I Joined the Agency as a Manager to Support a Vtuber, but Somehow I Ended up Becoming the Face of the Company as an Official Staff Member? - 7

Chapter 7: Long Story Short,  I Met the Other Senpai… But…

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Hey, everyone! My name is Ren Hiori! I’m just your average manager!

“Yo… Hiori, you’re looking good.”

As for what I’m doing right now—well! Would you believe it? I’m being glared at by a senior from university! To be precise, this is the senpai I wasn’t good with!

“Y-Yes… You’re looking good too, Senpai…”

Ugh… Ōno-senpai. Please save me…

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The reason things turned out this way in the first place was because today’s shoot for Kurama-san involved multiple talents. The guests were Toudou-san and Sorane Amairo-san from HoloEco’s second generation, just like her. Just like her VA, Aoi Aihara-san, was also known for her deep navy-blue hair.

“I’m Aoi Aihara. Currently active as Sorane Amairo. Nice to meet you.”

She didn’t talk much, and her voice had a transparent quality to it. I recalled that she was known as one of the cool-type members, and just as I was thinking that, a man spoke up.

“Oh, I heard about you from Ōno, but I didn’t think you really joined this company.”

“Geh… No way… Gomi-senpai…”

I reflexively took a few steps back. The other senior from college that Ōno-san had mentioned. That was Gomi-senpai.

To be honest, I never liked this guy. He was your typical delinquent—hot-blooded and prone to picking fights with other participants even during our club’s competitions. He was also notorious with women, constantly cycling through different girlfriends.

“What do you mean, ‘no way’… Yo, Hiori, you’re looking good.”

“Y-Yes… You’re looking good too, Senpai.”

“Well, yeah. With this many gorgeous talents—not just the avatars—even I’d say it’d be weird not to feel good.”

He let out a vulgar laugh and turned his gaze toward Kurama-san and Aihara-san, who were getting ready for filming. I had the feeling the other staff were also avoiding him.

…Yeah, he hasn’t changed a bit.

“…I can’t believe a guy who was bad with women ended up as an idol manager.”

“Are you surprised?”

“No. You’ve always been the type to follow through no matter what, once you’ve made up your mind. I guess that side of yours hasn’t changed since college.”

As he passed by, he put a hand on my shoulder and muttered in a low voice.

“Just don’t get in my way again.”

Right after Gomi-senpai walked past me, Ōno-senpai came up to me.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. Nothing in particular happened.”

“That guy hasn’t caused any issues since getting hired, so I think he’s cleaned up a little.”

“Is that so?”

I really couldn’t agree with that assessment.

“Hiori-kun. About today’s shoot… Is this okay?”

Then, for some reason, Kurama-san came up to me and showed me the script. She was a little too close, so I took a step back as I looked at it.

“Yes, is there something wrong?”

“This part of the script, how do you read it?”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah, I’m bad at reading kanji. This part here in the song lyrics—what’s it say?”

『宇宙』→ the space.

“What song is this from?”

“It’s a song from Sasa Tomoki-san.”

“Ah, it reads ‘sora’.(sky)”

“…Eh?”

“‘Sora’.”

Kurama-san stared intently at the lyrics in silence.

“…How about this one?”

『暗海』→ the dark sea.

“‘Sora’.”

“……This?”

『世界』→ the world.

“‘Sora’.”

“…”

『天空』→ sky/heaven.

“‘So—’”

“‘Sora,’ right? Yeah, I get it. That’s enough. What is with these lyrics… They even have the regular ‘空’ in there too…”

“Oh, that one reads as ‘blue.’”

“Why!?”

Ah, Kurama-san snapped. 

Well, that person’s lyrics are hard to read, anyway.

“R-Right. Isn’t it about time for the recording? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“Grrrr… I won’t forgive this. Someday, I’m gonna ask Tomoki-san exactly why Tomoki-san writes like that! Just you wait!”

With what sounded like a minor villain’s final line, Kurama-san stormed off.

“…Phew.”

When I looked over, Kurama-san was explaining to Aihara-san what I’d told her. She didn’t seem particularly fazed, nodding along as Kurama-san enthusiastically talked.

“……”

Maybe Aihara-san was the type who didn’t show her emotions much. She didn’t seem at all annoyed by Kurama-san talking to her.

Now that I think about it, she and Kurama-san were known as the “SoraKoha” pairing, and they were often seen as contrasting personalities—the cheerful Kurama-san and the cool Aihara-san. Maybe that wasn’t just an act.

“Ren, since the recording’s about to start, we don’t have much to do for a while.”

“Oh, then I’ll go buy drinks for the staff. We can expense that, right?”

I remembered that drinks for the talents were stocked in the greenroom, but there wasn’t anything specifically for the staff.

“For the staff? You’re still such a caretaker… How very altruistic of you.”

They were the backbone of the agency, after all. And I also wanted them to get to know me as the new guy.

“Without them, none of this would be possible. And it’s hard work, isn’t it? By the way, Senpai, could you help carry the equipment while I’m out shopping?”

“Eh? Uh, I haven’t really been doing strength training since I started this job…”

“Then would you rather go buy the drinks?”

“Alright. Barley tea is fine, yeah?”

“That should be perfect.”

“Got it.”

With that, Ōno-senpai left the studio.

“Now then—Excuse me, is there anything I can help with?”

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Meanwhile, Sorane Amairo—aka Aoi Aihara—had been quietly observing the situation.

“Hey, Aoi? Are you listening?”

“I am. A chick hatched from the egg at your house, right?”

“Wrong!”

Kohaku gave Aoi a sharp glare. It was obvious she hadn’t been paying attention to what she said.

“What’ve you been staring at over there all this time?”

“Hmm… I was watching your new manager.”

“Ah, Hiori-kun. Did something happen?”

“…Right now, he’s lifting a really heavy-looking piece of equipment.”

“Huh?”

Following the direction Aoi pointed, Kohaku looked too—and sure enough, Hiori was calmly lifting a large amp-like box, likely due to some equipment setup mistake. Two female staff nearby were bowing apologetically and guiding him.

“Whoa, Hiori-kun is strong.”

“He’s pretty slim though. Surprising.”

Since they’d known each other from before debuting as VTubers, Kohaku could tell that despite Aoi’s expressionless face, she was actually curious and a bit impressed.

“…What kind of person is he?”

“That’s rare, for you to be asking something about a guy, Aoi. You’re usually not great with men.”

“…Just felt like it. I have moments like that too.”

From what Kohaku could remember, Aoi had always avoided men as much as possible. She held back that comment and instead answered honestly about how she felt about Hiori.

“Hmm, I’d say… He’s kind. He often brings little treats and is really considerate. Oh, and he’s kinda like a detective.”

“A detective?”

“He notices little things easily. Like with that last singing segment—we changed the way I sang it, and it was Hiori-kun who realized that version worked better.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t sound interested!?”

“No, if it was thanks to him that you pulled off that level of performance, then he absolutely deserves praise.”

With that, Aoi turned on her heel and headed for the waiting room.

“What the heck was that about…?”

Even with their years of friendship, Kohaku still couldn’t quite figure out what Aoi meant—and followed her inside.

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