Interlude

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Edited by RedPandaChick

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Aeryx's world tour was only one month away and, since we had been on the road for almost three months, I gave everyone that went on tour two weeks of vacation. Including the girls, with the instruction that they were not to do or even think about anything related to their job: being idols.

They tried to go out together to have some fun, but fans kept stopping them on the streets. It happened even when they went out on their own, wearing caps and tinted glasses to disguise themselves.

Aki and Umi refused to hire a personal bodyguard, while Astra preferred only going out with Butcher, Sanae, and Risa.

In the end, they had no other choice but to accept that it was going to be like that going forward.

Aside from that, something interesting happened with the assistant we had hired for the tour. She became popular among the fans because of the several times she needed to go on stage. Luckily, they weren't saying anything rude, and I hoped it stayed like that.

Nevertheless, we all liked her professionalism and the professionalism of everyone else we had hired for the tour, so I planned to hire them again after expanding our HQ.

The adrenaline drop hit harder than we anticipated because of the girls' vacation. The lack of energy was evident in HQ despite all the paperwork we had to do. I could only imagine how the girls felt.

On the other hand, the number of streams of the songs kept increasing, as did Ceruty's viewership. Thanks to that and the success of the tour, we were close to being able to cover Haru's loan without having to worry about money.

Additionally, we now had the money to invest in other projects, like Aya's and Tomokazu's, and in helping the girls improve even more. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time, and it would've prevented most of the problems we had during the tour, like Risa losing her voice.

I had already found instructors for the skills I wanted the girls to work on: acting, modeling, speech, dancing, and singing. Even if the girls were already knowledgeable about some of them, there always was something new to learn and the lessons could always be adapted to meet the girls' needs based on their feedback.

We only had to wait for the girls to return from their vacation to start the lessons, but a surprise visit happened before that.

Someone knocked on the office's door not long after the workday began. I raised my head from the desk to see Sanae, Risa, and Butcher standing behind it.

"Come in," I smiled. They did so and I said, "I didn't expect to see you today."

Sanae replied, "We were walking by and thought we should say hi."

Risa nodded. "We can't wait to start working again."

"What the girls said," added Butcher.

"I'm glad to hear that," I said, "but you still have a few days to relax; take advantage of them because the coming months are going to be busy."

Both Sanae and Risa smiled, "Yes!"

The three of them said goodbye to Aya and me before stepping out of the office.

About to continue doing my work, someone knocked on the door again. It was Sanae, but she was alone this time. She stepped inside before I could answer.

"Excuse me," she apologized.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"Yes. Risa and I are going to throw a birthday party for Butcher."

"Oh, I didn't know his birthday was close."

"Don't you have to see our personal details when hiring us?"

"Yes, but I was busy making sure there's nothing weird in the details, not trying to memorize them, and there's no reason for me to check them again after that. Anyway, another surprise party?"

Sanae answered, "No, Butcher knows about it. I just wanted to invite you two because you are good friends with him, and I think you've noticed he doesn't talk much to people aside from you. I've actually never seen him have a long conversation with anyone."

"That's very sweet of you," Aya replied. "I'll be there."

"Kaito?" asked Sanae.

"Of course, I'll be there," I answered.

"Awesome!" grinned Sanae. "Can you invite everyone else for me?"

"No problem."

"Thanks. It'll be at our house. I'll send you the exact details later."

She turned around to walk out of the office, but she stood still.

"Ah, there's another thing I wanted to tell you."

The two of us stared at her with interest.

Butcher's birthday arrived in the blink of an eye. Even though Butcher, Sanae, and Risa lived near HQ, I preferred to pay for a taxi so Aki, Jun, Tomokazu, the accountant, and I could avoid any problems. Meanwhile, Aya drove to Astra's place and then to a common spot to pick up Miki, Satō, and Ceruty.

Obviously, we reached Butcher's, Sanae's, and Risa's apartment building, which was on the limits of the Trading District, way before Aya.

From outside, the building seemed barely alright. Some spots on the walls needed painting and several windows needed cleaning.

Although the security system was antique, it did its job. We had to ring Butcher, Sanae, and Risa so they could allow us into the building. Sanae answered and the double door unlocked.

To no one's surprise, the elevator was undergoing maintenance, which meant we had to take the stairs. Luckily, we only had to climb two of the nine floors.

I knocked on the door with my free hand—since I was holding Butcher's gift with the other one—and Butcher opened it instantly.

"Come in," he smiled.

He pulled me into a crushing hug as soon as I put one foot inside, barely letting me wish him a happy birthday. I was used to having my ribs broken by him, but I couldn't say the same for the rest, since Butcher hugged every one of them as they entered the apartment.

Unlike the building's exterior, the apartment looked pristine and nicely decorated with plants on the floor or on tables, and paintings and pictures on the walls. It was nothing like HQ before the remodeling, where they used to live. The apartment was also surprisingly big.

Sanae and Risa were busy cooking, yet they made sure to serve drinks to everyone as we chatted in the living room.

Half an hour had passed when someone called the ringer. Sanae and Risa had just finished cooking, so Sanae answered. Aya and the rest appeared on the tiny screen.

"Hello?" asked Aya. The sound quality left a lot to be desired.

"You're finally here. Did you have problems?" wondered Sanae.

"We're sorry, the traffic was awful."

"Don't worry about it. I'll let you in right away."

"Thank you. By the way, Sugioka was—"

"A-Alright!" Sanae shouted and shifted to the side. "Come upstairs before the food gets cold!"

She pressed a button and the screen turned off. At the very same time, Butcher stepped out of the bathroom.

"Did everyone else arrive?" he asked.

"Yes," stuttered Sanae. "They took so long because they got stuck in traffic."

"That's unfortunate, but they are here now."

He sat down on the chair closest to the door.

Sanae swept the sweat off her forehead. Everyone seemed confused by her reactions, but I knew what was going on.

When they knocked on the door a couple of minutes later, Butcher jumped out of his chair and opened the door. Once again, he hugged Aya, Astra, Miki, Satō, and Ceruty as they walked in.

Then, Sugioka came into sight. She was as tall as Butcher and her tank top revealed her absurdly-toned muscles.

About to hug her, Butcher jumped back when he realized it was her.

"S-Sugioka! What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, her eyes started moving around frantically.

"Ms. Sanae invited me," she faltered.

"Really?"

She nodded.

Butcher glanced at Sanae and then looked at Sugioka again. They stood still for an awkward amount of time until Sugioka stretched her arm out to offer Butcher the beautiful bouquet she was holding.

"This is your gift," she stuttered. "Ms. Sanae told me you liked flowers."

Butcher stared down at the bouquet, speechless. Sanae had to elbow him to make him react.

"I do like them," he said as he grabbed them. "Thank you."

He stared down at the flowers until Sanae elbowed him again.

"Please come in."

"T-Thank you."

As soon as she saw the crowd in the living room, she started trembling. She froze for a few seconds before bowing at us. Even though she went on tour with us, her professionalism hid her shyness completely.

Risa pulled another chair from the dining room and placed it next to Butcher's.

"Please sit down," she asked Sugioka.

Sugioka nodded and sat down, still trembling. Sanae then pushed Butcher toward his chair and made him sit down. For the first time ever, I saw the slightest of pinks appear on his cheeks.

Aya resumed the conversation by asking how everything was going in an attempt to make Butcher and Sugioka feel comfortable. After a few minutes, it seemed to work.