The 300-Horsepower Secret Weapon Falls for the Company Heiress - The Heiress Storms the Passenger Seat

Ever since she'd found that white envelope, a small thorn had remained lodged deep in Chihaya's chest. "I want to run by your side." Just a single line. Just a single photograph. And yet, that alone made her conscious of the passenger seat—the one she'd kept so stubbornly closed off—again and again. (*Who is the sender?*) The heat of the live show, the bustle of the green room—all of it felt like something happening somewhere far away. Today, too, Chihaya was alone in Room 401 on the fourth floor of Lumiere Studio, tidying up. Flow Glow—HOLOLIVE DEV_IS's second unit. Chihaya was its DJ. Mixing tracks during lives, selecting songs, directing the sound. She held final say over the setlist—the "helmsman of sound." Today's regular live at Pulse Beat had been a great success. The members had all gone home with smiles. Chihaya was the only one left in the green room. She gathered the paper cups scattered across the vanity, powered down the monitors, and bundled the cables. She checked inside the small refrigerator. The empty green room was so quiet it hurt her ears. (*This time again, huh.*) Cleaning up alone after lives had become Chihaya's habit at some point. The quiet after all the noise should have been pleasant, but today her chest felt strangely heavy. It was because of that envelope. Chihaya slipped her hand into her right pocket. Her fingers touched her car key. The earring shaped like an old racing car caught the vanity lights and glinted sharply. "...Time to go home." She'd just murmured that, along with a sigh, when— *Clack.* Without a knock, the green room door swung open with force. Chihaya's body jolted. "Chihaya-san!" Bursting in was a girl with long, light-brown hair so bright it was nearly blonde, swaying as she moved. The ends curled softly. Her eyes were large, with a bright greenish tint, and now they sparkled with excitement. On her chest was a star-shaped pin badge. When she smiled, a fang peeked out—a girl who was dazzling, yet somewhere in her bearing carried the innocence of a puppy. For a moment, Chihaya just stood there with her mouth slightly open. "...And you are?" "I am Amami Erika! Daughter of the president of Celestia Promotion!" Celestia Promotion. A major talent agency in the entertainment industry—28 years established, roughly 350 affiliated talents, estimated annual revenue of 18 billion yen. Headquartered in the high-rise "Celestia Tower" in Minato Ward, it was an agency everyone in the industry knew. Why was the president's daughter here, of all places? Chihaya was bewildered. In a corner of her mind, the thought spun in circles: how utterly outrageous it was for the president's daughter to waltz into an agency's green room on her own. "...Um, so, what business do you have here?" "I want to become your driver, Chihaya-san!" Erika clasped both hands tightly in front of her chest and took a step closer to Chihaya. "Huh?" "I said, your driver! Please make me your driver, Chihaya-san!" Chihaya couldn't help but furrow her brow. "Um, I'm the driver, though." A wry laugh escaped her. "I know that! You're Flow Glow's DJ, the person who decides all the sound for the lives, and you always drive yourself. That's exactly why I want to be your driver!" It almost sounded logical, and yet it made no sense at all. Chihaya pressed her fingers to her temple. (*What is with this girl?*) "...Anyway, the green room is off-limits to anyone not involved with the production. How did you get in?" "I asked the security guard, and he showed me the green room pass. When I told him I was Amami Erika from Celestia, he let me through right away." Chihaya fell silent. What blatant special treatment. No—what really struck her was how innocently this girl wielded her status as the daughter of Celestia Promotion's president. "...Don't be angry at the security guard, okay? But really—what did you come here for?" Chihaya spoke as calmly as she could manage. "To see you, Chihaya-san." Erika said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I ran away from home to come and tell you, in person, that I want to be your driver." Ran away from home. At those words, Chihaya doubted her own ears for a second. "You... ran away from home?" "Yes! My father doesn't know. I'm forbidden from any entertainment activities, so I slipped out without telling him." Chihaya looked up at the ceiling. (*This is hopeless. We're not getting anywhere.*) "Can I ask why? Why do you want to be my driver?" "Because I saw you riding down Wangan Street on a big motorcycle!" Erika's voice brightened all at once. "You were riding down Wangan Street at night on that large, deep-green bike, weren't you? I happened to see that sight—and my heart pounded so hard I thought I'd stop breathing. For the first time in my life, I thought: I want to become the wind that runs. And so, I want to be the person closest to that wind!" She said it all in one breath. Chihaya didn't know what to say. A tiny feeling of happiness surfaced—just a little. But more than that, an alarm was blaring: *this is bad.* "...Listen, Erika-san." "Just Erika is fine!" "...Erika-san." Chihaya chose her words carefully. "My job is being a DJ. Driving is just a means of getting around. I have no intention of hiring a driver. And besides, you're the president's daughter. If you keep doing things like this, your father will worry." "Father probably hasn't even noticed I've run away yet." "Of course he's noticed." Chihaya's voice came out sharper than she intended. "Look, just go home right now. I'll take you. I'll bring the car around." "No." "Excuse me?" "I want to sit in the passenger seat of your car, Chihaya-san. And then, please drive down Wangan Street. Please." Erika looked straight at Chihaya. There was no lie in those eyes. Just pure, unadulterated admiration. Chihaya averted her gaze from that look. The passenger seat. (*The passenger seat—that's the one thing I can't.*) Someone screamed deep inside her heart. Under the dashboard. A small scratch. An old wound she'd never repaired. In that seat, there had once been someone who was supposed to run with her. A promised partner. The presence that still bound Chihaya's heart even now. "...Sorry, the passenger seat is a bit..." "Why is that?" "Why, you ask..." Chihaya couldn't find the words. "There are so many things I want to ask of you, Chihaya-san. Before asking to be your driver, first, I want to feel that driving from beside you. For the past six months, I've thought of nothing but you. Ever since the day I first went to one of your lives." Erika's voice trembled slightly. "Please. This is something only you can do for me." Erika reached out her hand. She wrapped both of her hands around Chihaya's right hand. "...Even just for today is fine. Please let me sit in the passenger seat." Tears welled up in Erika's eyes. Chihaya's chest ached sharply. (*Something only I can do for her.*) Those words sank softly into the tender part of Chihaya's heart. She hadn't let anyone into the passenger seat in a long time. No—not once since that day. "...Listen, Erika-san." Chihaya tried to gently pull her hand free. But Erika wouldn't let go. Her small hands were surprisingly strong, and warm. That warmth shook Chihaya badly. (*What do I do?*) Her heart thumped loudly. "Chihaya-san." Erika called her name once more. At that moment, Erika's phone rang shrilly. An emergency ringtone. Startled, Erika released Chihaya's hand. "...It's from my father's security staff." Erika stared at the smartphone, then timidly tapped the screen. "Hello... Ah, yes... What? You're already that close...? Yes, I'm sorry... No, I'm... Huh? The studio's location...? ...Y-yes, that's right... Lumiere Studio. ...What? You're already downstairs? ...Understood, I'll be right... Yes, just a moment... please..." When the call ended, Erika's face was pale. "...The security staff are already at the bottom of this building, it seems." "That's way too fast." "I was being tracked. I... left the GPS in my father's car as it was..." Chihaya let out a deep sigh. "...What were you thinking?" "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see you, and I was so focused on how to meet you that I..." Erika looked like she was about to cry. "...Erika-san." Chihaya made up her mind. "Is that all your luggage?" "...Huh?" Erika clutched her small handbag. "Please, just follow me quietly. We'll use the emergency stairs. We're running to the parking garage." "...Yes!" Erika's face lit up instantly. Seeing that, Chihaya no longer understood what she was doing. (*This is bad. Why am I doing this?*) Hiding the president's daughter from security and putting her in her car. Thinking about it calmly, it was outrageous. And yet, Chihaya's feet were already moving. --- Until they reached the underground parking garage, Erika was quiet. She followed behind Chihaya with quick little steps. Occasionally, she murmured small words of thanks. "Thank you, Chihaya-san." "It's too early for thanks." Chihaya stood before her beloved car. A black sports sedan. A domestic high-performance four-door with over 120,000 kilometers on the odometer. She'd driven it carefully, lovingly, for years. Erika's eyes sparkled at the sight of it. "Oh my...! It's wonderful. It looks so much stronger and more beautiful than in the photos." "Get in. Quickly." Chihaya unlocked the doors with the remote key. Erika timidly climbed into the passenger seat. Chihaya watched her with complicated feelings. (*There's someone in my passenger seat.*) That fact alone made her chest tighten. But right now, escaping had to come first. Chihaya got into the driver's seat and started the engine. A low, beast-like sound echoed through the parking garage. "Seatbelt." "Yes!" Erika fastened her seatbelt. Chihaya pulled the car out slowly. They exited through the parking garage's exit. Beyond the back seat, in the rearview mirror, she could see three men in suits running from the building's front entrance. "...Erika-san, sit deep in the seat and keep your head down." "Sh-should I sing? Or hide?" "Hide." Chihaya pressed the accelerator. The car glided smoothly away from the front of Lumiere Studio. "...Did we get away?" Erika asked in a small voice. "Not yet. Stay like that a little longer." Chihaya drove carefully through the night streets of Minato City district. Eventually, they reached a main road. The road leading toward Wangan Street. "...It's fine now." "O-okay." Erika sat up. "...Um, I'm sorry. Because of me, you've been forced to run away too." "I'm not running away. I'm just circling around here once so I can take you home." "...I'm not going home." Erika pouted. "Go home. Your father is worried." "I absolutely will not go home until you drive me down Wangan Street, Chihaya-san!" Chihaya panicked. "...You said earlier that even just today was fine—that you wanted to ride in the passenger seat. You already did. That should be enough." "It's not enough yet. We've only driven through the city for a few minutes. I know your driving is more than this, Chihaya-san." Erika's green eyes caught Chihaya and wouldn't let go. Chihaya gave in. "...One lap around Wangan Street. After that, I'm taking you home. Promise me." "Yes! I promise!" Erika beamed. Chihaya smiled wryly. (*How did it come to this?*) There was someone in the passenger seat. That alone made the air inside the car completely different. (*...I can't settle down.*) Unconsciously, Chihaya's left hand touched that scratch under the dashboard. Erika, in the passenger seat, noticed. "Chihaya-san, is something wrong?" "It's nothing." Chihaya pulled her hand away. "...It's nothing. Here we go. It'll shake a bit—hold on." "Yes!" Chihaya pressed down on the accelerator. --- The moment they emerged

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 2

Name: The 300-Horsepower Secret Weapon Falls for the Company Heiress
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt