Chapter 2

"I want to quit already…"

"That’s why I told you not to accept jobs on your own."

It’s twenty-five o’clock—well past midnight. I let that grumble slip out on the car ride home, and my manager immediately scolded me. Shinozaki Rikako-san. Sleek suit, glasses, cool beauty in her late twenties—or at least, that’s how she’s looked for the past seven years since I first met her. Never aged a bit. Her real age is a mystery. I’d guess mid-thirties, but honestly, I’m too scared to ask.

"But… the director’s someone I owed a lot to, and he asked me directly…"

"Sigh… Listen, I’ve warned you about this before. When you take jobs behind my back, it throws everything into chaos. I’ve been trying to reduce your schedule because you’ve been overloaded lately, and now all that effort is wasted."

At the red light, she stopped the car and gave me a sharp sidelong glance while keeping her hands on the wheel. I quickly averted my eyes from the passenger seat.

Normally, job offers go through the agency. Rikako-san, as my manager, screens them first, and only then are they passed down to me. If there are overlaps, she lays them out and lets me choose.

But sometimes, the ones she already turned down sneak their way directly to me. Usually during shooting breaks, when she’s not around—someone I know might come up and say, "Hey, Nana-chan, there’s this role, want to give it a try?"

If it’s someone I don’t know, or someone I barely have any connection with, I politely decline and tell them to go through the agency. But if it’s someone who’s looked out for me, I just… can’t say no. Maybe it’s that corporate-slave instinct drilled into me—an inability to refuse.

And once I’ve said yes, everything moves at lightning speed. The schedule gets locked in before I can back out, and Rikako-san ends up scrambling to fix the mess. In the end, I get struck by her thunder. It’s my own fault I’m overworked… sorry, Rikako-san.

"And another thing—didn’t I tell you to rest properly on your days off? And yet, you’ve started another class… what is it this time?"

"Um… Capoeira."

"………Capoeira? Let me guess, some weird movie inspired you again?"

"It wasn’t weird! In the movie, the teacher uses Capoeira to reform delinquents, and even fights gangs with it for his students’ sake! The graduation ceremony’s Capoeira dance was so cool!"

"…That’s just a B-grade flick, Nana."

She sounded exasperated, but you never know what might come in handy. Maybe someday I’ll get a role where I’m taught by a Capoeira master in prison. …Okay, thinking about it calmly, that’s probably never going to happen. But still! It could come in useful. So it’s not wasted effort… probably.

As part of my acting studies, I make a point of watching lots of films and dramas. Especially the old masterpieces of Japanese cinema—I’ve seen nearly all of them. The screen presence of those legendary stars is on another level. Even now, their performances still shine.

I’ve gone through most of the famous foreign films, too. Lately I’ve gotten hooked on so-called B-movies. A lot are awful beyond saving, but sometimes you stumble on one that’s strangely brilliant.

"Anyway, where are you even taking Capoeira lessons?"

"From Shindou-sensei. When I asked, he said he also teaches it on the side."

"Ah… so he does that too."

Once again, Rikako-san sighed. The light turned green, and she pressed the accelerator. The car eased forward, the neon of the ring road streaming past behind us. Even at this late hour, the city was bright enough to see without headlights.

Shindou-sensei is the head of the Shindou-style kobujutsu, which he teaches under the guise of stage combat. On the surface, it’s all about flashy moves for show. But in reality, he teaches the practical, real stuff.

In his youth, he wandered the world like some vagabond, practically picking fights with dojos. He told me once—laughing—that he’d trade techniques with martial artists he befriended: learn their styles, teach them his.

After about six months of training with him, he said, "You’ve got talent. Want to go serious?" I thought it’d help expand my acting range, and maybe serve as self-defense, so I joined with a light heart. What I got was a crash course in how to efficiently destroy the human body. Four thousand yen a month for that privilege.

"In any case, if you accept another job without my approval, I’ll cancel it no matter what. And if a penalty fee comes up, it’s coming straight out of your pay. Keep that in mind."

"Ehhh?!"

That’s the entertainment industry for you—even without a written contract, cancellation fees can happen. A lot of jobs are based on verbal promises, and penalties are basically treated like damages.

"No objections. If you don’t slow down, you’ll ruin your health. Besides, Natsumi-san has also told me she’s worried you’re working too much and warned me to cut back your schedule."

"B-but… right now’s the prime time to earn as a child actor…"

"Nana, you’re earning more than enough already. There’s no other kid pulling in as much as you. I’ve cleared tomorrow’s schedule—no work, no lessons, nothing. You’re to rest. Understood?"

"Ehh… but if there’s no work tomorrow, I have school, you know?"

"………Oh. Right. In that case, rest after school."

Tomorrow’s Friday. My attendance record is already borderline; there’s no way I can skip just because I’m tired. …They say you can’t repeat a grade in compulsory education, but… I’ll be fine, right?

By the way, Natsumi-san is my mom. Lately, I’ve been coming home late a lot, so she’s been nagging me constantly to cut back on work.

Still, if tomorrow after school is free, maybe I can quietly slip off to another lesson. Horseback riding, maybe. There’s a nice club nearby, and I haven’t ridden in a while. That’s one of the few lessons I’ve actually stuck with, along with kobujutsu.

Horses are amazing. Those big, gentle eyes are soothing. Their toned bodies are beautiful, too. They’re smart, responsive if you treat them kindly, and when you clear an obstacle together… the feeling of floating in perfect unity is indescribable.

"I’ll tell Natsumi-san to make sure you don’t go running off to lessons after school tomorrow, but actually rest."

Her words made me flinch. She’d seen right through me. Guess I’ll just watch the movies I’ve stacked up. Watching films should be safe enough… though if I told Rikako-san, she’d probably ban that too. Better keep it to myself.

Turning at the light, we arrived in front of the condo where I lived. I pulled my card key from my pouch and held it up to the security gate. The gate slid open automatically, and Rikako-san drove forward, parking in the underground garage.

Honestly, she didn’t need to go this far—dropping me at the gate would’ve been enough. But Rikako-san always insisted on escorting me all the way to my front door, greeting my mom before heading home. She really was the serious type.

From the parking garage, we took the elevator up and pressed the button for the twelfth floor. At this late hour, the halls were silent. Our home was on the top floor of a luxury condo, nestled in an upscale residential district.

We used to live in a detached house in a suburban bedroom town, but about a year and a half ago we moved. As I became more famous as a child actress, a little house with a garden wasn’t secure enough anymore. After some incidents, fans and entertainment reporters started staking out our place from early morning. Living quietly there became impossible.

Originally—in my previous life—I grew up in the countryside, so I preferred the suburban house. The garden was small, but my mom loved gardening and tended it carefully. In spring, flowers of every color would bloom and it was beautiful… until repeated trespassing left it trampled and ruined.

I had been attending a public school too, but it got to the point where I couldn’t even have normal classes anymore. On a friend’s introduction, I transferred to a private elementary school. We moved to this secure condo at the same time.

"Sorry for bringing her home so late."

As I opened the door with my card key, I found Mom waiting for me in the living room. She came to the entrance to greet us, and Rikako-san bowed deeply to her.

"My, my. You must both be exhausted, being out so late."

She smiled warmly… except her eyes weren’t smiling at all. They were saying What the hell do you think you’re doing keeping my daughter out this late? Terrifying. It was the same smile she wore when Dad came home drunk past midnight.

"I’ll call you tomorrow with details. For tonight, please just let her rest. Good night."

With a swift bow, Rikako-san turned on her heel and left. She escaped. Normally she’d chat with Mom a little before heading out… but not tonight.

"…Nana-chan."

"Y-yes, ma’am!"

The weight of Mom’s gaze pressed down on me. My shoulders hunched automatically. She let out a sigh, then gently stroked my head.

"It’s late. Go take a bath and get to bed."

Her face showed genuine worry. And of course she’d be concerned—what normal elementary schooler works until this hour? I felt awful.

"We’ll talk tomorrow."

"…Okay."

So the lecture was postponed, not canceled.

Shuffling off to the bathroom, I tossed my clothes into the laundry basket, stripped bare, tied up my hair, and sank into the tub.

"Ahhhhhh…"

A groan slipped out, sounding like some old man. But if you added my previous life to this one, I was already nearing forty. So really, it was allowed.

The warm water loosened my stiff muscles. The dried herbs tinting the bath released a gentle fragrance that soothed me, body and soul. The tub was large enough for a grown man to stretch out, with a sloped backrest for lying down. Floating there, I let my thoughts wander back over the day.

From the perspective of my past life, this pace didn’t even feel that busy. After all, I still came home every night, and usually got at least six hours of sleep.

Back then, it was normal to pull two or three all-nighters in a row, catching naps under my desk on a cardboard mat. Compared to that, this was easy. And unlike the low-pay, unpaid-overtime grind of my old life, now the more I worked the more I earned, and the more recognition I received. Which was why I went overboard, cramming in every job and lesson I could.

Still, I was only an elementary schooler. My body wasn’t fully developed, so at night I got drowsy. Fatigue piled up, and sometimes complaints slipped out.

What really hurt was not having time for hobbies. In my old life, I’d had slightly otaku-leaning tastes—manga, games, anime—plus some soccer and sports. Pretty ordinary stuff. But once I became a working adult, there was no time. I dropped it all. And now, as a child actress, I had zero hobby time. I’d been working nonstop for years. Back in my student days, I even played online games… but now? Impossible.

But it was only for a few more years.

Once I’d earned enough as a child actress, I’d retire into NEETdom. After compulsory schooling, I didn’t need to bother with high school. I’d spend my days gaming, immersing myself in online worlds. Average lifespan was eighty years—if I worked hard for ten, I’d have seventy left to play. Perfect plan.

I’d already saved several times the lifetime earnings of an average salaryman. Though the taxes bleeding me dry were enough to make me cry blood.

You’d think I could just quit now, but the more you earn, the higher your living expenses climb.

So while I was still in elementary school, I had to push myself as far as I could.

Lost in that hazy future planning, I must’ve dozed off in the tub. Mom came in to check and scolded me harshly. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, but if I didn’t dry my hair, I’d be a disaster in the morning.

As I drifted in and out, Mom dried my hair for me and carried me straight to bed, where I fell fast asleep.