novelVolume 4, Epilogue
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Volume 4, Epilogue
Part 1: What I should do from now on
"Since the illustrations of the new character, the scenario, and the system are all completed—"
"I don't need any stiff greetings like that! Come on, time to drown!"
"Wah, hey, Shikibu! At least let me finish the toast!"
"Who cares about that, it's been sooooo long without a deadline bugging me! Also, Iroha-chan, you're wearing the bikini today? W-What should I do...?! Slurp.. s-so, gehehe, sexy!"
"Ahaha! Sumire-chansensei turned into some virgin otaku!"
"Disgusting...But, Iroha-chan still is a formidable enemy...Ugh...Take this!"
"Wah, why are you spraying water on me! Mashiro-senpai, sto—Nya?!"
"They already jumped into the water...How do they have so much energy even though they're severely lacking some physical training..."
It's been two—No, three days after that. Having finished the My Honey marathon, Sumire and Makigai Namako-sensei used the rest of the time limit left to finish their respective work. Apparently, at around the same time, Mashiro's own revisioning of her manuscript was finished as well, as she came out of her working office, opening like a shell.
On the day of the deadline, we finished all the work left, and the day after that was used to catch a break from our exhaustion—
Three days later, we had all recovered, and decided to enjoy yourselves at the beach one last time before making our way home. As the representative of the team, I was planning on giving a quick speech to kick things off, but the girl group completely ignored me, leaving Ozu and me behind at the sandy beach.
...Well, not like it matters much. A representative greeting like this was inefficient. I was planning on using it to fire them up a bit, but looking at them now, I guess that was needless worrying.
"Good work, Aki."
"...Same to you."
Ozu joined me in the group of the ones having been left behind, and sat down on the beach. His profile was as handsome as always, but I could see signs of exhaustion right beneath his eyes.
"It must have been tough to take care of the systems involving the new character, right?"
"Yup. But, it seemed like it would end up as a good character, so I was having fun."
"Glad to hear that, " I commented, sitting down as well.
Right in my field of view was Iroha, currently relaxing on a swimming ring, Mashiro was swimming through the water with an energetic face I barely see on her, maybe because the ocean was like her hometown, and Sumire was about to drown. It was a typical every-day scenery.
"Still, Aki, I didn't expect you to use such an indirect way. It's not that efficient either."
"What are you on about?"
For now, I tried to play dumb. But of course, that wasn't enough to deceive my trusted friend, as he just showed his usual omnipotent smile.
"If you wanted Kokuryuuinkugetsu to be a character that Murasaki Shikibu-sensei and Makigai Namako-sensei could sympathize more, just showing Iroha's acting would have been enough, right? You had prepared that skit from the get-go, hadn't you."
"...You really look close, huh."
While the others were busy with their own work, Iroha and I did all we could, taking preparations. It was the [Kokuryuuinkugetsu] that Iroha and I envisioned. If there would ever be a point where one of the members of the [5th Floor Alliance] fell victim to a setback, if Kokuryuuinkugetsu was lacking in charm in any way, we had to be prepared, together with various other methods.
"Why did you go and hold a My Honey marathon? Isn't that extremely inefficient?"
"Well, can't help it now that you figured it out. I guess I can tell you." I gave in, and decided to tell Ozu.
Since it wasn't exactly a reason he'd praise me for, I would have rather kept quiet about it, but hiding something towards my trusted friend would leave a bitter aftertaste.
"I thought that by using their midnight tension, I could forcefully make them consent to it."
"Isn't that a bit too cruel?"
"Being stuck in a slump, I doubt they would have just accepted the presentation. But, watching some late-night anime, with a timing of making them feel 'This is pretty nice', and having Iroha act out such a charming Kokuryuuinkugetsu, I was just thinking that they might get washed along easier."
"I was hoping it was some emotional reason..." Ozu looked openly disappointed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't believe that my idea was absolute justice, something everybody would have accepted."
Being told by Iroha, I wanted to treasure myself more, being a member of the [5th Floor Alliance] as well. That being said, this engraved third-person view of myself, and how I still am horribly inferior to the others, wouldn't vanish that quickly.
"I did think that the idea Iroha and I arrived at would bring good results. But, I wanted to do some effort so that everyone would be able to accept it. Though aiming for a point in time when their ability to judge was at its lowest might make me seem like a coward...But, if that is the method I have at my disposal, then I'll use that."
"Aki..."
"If you don't like it, I don't mind."
"You say that again...I'm used to this personality of yours, Aki." Ozu gave me a wry smile.
Whatever method I would use, whatever crucial act I would plague them with, he would always forgive me with a smile. Maybe I'm just being spoiled by him, but because Ozu is a guy like that, I can be at ease, and go the way I believe in.
"Still, I had my assumptions back at the whole theatre club arc, but..." Ozu turned his gaze towards the girls playing in the water.
...No, I was fairly certain his gaze was directed at a particular person in the midst of those—namely his little sister Iroha.
"—The one doing the voices for [Black Goat] was Iroha after all, huh."
"I guess hiding it any longer will only work this far."
Telling Ozu, there might be a chance that it could leak to his mother, Otoha-san. It's not like I'm doubting Ozu, but there's always that one-in-a-million chance, so I wanted to keep it a secret. That being said, there's a limit for everything.
"She constantly invades your room, is participating in every drinking party we hold, and was oddly familiar with the [5th Floor Alliance], though I wasn't too dubious about that. However, with that character acting—in the context of [Black Goat], it became too apparent."
"To think you would use the word [Context], huh."
"Thanks to a certain someone. If you add [Black Goat] to it, I probably could easily solve some Japanese language problems." Ozu's comment was ever-so-sharp.
Iroha could voice both young and old, male and female, possessing a rainbow-colored voice. However, every character appearing in [The Night The Black Goat Screamed] has a very identical trait at the root of it. Whether this is a habit of Iroha's acting, or just some special breathing technique I don't know, maybe it's even related to the script, but there is this certain [something] that always exists. That is also why our game sticks out in this day and age, where basically everything has been done before.
"Iroha really looked like she was enjoying herself."
"Yeah...that's why, about Otoha-san—"
"I know, I know. I won't tell her, I'm an ally."
"That'd be great."
Ozu just showed a kind smile towards my request. Past my gaze where Sumire and Mashiro, swimming around in the shallows, Iroha appeared behind Mashiro to tickle her sides, which had the poor girl writhe in agony.
"Still, I didn't expect this much talent from my own little sister. You continued on how to reveal her talent to the world, while thinking that she was annoying, right?"
"Yeah. Having such talent go to waste would be a loss for society. I've completely fallen for her genius."
"I see. So no romantic feelings involved? I was hoping that you were being considerate of Iroha because of her charm as a girl?"
"I told you I can't take her annoying act."
"I just thought you were a tsundere who wanted to hide the fact that you thought of her as cute. But, you were only valuing her talent, so that was my misunderstanding."
"Yeah. It was your misunderstanding."
"? That was quite the suggestive intonation there." Having picked up my hint, Ozu tilted his head in confusion.
Most of the time he always is a quick-thinker, but when I want him to pick up on something, he's lacking behind. But, I decided to be gracious and reveal my recent findings.
"Iroha is annoying, yeah. But, I guess that this annoying attitude is one of the parts that makes her cute." I scratched my cheek, and averted my gaze, just saying it with a glimmer of hesitation.
I couldn't look at either Ozu, or Iroha playing at the beach.
"Ohhh...! So Aki, you finally...!" Ozu pushed his body forwards, showing a joyful expression with his eyes open.
To him, who was trying to get me and Iroha together on a daily basis, my words probably seemed like the Ark had appeared in front of him. That being said—
"Don't rush ahead now. It's true that Iroha is annoying and cute, but...talking about romantic feelings is a bit too early."
"Ehhh...You can't do that. Just give me something as a tribute."
"Hold on, that wasn't even an excuse or anything."
The night we were participating in the Ceremony of Marriage. After that, I've felt my heart beat accelerate whenever Iroha was around, or even when I just thought about her. I even suspected that I might have romantic feelings for her. But, thinking about it rationally, if I were to see Iroha as a normal cute girl, a normal adolescent boy like me would of course react in that way. The furthest away from romantic feelings, and just a biological reaction, so to speak. Basically—
"I do think that Iroha is a charming girl. But, I don't go through my day being like 'Ah, this is love' or something like that, and I don't have the time to think about that either."
"Because the [5th Floor Alliance] is only half-way?"
"Yeah. There's the promise with President Tsukinomori that I have to keep in mind. Act as Mashiro's fake boyfriend until she graduates, with any relationship on the way prohibited. I will take care of everything, and then give it some proper thought."
That is, after all, my creed. And, the best possible answer I can make in response to the courageous confession of Mashiro. I don't know just how much I actually feel towards Iroha either, so that's a part of that. Before I can properly think of the answer to those problems, I have to clear my current mission.
"...Haaa, seems like my matchmaker lifestyle will have to continue for quite some time."
"You don't have to force us together or anything, you know." I just gave a retort to Ozu, who shrugged with his shoulders.
And then, I gazed over at Iroha in the water. Iroha, Sumire, and Mashiro. With the incident before, Makigai Namako-sensei must have caught on to Iroha's existence as well. During our middle school days, Kohinata Iroha was just my friend's little sister, sometimes walking past me in the Kohinata Residence, and now she's playing with everyone else. With a completely different expression from the honor student Iroha, who always has to act reserved in her surroundings. Finally, her annoying face and attitude started to shine through with Sumire and Mashiro as well. And, now that I've started to feel that Iroha's annoying behaviour is cute as well, I started thinking.
I want to show the world how Iroha's annoying behaviour can be just as cute as well. That girls like Iroha, who are annoying and cute at the same time, actually exist. That Iroha is charming enough just the way she is, and I want her to be accepted by society.
—This is my desire as her producer.
"Hey, we have the summer festival next month. And after that, it's the culture festival."
"Yeah, there's lots of events waiting ahead for us."
"Preparing for the festival with classmates, another page in our adolescence, that kind of season, right."
"Fufu. To think I would hear the word [adolescence] coming from Aki's mouth. I see, after you've accepted the fact that Iroha is annoyingly cute, you're interested in that as well?"
"Yeah. I want to get through these sorts of events now."
Ozu must have guessed what I was about to say, as he grinned at me, waiting for my next words. But, I'd like to mention beforehand that Ozu and I aren't on the same wavelength. I don't want him to get any fake hopes, and I'm sure that he'll probably retort on it not even a second after I said it.
However, this is what I want to achieve, from the bottom of my heart. With my goal of making everyone in the [5th Floor Alliance] happy. And for that, I need to ensure Iroha's own happiness, once Ozu, Mashiro, Otoi-san, Midori, and I graduate, with only Sumire as her teacher.
"I want Iroha to make some friends in her school year during the culture festival. People where she can share this annoying attitude of hers. A friend like you are to me, Ozu."
Part 2: The Company President's side
My name is Tsukinomori Makoto. I'm a perfectly normal nice-middle of a person. If there was one thing that was special about me, then I would name my status as the respective company president of one of the biggest, most influential entertainment companies, called Honey Plays Works.
Resing my back against the back seat in my black high-class car, the soft cushion giving me a soft rest, I gazed outside the window. I spotted the deep blue sea, almost as if it was created by a first-class glass craftsman. There were barely any cars admiring this sight as they drove along this road, and the last car that passed mine was a perfectly safely-driving big and rough four-seater, a few minutes ago.
If the sandy beach ahead of us wasn't a wealthy person's private belonging, but a public tourist spot, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed such a blissful drive with my driver ahead of me.
Kiraboshi Kanaria. Also called Hoshino Kana. I'm currently heading to her private residence. The plan was to talk about the script for our mobile game, which was an original work from UZA Publishing, and a big hit at that. Since she had to stay at her residence during this summer break for private reasons, I had to go out of my way to meet her.
My subordinates had told me that there was no need for the company president himself to go out of his way like this, but I decided to stand my ground, and act like a proper company president once in a while
'You probably only wanted to meet the super idol editor Kanaria-san, right...'
—were the words of my secretary, but they have absolutely no proof for that. I know that basically every male reader in this world has the hots for her, and I have to agree that she has a cute tendency to her. However, she didn't fit my personal taste of women at all, and I don't like her way of talking either.
As of right now, after meeting five times thus far, there has never been a BED END. On the contrary, we have never even shaken hands. I was really hoping that she would put some more trust into me after all this, but she's a troublesome fellow.
Oh wow, a girl who's using me as her sugar daddy sent me a message on the dating app.
A bit after that, I could see the white, sandy beach, the big residence, as the car stopped a bit further away. Taking care of the wrinkles in my jacket, I got out of the car, in peerless attire.
—Perfect lad, as always.
Satisfied with my usual desirability, I was immediately greeted by the person in question, who stood beneath the summer sky.
"Thank you very much for coming out of your way to come meet me, President Tsukinomori. Right this way, I have already finished the preparations"
Slightly lowering her head, the goth lolita-clothed, cute lady—Hoshino Kana, invited me inside.
"How is it going with Mashiro's new work?"
"It was really interesting as well this time around. I feel like it lost a bit of it's poisonus touch, but it was a rather dark novel to grasp the readers to begin with, so that was actually a pretty welcome adjustment."
"I see, I see. I like the sound of that."
Inside the residence. Having been guided to the reception room, I was offered a seat on the sofa, with some delicious-smelling black tea, running my fingers through my mustache with a joyful grin. Facing me sat Hoshino-san, normally acting as the super idol editor Kiraboshi Kanaria, but none of that personality was found right now, as she gave me a serious report.
"Ever since she changed schools, she has started to lighten up a bit more. On top of that, with her starting to work on the manuscripts of the [5th Floor Alliance], her own skill has improved quite a bit. Is this thanks to the command of President Tsukinomori I wonder."
"You know how to sweetmouth a man."
"No, I'm merely speaking the truth."
I laughed away the girl's modesty, and remembered the face of my beloved daughter from only a year and a half ago. My daughter who just hid in her room, writing on her novels day in, day out. When we had passed each other in the house even, she had a face like she didn't care about the world anymore, and as someone this closer to her, it was painful to watch. Until I had received a report from Hoshino-san one day.
「A certain indie game maker group called the [5th Floor Alliance] has put in a request. And Makigai-sensei seemed to have taken this in a positive fashion...but I have warned her to stay careful as of right now」
It's probably some one-person game creator that's in a deadlock. Probably some amateur who doesn't even get the difficulties of creating a game, who's trying to cash in one a new popular author, and Mashiro didn't know any better but to foolishly agree.
Those cold thoughts filled my head back then, when I had heard that report. However, right after that, [The Night The Black Goat Screamed] was released, helping Makigai Namako's popularity online and in reviews, getting her name known even further.
"That sure takes me back. At first, I was going to forcefully have her cut connections with them...but, I found out that the one leading this [5th Floor Alliance] was actually my nephew, and I thought Mashiro was going to stab me."
"...Are you sure that was the only reason for that?"
"What a cold-hearted retort that was...Still, I had never thought that she would go out of her to way ask me for permission to be employed to work on [Black Goat], produced by Akiteru-kun..."
"Maybe it's in her blood."
"If only my idiot son had taken a bit of that...Well, that is not important right now."
Back then, I felt the thread of fate getting more thick. I saw a chance to bring Mashiro back into society...No, I didn't even care about that too much. For my important daughter, I want her to be able to spend her days in joy, just like she had done before. I bet on this chance, and decided to put trust into Akiteru-kun.
"You mentioned that you had spent time here with Akiteru-kun's group, right? Mashiro was here just a while ago, wasn't she."
"Yes. I did want to test his abilities a bit...But did I go too far?"
"Ha ha ha. It's fine. At his age, everything can be a good experience." I laughed, as I sipped on my black tea.
When I did, Hoshino-san put one hand on her cheek as she let out an oddly erotic sigh.
"Ahh, but adolescence really is nice~ Seeing him, I wanted to go back to my high school days~ I'm so jealous of him, being loved by two cute girls like that"
"Pffffffffft!!"
What is this comedic effect, I retorted myself, as I spit out the black tea inside my mouth. Luckily, I didn't hit Hoshino-san with any of that—Wait, hold on!
"Two? Two, you said?!"
"Eh? Mashiro-chan and—"
"Yes, I know about Mashiro. Well, it's exactly because of that that I decided to make the contract."
"???"
Not knowing about the fake boyfriend contract, Hoshino-san just tilted her head, visibly confused. But, what is this about, Akiteru-kun?
"There is another girl besides Mashiro that is fawning over Akiteru-kun?"
"T-That's right...you don't know? Her name is Kohinata Iroha-chan."
"Kohinata...Iroha..."
Now that she says it, President Amachi told me that her daughter was relatively close with Akiteru-kun. He is good friends with her son, Kohinata Ozuma-kun as well, and he kept going on about her being nothing more but [My friend's little sister]—
"They seemed to have been really close. They were so different, yet perfectly complemented each other."
"How could this happen..."
"Eh?"
My hands were shaking at this sudden emergency situation, as I was gritting my teeth. Like a dictator having been cornered because of a lost battle, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"This isn't what we agreed upon, for fuck's sake!!"
"Ahhh..."
Hoshino-san showed an expression of 'Did I step on a landmine?', as she slightly scratched her cheek.
It seems like I need a detailed investigation of my nephew's youthful situation...!
Part 3: Even though it was just the dropped smartphone
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, Mashiro's heart was beating loud enough to burst her eardrums.
The sensation of her loved one's shoulders, the odd mingling of both our bodies' temperatures accelerated her heartbeat, completely blowing away all the exhaustion she had gathered from the beach trip.
Inside the car on the way home. Sumire-sensei was safely driving the four-seater down the road next to the beach shore. The sea view from the window looked like a painted art piece, but maybe because this wasn't an official tourist spot, there were barely any cars driving on this street to enjoy this sight. There was only one jet black high-class car that passed us.
With no other people around on this road, with a calm atmosphere inside the car. This situation, as Mashiro is touching shoulders with Aki in the back seat. In this environment which was a bit too convenient for Mashiro, she couldn't help but have her cheeks burn up.
Kanaria-san, thanks for the meal. Because she had an important meeting coming up, she was forced to stay inside the residence, allowing Mashiro to go home together with Sumire-sensei's group like this.
"Ahh...Hehe, Senpai, you really are good for nothing..."
"Ughh...Stop...don't come here...you annoying...ugh...!"
"........."
Well, Mashiro isn't the only one enjoying the warmth of Aki right next to her. At the exact opposite side of him was the comfortably sleeping Iroha-chan, as she snuggled up his shoulder.
Annoying. Aki is Mashiro's boyfriend, so how about you keep it in mind for a bit? Although it's just a fake relationship. As a countermeasure, Mashiro just silently pressed her own body against Aki's. Yup, this is good.
Kohinata-kun in the passenger seat, and Sumire-sensei next to him on the driver's seat didn't pick up on this either, so we three could all enjoy a gleeful time. There's lots of things Mashiro would like to talk about with Sumire-sensei, especially as Makigai Namako, but as long as Kohinata-kun—OZ is awake, that would prove difficult.
Hence, Mashiro could only try to control her beating heart as she had Aki next to her. This is something she can't control. How unfortunate, cough.
—Still, being able to come to the sea with Aki during summer break, Mashiro yet again realized that transferring schools was the right decision. Thinking back to the dull student life she had barely a year ago, this was a development rarely seen and imaginable even in novels. However, this wasn't a dream nor a novel. Aki's warmth perfectly demonstrated that.
"........."
At the same time, Mashiro felt a sharp pain inside her chest. A pain she hasn't felt a year ago. Looking at Iroha's face next to Aki, that pain intensified. She was the first female friend Mashiro ever had. But, it's very likely that she is also a rival in love for the person Mashiro loves.
While Mashiro was busy working on her deadline, and getting excited on going to the beach together, Aki and Iroha-chan seemed to have gotten closer...and they even participated in this ridiculous Ceremony of Whatever in the village as well.
...Aren't they forgetting that Mashiro is the girlfriend here? Or did she figure out that it was all just a fake relationship? ...Very likely. Mashiro often forgets to act like a girlfriend after all. So Iroha-chan thinks she has a chance, and is assertively approaching aki?
......
...No, it should be fine. Iroha-chan is nothing more but OZ's little sister. At a distance called [A friend's little sister]. Mashiro is a creator in the [5th Floor Alliance], chasing the same dream as Aki, with an insane advantage. Though, looking at Iroha-chan's acting talent, she can't ignore the possibility that she could very well become a voice actress. Unless Aki goes into that direction, Mashiro doubts that she would become a member anyway.
"...Haaaa."
Thinking that far, Mashiro let out a silent sigh. This is the worst. She hates this. She wants to be as close as before with Iroha-chan, and even closer, but just because she's in love with Aki, she keeps getting assaulted by this guilt. If only she hadn't fallen in love with Aki. If the person Iroha-chan liked was someone else, even Mashiro, who normally wants all normies and couples to go explode, could have supported her.
"Mm...mmm..."
"...!"
Aki suddenly twisted his body a bit, making Mashiro twitch in shock. With a timing that made Mashiro wonder if he hadn't heard her thoughts, it only seemed like he was turning in his sleep to fix his position. As a result of this, Aki's phone fell out of his hand.
"Working until the very limit, that Aki...that's so like him." Mashiro let out a faint snicker.
Thinking it can't be helped, Mashiro went to pick up his phone, and just out of a pure whim, not consciously by all means, she happened to see the screen.
"...Eh?"
And then, a confused voice leaked out of her mouth.
"Hmm? Mashiro-chan, what's wrong?"
"...! N-Nothing. Nothing at all."
Sumire-sensei must have heard this, and called out to Mashiro, who panicked a bit as she hid the phone behind Aki's butt. To that, Sumire-sensei just gave a short 'Is that so?', and focussed back on driving again.
"........."
But, what was that about? On Aki's phone screen, that LIME conversation...
—With Otoi-san.
She is a female student who Aki brought with her to save the theatre club, as well as the one responsible for anything sound-related in the [5th Floor Alliance]. Talking with her was not the problem. The new character scenario, illustrations, and new system are all complete, so it was time for the voice actress to get the lines recorded. But...what was that conversation?
[AKI] Alright then, I'm counting on you for the next recording session
[Otoi] 30 Chupadrops
[AKI] 30...No, since I'm bothering you like this, how about 50
[Otoi] Okey~ Guess I'll prepare to make my way home
[AKI] I'm sorry to bother you during your break
[Otoi] Well, recording with Kohinata is always fun to do~
[AKI] Thank you very much. I'll take care of Iroha's schedule, and contact you again
[Otoi] I'll be waiting~
Mashiro heard a metallic sound in her head, like the puzzle pieces were coming together. The [5th Floor Alliance] consists of the overall producer AKI, the engineer OZ, the illustrator Murasaki Shikibu-sensei, and the scenario writer Makigai Namako. But, of course, there are other members outside those, who assist in our work, like the sound engineer Otoi-san. And, to not forget them, there is this mysterious voice acting group X, which is always a hot topic on social networks.
The names of the voice actors for the various characters existing in [The Night The Black Goat Screamed] have not been publicly announced. Because of the wide variation of characters existing in the game, countless people have helped so far, or they're just newcomer voice actors from different agencies, or it's actually one veteran voice actor who just takes care of all the voices at once—countless urban legends like these were going around on behalf of that topic.
But, now that Mashiro thinks about it, it was very obvious just who that mysterious voice actor X actually referred to.
Back then, when Mashiro was once again bullied by her old classmates, who gave that terrifying yankee acting? Back when the theatre club was in a pinch, who played the female role during the play? And this time as well, who was it that showed us a perfectly accurate real-life Kokuryuuinkugetsu?
Collecting the hints Mashiro had gotten over time, it was weird that she hasn't realized it yet. What if there was a highly skilled individual right next to Aki, all the time?
"Iroha-chan is...the voice actress of the [5th Floor Alliance]...?"
Those words weren't heard by anyone, as a black drop of water dropped deep inside Mashiro's chest.
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