RL Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – A Job

Resonance 2, Part 6

Novel Title: 共鳴劣情 オメガバース (Resonance Lust: Omegaverse)

Author：岩本薫 (Iwamoto Kaoru)

Illustrator: 蓮川愛 (Hasukawa Ai)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 本浄天音 (Honjou Amane) & 苅谷煌騎 (Kariya Kouki) / 首藤煌騎 (Shutou Kouki)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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In response to Amane’s query, she answered, “Aya’s former manager, a guy named Shimokawa. He’s already left the agency, though.”

The talent agency that Mizuki and Aya belong to is ‘Chance Promotion’. While it’s considered mid-tier in the industry, it boasts a plethora of beautiful actresses, talents, and models, and actively employs Omegas.

“If the former manager was the one who arranged it, does that mean it was a job?” 

While taking notes, Kouki inquired.

“It’s more of a grey area that can’t be definitively called a legitimate job. Since Aya had only debuted two years prior, there weren’t enough acting roles for her to stand on her own. So, her main battleground was gravure. She posed for swimsuit photos in men’s weekly magazines… it’s a path that many newcomers without value go through.”

“In fact, Aya appeared in numerous magazines as a gravure idol and even published her own photo book. So she seemed to have some level of recognition among a specific demographic,” Kouki added, supplementing Mizuki’s statement.

“For newcomers, aside from gravure, late-night variety shows, and online jobs, there are also part-time jobs that involve attending drinking parties. The agency arranges young talents as ‘cast’ members for parties where VIPs and celebrities gather. They receive proper compensation, can drink expensive alcohol, and meet wealthy VIPs. So some girls actively take up these opportunities. Unfortunately, there are also a number who get swept up in the ease of making money and end up falling apart… But Aya had a goal of wanting to become an actress, so she had always declined the cast jobs. However, that night, the girl who was supposed to be the cast member caught the flu, and her manager, desperate, pleaded with her… She felt she couldn’t refuse. She said it was because it was a request from the manager who always worked hard to bring her jobs.”

Pausing for a moment, Mizuki affectionately patted Anzu on her lap.

“The VIP lounge at the club that she went to as instructed by her manager had three young men waiting. She was surprised to find that she was the only cast member since she thought there would be other women. However, the three greeted her with, ‘We’ve been waiting for you!’ and she felt she couldn’t turn back. If she left, it would ruin the agency and her manager’s reputation. The dutiful Aya thought about it that way. One of the three said, ‘I’ve been a fan since I saw you in gravure. I’m lucky you’re here as a pinch hitter today,’ and seemed delighted. They were charming and considerate, and in the pleasant atmosphere of their warm welcome, she ended up drinking two cocktails as they encouraged her. Halfway through the second one, her consciousness started to blur… and when she realised it, she was alone in a hotel bed the next morning…”

“If her guard was lowered after the first drink and she was slipped a sleeping pill in the second, that would be a typical case of rape drugs. There’s also a possibility that the store that provided the cocktails was in cahoots with them,” Amane murmured.

Kouki, with a serious expression, remarked, “If she was unconscious until morning, it’s highly likely that a considerable amount of sedatives or a powerful sleeping drug was mixed into her drink.”

“If she had reported it to the police immediately after the incident and had a urine test done at the hospital, traces of the drug might have been detected…”

Proving the use of rape drugs is a race against time. Once the drug’s components leave the body, it’s too late. Without physical evidence—such as the underwear or clothing worn at the time, provided they were kept in a plastic bag—proving the case becomes extremely difficult.

In cases where there is no physical evidence, if the opposing party insists that the sexual act was consensual, it’s hard to prove sexual assault. Sex usually occurs in closed spaces, leaving no witnesses other than the parties involved.

In this case, given that six months have passed since the assault and the victim, Aya, has died and been cremated, it is exceedingly difficult to prove whether rape drugs were involved.

“Did the manager who booked Aya at the time of the incident know about the assault?” Amane asked Mizuki directly, recognizing the complexity of the case.

“She mentioned it to him. But apparently, he didn’t take it seriously. He thought it was an accident. ‘You weren’t killed; if you took the morning-after pill, there’s no worry about pregnancy. Just consider it bad luck and try to forget it quickly.’ He was against her suing the men or filing a report with the police. He said if that got leaked to the media, the blame would fall on her for going to the party. They would say the Omega must have been the one who invited them because she let her guard down. Even if she was a victim, sponsors don’t like talents with negative images. He told her not to give up on her dreams over something like this. It seemed he was insisting she just forget about it. Aya struggled a lot with whether to ‘make the men’s existence nonexistent’… I was filming a drama in the countryside at the time…”

Up until this point, Mizuki had spoken relatively calmly. But suddenly, she bit her lip tightly.

“If I… if I had just listened properly… it wouldn’t have come to this…”

Her lips trembled as her voice broke. Kouki placed his notebook and pen on the café table before standing up from the sofa. He approached Mizuki, who was shaking with suppressed sobs. He offered comforting words from beside the wing chair.

“You were doing your best at a job that only you could do. Aya knew that, which is why she didn’t reach out to you. Don’t blame yourself.”

“B-but…”

Mizuki’s face crumbled. Her tightly shut eyes were spilling tears. Anzu, who had been worriedly whining, began to lick her owner’s tear-stained hands.

Kouki took a pure white handkerchief from his jacket pocket and offered it to her. But Mizuki didn’t take it and instead stood up. Just as Anzu landed softly on the floor, she buried her face into Kouki’s chest and started to cry.

“Uuu… Huu… U-uuh…”

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*Translator’s Note: I understand you’re sad, girl. I’m sad and angry too over Aya’s death. But that man got his honey right next to him. Stop hugging him. -K

Next update: 2025.01.21

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