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

"Because of that song..." Inoseri Nina was about to explain further when her expression suddenly changed, her eyes widening into dots as she followed a new figure.

A man pushed open the wooden door and walked in, murmuring, "Good evening~"

"Good evening~~~" Inoseri Nina stiffly replied.

"If it's too noisy at night, the neighbors will complain again," the man warned.

"What, are you going out now?" Kawaragi Momoka asked, turning her head.

But before she could get an answer, he closed the door again.

"Just now, who was that just now..." Inoseri Nina asked, her voice trembling.

"Who was that just now..."

"It's your boyfriend! It's your boyfriend, right!?" she moved forward, her face full of disbelief, her gaze darting between the closed door and Kawaragi Momoka. "Living together, it's too soon to be living together...!"

Kawaragi Momoka flicked her forehead, cutting her off mercilessly. "Cal--m--do--wn!"

"He's a roommate, we're sharing the apartment!"

"How could I possibly rent such a big house by myself!"

Inoseri Nina was sent reeling backward, falling over her stool. She immediately got back up, continuing her interrogation. "But! That was a guy just now, wasn't it?!"

"Yeah! But his romantic partner is a guy, so he's probably going to his boyfriend's place to stay tonight!" Kawaragi Momoka explained nonchalantly.

"Boyfriend?" Inoseri Nina looked confused, as if she'd encountered a difficult problem. After a few seconds, she smacked her left palm with her right hand, her eyes widening in realization, and then, "This is so scary! Tokyo is so scary!!"

She covered her eyes, looking utterly terrified, pulled up her hoodie, and bounced over to the sofa, collapsing onto it.

Sakurakoji Talent also let out a sigh of relief and dropped his disguise. While the chances were slim, if she had found out his gender and fallen for him, he really wouldn't have been able to handle it.

"Of course," Kawaragi Momoka's expression conveyed 'Isn't that obvious?', and she continued, "If the rooms are different, our schedules are different too, so we rarely see each other."

"But..." Inoseri Nina still couldn't quite accept it.

"Speaking of which, you should consider sharing an apartment too, you know? If you're alone, you'll unconsciously get caught up with working part-time and things like that," Kawaragi Momoka said, leaning her guitar against the wall nearby and walking back to the kitchen.

"How much is the rent?"

"Fifty thousand..."

"And part-time jobs?"

"I'll get one, I just haven't decided yet..."

"Is that okay? Living like this?"

"I have savings, and I got some money when I left home."

"What, that sounds easy enough. Then do as you please, here, as long as you have money, anything is..."

"What do you know about me just based on that!?"

"?" Kawaragi Momoka stopped wiping the dishes and turned back, confused.

"Don't say it's easy or anything..."

"Hey! STOP!" Seeing that she was about to unleash her gravity field again, Sakurakoji Talent loudly interrupted.

Both of them were startled and turned their gaze to him simultaneously, wondering why he, who had been pretending to be dead for so long, had suddenly spoken.

Sakurakoji Talent had no choice. If he didn't stop them, it would turn into a chase scene again, and he didn't want to be up all night playing that game.

"Miss Momoka, I think what you just said was a bit hasty. Even if Miss Nina has some savings, it doesn't mean she's living an easy life, does it?" Sakurakoji Talent looked at Kawaragi Momoka. "It takes a lot of courage to come to Tokyo alone at this age, doesn't it?"

There was no other way. He couldn't convince the other person. To ease the situation, only the relatively more reasonable one had to back down, commonly known as bullying the honest person.

"Ah, ah, that's true. Dropping out of high school and coming here alone, it certainly can't be easy." Kawaragi Momoka realized she might have said something wrong and looked back at Inoseri Nina. "I'm sorry, Nina. I went too far just now."

"No, it's not..." Inoseri Nina also realized she had been a bit too volatile and her mood sank.

"So, Miss Nina, what do you want to do in the future?" Sakurakoji Talent advanced the conversation, speaking for Kawaragi Momoka.

"I don't really have anything I want to do."

"?" Kawaragi Momoka asked, confused. "You don't have anything you want to do?"

"I didn't come here because there was something I wanted to do, it's just that nowhere..."

"It's just that there's nowhere you belong, because you don't want to admit defeat, don't want to admit you were wrong." Sakurakoji Talent finished her sentence, chuckled lightly at the two looking at him, and turned his gaze to Inoseri Nina. "Right?"

"...Yes. Come to think of it, I did tell Mr. Talent about it." Inoseri Nina nodded. "It wasn't my fault, but it felt like I had done something wrong. I didn't want to lose to that kind of atmosphere."

"I see. Then I apologize again." Based on these words alone, Kawaragi Momoka seemed to understand a little and showed remorse again.

Facing the silent two, Sakurakoji Talent acted as a lubricant while thinking of that woman. If she were here, she would probably be playing this role, right?

Amazing, 486-kun.

Hurry up! I can't hold on any longer!

"By the way, Miss Momoka, why did you return to Asahikawa? Did the band break up? I really liked your songs, Miss Momoka." Sakurakoji Talent posed a new question, his tone regretful.

"Well, yeah, it was just a typical falling out after an argument." Speaking of which, Kawaragi Momoka looked a little melancholic.

"Are you talking about Diamond Dust?" Inoseri Nina couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, when we broke up, we discussed who would get that song because the other members said they'd continue making music."

"So you just gave it away?" Inoseri Nina added.

"We figured we'd just write new good songs anyway." Kawaragi Momoka's pretty profile seemed indifferent to it, but she immediately contradicted herself, forcing a wry smile. "That's what I thought at the time..."

That's what I thought at the time, but it turns out reality isn't that simple, and now I'm stuck having to go back home... Hajika, you idiot...

"Pfft." Inoseri Nina couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"What?" Kawaragi Momoka frowned, annoyed.

"Aren't you just a people-pleaser?" Inoseri Nina mumbled, burying her face in her arm. "But, I think it's really cool!"

"I think Momoka-san is really cool too!" Sakurakoji Talent agreed.

"Wha-!?" Hearing them say that, a rare blush rose on Kawaragi Momoka's beautiful face. She then puffed out her cheeks slightly and let out a displeased hum.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!!" X2

The two rubbed their bruised cheeks, looking at her indignantly, but only received a crossed-arms, turned-away posture that clearly meant 'serves you right'.

"Well, well, we can talk about this tomorrow. Let's just sleep for tonight," Sakurakoji Talent suggested.

"You're right, it's getting late. I'll go get some bedding for you."

Glancing at the time, Kawaragi Momoka snapped out of her shyness and ran to the cupboard to rummage through it. After a few minutes of effort, she finally found two usable sets of bedding.

"Sorry, we don't have many sheets here, so one of you might have to sleep on the sofa."

"It's fine, I'll sleep there," Sakurakoji Talent quickly replied.

"Then I'll trouble you, Nina, you can sleep with me."

After making a futon on the floor with the sheets, and handing Sakurakoji Talent a blanket to cover himself with, Kawaragi Momoka invited Inoseri Nina.

"Huh? We're sleeping like this?" Inoseri Nina's eyes turned into dots again as her gaze darted between Sakurakoji Talent and Kawaragi Momoka.

"Is there a problem?" Kawaragi Momoka tilted her head.

You're asking if there's a problem? Talent-kun is a guy, you know! Even though he's so pretty, is it really okay for everyone to spend the night in the same room?!

Inoseri Nina screamed internally, but seeing that neither of them seemed to care, she could only swallow the words she wanted to say.

"No problem..."

This is so scary! People in the big city are so mature and scary!!!

"Then I'll turn off the lights, is that okay?"

"Yep~" X2

This night was a sleepless one for all three of them.

For Inoseri Nina, it was her first time staying overnight at someone else's house, and it was at the home of an idol she admired, far from home, with a guy in the room! With so many things happening at once, it was hard for her to fall asleep.

For Kawaragi Momoka, the thought of leaving the city she had lived in for three years tomorrow filled her heart with memories and a sense of melancholy.

For Sakurakoji Talent... drinking too much coffee really does affect your sleep!

Image: "Do you like momoka?", Location: "Images/1755950734-100446961-113760241.jpg"

Author: Hey, can you guys say something? Is everyone this quiet? Sa~bi~shi~i~

Oh right, please vote for me! Thank you!!

Volume 1: The Daily Life of a Beehive: Chapter 64: I Want to Report This, Momoka Actually!

"Are you leaving already?"

Sakurakoji Talent opened his eyes on the sofa and asked softly as he looked at Kawaragi Momoka, who had finished packing and was preparing to leave.

Kawaragi Momoka, who was facing away from the room and tiptoeing towards the exit, was startled by the sudden voice. She turned to look at Sakurakoji Talent, who was still lying on the sofa, awake, and her expression was a little helpless.

"Sorry for waking you up."

"So you've decided to go back home?" Sakurakoji Talent looked up into her light gray eyes, his tone gentle.

He couldn't exactly say that he had woken up the moment she got up and had been pretending to sleep to avoid awkwardness.

"Yeah, after all, there's no point in holding on any longer." Kawaragi Momoka clasped her hands together, her eyes calm and serious. "I'm sorry, you gave me so much support, and yet I still have to give up."

Even with the funds Sakurakoji Talent had given her, it would only last another month or two of drifting along aimlessly. It was meaningless.

Sakurakoji Talent didn't scold or try to persuade her. He just watched her quietly. Before making this decision, she must have gone through countless internal struggles, but reality was cruel, cruel enough to extinguish the passionate enthusiasm she once had.

He didn't intend to persuade her to stay now, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do anything. Everyone has their own roles to play, and besides, she wouldn't be able to leave in the end anyway.

"That's alright. Since this is your decision, I can't say much. But I hope that no matter what decision you make in the end, you'll follow your heart. That's the Momoka-san I like," Sakurakoji Talent said with a smile, a hint of meaning in his words.

"Well then, have a safe trip. We'll meet again later."

"Like...? " Kawaragi Momoka rubbed her head, feeling a little embarrassed, and also confused by his next sentence. "Meet again later?"

"Never mind, I'm leaving then. A moving company will come to pick up my luggage later. Sayonara."

She turned around with feigned nonchalance, waved her hand, and then stopped as if remembering something, adding: "Also, regarding Nina, if she wakes up, please explain things to her for me."

Listening to the soft sound of the wooden door closing, Sakurakoji Talent looked at the side profile of Inoseri Nina on the floor, who was still in a deep sleep due to insomnia, her small face occasionally wrinkling. He whispered, "I can't do that, because I have to leave too."

"Also, I'm reporting this! This momoka dared to sleep with a fan!"

Of course, the most infuriating thing was that the fan wasn't him.

After lying down for a minute, he also carefully stood up from the sofa, stretched, and stepped over Inoseri Nina's body.

He went to the side of the kitchen, where two white slips of paper were placed on the outer counter, one for him and one for Inoseri Nina.

Glancing at the contents of the notes, Sakurakoji Talent chuckled softly, then put the one for himself in his pocket. He looked around, tore off a piece of paper from the notebook placed nearby, which had tear marks on it, presumably what Kawaragi Momoka had used before.

He wrote a note with a water-based pen about the precautions for packing the blanket into a box after Inoseri Nina woke up. After leaving a few blank lines, he added at the end, "I'll leave the rest to you. See you tonight."

Thus, about five minutes after Kawaragi Momoka left, he also carefully pushed open the slightly difficult wooden door and quietly left, leaving Inoseri Nina alone.

Inoseri Nina felt something moving on her nose. Her eyebrows and facial skin wrinkled. It was fluffy and a little itchy~

She couldn't stand it anymore! She suddenly opened her water-blue eyes, startled by the vast forest of fur in front of her. She shot up abruptly, throwing her head back sharply and hitting the sofa.

"Ah, ouch, ouch—wait, it doesn't hurt that much?"

Rubbing her little head, she looked at the culprit who had disturbed her sleep.

"What is it, it's just you."

The small, all-grey creature looked at her and meowed in response, as if saying good morning.

She stood up somewhat dazed and looked around, finding no one. The figures of her two companions from last night had disappeared.

"Mr. Talent? Miss Momoka?"