Chapter 86: Mrs. Izumi, Something's Off About You and the Angle
Shunsuke didn't have the same intentions as Sakuta from the original story. Confessing loudly on the school field might be romantic, but it wasn't suitable for someone aiming to become a Sixteen-Wing Archangel. Not suitable at all—absolutely inappropriate.
However, the issue of Mai had to be resolved.
If not, one day she might simply disappear, and Shunsuke would regret it for the rest of his life—if he even remembered her by then.
In the original story, the two of them also chose this path at the start, but their determination came too late.
By then, the atmosphere within the school had infected the outside world; everyone had forgotten about Mai, causing the plan to fail.
Now, Shunsuke was racing against time.
As long as Mai announced her comeback as an entertainer before everyone forgot about her—and with her manager being a popular and handsome junior from the same school—it would naturally spark instant gossip.
The people at school would no longer be able to treat Mai like she was invisible. Gossip had a way of overpowering the fleeting moods of teenagers.
In the face of gossip, the "Mai Sakurajima doesn't exist" atmosphere wouldn't stand a chance.
Moreover, he wasn't confessing; he was merely acting as her manager.
In the Japanese entertainment world, there was a strict rule that managers couldn't date their artists.
This gave him a buffer. With this buffer, he could maneuver and strategize.
But Shunsuke harbored a dark, unspoken thought—once Mai re-debuted under his management, he could naturally transition into becoming the manager for Muse.
And with him as their manager, many of the regrets that occurred within Muse in the original story could be perfectly resolved.
In his previous life, he was just one of the many spectators who watched miracles unfold. In this life, he wanted to be the creator of those miracles.
It was definitely not for any perverted reasons!
Mai initially thought Shunsuke was joking again, but lying in his arms and seeing his serious expression, she wavered. "You're serious?"
"You don't have any experience, do you? And how could a high school student even become a manager?"
"Why not? Is there some law against it?"
"That's not what I mean. But a high school student as a manager? That's impossible. You don't have connections or resources. If I need to act, how will you arrange it? If I need an ad deal, how will you find sponsors?"
"No problem. I have a friend in that field." Shunsuke thought of Kirari Momobami.
Shunsuke felt like he'd been treating the universally feared Kirari Momobami of Hyakkaou Academy as his personal ATM—or perhaps a wish-granting genie.
Was it a bit much to go to her every time he couldn't solve a problem?
"A woman?"
Mai's tone instantly turned cold, her bashful expression vanishing as her icy voice took over. Her intuition had always been sharp.
"Well... yes, it's a woman..."
"The things I just mentioned aren't trivial. Are you sure she'll help? Or rather, can she even help? This isn't something mere wealthy parents can solve."
Mai narrowed her eyes, trying to indirectly probe Shunsuke's relationship with this "woman."
Shunsuke stroked his chin. "If it's Senpai Momobami, she'd probably love for me to come to her for help."
"As for money, let's not talk about such vulgar and insignificant matters. Senpai Momobami doesn't care about money. She's not interested in it. In fact, I just made thirty billion from her recently."
Senpai?
Mai's wariness heightened.
This "friend" is a senpai?
—And who was this Momobami anyway? There wasn't anyone by that name in the third year at Sobu High. So, an upperclassman from another school?
—When did they meet? Could it have been back in middle school? Otherwise, why would she give Shunsuke thirty... thirty billion?!
Thirty billion?!
She had debuted at the age of five, rising to stardom and maintaining her popularity until she was fifteen, becoming a true national idol.
Yet, even after ten years in the industry, she hadn't earned anywhere close to thirty billion yen.
This wasn't surprising.
While Japanese idols were incredibly famous, they were also heavily exploited by the industry.
Unlike in other countries, where the entertainment sector had integrated itself deeply into the flow of capital, the two systems were worlds apart and not even comparable.
"Shun… Shunsuke-kun, you're not involved in anything illegal, are you?"
Mai asked cautiously. Her initial icy demeanor had vanished, replaced by genuine concern born from utter disbelief.
"Mai-san, please give me an example of any illegal job that can earn thirty billion yen in a single day. I'll go try it immediately."
Mai fell silent.
She couldn't think of any job capable of earning that kind of money in a single day—perhaps only some billionaire CEOs with symbolic one-yen salaries could manage it?
Even so, this infuriating underclassman was clearly living off someone else!
And that woman? She was obviously after him! And yet he seemed eager to seek her out? Shameless!
Thinking of this, Mai puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and glared at Shunsuke.
"?"
Shunsuke was utterly confused. What's gotten into her now?
"From now on, you're not allowed to rely on her for everything."
"Huh?"
"Every gift bestowed by fate has already been secretly priced. The ones that seem free are always the most expensive. Shunsuke-kun, you're smart—don't you know this saying? Unless it's absolutely necessary, don't go to that Momobami senpai again. You'll regret it."
"And that thirty billion yen? Return it immediately. I don't know why she gave you so much, but that money is dangerous—it'll burn you. Thirty billion yen! There's no way it comes without a price. If you really need money, I can help. Most of my finances are controlled by my mom, but the leftover funds I have are still more than what an average office worker makes in ten years. That'll be your salary."
Mai simply didn't believe Shunsuke had earned that money himself. Just as he had said—what kind of job could possibly make thirty billion yen in a single day?
Looking at his face—handsome enough to join Johnny & Associates—and his lean yet muscular physique, Mai gritted her teeth in frustration.
This has to be hush money!
"So, does that mean Mai-san agrees to let me be your manager?"
"…Being my manager won't be easy. It's a tough job," Mai said, turning her face away.
"As long as we work hard together, I'm sure Mai-Mai won't let it get the best of her," Shunsuke replied with a smile, casually taking Mai's hand.
Mai tried to pull away but couldn't break free. After a moment of struggle, she stopped resisting and let it be.
"But if Mai-Mai wants me to be your manager, we need to establish some ground rules in advance to avoid future disagreements. First, you're not allowed to take roles in films with kissing scenes or anything similar. As your manager, I'll veto all of them."
"Shunsuke-kun, you're being so overbearing," Mai said with a pout.
"Well? What's your answer?"
"I've never taken on those kinds of roles to begin with," Mai replied, feeling a bit wronged.
"Second, aside from working with you, I might also take on other teams as their manager."
"Shunsuke-kun, do you really think anyone else would want you as their manager besides me?"
"That's my problem to figure out. So, do you agree?"
"Fine. Big-name managers all have multiple star clients under their belt. Although, Shunsuke-kun, you're just a rookie for now."
"And lastly, I won't be able to follow you around all the time, Mai-san. I'm still a student, and I also have to write novels and draw manga. I'll mainly handle the big-picture planning, and the smaller day-to-day tasks will eventually be delegated to others."
"...Whenever I need you, you have to be there," Mai demanded.
"Even if I weren't your manager, I'd still make that happen."
"...Then I guess that's settled," Mai said, feeling slightly wronged.
"Alright, then we need to start preparing for Mai-san's comeback as soon as possible. If we wait until the whole world forgets about you, any talk of a comeback would be wishful thinking. Once you're forgotten, that's it."
"But, honestly, that scenario works out pretty well for me. If the whole world forgets about Mai-Mai, and I'm the only one who still remembers you, then Mai-Mai would belong entirely to me. I could even lock you in a basement, and no matter what I did, you wouldn't be able to resist me."
"Stop calling me that embarrassing nickname already!"
Unable to stomp on Shunsuke's foot because of their current position, Mai furiously clamped down hard on the annoying junior's leg instead.
That's what you get for spouting nonsense!
...
"I should be heading out," Mai said as she slipped on her blazer and picked up her bag.
"You've only had a few Baumkuchen. Aren't you hungry? Stay for dinner before you go."
"You can cook?"
"Well, the adults in my family are pretty unreliable, so I had no choice. Honestly, my cooking's pretty decent—I could probably get into Totsuki Culinary Academy." Shunsuke threw on a fresh jacket. "Come on, we're having dinner at… hmm, my godmother's place."
Since he couldn't figure out a concise way to explain Mrs. Izumi to Mai, he just decided to call her his godmother.
"Won't we be intruding?"
"They can't see you anyway."
"Fair point..."
And so, Mai followed Shunsuke to Mrs. Izumi's house.
...
As the cool early spring breeze hit her on the way, Mai suddenly snapped to realization.
Wait, wasn't Shunsuke the one begging to be my manager at the start?
So why did I end up signing such an unfair, humiliating agreement?!
But backing out now would make her seem childish, and she definitely didn't want to give him the satisfaction of mocking her.
Mai, she thought to herself, you've really landed yourself in a mess.
...
At Mrs. Izumi's house, both Mrs. Izumi and Sagiri completely ignored Mai.
Mashiro and Eriri—who seemed to have taken on the role of Mashiro's caretaker—did the same.
Seeing the room full of stunning women, Mai's gaze grew sharp.
Shunsuke, pretending not to notice, thought, We're not even dating, so what's there to explain?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Onii-chan, are you really moving out? Will you never visit Sagiri again?"
The moment Sagiri saw Shunsuke, she ran up and hugged him, teary-eyed.
Shunsuke patted her head gently. "Of course not. I'll buy another house nearby and visit you every day."
"Hehe, Onii-chan's the best!"
Sagiri rubbed her face against Shunsuke's hand, looking utterly content.
..
Mai, standing off to the side, took in the scene with a blank expression. What is this bizarre dynamic? And why does it feel like I've just stepped into the middle of some strange drama…
"Shun-kun, what's going on today? You didn't go to school. Are you feeling unwell—"
Mrs. Izumi approached him, but as she got closer, her nose twitched twice, and then she froze.
Even after all these years without direct involvement, her instincts as a mature woman were still sharp.
In an instant, her body remembered what it had once known.
Shunsuke couldn't help but panic.
---Didn't I already change my clothes? How can they still smell it? Did it soak in somehow? Impossible!
He had absolutely no self-awareness of the absurdity he had done using [Golden Experience].
"Haha… hahaha, suddenly remembered I still need to finish a manuscript. I'll just head back to my room!"
Feeling something strange happening in her body, Mrs. Izumi wisely decided to make a quick escape, hobbling back to her room.
She may seem unreliable most of the time, but in moments like this, her adult wisdom shone through.
Eriri watched the scene unfold with a confused expression.
Despite being a renowned doujin artist in the industry, she was surprisingly pure-minded and had no idea what was going on.
Shunsuke thought to himself, If this continues, everyone else will be crossing the finish line while she's still like this—clueless about where the racetrack even is.
Eriri's hopeless.
"Eriri, have you ever heard of Mai Sakurajima?"
"Who's that?"
"Mashiro?"
"..."
Mashiro slowly shook her head.
"Never mind, then. Forget I mentioned it."
Shunsuke brushed off the topic and headed into the kitchen to start cooking. Eriri, still full of suspicion, stared at his back, wondering if this "Mai Sakurajima" was the reason Shunsuke hadn't come home last night.
She wanted to ask him directly, but after opening and closing her mouth a few times, she ultimately decided against it.
"Shunsuke-kun seems pretty popular, huh?"
Mai suddenly appeared beside him, arms crossed, as she commented with a sharp tone.
"What are you talking about, Mai-san?"
Shunsuke turned to look at her, his face the picture of innocence.
Mai, unimpressed, stomped on his foot hard before walking out of the kitchen without another word.
...
By the time dinner was ready, Shunsuke had called out several times before Mrs. Izumi finally emerged from her room, having changed into a fresh set of clothes. She offered an awkward smile as she explained, "Ah, sorry, Shun, I accidentally fell asleep earlier."
Shunsuke tactfully ignored the strange flush on her face, her damp hair, the suspicious stain on her bed, and the fact that her "manuscript rush" hadn't left a single item on her desk—no drafts, no tools, nothing.
He didn't ask how "working on a deadline" turned into "falling asleep." That's just how considerate he was.
He led Mrs. Izumi to the dining room, where he had set an extra place at the table with a bowl, chopsticks, and a chair. Yet, as expected, no one noticed.
Mai's adolescent syndrome had peculiar rules. Physical objects she interacted with—like dishes or clothing—were ignored alongside her, but the ground she walked on or Shunsuke holding her in his arms? Those remained visible.
When Shunsuke tested this in front of Eriri and the others earlier, Mai's face had turned a deep shade of red. It was so endearing that Shunsuke couldn't help but record it with Star Platinum.
...
After making sure Mai was well-fed, Shunsuke prepared to escort her home.
"Shun-kun, you're not going out to… do that kind of thing, are you?"
Mrs. Izumi's tone was ambiguous as she watched him leave late at night. After hesitating for a while, she fidgeted awkwardly before finally reaching into her pocket with a resigned expression.
With the determination of someone facing their doom, she briskly walked up to Shunsuke and thrust something into his hand.
"If… if you're really going to do it, make sure you use this!"
It was a round-edged square-shaped item—the unmistakable "artifact."
Shunsuke stood frozen, utterly baffled, as Mrs. Izumi turned on her heel and fled the scene, too embarrassed to stay.
Meanwhile, Mai, who had witnessed everything, clutched her sides, barely suppressing her laughter.
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