So many geniuses in anime! What's wrong with me joining?

"It all depends on whether you're interested."

Seeing that his expression didn't look like he was joking, Aoyama Nanami swallowed hard. She had no choice but to believe his words; the scales in her heart had already tipped, yet she remained somewhat doubtful.

"But, with such good terms, why would you..."

She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. It was obvious: with such generous conditions, she couldn't understand why he would seek out an ordinary High School Student working a part-time job like her. Wouldn't it be better to find a full-time adult with a better resume?

"I already said it just now. Based on my understanding of you, Aoyama-san, I believe you are fully capable of handling this job. You don't need to doubt yourself."

"Besides, as an acquaintance, seeing you chasing your dreams with such dedication, I wanted to help you out."

At this, Sakurakoji Talent looked a bit shy, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine or an act. But Aoyama Nanami understood his intentions perfectly, and she couldn't help but feel a little bashful.

It was clear that he was offering her such a great opportunity as a favor to her.

"Thank you so very much!"

"But I can't make a decision right away. Could you give me some time to think about it?"

Aoyama Nanami stood behind the counter and bowed at a ninety-degree angle, putting all her effort into expressing her gratitude.

"That's fine. After all, you're still feeling under the weather. Just contact me whenever you've made up your mind. This is my Contact Information."

Sakurakoji Talent held out his phone to show her his personal chat account, and Aoyama Nanami quickly took it down.

"However, please give me an answer within a week or two at the latest. Processing the paperwork takes time, after all."

"Understood!"

"Then let's leave it at that for today. For the sake of your health, it's better if you clock out early and go home to rest. It wouldn't be good if you pushed yourself until you collapsed."

"Yes..."

Aoyama Nanami had no room to argue with his suggestion and could only accept it humbly.

After accepting her bow of gratitude once more, Sakurakoji Talent didn't buy anything and walked straight out of the convenience store.

Inviting Aoyama Nanami hadn't been a pre-planned move; he had simply gone with the flow, deciding to bring it up at that moment. Ultimately, it would depend on her own decision.

If she agreed, that would be great—he wouldn't have to keep running over here. If she refused, it was no big deal; he could just establish a connection through other means.

Evening, Starry.

Not long after ticket sales began, Sakurakoji Talent was rendered speechless by the scene before him—he saw two people who were completely beyond his expectations.

Why were they here?

Question marks filled the air around Sakurakoji Talent's snow-white hair, and he nearly made the "subway old man looking at his phone" expression.

"Hey, kid! Give me a Cappuccino."

"I'll have a Hot Cocoa and a Coffee Jelly."

"Eating sweets will make you gain weight, Shizuka."

"Shut up. Your Cappuccino is already way over the sugar limit, isn't it?"

Watching the two of them bickering and trading barbs, Sakurakoji Talent didn't know whether to be happy or shocked. He truly hadn't expected that people who should have been in another city dozens of kilometers away would suddenly appear here.

Then again, a few dozen kilometers wasn't that far; it only took an hour by train. If it wasn't during peak hours, driving could be even faster. Commuting in a big city sometimes took two hours one way, so in that sense, they were practically in the same city.

Driven by good professional etiquette, he didn't space out for long and skillfully prepared the items they had ordered.

By the time he finished, their argument seemed to have reached a conclusion, and one of them raised her hand cheerfully.

"Decided! Kid, give me a Matcha Parfait too!"

"Not afraid of gaining weight now?"

"It's fine, it's fine! I have a body type that doesn't gain weight!"

"Heh."

The other woman let out a cold laugh, as if she had known her intentions from the start and understood that she was just saying it for show.

Sakurakoji Talent nodded at her to show he understood, placed the Cappuccino in front of her, and then served Hiratsuka Shizuka her hot drink and jelly. After a moment of busyness, he served Yukino Shita Hiyori the Matcha Parfait.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies : Chapter 29: A Game with Yukino Shita Hiyori

The two people who had appeared before Sakurakoji Talent were none other than Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukino Shita Hiyori.

They were supposed to be active in Chiba, yet for some reason, they had come to Tokyo—specifically to Shimokitazawa, where he worked. To call it a coincidence would be a bit too coincidental.

Is this a case of "the flowers planted with intent don't bloom, while the willow branch stuck in the ground by chance grows into a tree"? Sakurakoji Talent couldn't help but think.

The person he had spent so much effort trying to find before had now appeared right in front of him without him doing anything. It seemed that abilities related to fate were truly unreasonable.

"Tell me, you insisted on bringing me out just to watch a performance? And an underground one at that?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at her former student with some dissatisfaction. She had thought Yukino Shita Hiyori had some business when she called her, but she hadn't expected it to be just to watch a live performance by some wandering band.

It was a rare weekend, and she had to accompany this crazy girl on her wild spree; just thinking about it made her want to sigh.

"What's the harm? Don't you think rock and bands are the essence of youth? This place has quite good reviews online, you know."

"Looking at that stage, does it remind you of the time we performed together?" Yukino Shita Hiyori giggled, mimicking the motion of playing an instrument.

"Participating in these activities often is a great way to stay young, you know."

"...I'm still young enough as it is, I don't need these things to supplement it!"

"Yes, yes! But, there's nothing wrong with coming out to play with me once in a while, right? Besides, you don't actually hate this, do you?"

"I don't hate it, per se..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka replied in a low voice, resting her hand against her furrowed brow and giving up on arguing with her. Just then, Yukino Shita Hiyori's parfait was pushed toward them by Sakurakoji Talent.

The two took their refreshments and, without walking very far, began to sample them near the counter.

"Oh! This flavor is quite incredible!"

"Tch, can a dessert really surprise you that much? Have you been dieting too hard lately? It is good, though..."

"Right? Right? Even though the price isn't exactly cheap, the taste exceeds expectations. No wonder there are so many customers."

Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't answer her, simply continuing to scoop up the Coffee Jelly in her cup with a disposable spoon. Soon, the small portion of dessert was finished. Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned, stood up, and walked to the side.

"Where are you going?" Yukino Shita Hiyori asked, puzzled.

"To buy a few more."

"Then go ahead, I haven't finished mine yet."

After walking to the end of the line to queue again, Hiratsuka Shizuka slammed her delicate hand onto the counter with great force, her black pupils flashing with an unusual intensity.

"Give me two more servings of Coffee Jelly!"

"I'm sorry, we're sold out." Sakurakoji Talent gave a cruel answer, pointing to the sign nearby. "And even if we had more, I could only give you one, as each customer is limited to two."

"What!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka looked as if she had been struck by a heavy blow. Clutching her chest, she stared at Sakurakoji Talent in disbelief, her entire aura deflating as she slumped weakly against the counter, her expression looking incredibly aggrieved.

I really can't take this; who could resist that? Sakurakoji Talent thought to himself as he looked directly at her weak and Cute side.

"Although we're out of Coffee Jelly, we still have Caramel Pudding. Would you like that?"

"I'll take it!"

As if a drowning person had grabbed a straw, Hiratsuka Shizuka replied without hesitation, standing back up with glistening eyes.

"Understood."

Sakurakoji Talent smiled, and a moment later, handed her a pudding.

"Oh..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka carefully carried the crystal-clear treat, topped with a layer of "brown-black filth," and after paying, left with a satisfied expression to return to Yukino Shita Hiyori. Shortly after, the sound of Yukino Shita Hiyori's disappointed voice drifted over.

After selling out for the day, Sakurakoji Talent cleaned the area as usual, though his gaze occasionally flickered toward where the two were sitting.

To his surprise, after they finished their meal, they came back over to his side.

"Hey, hey, young man, did you make those desserts just now?"

Yukino Shita Hiyori leaned over the solid wood counter, her supple arms supporting her impressive fullness. The lines of her black shirt were so defined, and her cheerful expression made even a first-time acquaintance feel at ease, briefly capturing his attention.

"Yes, that's right." Moving his gaze away from the gravitational pull, Sakurakoji Talent replied nonchalantly.

"Eh! Not bad! You're so young, yet your skills are excellent! You could reach a professional level and open your own shop, couldn't you? It's even better than what they make at a regular Cake Shop."

"You're too kind."

"No, I don't just go around complimenting people! If you don't believe me, ask her." Yukino Shita Hiyori squinted and nudged Hiratsuka Shizuka beside her.

"There is no one more unreliable than you, you little fox." Hiratsuka Shizuka snorted, not giving her any face at all.

"Eh~ Shizuka, don't undermine me in public! Do you mean to say the food wasn't good?"

"It was delicious, of course, but that's a separate matter from you."

"You're so heartless~ I'm not taking you out next time!"

"I'd prefer that."

"..."

"..."

Quietly enjoying their comedic duo act from the side, Sakurakoji Talent found it quite entertaining. How should he put it? So this is what it's like?

Before long, perhaps because they grew tired of this round of bickering, or perhaps because they felt it wasn't right to just come over and leave him hanging, Yukino Shita Hiyori brought the topic back to Sakurakoji Talent.

"By the way, young man, why are you wearing a mask? Creating a sense of mystery?"

"There's a bit of a reason for it."

"What reason, what reason? Is it some kind of unspeakable secret?"

"It's not quite like that."

"Then why? Can't you tell me?"

Yukino Shita Hiyori's eyes sparkled, her smiling face practically screaming 'I'm so curious' as she stared at him expectantly.

Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned slightly and nudged her with her arm, reminding her not to go too far.

"That's enough, can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it? Digging for answers like this, are you a child?"

"But I'm really curious! Don't tell me you don't want to know, Shizuka?"

"It's not that I'm completely uninterested, but you can't force these things on others."

"Then let's do this!" Yukino Shita Hiyori clapped her hands, making a decision. "Let me ask first: is this question off-limits for you, little brother?"

"Not really." Sakurakoji Talent shook his head, unsure of what she was planning.

"Then that makes things easy." Yukino Shita Hiyori wore an expression of certain victory.

"Let's play a Q&A game. If you guess correctly, I won't ask anything else, but if you lose, you have to tell me why you wear that mask."

"How about it?"

"Interesting," Sakurakoji Talent's lips curled, a playful glint appearing in his eyes as his competitive spirit was stirred. "But it doesn't seem like there's any benefit for me if I win."

"To be fair, let's do this: I'll ask a question later too. If you lose, you have to accept a penalty game along with this lady here. How does that sound?" Sakurakoji Talent looked at her brazenly, responding with a provocation.

Image: "Yukino Shita Hiyori", Position: "Images/1754479835-100446961-113689819.jpg"

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies : Chapter 30 "Insidious" Yukino Shita Hiyori

"Oh? Interesting." Yukino Shita Hiyori narrowed her eyes, her smile turning somewhat dangerous as her expression grew serious.

"Not bad. I accept. But it's agreed: the game content can't be too excessive, and the questions can't be too tricky."

"Given that the price on my end seems higher, if you lose, I also want you to take off your mask so we can take pictures and admire you to our heart's content!"

"That goes without saying. It's just a little joke; it definitely won't exceed your limits, and the rest is fine." Sakurakoji Talent was incredibly confident, not feeling for a second that he would lose.

Even if the other party really came up with a tricky question, he could make her lose when he asked his own, and even if he did lose, he wouldn't really be losing anything.