They gave it to me, but not completely. What difference was there between that and not giving it to me at all?
If this kept up, would he even be able to finish it in his lifetime?
Dragon Ball only needed seven Dragon Balls. Why did he need so many?
Compared to spending decades gathering hundreds of Dragon Balls to summon Shenlong, the possibility of dying halfway through his undertaking seemed far greater than the likelihood of success.
"Do you really have to make me become someone I hate?" His face twisted in pain as he stood on the crowded street and shouted in frustration:
"Why! Why are you doing this to me!"
His sudden outburst drew every passerby's gaze onto him within three seconds.
After seeing what he looked like, everyone on the street hurriedly looked away. As they passed him, they sped up and quickly walked by. Even the occasional handsome-face enthusiast who couldn't resist looking back had a trace of pity in their eyes.
What a beautiful child. What a pity he was an idiot.
What was that word young people had been using lately to describe this? Right, it seemed to be called Chūnibyō.
Ignoring the complicated gazes of the hundreds of people nearby, Sakurakoji Talent half-heartedly wandered forward along the sidewalk on autopilot. Whenever he thought about this despairing fact, he felt mentally and physically exhausted.
Dragging his tired steps, he arrived at the entrance of the familiar convenience store. He stood there and thought it over several times before finally walking inside.
Worry was worry, and dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction, but he still had to keep doing what needed to be done.
Doing it did not guarantee success, but not doing it definitely meant giving up hope and waiting to die.
After years of being battered by fate, he had developed an exceptionally tenacious character and spirit.
"Welcome."
The familiar voice sounded somewhat dull. Compared with its usual liveliness, something seemed off. Temporarily setting aside the worries in his mind, Sakurakoji Talent looked directly toward the register.
Volume One: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 27—Persuading Aoyama Nanami
"Ah, it's Sakurakoji-san. Passing by here today too?"
After realizing it was him, Aoyama Nanami, standing behind the counter, perked herself up and greeted him.
"Miss Aoyama, what's wrong?"
Sakurakoji Talent's gaze focused on her face—or more precisely, on the blue mask covering most of it—as he asked in confusion.
"Ah, I've had a slight cold these past two days. I might have caught the seasonal flu, but don't worry about it." Aoyama Nanami waved her hand and explained, looking troubled.
"Eh? You have a cold?"
"Is it serious? If you're feeling really unwell, you should take the day off and go home to rest. Your health is the most important thing."
Sakurakoji Talent had completely forgotten his earlier melancholy and advised her in a worried tone.
"No, it's fine. I'm really okay. I took cold medicine yesterday and today, so I'm completely fine!"
"It's just a minor cold. It'll be gone in a couple of days."
Aoyama Nanami stretched her arms, indicating that she was fine.
Sakurakoji Talent walked up to the counter. Seeing the flushed skin not covered by her mask, he said helplessly, "Your face is really red. You're obviously forcing yourself!"
"I'm really fine! My face is red because... um, because it's hot wearing the mask!"
"...That excuse is way too forced. Even a kindergarten child would have trouble believing it."
Aoyama Nanami desperately tried to explain herself, but even an ordinary person would not believe the excuse she had made up, let alone Sakurakoji Talent. Faced with her desperate attempt to put on a brave front, Sakurakoji Talent could only feel somewhat helpless.
He knew her circumstances. He knew that, in pursuit of her dream, she had to work to pay for her tuition, rent, living expenses, training fees, and all sorts of other costs.
But insisting to this extent was a kind of illness too, wasn't it?
Sakurakoji Talent chuckled softly. For some reason, he felt a little more at ease. In front of this independent and hardworking girl, his own problem was still urgent, but it suddenly seemed like no big deal.
The worst that could happen was that he just did it!
"Uu~"
Aoyama Nanami also knew how terrible the excuse she had blurted out in desperation was. She interlaced her fingers, her face flushing as she fell silent.
Just then, an ill-timed sound rang out in the quiet space, announcing its presence.
Grrr~
Sakurakoji Talent was drawn to the sound. He looked toward Aoyama Nanami's stomach, understanding dawning on his face.
Oh, right. It was the end of the month.
"!!!"
Realizing what had happened, Aoyama Nanami's delicate body trembled. The color in her face grew deeper and brighter, followed by an intense reaction.
"Um! It's not like that!"
"It's this! Right! I've been trying to lose weight lately!"
"All the girls in my class have been pursuing slim figures lately, so I joined them!"
"It's definitely not because it's the end of the month and I have no money for lunch after paying the rent and utilities, so I'm hungry now!"
"Ah! What am I even saying?!"
Aoyama Nanami vigorously rubbed her formerly neat high ponytail. She felt the world spinning and could barely remain standing. She was about to die of embarrassment—no, she had already died socially on the spot.
Perhaps because she was sick, she could not think carefully. Her words had come out without passing through her brain, and she only realized what she had said after the fact. By then, it was too late.
Sakurakoji Talent did not contradict her. He merely wore an understanding smile, which made her want to die even more.
"Miss Aoyama, are you short of money?"
Sakurakoji Talent tucked a loose strand of hair that had fallen across his face behind his ear, the stray hair making him itchy. He glanced around and asked casually.
Well, just as expected, the surroundings were filled with food.
She was sick and hungry, yet still had to work in an environment like this. It really was hard on her. He didn't even dare imagine how many times she had to swallow her saliva each day.
"Yes..."
Aoyama Nanami answered honestly with a gloomy expression. In this situation, there was no point in denying it stubbornly and pretending to be well-off.
"Then I happen to have a pretty good job to introduce to you. Would you like to consider it?"
"Huh?"
Aoyama Nanami looked at him in astonishment, not understanding why he had suddenly brought up this topic.
She had thought that, after learning she was indeed forcing herself, he would be like everyone else and keep urging her to go home and rest.
Sakurakoji Talent naturally would not do that. Even if he wanted to persuade her, shouldn't he solve her problem first?
What difference was there between ignoring someone's circumstances and blindly imposing one's self-righteous kindness on them and simply satisfying oneself? To put it more seriously, it could even be regarded as a mild form of moral coercion.
So he continued, "If I remember correctly, Miss Aoyama's dream is to become a voice actress, right?"
"That's right."
Aoyama Nanami nodded. She had mentioned this to Sakurakoji Talent before, but neither of them had gone into detail. She looked at him questioningly, not knowing what he wanted to say.
"But although the school you attend now is an affiliated arts high school, you're enrolled in its General Department, right?"
"And even in its arts department, there only seem to be an art department and a Music Department. There's no education related to voice acting."
"That's why you have to attend a training class outside of school too, right?"
Without stating his purpose directly, Sakurakoji Talent first laid out Aoyama Nanami's current circumstances. Then he looked at her with rabbit-like eyes, as if asking her to confirm it.
"You're completely right."
Aoyama Nanami absorbed the information he had revealed and thought about it with her somewhat sluggish mind for a moment before answering affirmatively. Yet she still had no idea what Sakurakoji Talent was trying to say.
What did this have to do with a job?
"Have you never thought about changing schools? For example, transferring to one with a voice-acting program."
"I have, but where would I go...? Besides, my budget doesn't really allow me to do that."
Aoyama Nanami furrowed her brows slightly, her expression troubled. If she could have, she would have done it when she first came to Tokyo.
But because she was unfamiliar with the place and lacked information, combined with her financial situation, she had ultimately chosen a school with some connection to animation.
Come to think of it, although Sui High had an art department, it was not somewhere an ordinary person with no foundation like her could enter. Moreover, the high school's art department was not a specialized animation program. It was only after entering university that the fields were divided into numerous disciplines... She had not understood this until after entering high school.
And now, she was struggling even to cover her monthly living expenses. She had no idea where the tuition for the next semester would come from, let alone transferring schools.
After laying all the groundwork, Sakurakoji Talent finally revealed the real point.
"I know someone who owns an apartment building that recently opened and happens to need some staff. I think your serious and responsible personality would be an excellent fit for the job, Miss Aoyama."
"And just a five-minute walk from it is a comprehensive arts college. It has both an Animation College and a Vocal Music College."
"If you need it, I can have the other party pay part of your wages in the form of tuition. The job also includes room and board, and the benefits are quite good."
"All you need to do is complete your daily tasks. There's no fixed schedule, so you can do them after school."
"How does that sound? Are you interested?"
After saying this, Sakurakoji Talent did not press her for an answer. He simply waited quietly.
Image: "Daily Ending Image", location: "Images/1754392619-100446961-113685605.jpg"
Volume One: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 28—The Unexpected Appearance of Two People
After hearing him out, Aoyama Nanami could hardly believe her ears.
Not only would room and board be provided and her tuition completely covered, but she could also pursue the Vocal Music College program she was interested in, while adjusting her working hours freely?
Although part of her salary would be used to pay her tuition, it was still vastly better than her current situation.
Because of time constraints, she could only work part-time outside school hours. Although she had held many jobs, her income was still lower than that of a full-time worker. On top of that, she had to keep up with her studies and maintain grades near the top of her year.
To be honest, she felt she had nearly reached her limit. If this continued, she was afraid she would not even be able to scrape together next semester's tuition before the deadline.
The proposal Sakurakoji Talent had offered happened to solve her immediate crisis and, in the long run, would also help her pursue her dream.
The conditions were so generous that she even felt she was unworthy of them.
On the surface, she seemed to have no choice left, but hesitation still remained in her eyes.
Transferring schools after completing only one-third of high school would be a major decision that could affect her entire life. She still needed to consider it carefully.
Besides, she did not know what school or job Sakurakoji Talent was talking about. If it was too unreasonable, she could not agree even if it meant sleeping on the street.
Although, based on what she had learned about Sakurakoji Talent during this time, he did not seem like that kind of person, she still needed to remain cautious. After being tempered by surviving on her own, she had become a weather-beaten half-member of society.
"Um, may I ask what kind of school it is first?"
Aoyama Nanami felt uneasy, but she still asked firmly.
"Philia Academy. Have you heard of it?"
Sakurakoji Talent was naturally referring to the prestigious vocational school right next to Ten no Yashiro, an academy that also had considerable ties to his own family.
Its faculty strength was beyond question. Among similar programs, there were few schools anywhere in Japan that were better. Even his younger sister and some relatives had chosen to attend this school.
Although they were enrolled in the Special Programming Class, which differed somewhat from the ordinary students' classes, there was basically little difference in the actual instruction. This showed just how powerful the academy's educational resources were.
After graduation, it could even issue a regular high school diploma, and its educational system was essentially no different from that of ordinary schools.
"Philia Academy?! That prestigious comprehensive school?"
Aoyama Nanami's eyes widened in shock. She was even more astonished than before. She had never expected the school within walking distance of the job he mentioned to be that famous and luxurious elite academy, renowned even throughout Tokyo.
She had only heard of it before and had never looked into it deeply, because she knew that even if she learned more about it, she would have little chance of studying there. She only knew that it had produced many world-class professionals.
But now...
"Sakurakoji-san, are you serious? You really mean the famous Philia?"
Her tone was more anxious than usual, and she desperately wanted to know the answer.
"Of course I'm serious. If you're interested, don't worry about the transfer. The other party will take care of it for you."
Before you continue