While Teio I transferred to is closer than those, but no one there knows about my family situation aside from the Principal.
If Teio was near my home, I would have refused the transfer no matter what.
That’s how much I don’t want people knowing I’m [Hoshi Toru]’s son.
“Papa? I talked to him just a little on the phone earlier, but he seemed like a mysterious guy. Kinda drew me in, felt like he had a real [presence].”
Yeah…even without meeting him directly, you can sense something that special about dad.
“Before we talk about dad, as his son I gotta say…isn’t mom a beauty?”
“Yeah, super pretty and she looks twenty-something tops. Her behavior and speech are cute too, seems like she could make it as a celebrity.”
“She not just regular celeb, she was big time. Stage name Ozora Misaki–a wildly popular actress with the title Super before her name.”
“Ohh, I see. Gotcha gotcha.”
She may make less public appearances after marriage but that passionate popularity shows no signs of declining even now. Just occasional TV spots get a tremendous reaction on social media, and a mountain of fan letters and gifts come through her agency.
“Well, I can understand mom being super popular. Setting aside biased family eyes, her looks are top class and despite usually being doting, she’s a genius when acting. Her homemaking skills are also excellent–she was voted number one celebrity housewife fans want to marry, a very easy to understand national sweetheart actress–but dad’s different.”
That’s right, Hoshi Toru is–
“Nothing particularly remarkable about his face or outstanding intellect. Athletic ability pretty much average, no exceptional talents either.”
So what makes dad popular?
The answer is, I don’t know.
Yet he draws people in.
Through his words, actions, or maybe personality?
The factors are totally unclear but the result is people gather around dad.
Then they cheer passionately, gaze with envy, and have their hearts set ablaze.
They’re rare but they exist.
Simply being there–people who are blessed for that mere fact.
“Yet he became a star. For reasons I can’t grasp at all, dad’s been a superstar from when I first gained awareness up to now…”
“Ahh, those kinds of people huh. Can’t put the charm into words but they just naturally become the center of the world. Like charisma transcending logic? There’s a lot of historical figures like that–hm? But if your dad is that amazing, wouldn’t you want to brag about him–”
“At first, yeah.”
I immediately responded at the perfect pause in timing.
“Around preschool, I admired him. I thought when I grew up, I wanted to be a sparkling existence like dad. But then in first grade, it happened… Dad was the image character for a major beverage company sponsoring a live broadcast show–and they had this segment where he had to chug their carbonated drink in one go. Dad succeeded flawlessly but then, without even being asked to, he impulsively decided to try chugging a second bottle…and gloriously blew chunks all over the place.”
“Wow, a huge accident!”
“Normally, yeah. But thanks to the quick thinking of the staff, they cut to commercial right before he started retching so the barfing itself didn’t make it on air. Then when he got home, he was laughing, saying [Haha! Just a few seconds later and I might’ve gone bankrupt from the penalty fee!]…I couldn’t comprehend his thought process at all…”
“Oh damn, quite the daring guy. But even with the close shave, the sponsors must’ve been pissed right?”
“No…it was the opposite.”
“Opposite?”
“Yeah…the commercial that aired after they cut away at the last second was for a travel agency advertising a Singapore tour. And it started with a merlion statue squirting water with its mouth–cutting straight from dad puffing his cheeks to the merlion–the crazy perfect timing caused a huge buzz online as the [Miraculous Scapegoat Incident]…and the Singapore tour plans sold out immediately. That connection also led to dad getting a CM contract with the travel agency, and some synergistic effect that pushed the trendiness of the drink he reversed too, sales exploded–they even sent a letter of gratitude instead of getting mad…it’s just unbelievable.”
“That’s going too far even for a miracle!”
“Yeah…for a while after that dad was called the Puke God.”
“Oof, that’s kinda harsh. Oh, don’t tell me he got bullied at school for it and that’s why you hate standing out?”
“No, the opposite…everyone looked at me with envious eyes, saying [Youta, your dad is so cool!] [Get his Puke God autograph for me!] And not teasing me, genuinely sparkling eyes…that’s when I realized as a child, I’m not the type who can be happy about this. At a fundamental level, dad and I are different. In reality, dad seemed to think it was super tasty and was ecstatic…”
“Well, papa does seem kinda unique even among celebrities hmm…”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Yeah…but you know, I’ve witnessed dad pull off the same kinda thing countless times after that… Stuff like [Staring contest too strong, made big-shot actor hyperventilate and get hospitalized] or [Hypnotized himself into thinking he’s a cleaning rag and made the TV studio spotless] or [Thought it was fire dancing but he was just playing with matchsticks and an actress]…too many examples to list.”
“I see, the titles alone make it sound like a light novel you don’t even need to read the contents of.”
…While accurate, it’s best not to say such things.
“With dad gaining attention and praise each time, my heart correspondingly shriveled up. What’s needed to stand in front of people isn’t outstanding talent. It’s the talent to accept standing out.”
“Nyaha, so it’s about whether you yourself can enjoy it or not.”
“Yeah, having such blindingly strong light so close made me realize early on that I’m a creature of the shadows. In a way he was the perfect anti-role model… But don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate dad’s job or anything. I’m able to live carefree thanks to it, I’m grateful. This is strictly a matter of it being completely unsuited for me personally. After all, the best way to live life is inconspicuously, steadily, and modestly.”
“I see… I actually like standing out.”
“Well, Corone seems like that kind of person… But my family is not even at the level of ‘somewhat.’ My dad is a given, and my mom, when it comes to media exposure, she’s all for it. My sister, who’s studying abroad, is also that type… She started doing idol-like stuff in between her studies, and she’s already being treated like a local hero… Just hearing about it makes my stomach hurt…”
“Ah, your sister too, huh… Hmm, I think I kind of understand the background of Yō-chan now. Yeah, thanks for sharing.”
“Yeah… Are you satisfied now? It’s about time you left.”
Does Corone not have any sense of caution? Her pajamas are so defenseless… Honestly, it’s hard to know where to look.
“Huh? Why not? Why aren’t you doing anything when such a beautiful girl is in the same room?”
“That’s why I’m not doing anything… We just met today, didn’t we?”
“Wow, you’re so stiff. To get rid of a prude like you, you need some special stimulation… Oh, I know. Let’s call Mom and have her watch us doing something naughty?”
“Are you insane!”
This guy is teasing me even though he has no intention of doing anything…
“Enough with the nonsense. Get out of here already!”
【Choose ]
① Do perverted things with Corone.
② Do perverted things with the pillow you’re lying on.
“The problem’s not about the fetish level you idiot!”
3
The next morning arrives.
“Hey, tell me what this is.”
Teio Academy Principal Ougami Ai showed me a printed photo.
“Um, there’s a reason for this–”
“Answer the question. What is this I’m asking you?”
Principal Ougami cut off my words in a tone allowing no protest.
From the edges of that voice, the overwhelming aura of a predator…there was no option not to answer.
“It’s me…posing submissively making a weird face.”
“Pfft…Gahahahaha!”
Principal Ougami bursts out laughing uncontrollably.
“I expected you’d do something interesting Youta Ootomo, but this exceeds expectations! Superbly twisted! Surpasses my hopes for eccentricity!”
I’d rather not be told that by someone who gets security camera footage printed out just to shove it in the person’s face…
“This is no laughing matter, Principal!”
A middle-aged man beside him raised his voice.
“However much eccentric talent Teio gathers, I have no memory of a student causing this much trouble on just the first day.”
The voice belonged to Ryougen Kongouji.
With kanji for a name surpassing even some warlords, but–the beefy build seeming ready to burst out of his high-class suit any moment, dense beard covering his chin and cheeks asserting his presence, and above that a vicious gaze belying any pretense of respectability–this gentleman’s visuals handily surpass even his name.
Believe it? This muscle dude is the head teacher of Teio!
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