Reincarnated Into The World Of A Rape Erotic Game ~ Since The Game World Has Become Reality... I Want To Save The Heroines~ - Chapter 19: Utaha Amane ②

My activities as an idol had been going incredibly smoothly. I mean, it made sense, right? I had once thought about starting over and trying auditions somewhere again, but then I was suddenly scouted, and from there it was dramas, singing, variety shows… I had even received awards.

For the agency that had scouted me, for the fans who supported me, and above all for my own dreams, I had made a renewed vow to work even harder when that certain day came—

“Amane? Perfect timing! I was just about to contact you! Your second single release has been decided!”

The person who came to tell me this was Akaboshi-san. She was the woman who had scouted me and was now serving as my manager. I had business at the agency that day, so I had visited the office alone and was just about to leave. Despite wearing a hat pulled down low, a mask, and fake glasses, she had noticed me. When I was dressed like this, people didn’t realize I was a celebrity.

“R-really?!”

“Yes. It got delayed a bit though? Your schedule was packed with dramas, variety shows, photo shoots and all that. We had originally planned to release the second single much earlier…”

“No, no, I’m getting offers from various places so I’m busy, but that’s a happy thing…”

“Well, I think that’s because Amane has been working hard.”

“No, I still have so much more to do!”

“Really… Amane is like the ideal idol, isn’t she?”

Being called the ideal idol was somehow embarrassing… I opened my mouth as if to cover up that embarrassment.

“Th-that’s not… true! Really, I still have so much more to learn… B-but more importantly, who composed and wrote the lyrics for the second single?”

“Hehe… who else but the president, of course.”

“Th-the president?! The president handled my second single too, even though he already composed my first single?!”

“Calm down, Amane! …Oh, that’s right, Amane is a fan of the music the president created, isn’t she?”

“Of course! I’m the self-proclaimed number one fan!”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that from the moment I had first heard that song, I had become captivated by the music the president had created. Both the melody and lyrics, everything drew me in and wouldn’t let go… There were naturally other people who had songs made for them too, and all of them had become successful. I really wondered what kind of person the president was… but—

“This is incredibly belated, but… how come I haven’t met the president yet? Normally one would meet the president, right?”

I still hadn’t met the president since joining this agency. I’d like to meet them and say thank you directly, and tell them how wonderful their songs were, and various other things…

“Ah… well… normally you would meet them… but you see… that child…”

“…Huh?”

That child…? Akaboshi-san was, if I remembered correctly… in her early twenties…? But still… from the way she said “that child”, I imagined… someone younger than Akaboshi-san…?

“Well, I guess it’s okay to tell you this. The president is the only male in this company.”

“A male?! The president is male?! A male created those pure songs and those lyrics that touch the heart?!”

“Hehe… surprised?”

“O-of course I’m surprised… I had thought they were a woman the whole time… Plus, I had no idea this company had men!”

I wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t told me, and I didn’t know. Come to think of it, I had never seen any men at the agency. More than that, it was rare for me to come to the agency alone like today, so I hadn’t noticed. Usually Akaboshi-san picked me up and dropped me off…

“Well, anyway, the president says it’s to prevent strange rumors from starting… and it’s for Amane’s sake too.”

“F-for my sake?!”

“…The main reason is that the agency Amane-chan was previously with did those terrible things, right? And the president there was male too, wasn’t he? So he was probably being considerate…”

“Ah… I see…”

So he was thinking of us…

“Well, to be completely honest, this company was essentially established for Amane’s sake.”

“…Huh?”

Ah, the way Akaboshi-san said that… it sounded like the company was created just for me, and my heart instantly started racing…

“Amane knows this too, right? When Amane joined this company, there were no other affiliated idols, right?”

“Y-yes… that’s right…”

“The president had said to start by scouting Amane. If we couldn’t scout Amane, then make it a different kind of company… So the beginning of this agency truly started with you. That guy has probably been watching you since you were with your previous agency. I think that just as you’re a fan of his, that child is also a fan of yours.”

“…Huh?!”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…”

“Ah… could it be… your heart is fluttering over him?”

“Wh-what are you saying?!”

“Oh? Looks like I hit the mark?”

“N-no such thing…”

“Love is good, you know? Go ahead and let your heart flutter! When girls fall in love, they become even more beautiful and cute!”

“…I-is that so?”

“That’s how girls are! Anyway, I’m leaving the demo tape for the second single with Amane, so don’t lose it, okay?”

“You’re giving it to me at this timing?!”

“Hehe… Oh, and… even though it’s still light out, be careful going home, okay? Use a taxi, alright? If I didn’t have a meeting after this, I’d give you a ride…”

“No, no, I’ll be fine! I’ll do as Akaboshi-san says!”

Having said what she wanted to say, Akaboshi-san quickly left the scene… She seemed quite busy today…

“…Ah… I should head home soon too…”

I carefully put the demo tape I’d received into the rabbit-illustrated cloth pouch in the outer pocket of my usual bag, then hurriedly left the scene to go home.

♢

“It’s not here?! It’s not here?! Why… ah…”

When I got home and took a quick shower, I thought I’d listen to the demo tape, but when I opened my bag’s pocket, the thing that should have been there actually wasn’t. The demo tape was nowhere to be found.

“…The pocket is… torn…”

I finally noticed that my bag’s pocket was torn. Since I had taken a taxi all the way to my house, I first searched inside and outside my home.

“…It’s not here… What should I do… That’s right, inside the taxi?!”

I contacted the taxi company I had used and asked them to search, but it wasn’t in the taxi either.

“I dropped it… between the agency and where I caught the taxi…?”

I decided to call a taxi and head to the place where I had taken the taxi.

♢

“What should I do… it’s not here… the precious demo tape… I…”

I got out of the taxi and immediately started searching around. The area was already getting dark. As I continued searching while desperately holding back tears…

“Is something wrong?”

A boy about my age called out to me.

“I dropped something…”

“What kind of thing?”

“A cloth pouch with a rabbit illustration drawn on it…”

“Got it. Did you drop it on this street?”

“…Probably… I think so…”

“I see. I’ll search from the end of this street.”

“Thank you.”

♢

Shortly after, the boy returned.

“Could this be it?”

In his hand was the cloth pouch with the rabbit illustration. I took it and immediately checked the contents. Thank goodness. The demo tape was inside too.

“Th-this is it! Thank you so, so much!”

“I’m glad we found it!”

“Yes!”

“Well then, you need to be careful going home, okay?”

“Um, I’d like to give you a reward…”

“It’s fine! I didn’t help you search because I wanted a reward! Well then!”

“Wait—”

The boy ran off without waiting for my reply. For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off the boy’s back and kept watching until his figure disappeared from view…

“…There are such kind boys too…”

It would be just a little while later that I would learn that boy was the president…