Chapter 1010

The next morning after viewing the house, Uesugi Muneyuki arrived punctually at the Special Mission Division office of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Everyone in the office was already there.

Okada Masayoshi sat in the section chief's chair, looking quite pleased… He really had been pleased lately, because he had gotten a girlfriend. A new one, a completely new one, a girlfriend in any sense of the word!

That was Hosoi Uou… that is, Hosoi Menou.

Hosoi Menou's trait as a girlfriend was that this aristocratic young lady had no self-sufficiency whatsoever, but she was all-around capable at housework, would care for and look after people, and her emotional value was maxed out—she would not only make honey citron tea and bentos for Okada, but if he worked overtime she would come over to bring him food and clothes. All she highlighted was: although I can't earn money, I will support you from behind like a traditional Yamato nadeshiko.

Okada Masayoshi couldn't help but feel moved to the point of excess.

Back when he was messing around with progressivism, playing rebel, seeking independent women, dreaming of free love… he wished he could give himself two slaps.

When I was young I didn't understand him, when I grew up I denounced him, when I matured I understood him, when I grew old I became him.

I miss you, Great Accomplished Supreme Sage Teacher!

Long for Confucius' return!

Maeda Toshihide was hunched over his desk, pen in hand, drawing something on a sticky note, like a state policy tree, leading to some never-before-imagined road, or perhaps something like the Berlin-Moscow new order.

Nango Yui, as usual, sat behind her computer screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard, staring at stocks.

Date Nagamune leaned by the window drinking water, while Asō Kōta sat at his own workstation, studying new material.

Uesugi opened his Huawei macAppleXiaomi computer, and the screen lit up.

He opened the news page, and the first thing he saw was a bolded headline.

"Akai Saka 46 Center Hirate Sarina missing for the fourth day, the management company has already filed a police report."

Hirate?

Hirate went missing?

What am I supposed to do about my 《Hand of God》 placard girl then?

Oh right, if you don't do it, plenty of people will.

The idol industry is practically drooling over female idols for this position!

He slightly raised his eyebrows, scooted his chair forward a bit, and carefully read several news items: the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters had already formally accepted the report, established an investigation headquarters, and the person in charge was someone called Nagase Ren, a Career Track Police Inspector.

Nagase Ren?

Why does that name sound so uncomfortable to hear?

Uesugi Muneyuki silently noted that name in his heart, then turned his head to look at Date Nagamune by the window: "Have you heard about Hirate's situation?" Date Nagamune put down his water cup, sighed: "I have heard. Sarina-chan called me last night and talked for a long time, she said Hirate really disappeared this time, even her internal team doesn't know where she is. There have been similar situations before, but at most it would last one or two days before she suddenly reappeared, either saying she felt unwell or saying she wanted to be alone for a while."

"Oh ho, does that mean Sarina-chan really is a good girl?" Maeda Toshihide said with a wicked smile.

"I'm not in the mood to battle with you right now!" Date Nagamune gave him a sideways glance: "Anyway, Sarina-chan said, actually quite a few people in the team know, Hirate has long no longer wanted to be an idol. She has always felt she is an artist, an actress, and this idol identity is a shackle for her, even more so a pointed conical white hat, and…."

Date Nagamune lowered his voice: "I have some inside information!"

Want to hear!

Want to hear, want to hear!

Everyone, including Yamada Nanase, instantly leaned in.

Date Nagamune lowered his voice a bit more: "Sarina-chan said Yuasa Yang often uses commercial endorsements shoots or local cooperation as an excuse to get Hirate time off, but in reality it's just to meet her privately. Sarina-chan said this is a semi-open secret in the team, just that no one dares bring it up to the surface." "So it's probably just that Hirate went out to meet Yuasa privately?" Okada Masayoshi appeared unconvinced: "Also, concerts usually come with a three-to-five-day break afterward."

Maeda Toshihide lifted his head from the sticky note, eyes bright: "Yuasa Yang? Is that the son of the former party secretary general Yuasa Masamichi?" "Exactly, exactly, that's him!" Date Nagamune nodded, continuing with the expression of someone about to reveal the secret history of the Ooku: "Sarina-chan also said Yuasa Yang often gets Hirate to take leave, initially using work as an excuse, later not even bothering to find a sincere reason. Hirate herself doesn't resist either. Anyway, she doesn't want to stand on stage dancing, so being able to leave the scene with a legitimate reason is something she desperately wants."

Hehehe~ Date felt quite pleased, thinking Sarina-chan's secret information channels were truly abundant, really not knowing where she got them from? However, as soon as he thought of this, Date's mind instantly flashed back to that snowy night in Yonezawa.

His face turned green, thinking it couldn't be that Sarina-chan's secret information all came this way, could it?

But… even if that were the case, I still like Sarina-chan!

If I were to reject being with Sarina-chan just because of this, that would be… the thinking of the weak!

And Asō Kōta poked his head out from atop his thick forensic medicine textbook: "Not strange at all!"

"This phenomenon is actually quite common in the entertainment industry. Over there in K-pop, it's the same—when K-pop blows up, the first thing they do is advance into Japan, and if advancing into Japan stabilizes, the next step is to go to America. Now K-pop songs are all in English, often a song from start to finish has not a single word of Korean, completely aimed at the European and American market. After all, the income from activities throughout a year in Korea might not even match what one earns from activities in America for just one month."

"So does that mean K-pop's own domestic Korean market is just discarded?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked curiously.

"The biggest problem with the Korean domestic market is that nobody is having children anymore. No fresh blood entering the fanbase, the fan group keeps aging while idols keep increasing. Competition is so fierce that even top-tier idols can't sleep soundly, let alone those second- and third-tier groups." Asō Taro complained while slurring: "Typical example, second- and third-generation girl groups are all proper feminine style, while fifth- and sixth-generation groups are all whatever American rebellious girl style, schoolgirl style, androgynous style—just to cater to Americans!"

Uesugi Muneyuki listened, chuckled once.

Sounds like Japan over here just pops out kids left and right, huh.

Low birthrate is a pan-East Asian disease, Akai Saka expanding its fanbase is also why they shifted from that orthodox idol style they started with to later neutral and cool styles—wasn't it just to attract a younger, broader audience?

Including female fans.

Akai Saka pays special attention to female fans.

If the idol industry wants to survive in the low birthrate era, it must constantly broaden its boundaries, expanding the definition of "fan" from idol otaku to all age groups and all genders.

Hirate Sarina's urgent desire to shed her idol identity perhaps has her own reasons, but the industry-wide survival anxiety is also part of that backdrop.

There is no such thing as everyone forever playing endless Bondori music in the girls' band at Hakuho Girls' Academy.

In this world there is no undying dynasty, nor is there an unrotting grave.

Royal authority has no eternity, child!

Uesugi Muneyuki gathered these thoughts, kept them to himself, and did not speak them aloud.

He lifted his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze fell back onto the news page on the computer screen.

Hirate, I hope you're alright.

And in Nagoya, about three hundred li away, in the office of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Aichi Prefecture Police Headquarters, Nagase Ren sat at his own workstation staring at the phone that had just rung.

The screen displayed a call log, the number not saved in his contacts, but he recognized the digit sequence at a glance—the name he had hesitated yesterday about whether to proactively contact, now he had proactively called.

It was the son of a Diet member, Yuasa Yang!

The other party's tone was urgent and uneasy, first inquiring about the progress of Hirate's disappearance, then repeatedly emphasizing "I'm really worried about her""She's never lost contact this long before""If you have any clues please be sure to tell me!" But Nagase Ren noticed that the wording sounded more urgent yet lacked key details—he had not proactively provided any information about Hirate's last whereabouts, clothing, or possible contacts.

He merely kept asking about the police's progress, pressing "Have you found her?""Is she hurt?""Did something happen to her?" When Nagase Ren tentatively asked "Mr. Yuasa, when was your last contact with Miss Hirate?" the other party fell silent for a moment, then replied in a tone carrying some evasion: ……About a week ago. She told me she'd been under a lot of pressure then, but I thought she was just… in a bad mood.

After the call ended, Nagase Ren sat in his chair, placed the phone screen face down on the desk.

Yuasa Yang doesn't even know where Hirate is?

Yuasa Yōichi, the one he identified as Hirate's backer "major sponsor," the one who could get her North River Kyōko and Oguri Shun co-starring resources anytime, the one who could silence the production company with a single phone call—he doesn't know where she is either.

Oh no!

Could there be, is there a possibility?

Incident occurred! Major incident occurred!!!!