Chapter 183: A perfect plan that clearly won’t go wrong, right?

After thinking it over for a while, Hikari asked.

"What’s the goal supposed to be?"

"For her to get to know you."

Hikari frowned slightly.

"That sounds manipulative."

"No, of course not."

"You want me to become her friend so we can recruit her."

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

Noah thought before answering, since he couldn’t tell her.

’I want you to end up falling in love with her like in the anime.’

That would be crazy.

Besides, Hikari didn’t even know the full truth about his reincarnation, so he chose a simpler answer.

"I want her to trust you."

Hikari stayed quiet, and Noah continued.

"Stella’s famous."

"Yeah, that’s true."

"A lot of people probably approach her."

"That’s for sure."

"If I just show up out of nowhere trying to talk about magic, it won’t work."

"Right."

"But if a fan approaches her normally..."

Hikari understood, but she looked uncomfortable, which made Noah smile.

"Then you talk to her again later."

"How?"

"Normally."

"That’s too vague."

"You don’t have to force it."

Noah started walking slowly as he explained.

"First you introduce yourself as a fan of a movie she was in."

Hikari listened.

"You tell her you liked her performance."

"That would be true."

"Then you ask for an autograph."

Hikari looked away.

"I could do that."

Noah smiled.

"And a selfie."

Hikari tensed up.

"I can’t."

"Yes, you can."

"I don’t think so."

"It’s part of the plan."

"That’s not necessary."

"Yes, it is."

"Why?"

Noah thought.

"So the interaction feels normal."

Hikari narrowed her eyes.

"You’re making that up."

"A little."

"Noah."

"But it works, trust me."

Hikari sighed.

"Go on."

Noah smiled.

"After that, if you see her again, you talk to her."

"About what?"

"Movies."

"That I can do."

"Her performances."

"Those too."

"And if you want, about BL material."

Hikari looked at him.

"That depends."

"You know a ton about that subject."

"I don’t need to tell her that."

Noah laughed.

"Fine."

Hikari started accepting the idea, and Noah noticed.

"Over time, if you become friends, everything will be easier."

"How long?"

"As long as it takes."

"That’s not a real answer."

"This can’t be scheduled."

Hikari frowned.

"Everything can be organized."

"Not a friendship."

"You can set aside time."

Noah put a hand to his forehead.

"Please don’t make a calendar for becoming friends with Stella."

Hikari didn’t answer, and Noah looked at her.

"Were you considering it?"

"...no."

Noah sighed.

"Anyway."

Hikari stayed thoughtful.

"And when do I tell her about the magical girls?"

"Not at the beginning."

"That’s obvious."

"First you need her to trust you."

"I see."

"And when the time comes..."

Noah pointed at her.

"...you transform in front of her."

Hikari’s eyes widened slightly, and Noah smiled.

"That’s the best part, because she’ll have direct proof."

"I understand."

"Then she won’t be able to assume I’m lying."

"Exactly."

Hikari started thinking faster.

"If she sees the transformation, she’ll also confirm that the objects exist."

"That’s right."

"And I can demonstrate an ability."

"Of course."

"Something small."

"Preferably."

"Then I explain what I know."

"Correct."

Hikari brought a hand to her chin.

"That cuts down the room for doubt quite a bit."

Noah smiled.

"See?"

"The plan isn’t bad."

Noah’s eyes went wide.

"Isn’t bad?"

"It’s acceptable."

"That’s high praise coming from you."

Hikari ignored the comment.

"But there’s a problem."

"What?"

"Finding Stella."

Noah went still, because that was true.

Stella wasn’t an ordinary student; she was an actress, so her schedule was probably packed, which meant they couldn’t just wait to run into her in a hallway.

"We can look into it."

Hikari looked at him.

"Not in an invasive way."

"Of course."

"I don’t want to do what Iris did to me."

Noah started laughing.

"That’s reasonable."

"We can look for public appearances."

Noah nodded.

"Events, promotions, open recordings, signings..."

Hikari seemed more interested with every word, and Noah noticed.

"You actually want to meet her."

Hikari went still.

"It’s part of the mission."

Noah smiled.

"Sure, for the mission."

"That’s the only reason."

"Yeah, I got it."

Hikari looked away, so Noah decided not to push her any further.

For the first time in a long while, he felt like something might turn out similar to the anime, not exactly the same, since that was already impossible.

Hikari already knew him, so she was involved with him, but Stella could still meet her, get closer, develop a friendship, and maybe...

’They could end up together.’

Noah felt a small satisfaction, because there was a chance that not every original pairing had been destroyed, and maybe one still remained.

Hikari spoke.

"Which movie should I mention?"

Noah focused again.

"What’s your favorite?"

She answered too quickly.

"The Garden After the Rain."

Noah smiled, and Hikari went still.

"I didn’t say it was my favorite."

"You literally said it."

"I meant it’s a good option."

"Of course."

Hikari adjusted her glasses.

"Stella plays the protagonist."

"The male role, right?"

"That’s right."

"Then use that one."

Hikari thought.

"I could ask her to sign that edition."

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"The limited edition?"

Hikari didn’t answer, so Noah continued.

"The one you have hidden?"

"It’s not hidden."

"Where is it?"

Another silence, which made Noah smile.

"At least I know it’s hidden."

Hikari sighed.

"I could bring it."

"Perfect."

"And ask her for a photo."

"Great."

Hikari turned slightly red, and Noah looked at her.

"Nervous?"

"No, not at all."

"I’d say a little bit, yeah."

"I’m not."

"Okay."

Hikari stayed quiet, then asked.

"Are you going to be there?"

Noah hesitated.

"Not right next to you."

She looked at him.

"Next to me?"

"That’s the point."

Noah crossed his arms.

"I want to intervene as little as possible."

Hikari frowned.

"But it’s your mission."

"It is, so I’ll supervise you, but from a distance."

"You’re not planning to stay close in case I mess up?"

"No..."

"Why?"

Noah smiled.

"Because I think you can do better on your own."

Hikari stayed quiet, because the answer seemed to affect her, so Noah continued.

"If I show up with you, Stella might wonder who I am."

"That’s true."

"It could also distract from the situation."

"I see."

"But you’re just a fan."

Hikari nodded slowly.

"That would feel more natural."

"Exactly."

She looked at the ground, then back at him.

"Do you trust me?"

Noah blinked.

"Of course I do."

Hikari looked surprised, and Noah smiled.

"You’re already part of the team."

"I’ve only had one training session."

"And even so, you learned faster than a lot of people."

Hikari lowered her gaze slightly.

"I understand."

Noah either didn’t notice the small change in her expression or preferred not to.

His head was too occupied with Stella, Hikari, the anime, and the possibility of recovering at least one of the original pairings.

Noah took out his phone.

"Then let’s look for a public event."

Hikari took out hers.

"I’m already searching."

Noah looked at her.

"That was fast."

"I want options."

They spent several minutes checking publicly available information, like upcoming promotions, interviews, and events.

Hikari quickly discarded the ones that required invitations, while Noah discarded the ones that were too far away, and finally Hikari stopped.

"I found one."

Noah moved closer.

"What?"

She showed him the screen.

An upcoming promotional appearance related to a production Stella was in.

Noah smiled.

"Perfect."

Hikari read the details.

"There’ll be limited interaction with attendees."

Noah looked at her, and Hikari kept staring at the screen.

"Then you’ve already got your chance."

She swallowed.

"I’m not nervous."

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I didn’t say anything."

Hikari closed the page.

"Fine."

Noah started walking.

"Then we have a plan."

For once, it seemed simple.

That was usually a bad sign, but this time he wanted to believe it would work.

’This time it will.’

Noah stopped, and Hikari looked at him.

"What?"

Noah shook his head.

"Nothing."

He had learned not to say out loud that something would be easy.

Hikari looked at her phone again, and the promotional photo of Stella appeared on the screen once more.

Noah smiled, because he would get to preserve one of the pairings he had wanted so badly to protect.

He just needed to stay on the sidelines, for once, and that was all.