Chapter 237: The Devil Enters the Studio

I jumped out of the dressing room and rushed to the studio.

I don’t know where the studio is, but it’s probably this way.

Regardless of how noisy I run about aimlessly, there is no need to worry about what others see.

After all, no one but Fu~min would see me.

I ran out without any idea where I was going, but I soon found a studio with a sign that said “World Surprise Phenomenon”.

As expected of me. The power of love is unbelievable.

The fact that my appearance was invisible to the others could help me rescue Fumin.

Oh, so that’s why I became invisible. If that’s really the case, then the power of love is terrible, very terrible.

（Wait for me, Fu~min! I’m coming to save you!）

After rescuing him, why don’t I ask my stepfather(Ogifu-san) to send us to a vacation home abroad until things calm down… I mean, wait! My stepfather(Ogifu-san) can’t see me either! I can’t ask him!

W-well, I don’t care what happens later. What’s important now is to rescue Fu~min!

「Fu~min! I’m coming!」

With all my energy, vigor, enthusiasm and… umm, well… everything else, I jumped into the studio and said, “Eiii!” .

The gazes of all the staff gathered around me at once. Probably, they are not looking at me. They were just surprised that the door suddenly opened.

But the same thing happened to me.

I stopped and braked.

I stood there in a daze.

「Why… Kasuya-chi?」

Because probably around the time I jumped in, Kasuya-chi emerged from the statue that Fumin was supposed to be in.

Uei, uei, uei! Please, the power of love!

Wrong person! He’s the one I don’t care about!

I dashed around looking for Fumin.

Looking around, I saw that Detective JK was standing still with her finger pointing at him, with a startled face.

Perhaps Kasuya-chi’s appearance was an unexpected event for them, too.

I heard the one with long hair saying, “W-who’s that?”.

Those who were confused were the two Detective JKs and me. And Kasuya-chi himself.

The rest of the staff and performers seemed to be excited.

『W-what a surprise! In this studio, not just a collaborator, but the main suspect in the mysterious disappearance case has now been revealed! It has finally been revealed!」

The host shouted excitedly, and Kasuya-chi, who had been in a daze until then, suddenly grabbed the host.

「What the hell! Who’s the main culprit, you idiot! I don’t get it! Hey! What the hell is this?!」

「Y-You! Stop it!」

The host panicked when he was grabbed by the chest. The idol girl screams, and the studio is in an uproar.

Immediately, the security(anti) guards(skill) rushed towards Kasuya-chi.

To anyone’s eyes, it was a spectacular broadcast accident. This was a live broadcast, after all.

Then–

「Camera, don’t stop filming! Turn it! Turn it!」

I’m not sure if the person jumping up and down with a big smile on his face was the director or the producer, but he was a fat man.

I guess it’s good for TV. I mean, how can they show a minor as a criminal?

「Let me go! Let go of me! You Idiot! There’s no way I’m going to stay quiet when suddenly confronted with an accusation like this!」

Kasuya-chi screams as he’s pinned down on the floor, his face contorted. But no matter how hard Kasuya-chi fought, the guards didn’t budge.

It’s like an ant being held down by finger tips.

The camera also mercilessly displayed Kasuya-chi’s face on the screen.

It’s not that I don’t care about what happens to Kasuya-chi, but Fumin isn’t here.

I wonder where he’s gone.

But I can tell that something is happening.

Fumin must be going through something.

When I start to think about it, I can’t stand to stay.

However, just as I was about to turn around on my heels and leave the studio, someone came running at me from behind, knocking me off my feet and making me fall on my butt.

「Ouch ouch…!」

I rubbed my bumped butt and followed the person who ran past me with my eyes with a face distorting in pain.

It’s a girl. Her hair is short and dyed green. Her appearance is quite different, but I recognize her face — she is Teruya-chi.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Junichi-sama! Stop it! You guys! Let go of Junichi-sama!」

I kicked one of the guards who was holding Junichi-sama down and pulled him off.

The reason why this is happening is obvious.

It’s a trap, no matter how I look at it.

Just like with my sister(onee-chan), I don’t know if it’s a devil or what, but they’s trying to make Junichi-sama take the blame.

Come to think of it, I didn’t see my sister(onee-chan) face to face when I exchanged messages with her.

The part-time job was just a trap to lure Junichi-sama here, and it makes sense.

「H-Hikaru?」

When I suddenly heard my name called out, I turned around and saw the two detective JKs with puzzled looks on their faces.

They didn’t look like they were triumphant that they had framed me.

Their faces were clearly confused.

What the hell? I thought you guys were in on it? You’ve been tricked too?

Maybe so.

We were simply taken advantage of.

Just living with them for a few days was enough for me to understand. These people are simple despite what they do.

As I tried to help Junichi-sama up, the guards jumped on me.

I dodge one of them and punch the second one.

However, it doesn’t take much damage for a big guy to get hit by a woman who is not used to fighting.

「Kuh…! Let me go! Let go of me!」

I was immediately thrown down on the floor with Junichi-sama.

「Junichi-samaaaaaaaa!」

As I desperately reached for him, he glared at me and shouted at me.

「It’s your fault! You’re the one who brought me here! You wretch!」

Immediately, I felt a chill rush over me, as if I’d stepped off a tightrope.

I was so shaken by his words that I couldn’t even speak.

The more I tried to say something, the more my lips trembled, my forehead broke out in sweat, and my teeth clicked.

He’s right. It’s my fault.

I shouldn’t have brought Junichi-sama here.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I was terrified, as if the days I’d spent with Junichi-sama were being devoured by a monster bringing unfathomable misfortune.

The day my parents died comes back to my mind. The despair of the day my sister(onee-chan) was arrested weighs heavily on me.

It happens all the time. The things that are important to me slip through my fingers like sand.

The moment I think that…

「…Ah?」

Junichi-sama let out a strange voice, and turned his gaze upward. Following his gaze, if I look it again, I can see a black crack suddenly about to appear above our heads.

Before I even knew what it was, the weight of the guards holding me down suddenly disappeared, and some warm liquid poured down on me.

「Aaaaaaaaaa!」

The high-pitched screams of the idols echoed through the studio, and the startled voices of the staff echoed in the air.

As I sat up and looked around in dismay, I saw that the guards who had been holding Junichi-sama and myself up were all lying in a pool of blood.

Some of them had their bodies cut in half. Some had their necks ripped open.

「What… is that?」

I looked up, stunned, to see a man in a tailed suit standing there.

Moreover, it was a suspicious man wearing a mask that looked like a goat’s skull, with a giant sword on his shoulder that looked as tall as he was.

「I have come as per Anna-sama’s orders. I deeply apologize for the delay. Sister(Imouto-kun)」

He spoke like a gentleman.

I still don’t know what’s going on, but it seems this monster is on my side.