Ever since I confessed, she has been acting strange. - CHAPTER 5: SUMMER VACATION ARC

Episode 35: The Diva’s Dream

For some reason, Otoha-san has been choosing to move in the blind spots of the surveillance cameras as much as possible for some time now. Always cautious and never letting her guard down… As expected from a diva.

“Otoha. What on earth are you doing?”

However, Otoha-san’s manager, Sudo-san, was holding his head in his hands with a serious expression on his face.

“Careful. If I’m being watched, there might be interference.”

“Being cautious of the media is understandable, but I don’t think they would follow you that far.”

“The media is still manageable. They have their charm.”

“So what are you being cautious about?”

Let me know if you want me to continue or if you need more help!

“…My arch rival. If it’s her, she might use the surveillance footage to spy on us. If we’re having a nice moment and someone interrupts, I’ll regret it beyond words.”

I don’t know why, but when Otoha-san mentioned ‘that girl’, I couldn’t help but picture the young lady’s face.

Sure, if it’s the young lady, she could easily do something like that. But why would she go so far as to spy on us… Ah, I see. So that’s what she meant.

The young lady must be worried about her friend Otoha-san.

Ever since they met through the basketball game at the sports festival, their bond has been growing stronger.

The reason Otoha-san chooses to act in the blind spots of the surveillance cameras is surely due to shyness.

“Otoha-san, I understand.”

“You don’t understand anything.”

This is ridiculous.

“Sigh… I’m glad your voice has returned, but I feel like your actions and words have become even more erratic than before.”

“What was it like before?”

“Well, after a live performance, she would get lost and somehow end up in a neighboring prefecture of the city where the venue was, or she would sneak out of the hotel under the guise of running away from home.”

“Otoha-san seems delicate and fragile on the outside, but in reality she has incredible drive, doesn’t she?”

“On the outside, she’s like a fairy, but on the inside, she’s a monster.”

“You’re making me blush.”

“Don’t blush.”

Come to think of it, when I first met Otoha-san, she tied a rope to the railing on the roof of a building and then… well, she ended up falling off.

“All right. It’s almost time for the next program. Otoha, please change and come back. We’ll leave right after.”

“Mm.”

Otoha-san, who was about to go to the changing room, suddenly stopped as if she had thought of something.

“…Eito. If you want to watch me change, I can make a peephole for you.”

“You’re just trying to lighten the mood with a joke, right? I’m fine, so please hurry up and change.”

“It’s not a joke.”

It was Otoha-san who invited me to this part-time job.

She was probably trying to lighten the atmosphere with jokes to make me feel more comfortable while working. Even though she was in the middle of training for her comeback, she was still able to show such attention to detail. As you would expect from a professional.

After that, Otoha-san’s schedule went smoothly.

It’s true that Otoha-san has some unpredictable moments, but when she’s in the midst of her lessons and meetings, working towards her comeback, her demeanor and profile are nothing short of professional.

Since I met Otoha-san, I’ve seen her as a classmate, watched her throw herself into the sports festival, gone to a theme park with her, and seen many sides of her. But this is the first time I’ve seen her as a true “diva.

What’s most striking is when she sings.

Sometimes she’s tender, sometimes passionate, sometimes cheerful, and sometimes adorable.

Along with her singing voice, I’m able to catch glimpses of sides of Otoha-san that I’ve never known before.

Before I knew it, I was offering my heartfelt admiration to the amazing artist right in front of me.

As planned.

To compete with Hoshine, I can only use my strengths. For me, my strength is being a “diva” (artist).

Looking back, I realize that I was a little too close to Eito.

I can’t win against Hoshine in terms of closeness.

That’s why, at this moment, I deliberately decide to distance myself from Eito.

The extraordinary nature behind the title “Diva”. The feeling of being someone unattainable. If I show a different side of myself from my usual self, I can arouse emotions through the contrast.

More than anything else, no matter how much of a genius Hoshine is, I was confident that I wouldn’t lose when it came to singing.

Heh heh heh… That’s something Hoshine can’t do. It’s a strategy that only I, as a diva, can pull off.

Next, I’ll get Eito and I alone in a closed room and create a situation where it feels like “the unattainable diva is now so close…” and then I’ll close in.

…I’ve won. This is already a complete victory.

“-Eito. What are you doing?”

After the meeting, I called to Eito, who was working in an empty room in the office.

“I’m checking Otoha-san’s fan letters.”

“Checking the fan letters?”

“Yes. Of course, I am checking the contents, but I am also making sure that there are no suspicious items inside… Otoha-san’s voice has just returned, after all. Sudo-san also asked me to be thorough with the checks.”

“You seem happy about that.”

“Because of my background as someone who’s in charge of protecting the young lady, I was specifically chosen for this task. …Ah, by the way, just to be sure, Sudo-san will also double-check later.”

If it’s just checking fan letters, it could be left to someone else.

But on the other hand, it’s very much like Eito. I can feel how much he cares for me through his actions.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? In the age of the Internet and social media, people still take the time to handwrite their feelings in letters to support Otoha-san.

My comeback is still a long way off.

For the sake of future activities, I’ve decided to use this break to gain various experiences. The more experience I gain, the wider my range of expression will be.

However, the fan letters that Eito reviewed were so numerous that they filled several boxes.

“…Even though I’m on hiatus.”

The fan letters were piled high. In the past, I wouldn’t have given them much thought.

Because for me, singing was just a means to reach the magical songs like my mother’s and a tool to heal my father’s grief – at least that’s what I believed.

But now it’s different. Eito helped me to realize that I really love singing.

And the fact that there are so many people who say they love my songs makes me incredibly happy. My heart is overflowing.

“It is like magic. Otoha-san is singing.”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“My singing, like magic?”

“I think so.”

“Why?”

In my mind, I still don’t think that my singing is like the magic songs that could soften my mother’s heart or ease my strict father’s mind. It’s not that I hate my own singing or feel negative about it. But there’s still a part of me that thinks, “I’m so far from that.

So why does Eito see my singing as…?

“Because it moves the hearts of so many people. Doesn’t that feel like magic?”

Eito smiled softly as he looked at the mountain of fan letters.

“Is that… so?”

“Yes, it is. Because it’s written here. How your singing and you moved their hearts, in great detail. It’s undeniable proof.”

I had never thought about that. The meaning of the words written there.

I had never thought about that. It’s not just a random string of letters.

I learned that. Eito taught me that again. And that’s when I realized.

“To me, Otoha-san is a magician.”

-That I had already become what I wanted to be.

“You know, Eito. My mother was a magician.”

I took one of the fan letters that Eito had already checked and opened it.

“…When my mother sang, even my grumpy father smiled. I sang because I wanted to be a magician like my mother. My dream was to become a magician like her one day.”

Now I understand. The feelings that the fans who support me have put into this letter.

“Thank you, Eito. You have made me realize that I have already achieved my dream.

I’m not very expressive. I’m not good at understanding my feelings. That’s why I don’t always notice. I often overlook important things and let them slip away.

But Eito is always the one who teaches me. He helps me realize the important things I’ve missed. It may be nothing special to him, but it’s something precious to me.

“I am happy to help you, Otoha-san. Especially since I’m your assistant manager right now.”

“Mm. In that case, will you help me realize my next dream as well?”

“Of course. By the way, what dream is that?”

While gently holding the fan letters to my chest, I spoke the dream that was naturally floating in my heart.

“To deliver my magic (song) that moves hearts to even more people.”

The old me had a frozen heart. I felt nothing, every day was boring and everything seemed faded.

But now every day is fun. Since I met Eito and realized my true feelings, every day has become so colorful.

Through moving hearts, my world changed. I became happy.

That’s why I want to touch everyone’s heart. I want to make everyone’s world happy.

“I think it’s a wonderful dream.

“Watch me, okay?”

“? Yes. Of course.”

…Ah. I had planned to push forward all at once, but before I knew it, I was the one who received something precious. I guess Hoshine is always caught off guard like that.

“I’ll support you from the shadows, Otoha-san. …Though my job as your assistant manager ends today.”

“It’s not just today. You can stay with me forever.”

“It’s an honor, but I can’t.”

“………… Is it because you serve Hoshine?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that. In fact, I’ve already got my next part-time job lined up.”

I was relieved when he didn’t say it was because he was serving Hoshine and I didn’t have to hear that.

“What kind of part-time job?”

Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the same part-time job as Eito.

I’ve never had a part-time job before, and it might be a good experience…

“I’m going to take care of Umiha-sama at the Shiromon-in family.”

“Huh?”S