...Just looking at his appearance, you'd believe he was a third-rate thug you'd find on the street.
The next day, when I brought Ai to Ichigo Production, run by Saito Ichigo who had scouted her, the person who greeted us wasn't the director, Saito Ichigo, but
Clearly, that person was Saito Miyako...Honestly, how did they get married?
No, I didn't come here to think about such unnecessary things, so it's better to get straight to the point.
"Hello, I'm Hoshino Yume. As the guardian of Hoshino Ai here, I came to learn about the overall activities related to contract signing. Is that alright?"
"Yes, yes. Just a moment, please. The director is currently away for other business... He said he'll be back in about 30 minutes...."
"Yes, I'll wait."
"Ah~ thank you.... Then, please rest in the office for a while."
"Yes, thank you for your kindness."
After guiding us to the office, Ms. Miyako said she'd step out for a moment and left the office. Watching her go, I looked at Ai, who was still half-asleep.
Ai was indeed someone who slept a lot on weekends, and since it was almost morning time, it was tough for her to be awake.
Unexpectedly, Ai was very weak in the mornings. So, I often had to go into her room to wake her up or even carry her to the dining table.
Eventually, unable to resist sleepiness, Ai started using my lap as a pillow to sleep, and
I gently stroked her head and decided to leisurely wait for Mr. Ichigo to arrive.
Vaguely checking the time passing, when it was about 30 minutes later,
"Haa....haa....ha.....So...sorry for making you wait.....!!"
".......It's fine, first catch your breath slowly."
"Yeah...Tha...thank...you.....hoo...."
A hurried running sound was heard, and then the door opened with a 'thud!' and the person who entered was indeed Saito Ichigo.
By the way, since I heard the hurried running sound from outside the building earlier, I had already covered both of Ai's ears with my hands, so she didn't wake up and continued sleeping with light breaths.
Seeing her face slightly flushed, I thought the temperature in this office might be a bit high, but since this body is different from others, it couldn't be helped.
After listening to me and catching his breath somewhat, Saito Ichigo dragged his tired-looking body and sat on the sofa in front of me, handing over the document envelope he was holding in his right hand.
"So...you're the girl's guardian...."
"Yes, I'm Hoshino Yume."
"Ah...are you perhaps family?"
Ah......come to think of it, my last name is the same as Ai's. I don't know if the meanings are similar, but there probably isn't much significance.
"That's right. At least until Ai grows up and settles down, I'll continue to be in the position of her guardian."
"...Ah...you're not biological family?"
"If you think so because of the last name, unfortunately, we just share the same last name; we're not biological family. We're from the same facility, but now both of us have left the facility, and I'm just taking care of Ai separately."
Honestly, it almost got complicated, but thanks to the company I work for now, I was able to become Ai's guardian without major issues.
"So...how old are you, if I may ask..."
"Ah, I'm 16. I already have a job. And you can speak casually. You're older than me, right?"
"Ah...haha...I...I guess so? Just hearing you talk, it's hard to believe you're 16...."
"I see."
It couldn't be helped since my mental age is already approaching 40.
Thanks to that, my way of speaking is gradually becoming similar to my previous life, but honestly, speech isn't a big issue, and since this way of speaking is comfortable, it couldn't be helped, I suppose.
Director Ichigo looked at me for a moment, then at Ai sleeping on my lap, and said,
"So, about Ai becoming an idol...is there...perhaps some burden?"
From the tone that seemed to consider me and Ai, I could tell that this person was definitely not a bad person.
"If Ai says she wants to do it, I have no intention of stopping her."
Ai should live her own life, so I'll just watch over her from the side.
"Then, can I first hear about the plans?"
Actually, having been a bodyguard in my previous life, I had a lot of work related to idols, so I knew all about the dark and difficult aspects of being an idol.
That's why I had to be even more cautious, and if all the members of B-Komachi were gathered, there might be some who would be jealous or bully Ai, so to prevent that, I naturally had the duty to hear from Director Ichigo in front of me.
"Haha...you're really impressive...well, first..."
In the end, we talked for nearly two hours, and strangely, Ai didn't wake up during those two hours.
After hearing about the plans to some extent and carefully checking the plan documents on behalf of the sleeping Ai, along with all the profit-related information, I signed as the guardian. As soon as I finished, Ai opened her eyes as if she had been waiting and looked at me.
".......Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah!"
"......Good."
Honestly, since her movements were a bit unnatural from the middle, I knew she was already awake, but I didn't say anything.
I could tell she was pretending to sleep because she was lazy, so I just lightly flicked her forehead as she continued lying down.
"Ouch!"
"You deserved it."
"Yeah~"
"Then, can I bring Ai here starting tomorrow?"
"No, first I plan to send her to a theater troupe I know."
"A theater troupe...?"
Probably, the theater troupe Director Saito is talking about is Lalaly.
There, she'll meet Kamiki Hikaru and have the opportunity to have Hoshino Aquamarine and Hoshino Ruby.
If Kamiki Hikaru tries to force it, of course I'll stop it, but if they both agree to form a relationship, I have no intention of interfering with that.
If I interfere and some strange butterfly effect occurs, it might become something I can't handle.
And since the identity of that girl from the original work isn't clear, I had to be as cautious as possible.
"I understand. Then, should I assume that Ai will be sent to the theater troupe in the middle of her activities?"
"Yes, since she needs to do some activities first."
"You heard that, Ai."
"Huh?"
".......I'll explain it to you later at home."
"Yeah!"
This part hasn't changed at all, it seems. This extreme self-centered personality doesn't adapt at all...Fortunately, she seems to remember my name consistently, but she still hasn't memorized even Mr. Saito's name....I'm worried about the future.
"Then, I'll take my leave for today."
"I'll be going~ Saiku-san~"
"It's Saito!!"
I lightly rubbed the head of Ai, who was self-centered to the end, and left the building.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
"Bear with it."
Of course, I rubbed it lightly. Lightly.
*******
Third-person: Hoshino Ai
Hoshino Ai, who had been woken up early in the morning, was in a very, very down mood.
Actually, the time was around 10 a.m., so it wasn't that early, but for Ai, who usually slept soundly until noon on weekends, going out at 10 a.m. wasn't a great choice.
If it were anyone else, she would never have gone out, but since it was Yume's request, she went out even in the morning.
Dragging her half-asleep body, she tried to leave Yume's house, but Yume lightly picked her up as she was about to collapse.
".....Yume, I'm sleepy...."
"Sigh...."
With Ai whining while being held by Yume, Yume eventually carried her on his back and went outside, and Ai couldn't help but feel something warm in her chest and a smile spreading on her face.
But fortunately, since she was on Yume's back, Ai didn't have to worry about her expression being seen.
When Yume, carrying Ai, arrived at Ichigo Production, he first put Ai down and held her hand to enter the building.
Upon entering the building, the moment they saw that the person greeting them was a woman, the sparkle in Ai's eyes instantly vanished. After confirming that the woman had a ring on her left ring finger, Ai's eyes regained their sparkle, and she started feeling sleepy again.
In the office where they were guided, unable to resist sleepiness, Ai eventually fell asleep using Yume's lap as a pillow, and before falling asleep, she felt Yume's hand stroking her head and fell asleep feeling good.
About an hour later, Ai woke up from sleep but deliberately kept her eyes closed, continuing to lie on Yume's lap, and whenever it got slightly uncomfortable, she changed her position a little and listened to the conversation between the two.
Most of the conversation between the two was related to her work, and while Ai felt grateful that Yume was so sincere about her work, she also kept feeling something itchy in her chest. Eventually, when the conversation ended, Yume woke up Ai, who was pretending to sleep, and
"Then, I'll take my leave for today."
"I'll be going~ Saiku-san~"
"It's Saito!!"
She was caught pretending to sleep and had her head lightly rubbed.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
"Bear with it."
*******
First-person: Hoshino Yume
After leaving Ichigo Production, Ai and I moved our steps to a nearby cafe, and as always, I ordered an iced Americano, and Ai ordered a sweet chocolate parfait.
And Ai's favorite food was Häagen-Dazs. Thanks to that, the freezer was always full of Häagen-Dazs.
It already seemed like I was feeding her too high-end ice cream, but I didn't particularly dislike the way I ended up granting Ai's requests.
Watching her eat the parfait appropriately, Ai, who had been glancing at me, covered the parfait with both hands and said,
".....I won't give you any!"
"I don't need it."
With an atmosphere of 'I'll eat it all by myself!', that appearance was quite...pathetic yet cute, so I decided to let it slide.
Ai continued eating the parfait while humming, and while I was checking the documents I received earlier again,
"Hey, Yume."
"......Hmm?"
Ai, who might have finished the parfait, tapped the table with both hands and called me.
Thinking she might want another parfait, I was about to call the staff when
"Umm, I don't need another parfait."
"Is that so?"
"Yume, do you think I'm a pig...."
"It's fine to eat a bit more when you're young."
"Eh~?"
But still, feeding her too many sweet things might not be good.....
I've been too lenient with Ai lately, it seems. When we get home, should I start by dealing with the Häagen-Dazs first?
I decided to take action that Ai would despair over if she found out, without any hesitation.
"So, if it's not about another parfait, what is it?"
"Can I do well?"
"...........Hmm"
Whether Ai can do well or not.....Honestly, I don't know.
But since I've become her guardian, I decided to trust her as much as possible by asking for her opinions, so now it's probably better to give her a little courage.
"Ai, as Mr. Saito said, you have talent."
".....Talent?"
"Yes."
That's right. Even if I didn't know about my previous life, I would have been able to clearly recognize Ai's talent.
Hoshino Ai, she has the charisma to attract people.
Perhaps, Ai will have differences with the members of the idol team she'll be joining.
There will definitely be members who sing better than Hoshino Ai.
There will definitely be members who dance better than Hoshino Ai.
There will be members who are more fluent and better at activities related to the entertainment industry and acting than Hoshino Ai.
But the talent I sense in Ai lies in the charisma to lead someone, so I'm confident that no one can match Ai in this talent.
That's why I highly regard Saito Ichigo, who evaluated Ai's talent higher than anyone else.
And if Hoshino Ai, as in the original work, enters the theater troupe and starts learning serious acting (lying)....Well, if there's a process where Ai continues idol activities, I think it's possible for her to reach the peak of idols.
"Ai, your talent will surely allow you to shine. So, trust Mr. Saito, who scouted you for your talent. If you're still uneasy, trust me."
I'll always believe in you.
".........Yeah!"
Whether my comfort worked or not, with a brightened expression,
"Then buy me one more chocolate parfait!"
She boldly requested another parfait, and....
Thinking it would end up like this, I ordered one more parfait for her.
And as soon as we got home, when I announced that from now on, we'll eat only one Häagen-Dazs a day, Ai's despairing expression was quite amusing.