The Stand User Of The Daily World

"Well, I really must thank you for that."

Shunsuke looked at Yumeko speechlessly. Did she really think he could be bribed with these things? Ridiculous.

"When it comes to gambling, Yumeko, there's no need to rush. When the time comes, even if you don't bring it up, I'll come to you for a match myself."

"That's wonderful," Yumeko said with a dazzling smile.

"So this isn't about these things at all. This was part of my plan all along," Shunsuke emphasized.

"Mm, I believe you, Shunsuke," Yumeko replied, her smile still radiant. "Please wait a moment, I'll go tidy up now."

Yumeko was a woman of action. She walked into the room, grabbed a bag, and began preparing to pack her things.

Shunsuke felt deeply insulted.

What happened to trusting me!? She wasn't even trying to pretend otherwise! I can't believe you're this kind of person, Yumeko. I really misjudged you!

When Shunsuke reached out to stop her, Yumeko tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then seemed to realize something. She placed her hands on her hips and said,

"Of course, things that have been sitting out won't do. In that case, I'll take something fresh from today—"

"That won't be necessary!"

"Then starting tomorrow, every day I'll—"

"Really, it's not necessary!"

...

The next day, at school, during the lunch break.

As usual, Shunsuke intended to take his lunchbox to the Service Club room to eat with Yukino. But today, his plans were reserved for Mai.

Arriving at the rooftop, Shunsuke gently turned the doorknob. The door to the rooftop opened easily, a sign that Mai was already there.

As he pushed the door open, Shunsuke saw a familiar figure standing at the edge of the rooftop. Hearing the sound of the door, the figure turned around—it was indeed Mai.

Shunsuke raised a hand in greeting. "Mai-san, long time no see. Were you missing me? It's only your second day back, and you're already impatiently summoning me here for lunch."

"You've got some nerve saying that," Mai shot him an annoyed glance. "You call yourself my manager, yet when I went to wrap up some business this week, you only sent an assistant with me. What kind of manager does that?"

"Manager is just a part-time gig. From now on, please address me as 'President Mai-sama.'"

Shunsuke mimed adjusting an imaginary tie with exaggerated pomp.

Since Mai had left her mother's agency, she remained a top-tier star in the public eye.

However, her lack of affiliation with any company made interacting with the industry challenging.

To solve this, Shunsuke had founded an agency of his own, taking on the role of president.

Due to his self-proclaimed lack of creativity in naming things, the agency was called 283 Productions.

The name had no special meaning beyond being inspired by an agency from The Idolmaster game, which emphasized respecting idols' personal desires and individuality while ensuring they could work and enjoy themselves in harmony.

Shunsuke thought this philosophy aligned with his intentions. Unfortunately, it didn't come with the same yen profits.

Currently, the agency only had one artist—Mai—but the staff already exceeded double digits.

Shunsuke had recruited exceptional talent poached from Yumemi's future team, all of whom were women, making them exceptionally convenient for him to work with.

Faced with Shunsuke's shameless self-satisfaction, Mai simply huffed. She wasn't overly upset.

After all, when she had chosen Shunsuke as her manager, she had already accepted that he wasn't going to put in much effort.

He was, after all, just an "ordinary" high school student. Even if his grades were decent, he lacked any real-world experience to handle these matters effectively. Choosing him had simply been an excuse for herself.

In the original events, Mai would have handled all these matters herself.

But now, as Mai thought about how Shunsuke hadn't spent even a single full day with her—and especially after learning some shocking news yesterday, which had prompted her to rush back home overnight—her irritation flared up again.

Without acknowledging Shunsuke, Mai sat down on a nearby bench, where two bento boxes were placed. "Hurry up and eat."

"Oh, oh, is this a bento personally made for me by the illustrious Mai-san? I'm truly blessed," Shunsuke said, picking up a bento box and sitting beside her. "To think I might be the only person in all of to have the honor of receiving a handmade bento from Mai. I'm such a lucky guy."

Noticing that Mai's mood seemed a bit off, Shunsuke quickly tried to salvage the situation, though even he wasn't sure if he was going about it the right way.

When he opened the lid, he was surprised to find the bento packed with a variety of dishes: karaage chicken, tamagoyaki, potato salad garnished with cherry tomatoes, and simmered hijiki with potatoes.

He took a bite. Although the flavors were on the milder side, it was undeniably delicious. Having lived in Sakurajima for over ten years, Shunsuke was used to lighter-tasting dishes.

"I was honestly expecting some kind of 'dark cuisine' and had already resolved to risk my life for you, Mai-san. But this is amazing! Mai-san, you're definitely going to make a great wife someday,"

Shunsuke said, deliberately imitating the clueless male protagonists from anime. He wondered if such lines would actually work in real life—or would they just make him look like an idiot?

"Why would you even think I'd make dark cuisine for someone?" Mai responded, clearly dissatisfied, turning her head away in annoyance.

Shunsuke, however, could see the faint blush spreading on Mai's neck. It seemed these kinds of lines really worked on characters straight out of a 2D world.

"Because you usually just eat bread for lunch. If you can cook, why don't you make bentos regularly?"

"Getting up early in the morning just to make a bento is too much trouble," Mai replied casually.

The moment she said it, she realized she might have said something she shouldn't have, so she quickly changed the topic.

"Shunsuke-kun, I heard you recruited some random high school girls as idols yesterday?" Mai crossed her arms, her tone calm but with an edge.

"Wow, Mai-san, your sources are really fast," Shunsuke replied, surprised. He had planned to wait until the girls, whom he had nicknamed "Muse," made some achievements before telling Mai, hoping to present it as a fait accompli.

Mai shot him an incredulous look. "Anyone could figure it out just by reading the company's internal announcements."

"Ah… uh… right, good point."

"You… weren't planning to hide this from me, were you?" Mai's intuition was sharper than expected.

"Of course not! How could I ever hide something from you, Mai-san? I just didn't want to bother you since I know how busy you are."

"Then please explain why you decided to recruit a group of completely inexperienced high school girls as idols."

"Because I recognized the talent they possess," Shunsuke said confidently.

"What does that even mean? They're just a small group that hasn't even held a single live performance. No matter how sharp your eye for talent is, you can't confirm anything until you've seen them perform."

"And their passion."

"Passion alone isn't enough. There are tens of thousands of idols across Japan who are just as passionate, if not more."

"And their future."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Future?"

"I've also seen their future," Shunsuke said, his tone calm but resolute.

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