s residence in the morning by car. It was Yui Saikawa’s private car, and her private chauffeur was behind the wheel.

“Still, we’re leaving really early. The program’s not till this evening, right?” I asked. Saikawa was sitting in the back seat next to me, gazing at her phone.

Today, she was scheduled to perform in a live music program. We’d gone into hiding to protect Saikawa from the media, but they hadn’t been able to cancel that live broadcast. Now I was going with her.

“I have a lot I need to do beforehand. After all, I am a super idol.” Saikawa put her phone away, then gave a big, feline yawn.

“You look really tired. Didn’t get much sleep yesterday?”

“No. After you and I spoke, we girls talked far into the night.” Saikawa let her head fall onto my shoulder and closed her eyes. Man, this idol’s public and private faces are so different… Actually, I can’t believe how much she relaxes around me.

“By the way, what were you girls talking about?”

“Mm, how much you suck, mostly.”

“I shouldn’t have asked.” Well, if they’d bonded with each other by tearing me down, that was fine… Maybe?

“They couldn’t come with us today, though?” Saikawa sat up. I wasn’t sure whether she was uneasy about having me be her only escort, or whether she was just curious.

“Yeah. We have Bat to worry about too.”

With Seed’s help, Bat had broken out of jail. We didn’t know what he wanted, but there was a decent possibility that he’d go after Siesta’s will on Seed’s orders—and after Natsunagi, who was succeeding her as ace detective. Based on that assumption, I’d decided to keep Natsunagi in the safest place possible and have Charlie guard her.

“Um, Mr. Bat, wasn’t it? Isn’t SIESTA dealing with him now?”

“Yeah, she should be, but…” As a matter of fact, I’d gotten a text from SIESTA early that morning. I read it to Saikawa.

“ ‘Leave this to me. Kimihiko, you just watch over Yui Saikawa’s decision.’ End quote.”

I didn’t really understand what she was trying to say.

Not “protect” her—“watch over” her.

Did it mean she didn’t expect anything from me in a fight? I mean, yeah, I hadn’t been able to do much over those three years, just watch over Siesta from the shadows, but…

“I see. SIESTA knows you very well, doesn’t she?” Somewhere in there, Saikawa had gotten out her phone and was gazing at it again. “Watch over me. That’s perfect for a concert-lurker-wannabe-boyfriend-geek like you, Kimizuka.”

“Saikawa, you think I’ll forgive you no matter what you say to me, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

Oh. She does? She doesn’t even sound sorry.

“After all, no matter what happens, I believe you’ll always be on my side.”

“You definitely put your foot in your mouth; don’t try to flip it around and act like that was a positive exchange.”

“Hey, it looks like we’re just about there.” She forcibly derailed the conversation. That’s a move I use a lot too, though, so I couldn’t really call her on it.

“Hm… We’re headed to the TV station, right?”

I’d been distracted and hadn’t noticed until now, but when I glanced out the window, I realized we’d left the city. As the car drove on, the clusters of buildings disappeared, and all I could see were old-fashioned houses and timeworn signs.

“Kimizuka, we’re here.”

The car stopped, and on Saikawa’s instructions, I got out.

“Where’s ‘here’?”

I shaded my eyes against the bright summer sun.

Blue sky and a green ridgeline. There were cicadas crying in the trees right next to us, and the place smelled like summer. This land might as well have been untouched by civilization, there to make you forget all about the big city.

“All right. Let’s go, then.”

Apparently, we still had to walk a bit. Sunlight lanced through the white clouds as Saikawa marched down a country road, leading the way.

“It looks like we’re heading for a hill. Is there something at the top?”

“What? Oh, yes, a hot spring!”

…I totally wasn’t expecting that.

“Heh-heh! An idol and her producer on a forbidden romantic escape!”

“…You’d better not be serious.”

“No good? Eloping to a hidden rural bath… Oh, I like the way that sounded. I’ll put it in the lyrics for my next single.” Ignoring me, Saikawa got out a notepad. I felt the birth of a famous—or rather, infamous—song coming on. But more importantly…

“Saikawa. Are you afraid of the media?”

I thought I saw her shoulders flinch.

“What are you talking about, Kimizuka?” She kept walking without turning around.

Saikawa didn’t complain easily. She kept her idol smile pasted on her face, and she always hid her true feelings behind it.

“I mean, if I’m wrong, that’s fine.”

We continued down the path, through lush greenery and the stifling scent of sunbaked grass.

Scream at the unfairness of the world

“Here we are. This is it.”

I’d picked up on the fact that she’d been lying about the hot spring, but I definitely hadn’t expected this destination.

“This is where my mom and dad are.” Gently, Saikawa knelt in front of the gravestone that stood at the top of the hill. “Actually, this whole area belongs to the Saikawa family. I had them buried here because the view is so good.” As Saikawa spoke, she lit a stick of incense.

“Can I pay my respects, too?”

“Yes, thank you. I’m sure they’d both love that.”

I stood beside her, put my hands together, and closed my eyes.

I’d never met Saikawa’s parents, of course. However, I did know how she felt, and I offered a silent prayer.

“Thank you very much.” A soft breeze blew, and Saikawa raised her head and smiled. “I think they’re both relieved that I’ve found a life partner.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. It’s already okay to joke around again?”

“Yes. My parents liked never-ending comedy routines even more than I do.”

“You inherited this from your parents. Unbelievable.”

We cracked up a little.

“…Somehow, though, I still feel like I’m dreaming.”

“Dreaming?”

“Yes. How should I put it…? It’s like it’s all one spectacular practical joke. Sometimes I think they’re both actually alive, and pretty soon they’ll jump out from behind something and give me a good scare.”

As she spoke, her profile looked lonelier than I’d ever seen it. It might have been three years, but for Saikawa, the reality of her parents’ death hadn’t faded… Just like one year hadn’t been enough for me.

“In the end, being on my own makes me uneasy. I always want to have someone watching me.”

“Is that why you’re an idol?”

“…Yes, that could be part of it,” Saikawa responded absently. She was hugging her knees. “Besides, long ago, my dad told me he hoped I’d live my life wearing pretty dresses. He said he wanted me to light up the world. Mom was constantly telling me to run outside into the world and make friends. And so I—” Saikawa appeared to be fondly remembering the past. “I may not be able to stay an idol forever, though. After all, a global crisis may be just around the corner.”

“Really? I think an idol who sings, dances, and sometimes fights pseudohumans would be pretty entertaining.”

Just as there used to be an ace detective who knew a whole bunch about idols from Japón.

“…Heh-heh. Your persuasion tactics are as funny as ever, Kimizuka.” Saikawa smiled, smoothly rising to her feet.

“But sometimes—I get a little tired.”

She murmured the words in a small voice, without looking at me. Then, surveying the scenery that spread out below us, she stretched luxuriously. “Nnnnnnn…! It really is nice to be out in nature, isn’t it!” Saikawa was still facing away from me, but her voice was as cheerful as could be. “What do you think? Should we pitch my job and everything else out the window and actually start a new life in the country together?”

“I don’t think a sheltered rich girl from the city could manage that.”

“Oh, that’s not true. I can cook, and living off the land will be easy-peasy.”

“Maybe for a few days, but you’d be missing convenience stores and Wi-Fi before too long.”

“…You’re no fun.” My reaction seemed to displease Saikawa; she took out her phone and started to fiddle with it. Definitely snubbing me. “Witty retorts are fine, but if you’re negative about everything, people won’t like you.”

“I see. You’ve got me there,” I responded lightly, although I’d quietly gotten to my feet and was sneaking up behind Saikawa. “—But I don’t mind being disliked for now.” I snatched her smartphone out of her hands.

“Wha—! G-give that back!” Saikawa jumped, trying to grab the phone as I held it high in the air. However, it’s not that easy to make up a height difference of twenty-plus centimeters. “Why are you picking on me?! Is it because I was playing with my phone while I talked about wanting to live in the country?! In that case—”

“No.”

…Yeesh. Let me be a little nosy, at least. Keeping Saikawa at bay, I showed her the phone’s screen. “It’s because you’ve been staring at this stuff all day.”

The screen showed the timeline of a certain social networking site. It was filled with nasty comments about Saikawa after that news report.

Saikawa never showed weakness. Before she was an idol singer, though, she was a girl in her last year of middle school. The news over the past few days had to be getting to her.

“…Give that back, please.”

“Mm. Sorry.”

Saikawa took the phone from me, then lowered her head guiltily. “I don’t care what they say about me.” She bit her lip, turning off her phone. “But when they go after Mom and Dad…I just can’t take it.”

Saikawa’s parents were her guiding star. She couldn’t allow them to be tainted… That said, she didn’t have any significant way to turn the situation around right now. Her enemy was an enormous, shapeless cruelty. There had never been a way to fight that.

—Even so, if there was one thing we could do now, it was…

“Kimizuka?”

I’d taken a few steps forward. Saikawa gazed at me, mystified.

…Sorry, Saikawa. This is about all I can come up with.

I sucked in a deep breath, and—

“Dammit, you can’t do this to meeeeeeee!”

On the top of the hill, I screamed my guts out at the landscape below.

“K-Kimizuka?”

Saikawa’s gloomy expression had turned to shock. “Um, I mean, I’m very happy that you’re getting angry on my behalf, but it’s rather embarrassing…”

“You can’t just go off and die a hero all by yourself! You’re so stupid, Siestaaaaaaaa!”

“O-oh, was that what this was…!” Saikawa’s retort sounded unusually flustered.

Sorry. I accidentally let the scream of my soul slip out there.

But…

“Okay, Saikawa.” I turned to her, holding out a hand. “Go ahead and vent. Let it all out.”

If it wasn’t possible to change someone, or something, then it had to at least be okay to scream all the unfairness out.

“…Are idols allowed to use dirty words?”

“You aren’t on the clock yet anyway.”

Until that live broadcast started, Yui Saikawa was just a girl in her third year of middle school.

She was allowed to say whatever she wanted.

Here and now, at least.

“^___________! Bastaaaaaards!”

Beside me, Saikawa shouted with her entire body.

Taking off her eye patch, she screamed at the reality that was hurting her, and at the unbearable unfairness of it all.

“You assholes don’t know a thing!”

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