Only after they had completely gotten away from the middle-aged man did Rin let out a small sigh of relief and thank Akira:
"Thank you very much, and sorry for the trouble."
"It's nothing, I just happened to run into it."
Akira waved his hand with a smile, then added:
"But next time you run into something like that, remember to refuse firmly."
"Mm..."
Rin nodded, looking a bit embarrassed, and said softly:
"I was planning to refuse, but I didn't get the chance to speak..."
Hearing this, Akira couldn't help but laugh.
Rin's current appearance reminded him of those shy, clear-eyed college students from his past life.
Of course, he had been one of them at first.
Although he hadn't encountered so-called talent scouts before, he had met plenty of pushy salespeople who clung like glue, just like that man earlier.
People like that were always smiling, overly enthusiastic, and very polite. Even after being rejected, they would keep pestering you shamelessly, especially targeting those who were soft-hearted or easily embarrassed.
For example, those college students, or his past self when he had just entered society.
It could only be said that he had suffered from being too polite.
That said, this kind of problem usually fixes itself quickly after being taken advantage of once or twice.
Thinking back now, when he was younger, he would ask for the price of something and then feel too embarrassed to put it back, even if it was too expensive. Just remembering it made him laugh.
Thinking of this, he reminded Rin again:
"In short, if you run into someone that thick-skinned, you have to act a bit tougher, otherwise they won't give up."
"Mm, I understand."
Recalling the situation, Rin nodded thoughtfully and then added:
"Still... Mochizuki-kun was a bit different just now."
"Really?"
Akira scratched his cheek and smiled.
"Does that mean my acting skills are actually pretty good?"
"Maybe, like that man said, I'm actually suited to debut as an actor or something."
Seeing his smile, Rin's lips curved slightly.
"If it's Mochizuki-kun, I think even becoming an idol wouldn't be a problem."
"Thanks for the compliment. I think Miss Shimizu wouldn't have any trouble either. Wait—if we debuted as a group, wouldn't that be amazing?"
"..."
Akira's sudden and bizarre suggestion made Rin fall silent for a few seconds before she said flatly:
"...Are there even mixed-gender idol groups?"
"Uh..."
He was instantly at a loss.
Thinking about it, he really hadn't seen that kind of group before.
Or rather, who would even be the target audience for that? Shipping fans?
Realizing this, he also felt his suggestion was a bit ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the more Rin thought about it, the funnier it became. She covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh, like the gentle chime of wind bells.
Although she tried to hide it, her crescent-shaped eyes gave her away completely.
"Haha..."
Akira scratched his head awkwardly.
Still, seeing her laugh like that, he felt saying something silly once in a while wasn't a bad thing.
"...By the way,"
After the laughter faded, Rin hesitated slightly before asking:
"Um, what you said earlier... was it all true?"
"You mean... ah..."
Realizing what she meant, Akira paused.
He had said two things earlier. The first was fine, but bringing up the second again now felt a bit awkward.
At that moment, Rin seemed to understand his hesitation. Although her expression didn't change, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.
However, after thinking it over, Akira felt it was necessary to clarify.
He straightened his expression and nodded seriously.
"Both are true."
Putting aside the talent agency, the matter of scouts tricking girls into filming AVs came from a report he had seen in his previous life.
Although the report didn't specify when it started, it mentioned that even more than ten years later, such cases were still not uncommon and included detailed examples.
Based on that, he felt that the situation might be even worse in the current era.
That was why he wanted Rin to be aware of it.
"Is that so...?"
Hearing this, Rin recalled what had just happened, and a trace of lingering fear appeared in her eyes.
Even though she knew she wouldn't have agreed, thinking back on it still made her uneasy.
"In any case, when dealing with people like that, just refuse them outright, no matter what."
"...Mm!"
Hearing his words, Rin seemed to feel more at ease.
She nodded seriously, clearly taking his advice to heart.
With that, the matter could be considered resolved.
At this point, Akira rubbed his stomach and smiled:
"Alright then, I'm going to grab something to eat."
"Oh, and I'll come watch your performance later, okay?"
"Eh? Okay..."
Rin nodded instinctively, slightly caught off guard.
Watching him turn to leave, she suddenly realized something and quickly called out:
"Wait, please wait a moment!"
"Hm? What is it?"
Akira turned back, puzzled.
Rin hesitated for a moment before speaking shyly:
"Actually... I haven't had dinner yet either..."
"As a thank-you for earlier, if you don't mind, could I treat you to a meal?"
"Of course, no problem!"
Akira agreed instantly, so quickly that Rin didn't even have time to react.
Just kidding—who would refuse a free meal?
No need to spend money? Even better.
Go!
Although a bit surprised, Rin smiled.
"That's great. In that case..."
"There's a place nearby I often go to. The food is quite good. Let's go there."
On the way, Akira briefly fantasized about Rin secretly being a rich second-generation heir and taking him to a luxury restaurant he had never seen in either life.
But reality proved otherwise.
There weren't that many "power fantasy" developments in real life.
Though, to be fair, what happened earlier at the Shonen Jump editorial department did feel a bit like one—but that was because he actually had a small cheat.
That was different.
Back to the topic.
Following Rin, they arrived at a family restaurant. After sitting down, he flipped through the menu. The prices were around 1,000 yen per person, a fairly standard range.
Even for his current finances, it was something he could afford occasionally.
Seeing this, he actually felt relieved.
If Rin had really taken him to a luxury restaurant, his first instinct would probably have been to consider escaping before the bill came.
That would've been terrifying.
He ordered the restaurant's recommended set meal.
While waiting, they continued chatting, still talking about what had just happened.
"--You took the day off? I see."
Rin nodded thoughtfully.
Thinking back, Akira appearing there at that time had felt a bit strange.
After asking, she learned he had taken the day off to handle something important.
"...Was it about manga?"
"Hm?"
Akira raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"How did you know?"
Rin explained:
"Aside from your first sketch, the drawings I've seen recently made me feel like you might be working on manga..."
"I see."
Akira understood.
Rin had watched him draw multiple times. She must be referring to his practice sketches imitating Takeuchi Takashi's style, which were quite distinctive.
Drawing manga wasn't something he actively advertised, but it wasn't a secret either.
Since she had already guessed, he simply nodded.
"Yeah. I went to meet a Shonen Jump editor today to submit my work."
"Weekly Shonen Jump?!"
This time, Rin was the one surprised.
"That's amazing...!"
"Let's not go that far."
He smiled helplessly.
"I've only submitted it. Whether it gets serialized is still uncertain."
"Ah, I see."
Rin nodded, half-understanding.
"But Mochizuki-kun's drawing is really good. I'm sure it'll go smoothly."
He smiled.
"Then I'll take your good luck."
In truth, drawing skill alone wouldn't determine serialization, but there was no need to explain that.
That said, she now knew about him—but he didn't know much about her.
So he asked:
"Does Miss Shimizu want to debut as a singer?"
Rin didn't deny it.
She simply nodded gently.