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

"I understand. What about the cheesecake and matcha over there? Are they okay the way I made them?"

"Too much cheese, not enough matcha."

"Eh—this is so difficult. What about the drinks then?"

"These are relatively simple, just follow the steps. No problem."

"Mr. Talent, this machine is a bit hard to turn. Is it broken?"

"That's because you have to press this button at the same time to turn it, like this."

"Wow! Amazing!"

"……"

At this time, Starlight hadn't opened yet, but compared to usual, Sakurakoji Talent now had an additional task: teaching Ichiji Nijika how to use the store's machines and ingredients to make the items on the menu.

The reason was naturally his absence a few days prior. Although Ichiji Hoshika hadn't said anything about his sudden leave, he had learned from the other employees that some audience members had been incredibly disappointed that night, and it had taken a great deal of effort to calm them down.

He had learned his lesson and decided that to prepare for future occurrences, he should have a backup plan: train a substitute who could take his place during special circumstances.

He had a premonition that he would have to take more leave in the future, especially after school started in April.

I'm sorry, I was wrong this time, but excuse me, I'll do it again later!

As for why he chose Ichiji Nijika, it was simple. Aside from himself, the store manager Ichiji Hoshika, and the other part-time workers were all practically useless when it came to daily life, completely unreliable.

Teaching them to cook would be as difficult as teaching a gorilla to read.

Only Ichiji Nijika, who doted on her older sister, handled all the housework, and acted as the team leader responsible for coordinating everything outside—a motherly figure—was barely worth teaching.

"Mr. Talent, I'm always messing up the caramel designs. Can you teach me again?" Holding the piping bag filled with caramel, Ichiji Nijika looked distressedly at the botched creation on the table and asked Sakurakoji Talent for help.

"Coming, coming. Let me see." Sakurakoji Talent wiped his hands with a cloth and walked over to her. After glancing at her "masterpiece," he couldn't help but chuckle.

The lines were crooked and shapeless.

While it would still be edible and wouldn't affect the taste, the presentation of food was also very important. Seeing such an appearance would likely halve a customer's appetite.

"This requires a bit of technique. Let me guide you through it." Sakurakoji Talent moved behind her, placing his hands over her delicate ones holding the piping bag, and whispered in her ear.

"Eh? Ah, okay." Feeling the zero-distance proximity, Ichiji Nijika's mind exploded, and a blush quickly spread across her pretty face.

The reliable chest behind her and the warmth from his hands made her too hot to think!

"Like this. Did you get it?"

After guiding her hands to draw two standard, beautiful patterns, Sakurakoji Talent released her hands and asked.

"Huh?" Ichiji Nijika looked at him blankly at first, not understanding what he was saying.

When she finally realized, her face turned red, and she quickly lowered her head to apologize: "I'm sorry! I was spacing out just now! Can you teach me two more times?"

She cursed herself internally, Idiot, idiot, idiot… Mr. Talent is just teaching me sincerely! What was I thinking!

Although she was reflecting internally, whenever she occasionally looked at Sakurakoji Talent afterward, two faint pink blushes would involuntarily appear on her cheeks, and she would quickly avert her gaze once she realized.

"You can, but you need to focus on the feeling next time, okay? The most important part of this step is the sensation."

"Yes!"

Feeling her body pressed against Sakurakoji Talent's again, Ichiji Nijika almost fainted from shyness. Fortunately, before her mind completely surrendered, she bit her tongue, managing to stay somewhat conscious.

I can't get distracted this time! she resolved.

Don't notice his chest, don't care about certain parts, don't be disturbed by the breath by my ear, don't think about my cheek being touched by snow-white hair… Just feel Mr. Talent's hands—Mr. Talent's hands feel so good, long and warm, moving as gently as a spring breeze, even more comfortable than Ryo's touch. Her expression gradually relaxed.

"!!!"

"Gulp!"

Sakurakoji Talent touched his bumped nose, his face contorted in pain, and he stumbled back a few steps, looking at Ichiji Nijika in horror. Why?!

"I'm sorry!!" Ichiji Nijika, who instinctively tried to clear her head by hitting it, saw that she had accidentally injured him. Circles immediately appeared in her eyes, and she bowed deeply, apologizing profusely.

This genuine idiot, what have I done!!!

How can I face Mr. Talent after this!!

"What are you two doing, causing such a commotion just to learn how to cook?" Just as Ichiji Nijika felt utterly ashamed and wanted to commit seppuku, her tsundere older sister came to the rescue, interrupting the awkward situation.

"Wow, Talent, what's going on with your nose? Why is it so red? Did you get ketchup on it?"

The moment Ichiji Hoshika saw Sakurakoji Talent, her eyes were drawn to his cherry-red nostrils, and she exclaimed in surprise.

"You should ask your cute sister about that." Sakurakoji Talent, suppressing the tears welling up in his eyes, gently massaged his nose with his fingers.

Who knew that just teaching someone to draw would result in such treatment.

"?" Ichiji Hoshika looked confusedly at her world's number one cute and sensible sister, not understanding the connection.

But seeing her flushed face, shy demeanor, and inability to make eye contact, Ichiji Hoshika's eyes narrowed, and she let out a long sigh.

Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, based on her years of understanding Ichiji Nijika and her current posture, she could guess most of it.

Then, she looked at Sakurakoji Talent with a slightly disdainful and angry gaze, crossed her arms, and snorted coldly, saying angrily: "Serves you right!"

"Why?!"

Sakurakoji Talent looked at her incredulously, unable to imagine such cold words coming from her warm, 37-degree lips. He was the one who was hurt, so why was she saying this!

Was it because the culprit was her own sister, her beloved family, that she was covering for them?

Hajika, you jerk!?

Ignoring his inner turmoil, Ichiji Hoshika came to Ichiji Nijika's side, told her to wash her hands, and then half-pushed her out of the kitchen.

"Alright, that's enough for today. We'll talk about culinary training tomorrow. Good work."

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent watched their retreating figures in silence.

Damn it! Just you wait, next time I'll add more cocoa butter to your meals!

Image: "Cute, Want", Location: "Images/1755695359-100446961-113748137.jpg"

Volume 1: The Butterfly-Attracting Daily Life : Chapter 57: Two Conversations Between Four Women

After leaving the front desk, Ichiji Hoshika pulled Ichiji Nijika into a deserted room in the back, found a chair, and gestured for Ichiji Nijika to sit as well.

"What is it, Sis? Why did you bring me here?" Ichiji Nijika sat down next to her without hesitation, her hands clasped between her legs, looking curiously at her usually assertive older sister.

Away from Sakurakoji Talent, her dizziness was gone, her face was no longer flushed, and she was completely normal now.

"..." Facing her sister like this, Ichiji Hoshika irritably took out a cigarette, wanting to relieve some stress, but the next second, the cigarette disappeared from her hand.

She looked resentfully at the instigator, but only received a firm reply: "Not indoors!"

Ichiji Hoshika scratched her hair in annoyance. After venting, she met her sister's eyes: "Then I'll ask you, do you like that guy, Talent?"

"!!!"

"W-What are you talking about, Sis! How could I possibly like..."

Hearing her question asked so directly, Ichiji Nijika waved her hands in shock, her cheeks flushing red again.

"You don't like him?" Ichiji Hoshika rested her chin on her hand, her face full of disbelief.

"I didn't say that either... Besides, why are you asking me about my feelings for Mr. Talent!" Ichiji Nijika yelled at her, conflicted.

"Because just now, you were acting like that because of him, weren't you?" Ichiji Hoshika replied with a look that saw through everything.

"Wh-How did you know?!" Ichiji Nijika looked at her in horror.

"It was obvious. How many years have I been your sister?"

"But you never even do housework?"

Ichiji Hoshika was momentarily speechless and turned her head away as if throwing a tantrum: "--That has nothing to do with this, does it?"

Silence fell in the room. Ichiji Nijika fidgeted with her hands shyly, not knowing what to say. Besides, she didn't even know what kind of feelings she had for Sakurakoji Talent. She had never liked a boy before, so how could she know what that felt like?

Finally, Ichiji Hoshika broke the silence.

"But it's normal for you to feel that way. Because I too-- I can understand Talent's charm."

"Really? No! I never said I liked Mr. Talent!"

"Then, would it be okay if someone else got there first and liked Talent?"

"That kind of thing..." Ichiji Nijika's rising emotions immediately calmed down, and she looked troubled.

"You know it too, right? He's actually very outstanding. Putting aside his looks, his abilities are also impeccable. For most women, he's simply irresistible." Seeing her sister's expression for the first time, Ichiji Hoshika's gaze gradually softened, and she gently analyzed it step by step.

"If he didn't have some self-awareness and usually wore a mask, the number of women who would come to the shop to pursue him every day would probably fill this place."

"Is it that exaggerated?" Ichiji Nijika looked at her in surprise.

"Of course. If nothing else, even PA, her attitude towards Talent in private is completely different from how she is with others. Have you ever seen her talk so casually with any other man?"

"Speaking of PA, that's true--" Thinking of the beautiful older sister, who was seen as gloomy by others, Ichiji Nijika had to admit it was quite convincing.

"And then there's Ryo. On the first day she met Talent, she called him by his name, right? As for Rakuna, she also hit it off with him very quickly, even though she's usually so uncommunicative."

"Uh," Ichiji Nijika was speechless. The evidence around her seemed to be more than enough.

"S-o," Ichiji Hoshika looked at her affectionately, "if you really have any intentions, you need to be proactive and speed things up. I'll support you with all my might. Otherwise, if you fall behind and someone else snatches him away, and you end up crying and regretting it, I won't care about you."

"...I won't cry and regret it." Ichiji Nijika retorted, "I don't know yet, but I'll consider it."

"Well, let's leave it at that for now."

Ichiji Hoshika knew it couldn't be resolved in one go, so she stopped there. However, thinking of Nijika and that man, she let out a sigh.

As the man who would entrust her sister's lifelong happiness to, he was indeed impeccable. But... never mind, as long as Nijika is happy.

Meanwhile, on another battlefield in the city.

"Little Shi! Why aren't you replying to my messages? I've sent so many!"

"Eh~ I don't know about that. You probably didn't see them."

"Nonsense! I bet you're deliberately not replying because you haven't started writing your new book yet!"

"...No such thing?"

"Why is it a question?!"

"Eh, this is too troublesome, I kinda want to hang up." A lazy, young, and impatient voice came through the phone, clearly reaching the other side.

"Wait, wait! I still have something to say!" I hurriedly interrupted the person on the other end's self-indulgence, Machida Enko said quickly.

"Um, listen to me, this weekend our publishing house is holding its annual spring author gathering, you know that, right?"

"You mean that boring party where a bunch of uncles and aunties gather to eat and chat idly?" Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice echoed, the coldness within it steadily increasing.

"Ahem, don't say it like that, doesn't it have some positive meaning?" Machida Enko responded with a dry laugh.

"That's true, just dealing with the single uncles who come to me for autographs and photos, and the thick-skinned people who want to leverage the reputation and resources of popular authors to help themselves, has already exhausted all my strength. Ah, but from their perspective, it should still be somewhat meaningful, right? Right?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's speaking speed increased, and by the end, her tone had become slightly questioning.

Machida Enko was speechless. It seemed that after the last gathering, she had accumulated quite a bit of resentment.

Fumikage wasn't a major publishing house, and the number of popular authors was pitifully small. Moreover, she was a beautiful high school student who was constantly in the spotlight. It was understandable that she would be targeted at gatherings.

If it were before, she wouldn't have actively persuaded her to attend again, but this time...

"Um, listen to me, Shi-chan, I understand your resentment, but this gathering is really different!"

"Heh~ That sounds exactly like the opening line of a pyramid scheme scam, very~ sus~"

On the other end of the phone, Kasumigaoka Utaha, wearing a pink nightgown, was lying on the bed, casually kicking her smooth, delicate legs, eating potato chips, and flipping through a magazine. As for the phone, it was on speakerphone and casually tossed aside.

She had been in a bad mood recently. Ever since she was rejected by someone who refused to read her manuscript last time, the anger that had accumulated in her heart had not yet subsided, and she hadn't spoken to that person for several months.

"Not sus! Absolutely! Not sus!" Machida Enko quickly explained.

"Since you say so, I'll listen. So, what's so special about this gathering?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked casually, turning a page of the magazine.