My Friend's Little Sister Has It In for Me! Volume 11 (eBook)

mikawaghost (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-2646-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Akiteru has disappeared! After a face-off with Amachi Otoha, Akiteru agreed to step down as producer for Koyagi. In exchange, Amachi Otoha would recognize and support Iroha's acting ambitions. But with Akiteru removing himself from the picture for the sake of Iroha's future, the 05th Floor Alliance is thrown into chaos! And while he's appointed Otoi as his replacement captain, can she actually steer this ship through stormy waters?

Where did Akiteru go anyway? And what's he doing? The answer may lie hidden in an unexpected (and yet expected) corner...

Textauszug

Prologue

“You, Ooboshi Akiteru-kun, must step down as producer.”

Those words, spoken with a subtle Kyoto accent, rang in my ears.

I was in Kyoto at Tenchido Eternaland in the CEO’s office of the managerial building.

A shelf dominated the wall, stacked full of all sorts of items. It was almost like a mural of Tenchido’s awe-inspiring history. The gazes of those adorable mascots weighed on me, only for those words to slam down like a hammer. The figures cackled at me as the Demon King made her statement.

I was frozen, stunned, speechless. Tenchido’s CEO—Amachi Otoha—stared right at me all the while, her expression completely unchanging. Her eyes were fixed on me like this was some kind of test. Was she crazy?

“You’ve always been against Iroha getting involved in this kinda stuff. Why the change?”

“My hand has been forced. If I thought I could keep her away from entertainment forever, I would do it.”

“You may be her mom, but you’ve got no right to do that. You get that, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve also learned that I don’t have as much control over her as I thought, and that a child will keep dreaming no matter how you try to pen them in.”

“And now you’re trying to drag me down, because...?”

Did she really think I was just going to agree to her terms? She was the one who had refused to accept her daughter’s talents, while I had nurtured them. She wasn’t getting rid of me that easily.

“Do you know why I’ve been trying to prevent Iroha from entering the acting world?” Otoha-san asked.

I hesitated. Then I shook my head. If I’d known, I would’ve been done convincing her a long time ago. “No.”

“Show business is like a hell all of its own, swarming with demons. Do you know how many talented people have been subjected to subhuman treatment, all because those very talents are seen as assets to be preyed upon? It’s a world where the line between effort and pure luck is blurred—its position depends totally on who you ask—and you’re forced to follow the same mind-boggling tracks laid down by whoever went before you. People have been hurt. Killed.”

“Isn’t that the same for all competitive fields? You can find cases of that in every industry.”

Where there was light, there was shadow. I might’ve sounded like the final boss in an RPG, but you can’t tell me that doesn’t represent the world we live in. The brighter the sun at the top of the mountain, the darker the shadows, until they all melted into mud at the bottom.

The people who got tripped up by that filthy mud... Those who sometimes fell and got covered in it but continued anyway... They were the ones who would shine at the end of it all. Denying that reality left only one alternative: living peacefully in a risk-free bubble where there was neither light nor dark.

Some people were happy with that, and that was fine. Not everyone had to be a shining star. But if light was what you wanted, then you weren’t going to get anywhere without swallowing a mouthful of shadowy sludge from time to time.

Otoha-san’s sharp retort tore my counterpoint to shreds. “Yes, you’re right. But even if you’re brave enough to enter such a world, you won’t get anywhere without powerful friends and flawless preparation.”

“That’s exactly what the 05th Floor Alliance is. Stepping down’ll be the same as throwing Iroha into the demons’ den completely defenseless.”

“You’ve got it backward.” Otoha-san shook her head slowly, then continued. “I will be her producer. I’m Tenchido’s CEO. You won’t find a more powerful ally for Iroha than me.”

“What?!”

Was she for real right now? I couldn’t process what she was saying. First she kept Iroha from any and all forms of entertainment, and now she wanted to encourage her? This was a woman who didn’t believe in the talents of her own personnel and who was happy churning out creative works as though she were managing a factory. How was someone like that supposed to do anything for Iroha?

“Oh, sweetie, you’re not even trying to pretend you trust me, are you?” Otoha-san said.

“You’re only saying that because you know there’s a reason I don’t,” I replied.

“Think about it this way: a meddling high schooler versus a world-class CEO in the field of entertainment. I’d say it’s pretty obvious which of us is in a better position to protect Iroha.”

I considered it for a moment. The conclusion was obvious. My brain prized efficiency, functioning almost entirely on logic. The damn thing knew exactly which option would set Iroha on the quickest path to acting success. That was why I didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to take that silence to be your answer,” Otoha-san said.

I guess she was being merciful in her own adult way. But the lifeline that look was throwing me was still too high up to catch.

I couldn’t tell her she was wrong. I couldn’t get mad and tell her to quit treating me like I was stupid just because I was in high school. I couldn’t even rant and rave about Koyagi: When They Cry’s roaring success. I was left to accept my defeat in silence, overwhelmed by the persuasive power of Tenchido’s CEO.

Her face twisted for just a second. I didn’t know what emotions pushed her to make that expression, but I guessed it wasn’t anything positive from the sigh that came next. “You’ll never be able to protect her with such half-hearted resolve. And here I thought you might have the potential to work with me...”

I had no desire to dig through her words and figure out what she might mean.

Just then, I felt a vibration against my thigh. It was coming from my pocket. It wasn’t just the one buzz either: it kept going and going. Someone was calling me. Otoha-san immediately noticed the subtle shift in my gaze and expression. There wasn’t the slightest hint of concern in her smile as she made a gesture for me to answer.

“No, I—” I started.

“I really think you should answer it.”

For all the gentleness in her tone, there was no space for me to refuse. I didn’t like the way she was being so insistent. Panicking, I pulled out my phone. The screen read Kohinata Ozuma.

What?

Ozu, mathematical prodigy and genius engineer, valued efficiency even more than I did. He hated wasting time on long phone calls and preferred to contact me via LIME or text message. It had to be urgent if he was calling me.

“Hey. Something up?” I asked the second the line connected.

“Great, you picked up. Is Iroha with you?”

“No?” I could offer him Otoha-san instead if he was interested.

“You gotta tell him more than that, Ozuma-kun! Maybe start with how Iroha-chan’s in freaking Kyoto!”

“Shikibu— Sumire-sensei’s with you too?” I asked.

“You bet I am! It’s been ages since I last had any screen time, right?! Don’t tell me you forgot about me! ’Cause I’m right here!” Kageishi Sumire’s voice suddenly got louder. She must have taken the phone off Ozu. Not only was she our homeroom teacher, but she was the 05th Floor Alliance’s illustrator too. Her artist name was Murasaki Shikibu-sensei.

She seriously thought I was at risk of forgetting all about her? We had literally spoken that morning at the hotel. That said, it did feel like I hadn’t heard her voice in ages. Maybe because I’d spent so much of today talking about my past.

“Okay, so you’re probably wondering why Iroha-chan’s in Kyoto and I’ll tell you why, it’s because Mizuki-san had a shoot and Iroha-chan came as, like, her assistant or something, I dunno, I think it’s work experience?! But it just so happened to be in Kyoto! She ended up bumping into Otoi-san, so they were together for a bit, but then her mom showed up and I dunno what happened but she, like, ran off and now she’s missing!”

“Those are a lot of words considering you’ve barely explained anything.”

“Whaddya want from me?! I’m just telling you what I heard from Otoi-san!”

Fair enough, I guess. Otoi-san wouldn’t have been able to explain that Iroha wanted to be an actress or why she might run away from her own mother.

“We’re at Tenchido Eternaland right now. Could you help us look for her, Aki?”

“You know I wouldn’t just ignore this.”

“You’re the best! I’ll send you a LIME so you know where to meet us!” Sumire-sensei blurted out before hanging up.

I lowered my phone and looked at Otoha-san. Her expression was as difficult to read as ever.

“It must have been quite the shock for Iroha when she realized I had found out she wanted to be an actress,” she said.

“Is that what made you decide to give her a shot?”

“What, because the pain in her eyes broke my heart?” Otoha-san giggled. “Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in the world was so sympathetic to one another?”

“I knew you weren’t driven by sympathy when you decided you couldn’t trust me to direct her.”

“I can’t let myself be swayed by just that. I think you know...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.12.2025
• Reihe/Serie: My Friend's Little Sister Has It In for Me!
• Illustrationen: tomari
• Übersetzer: Alexandra Owen-Burns
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Schlagworte: Comedy • fake relationship • Harem • High School • Light Novel • Romance • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-2646-7 / 1718326467
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-2646-0 / 9781718326460