Seika Joins

"Congratulations on your victory. The award ceremony will be held in thirty minutes. Will that be all right?"

Anastasia-san offered her blessing.

"… Ah, before that, could I have a moment for the restroom and such?"

"Ah, that's fine. Please go ahead."

I withdrew once into the wing of the stage.

… When I did, I'd taken her hand and brought her with me.

Winning was nice, but what was even nicer was…

I sent off a system message.

"… With this, you are mine."

"… Yes, looking forward to working with you from here on.

"With you, and with Starlight as well."

Seika Shikina's joining, then.

To be able to obtain such a cute top idol, wonderful.

From here on, I'd have her get along with Luna and work hard together too.

"A-ah, w-wait, hold on a moment…!"

To my side, Lightning's Austin showed himself.

… Mn, I'd thought he'd come.

… It wouldn't do to put on a sloppy display of internal strife on national broadcast, so I'd withdrawn into the wing of the stage on purpose.

"… Well, Naoto-san! Naoto-sama! Congratulations on your victory!

"My, my, truly strong! A magnificent showing!"

Austin grovelled, wringing his hands and bowing his head.

Tatatat… batt!

The one who blocked Austin's approach to me was Farida-san.

"… Was there something you needed?"

It seemed she'd seen me withdraw into the wing and chased after. She had good instincts.

"Oh, this is Farida-dono.

"No, I merely wished to congratulate Naoto-sama on his magnificent victory… only that."

"If that's all, very well, but I cannot allow you to speak with Naoto-san when you approach with such a face that says you've got something up your sleeve.

"Because he is the Master of our precious talents."

"No, however… yes, yes. First, I really must have a word with the Master.

"… It's about our Seika Shikina."

"Our?"

I called him out on that point.

"Naoto-san… I'll drive him off, so it's all right, yes?"

So Farida-san offered, but.

"No, it's fine. I want to get used to negotiations too, so I'll handle him."

Well, outside of cute Garumon coming at me with feminine wiles, I had confidence I wouldn't be swept along that easily.

"First, your business, please. Don't tell me you have some complaint about Seika becoming my Garumon?"

"N-no, no. Such a thing, perish the thought! To make complaints about the result of a sacred Garumon Battle.

"I, too, am someone who once climbed all the way to S-Class Master.

"I would never commit such a discourtesy.

"However, you see… it's a matter of the production.

"Truly, Seika Shikina is an indispensable talent for our Lightning Production.

"Without Seika, we have no choice but to fold up the production.

"To that degree, she is an absolute presence. So, please, by all means…

"Please entrust Seika Shikina to our Lightning Production!

"I beg of you, I beg of you most humbly!"

So saying, he prostrated himself.

Well, the fact that he could properly observe etiquette like this was something, I supposed. Though no matter how you looked at it, it was only on the surface.

"The matter of the production transfer is also the result of a formal wager. It should have been decided by a sacred Garumon Battle.

"Are you treating that as nothing?"

"N-no, no, perish the thought! For me there is nothing left but to throw myself upon Naoto-sama's mercy…!

"To Naoto-sama, who is overflowing with talent, an able and future S-Class Master, please, by all means, do not take Seika Shikina from me!

"Humbly, most humbly I beg of you!"

So saying, he lowered his head.

Mn, well, money or no money, there was no doubt he needed Seika.

If he came at me twisting strange logic, or scolded me from the start, I could push back, but as someone whose nature was fundamentally good-natured, when faced with such a humble approach, I felt a bit apologetic.

"… But no. Austin-san. Are you properly considering the path to Seika's happiness?"

"Yes? Seika? Happy? What do you mean?"

He cocked his head, looking like he genuinely didn't understand.

… Ah, he wasn't the only one to blame. As I'd thought, was this world's general thinking really like this?

"Then, no after all. Now that Seika has become mine, I have a responsibility to make Seika happy.

"To fulfill that responsibility… I cannot entrust her to you."

"B-but…"

Austin tried to push back, but when I shot him a single glare, he lowered his head and backed down.

… Huh, a bit unexpected.

I'd thought he'd push back harder, or come at me more high-handedly.

"There's no A-Class NPC who would take such a rude attitude toward someone who's about to become an S-Class Master.

"That Austin is also a vulgar man, but he has at least that much wisdom."

"… Ah, I see."

… So I'd silenced him with authority.

I didn't really care for that sort of thing… well, no helping it. I'd advanced in rank too, and whether I liked it or not, authority had come into my hands.

"That reminds me, in this world is there such a thing as copyright?"

"More or less. The legal infrastructure for that sort of thing is still being built up… but singing someone else's songs is fine; if you do business with the recordings, you need permission.

"It was settled in advance that for the songs Seika-san produced at Lightning, both Seika-san and Lightning hold unlimited rights.

"Seika-san is free to sell those songs at Starlight as well.

"It's also fine for Lightning to have rookie idols sing Seika-san's songs and sell them.

"If Seika-san's previously recorded songs are re-released, the contractually agreed compensation must be paid to Seika-san."

"I see…"

So they'd properly nailed down even the fine details.

Quite thorough. An excellent manager.

"So, about Seika's manager… will Farida-san continue to handle her, then?"

"Yes, that's my intent! For Seika to be joining us, I'm so happy!

"Starlight will become even bigger than it is now!"

So Farida-san smiled happily.

… Cute.

"… Erm, then, that… this time, would it be all right if I recruited Farida-san?"

"… Eh?"

Farida-san looked dumbstruck.

"Farida-san is cute, capable, and from here on you're going to be spending all your time together as Luna and Seika's manager too…

"If, from now on, you'd be by my side as my Garumon, there would be nothing happier than that…

"How about it.

"Of course you can keep on being a manager, and I'll be considerate in every other way I can.

"… What do you say?"

"E-erm, that's, um… w-with someone like me, are you r-really sure…?"

Farida-san was flustered. Hm? Rather than troubled, it was more the embarrassed-but-pleased reaction of someone scouted by a talent agency.

"… Huh, are you happy?"

"O-of course I am! Naoto-san, you put on such an amazing performance at the A-Class Tournament! And you're a man on the verge of S-Class Master!

"If they could be Naoto-san's Garumon, they'd happily do anything! There are mountains of Garumon like that all over the world!"

I got scolded by Farida-san.

I-I see. By this world's standards, was I a real ladies' man, perhaps?

I couldn't really tell on my own.

… Well, since everyone loved me, I supposed I should have some confidence.

"S-sorry. But… is the reason Farida-san is happy because I performed at the A-Class Tournament, because I'm a Master on the verge of S-Class?"

"… Th-that's… I do think it's because I sympathize with Naoto-san's character and your way of thinking about work… but I don't know.

"Because, Naoto-san, from the time I met you, you've been wonderfully strong, and a promising Master, and a Master so wonderful you shine…

"For any Garumon in this world, you'd be the kind of person they couldn't help but admire…

"Even if I told you it was a person of that caliber I was drawn to for his character… if you couldn't trust it, I couldn't blame you… If only I had met you sooner…"

That had been a mean question just now. Certainly, I didn't favor people who came drawn by money or authority. But if that were the standard, then I wouldn't be able to get close to anyone I met while in possession of money or authority.

I knew well from our time together that Farida-san wasn't that kind of person.

"Sorry, I said something strange."

I bowed my head honestly.

Farida-san's response was very favorable. Maybe I should have recruited her sooner.

"I'm happy, Farida-san.

"I'll formally pay my respects to Lorent-san again before long."

"Y-yes… ah… to be Naoto-san's Garumon… like a dream…"

Farida-san was enraptured.

To be received with such joy.

Mn, no, since she was such an extraordinarily exquisite beautiful girl, I'd thought it was natural that you'd chase, and chase, and try and try, and only then finally have her turn around.

To be received with the opposite reaction left me a bit flustered.

… No, I shouldn't be flustered anymore.

After all, as I was now, I was the 25th-most-important person in the world.

If this were Earth, that'd be a king of some country, a president, the head of a world-renowned major corporation, that level.

For any beautiful woman, of course she'd be happy to be picked out.

Of course, Farida-san wasn't the type to be happy over authority and what not. She'd seen my companions training rigorously under me, seen them in their decidedly not-easy moments, and on top of all that… she'd wished to be my comrade.

Conversely, maybe it was I who should be considering whether this girl was worth taking to bed and doting on.

… Well, said or unsaid, I was always considering that on my own.

Like how Aldis's Lava and Lasha, and Anastasia-san, were really beautiful, but I didn't get the urge to take them to bed.

Farida-san and Seika, I really wanted to take to bed.

What, no problem at all.

From here on, I'd go on behaving as I pleased.

Of course, I wouldn't go around forcibly snatching whoever I wanted from anyone, no matter how much I wanted to.

No matter how much I wanted to, I wouldn't lay a hand on a Garumon who was loved by her Master and living happily.

That wasn't what I wanted to do.

But if that Garumon was unhappy and being abused… I'd snatch her and save her.

If there was an NPC I really, really wanted to take to bed, when possible I'd invite her.

Like that, I'd live my days enjoyably.

"Well then, Farida-san, Seika… First of all, the award ceremony and various other things, it seems…

"Once again, tonight."

"Yes…!"

"Mn… Or rather, why is Farida with -san but I'm without honorifics? Isn't it normally the reverse?

"I'm older."

"But, Seika doesn't really feel older…"

Now that she mentioned it, was she actually the oldest of all my girls?

Leone was 23, Griera and the others 26, Ursula 20… mn, no doubt about it. The oldest.

But that didn't matter. She was such a cute girl.

"Geez, if you make light of an older woman, I won't let it pass!"

So Seika fumed.

Somehow, very cute. It looked like things were going to be fun from here on.