Chapter 326

Ignoring her embarrassment, he chuckled and silently increased the speed of his finger movements.

"!!!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka could no longer hold back. Biting her tongue to regain her strength, she flung away his warm palm and punched him in the stomach without even gathering her strength. "You brat!!!"

"Ugh~!"

Sakurakoji Talent, clutching her stomach, groaned and bent over, her face filled with sorrow. "How... how could that be so mean, Teacher Shizuka! We even ate Ramen together!"

"Who told you to be so obnoxious!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka tossed her hair, turned her head, her face as beautiful as a peony, and muttered softly, "At least when no one's around..."

What did you say?

He didn't feel much pain and quickly stood up again.

"I told you to get to work! I'm hungry!"

She said it in an annoyed tone.

"Hmm? Nijika didn't make lunch for you and the manager?"

He looked back at Ichiji Nijika and received a resounding shake of his head in response.

"I've made it! But I'm hungry again! Is that not allowed?"

"Miss Shizuka and her sister drank very late last night, and slept in until almost noon this morning~"

Ichiji Nijika shook her head helplessly and explained, "Maybe we ate lunch a little too early."

"Really? You've worked so hard."

He solemnly patted her shoulder as a sign of commendation.

This family would truly fall apart without her!

Expecting Ichiji Hoshika, who can't do any housework and can cut her hand into a level 10 disability while cooking, will only lead to a life of eating takeout every day and hiring housekeepers.

Even amidst the Starry, Ichiji Nijika helped her a great deal.

Not to mention being Yamada Ryo's babysitter at school and the mother of several members in the band—she's truly a warrior unlike any other!

"By the way! Does the Kessoku Band have any practice today?"

What he really wanted to ask was, "Why are you still leisurely doing your 'duty' here?"

Why aren't you going to train with Yamada Ryo and Kita Ikuyo? What are you doing?!

Does he think he's some kind of genius who can memorize and play a piece of music just by glancing at it once, Kanau and Gotou Hitori?

"Yes! They should be here soon. We plan to practice in the recording studio every day this holiday!"

Ichiji Nijika, holding a mop, answered with a firm expression.

Great! Very energetic!

Haha~ Actually~

She instantly broke character, chuckling blankly as she scratched her head and explained, "I didn't practice much this morning because I had to do housework. I played drums all afternoon and felt a bit tired, so I came out to clean and rest for a bit."

Cleaning? Resting?

Sakurakoji Talent stared blankly at her sunny expression, which seemed oblivious to anything amiss, a hint of guilt rising in his eyes.

I'm sorry, Nijika! I misunderstood you!

"Hey, Mr. Talent."

She hesitated for a moment, then rubbed her hands together and began to speak.

"What's up?"

Do you think we can successfully debut before graduating from high school?

She asked the question that concerned her most.

"Although Bocchi-chan and Rakuna are very strong, Ryo and I are still a bit weaker, right?"

"Although I'm tentatively planning to continue my studies at university, given Liang's grades..."

Ah~ you're worried about her... Sakurakoji Talent was speechless.

Given Yamada Ryo's limited intelligence, getting into university would be virtually impossible unless he had incredible financial resources.

She graduates, then becomes unemployed, and is disliked by her parents who used to dote on her... Hmm, that sounds pretty good, the scene would definitely be interesting!

A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. This was all her own doing!

"Hmm... if you keep practicing like this, you'll definitely be able to do it before you graduate, I promise!"

He made a guarantee.

Forget it, we can't deliberately bring trouble to the whole team just to see Ryo looking so dejected.

"Real?!"

Ichiji Nijika was overjoyed, her radiance increasing by two hundred percent!

"Really, really~"

He nodded and walked to the back, saying, "I'm going to work now."

At that moment, a slightly sinister voice suddenly rang out.

Good morning, Talent!

PA, who had been secretly observing and was still dressed in that dark color scheme, and who was an absolute ice queen who didn't say a word, also came closer.

Good morning!

PA looked around, then followed him discreetly into the kitchen, whispering, "Hey, Talent, my account's follower count has doubled!"

"Yeah, I noticed it when we played games together online a few days ago. Congratulations, Alte!"

Sakurakoji Talent paused his movements, smiled and congratulated her, then continued his preparations.

Flour, baking soda, matcha powder, pudding powder, shredded coconut... He checked the inventory of materials one by one, and after confirming that everything was correct, he moved his limbs almost instinctively in the cramped space.

The movements were fluid and precise, simply art.

To be honest, apart from his home in New York, he has cooked here the most times and is most skilled at making the dishes on the menu here.

Let's get back to PA.

Ever since he stayed overnight at her house and played games with her until midnight, he would go online and chat with her whenever he had free time after get off work late at night, turning what was originally a solo live stream into a two-person interaction.

To this end, he even built an e-sports room at both of his residences.

To match her livestreaming style, he also consulted her about audio mixing, bought some specialized books to study, and equipped himself with dedicated equipment.

When playing games with her, we also adjusted the audio while playing.

Sometimes, for the same game, the two players will come up with two different tuning schemes, which is quite interesting.

Although he only did it to increase her favorability, it seems the online response has been quite positive.

Compared to a one-person show, a crosstalk performance by two people seems to have a natural advantage, making it more attractive to the audience and turning some viewers who originally preferred non-dubbed performances into her fans.

Chapter 353 Are you all this free during Golden Week?

It's quite difficult for one person to manage both gaming and commentary.

Not to mention, in terms of entertaining conversation starters and knowledge reserves, she is clearly far inferior to him—this can be seen from her usual taciturn nature in order to maintain her aloof persona.

Furthermore, thanks to this, he can now practically take over her job in the store, becoming a temporary "PA" when she's not around.

"But most of the credit Talent you... so I'd like to give you half of the account's earnings!"

PA explained her reason for coming in a cool, detached voice.

"No need, I only connected to play games with you, and I'm often offline anyway, so my contribution was minimal."

Without a second thought, he refused outright, but his hands didn't stop moving.

"If you're really too embarrassed, then treat me to a meal next time!"

"Let's do that! I know a really good restaurant, I'll treat you to it next time!"

PA leaned forward, his wide sleeves, with only his fingertips peeking out, stood upright in front of his chest, and spoke with an extremely serious expression.

The space was already small, and with her so close, their bodies were almost touching, making it impossible to do anything else.

Black Long Straight Hair is definitely the best... Ah, this hairstyle would probably suit Princess cut hairstyle perfectly, right?

He blinked, taking in her beautiful face and toned figure.

"I understand! Can I choose the time?"

"Yes! Anytime is fine!"

She withdrew her ample assets, nodded happily, and lightly covered her face with her sleeve, her eyes sparkling and her skin glowing with a rosy hue.

Anyway, her life is pretty much the same routine: work and video games. Aside from occasional shopping and beauty treatments, she rarely has any other activities.

A nocturnal creature, a modern city dweller, and a leftover woman candidate like Ichiji Hoshika... that's the kind of person she is.

However, considering her age, she is still luckier.

"Then I won't bother you anymore! Good luck!"

She hummed a cheerful tune as she took her leave.

Watching her figure quickly disappear, he felt both the satisfaction that his efforts had not been in vain and a certain indescribable sense of loss.

Hmm--

He withdrew his gaze, shifted his thoughts, and continued to perform his primary duties.

"So, what kind of wind blew today to create such a spectacular sight?"

Having completed his task, Sakurakoji Talent returned to the front desk and stared blankly at the row of people in front of him.

It's one thing for Hiratsuka Shizuka and Ichiji Hoshika to be "older women," and PA and Ichiji Nijika are also understandable. It's normal for the remaining members of the Kessoku Band to leave, but the other three unexpected guests with black and pink hair...

"Matcha Parfait"

She glanced at the row of interesting women next to her, smiled with Kanau, then casually turned her head to meet his gaze as they ordered.

"Ah, just a moment, Rakuna."

He stepped forward and reached out to touch her wonderfully soft silver hair, then looked at the newly appeared group of people.

"Bocchi-chan and Kita- chan are here! Time to practice?"

"Hi! Talent-senpai!"

Kita Ikuyo's radiant smile instantly purified the damp, dark atmosphere of the surrounding area.

"Ah, um, hello... excuse me."

Gotou Hitori secretly glanced around a few times, then quickly lowered his head, his face turning pale.

Why are there so many people today?! They want to die!!!

Although most of them were acquaintances, her relationship with them wasn't close enough for her to talk freely.

Recently, I've only gotten to the point where I can have normal conversations with a few people in the team...

Her complexion changed from blue to white, then from white to black, and then from black to blue again, repeating this process over and over.

His eyes were staring blankly at his knees in his tracksuit, drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth, and he looked like he was out of his mind.

It feels like you're deliberately ignoring me...

Yamada Ryo, unable to let go of her feelings.

"How could that be? They're all my friends, I won't treat them differently!"

"You won't even look at me when you talk to me?!"

Yamada Ryo, devastated, clutched her chest and threw herself into the arms of the person next to her. "Nijika ~ Look at his Talent ~!"

"Who cares about you! You deserve it!"

Ichiji Nijika pushed her away with a look of disgust.