Naturally, no one answered her call. The room was small, and after only a few steps, she found two notes lying on the kitchen counter.
She picked up the first one. It was signed, "Sakurakoji Talent."
"Hm? Mr. Talent wrote this? But what does this last sentence mean?" Confused, she picked up the second note.
"Did Miss Momoka leave this one? It says..."
'Nina, by the time you read this letter, I should already be gone, and the move should have started, right?'
'I'm going to collect my wages from work, then I'll wander around in front of the station for a while before heading back.'
'Also, please accept my guitar.'
She looked at the guitar leaning against the cabinet, packed inside a black bag. Remembering last night's conversation, she finally understood what had happened.
"Miss Momoka... decided to go back after all..." Her expression was complicated as an indescribable loneliness welled up inside her.
Leaving the tiny room and entering the hallway outside, she saw movers carrying cardboard boxes.
"Mr. Talent probably knows already too. What is he doing now? Didn't he try to persuade Miss Momoka?"
Before long, the movers finished carrying the boxes and left. She sat blankly in the room for a while longer, only setting out after remembering that her own apartment was moving today as well.
"Sorry, I'll open the door right away!"
"Ah, hi! Sorry for the trouble with my luggage!"
She ran to the apartment with the guitar on her back. It had already begun to drizzle, and Inoseri Nina apologized to the movers waiting downstairs.
After unlocking the apartment and room doors, she walked into the empty apartment. Her heart was as lonely as the room itself.
She instinctively reached into her pocket and felt something slippery. Pulling it out, she found the concert ticket she had asked Miss Momoka to sign yesterday.
Where there had originally been nothing, there were now words written in marker: Hang in there!!
She froze for a moment, then crouched down and opened the guitar case. She took out the somewhat heavy blue Electric Guitar, where large words had also been written in black marker across the blank space: Raise your middle finger!
Light flickered in her eyes. Hugging the guitar, she rushed from the room, leaving behind a pigeon-like call to the staff in the air:
"I'll be right back!"
Braving the rain without an umbrella or even a hat, she kept darting through every place she and Kawaragi Momoka had visited yesterday, trying to find her.
The Electric Guitar's textured body and strings gleamed in the rain—if it was not properly maintained after today, it would definitely rust.
By the time the rain clouds overhead had turned completely black, she had searched nearly everywhere without seeing the back of the person she loved. She could only go to the final place where Momoka was most likely to appear: Kawasaki Station.
Rain and sweat soaked her red hoodie. The long run had made her legs weak, and just as she stepped off the escalator and tried to start running again, she fell onto the platform, sending the guitar flying with her.
Before she even had time to feel the pain, she picked up the guitar and hurriedly got back to her feet to search the station, but she still found nothing.
"Sorry!"
A familiar figure and equipment flashed through her vision. Without thinking too much, she set the guitar aside against the glass curtain wall, walked up to the duo who had chased them yesterday, greeted them, and snatched the microphone.
"Hey! You—!" The short-haired punk woman whose microphone had been taken wanted to say something, but her voice was immediately drowned out by the microphone.
"Miss Momoka... Miss Momoka!"
"Is this really okay? If you give up, then everything will be over!"
"Once you say 'it's over' out loud, it really will be over!"
Her breathless voice rang out through the loudspeaker. Since she had been running nonstop, after only a few words, she felt dizzy and bent over, gasping for air.
"Are you okay..." The short-haired woman watched her worriedly from behind, afraid Nina would fail to catch her breath and collapse right there in their spot.
Inoseri Nina ignored her. After a brief adjustment, she continued.
"I'm going to say something incredibly willful and incredibly selfish!"
"I came here because I didn't want to lose, so I hope Miss Momoka won't lose either!"
"Together! Please, together with me, raise your middle fingers!!!!"
Not far away, Kawaragi Momoka heard her cry and took in her entire figure. Leaning against the outer wall of Kawasaki Station, she lowered her head with a heavy expression, fists clenched as she once again fell into inner conflict.
Farther away, Sakurakoji Talent held a cheap umbrella in one hand and a slice of imported watermelon he had just bought from a nearby supermarket in the other, watching every move they made.
Watching the live performance of one of them roaring out her feelings while the other kept wavering between reality and ideals, Sakurakoji Talent said nothing and merely ate his watermelon.
Awkward. Way too awkward. Doing that in public was absolutely social death!
Sakurakoji Talent looked at Inoseri Nina, who had drawn the attention of everyone in the square, with admiration in his eyes. He could never do something that took that much courage.
But this was youth!
This time, he gave the kid sis a nine out of ten!
Soon, Kawaragi Momoka made her choice. She walked over from the side, picked up the Electric Guitar Inoseri Nina had just put down, and played a fingerstyle passage that caught Nina's attention. She winked her left eye and invited her with a faint smile.
"You can sing it, right?"
Inoseri Nina's expression shifted from surprise to delight, and then she answered loudly, "Yeah!"
With the Legendary Duo accompanying them from behind, they began the final performance of the night.
"It's strangely white, absurdly long~The answer is usually
nothing but conventional wisdom in form, even if my fingertips tremble~"
Familiar voices sang a familiar song, carving out an independent space within this rain-soaked world. Their superb performance immediately drew many passersby to stop and watch.
Sakurakoji Talent ate his watermelon as he enjoyed the most spectacular and emotionally explosive performance of the day so far.
But what he most wanted to complain about was why those two people in the back could join in so naturally.
Once everything returned to silence, and the two girls exchanged smiles in a harmonious scene, Sakurakoji Talent rudely forced his way in without reading the mood.
"Yo, hello~ Good evening, you two. That was an amazing performance!"
The two looked toward the voice, and both were startled when their eyes met that familiar long white hair.
"Mr. Talent! Where the heck did you run off to?! Miss Momoka almost left!" After her surprise passed, Inoseri Nina could not help loudly complaining.
"But she didn't leave, did she? Miss Nina completed her mission wonderfully." Sakurakoji Talent responded with a heartless grin. "Besides, didn't I tell you two I'd see you tonight?"
"Ah..." Inoseri Nina remembered the note. "You really did say that..."
"But how did you know we'd be here?"
"Don't tell me... you predicted this all along?" Kawaragi Momoka's expression stiffened slightly as she asked suspiciously.
"I merely believed in Miss Nina's persistence and Miss Momoka's feelings for music. As for why I knew you'd be here, just consider it a fan's intuition." Sakurakoji Talent put on an innocent expression. "Look, Miss Nina also knew Miss Momoka would be here."
"I searched so many places and still couldn't find her..."
"Well, anyway, it looks like this has been settled for now." Seeing that it was getting late, Sakurakoji Talent suggested, "Now that it's come to this, shall we eat first? My treat. I withdrew some more money earlier, so I'm well off again!"
"But before that, you should both change clothes. You're soaked through."
Inoseri Nina and Kawaragi Momoka looked at each other and realized that after being exposed to the rain for so long, both of their clothes were completely drenched. Like two foolish drowned rats who had forgotten to go home when it rained, they burst out laughing.
"Well, whatever. Let's go." Kawaragi Momoka gave the order to set off, but she quickly remembered that she no longer had anywhere to return to.
"Ah, but I already gave up the house, and my clothes and luggage have all been taken by the moving company. Nina, sorry for the trouble from here on out." She patted Inoseri Nina's shoulder, bared her teeth in a silly grin, and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Yeah! Leave it to me!" Inoseri Nina readily agreed. "Then let's go to my room and change first. What about Mr. Talent?"
"Of course I'm coming with you. I still have to treat you to dinner afterward, so think about what you want to eat first."
"Yay! I want barbecue!"
"Being picky is bad, Miss Momoka... How about hot pot?" Inoseri Nina thought it was a good idea, and it could also drive away the chill in their bodies.
"By the way, Mr. Talent, did it never occur to you to share your umbrella with us? Where's your gentlemanly manners?" Inoseri Nina's eyes turned into cat eyes as she puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"I'm an egalitarian, you know. Besides, given how you two look right now, would sharing the umbrella even make a difference?" Sakurakoji Talent refused with a serious expression. "I can't exactly get soaked too just for useless manners, can I? I didn't even bring clothes to change into, and I can't wear Miss Nina's clothes..."
Image: "Also, if you leave the group, we'll beat you to death!", Location: "Images/1756035936-100446961-113764217.jpg"
The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 65 Progress Summary
"Enough! That's enough!" Inoseri Nina hurriedly interrupted him. "I was only saying it casually! Do you have to seriously bring up wearing my clothes? Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Not at all. Ah, but I can hold Miss Momoka's guitar for her. If that thing gets rained on any more, it might be ruined, right?" He pointed at the pitiful blue instrument hanging on her.
"That's true." Looking down and seeing the miserable state of her longtime companion, Kawaragi Momoka's eyes gradually went dead.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!... I shouldn't have run all over the place in the rain with it!"
An hour later, the three sat in the highest-priced hot pot restaurant Kawaragi Momoka knew of, comfortably enjoying the pleasant atmosphere inside.
As all sorts of fresh ingredients were continuously brought over, tears of excitement flowed from the corners of Inoseri Nina and Kawaragi Momoka's mouths, their eyes shifting from one dish to another...
"Is this really okay? Bringing us somewhere this upscale?" Inoseri Nina felt a little embarrassed and cautiously looked up at Sakurakoji Talent.
"Don't worry about it. Let's treat this as a celebration for Miss Nina's new life and Miss Momoka's rekindled courage to pursue her dream. Eat as much as you want tonight!"
"That's right, Nina. You don't need to worry about this guy at all. It's rare for a rich young master to be willing to treat us, so we'd be fools not to eat!" Kawaragi Momoka carefully fished a freshly cooked, steaming lamb roll from the pot and put it into her mouth. Her face was full of satisfaction, and her tone was not polite in the slightest.
"Then thank you." Seeing that Sakurakoji Talent did not look reluctant at all, Inoseri Nina gradually accepted it.
"Then I'll dig in." With that, Inoseri Nina also picked up her chopsticks. "This is so good!"
After putting a vegetable dipped in sauce into her mouth, Inoseri Nina immediately revealed a blissful expression as well.
Seeing them eat so happily, Sakurakoji Talent felt proud as the host and began eating too.
"Eat up. I still have something to tell you after we're done."
"Something?" Kawaragi Momoka looked at him with her mouth full, puzzled.
"Don't tell me we're splitting the bill?!" Thinking of that, Inoseri Nina's body trembled like a startled rabbit, and she became uneasy.
"No, no, where did that come from?" Sakurakoji Talent hurriedly denied it. "Anyway, it's a good thing. You'll know when you finish eating."
"Oh, right. Since we have something to do afterward, Miss Momoka is forbidden from ordering or drinking alcohol."
After saying that, he shut his mouth and focused solely on eating.
The two across from him looked at each other. After exchanging glances, they had no idea what was going on and could only leave it alone for the moment.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Sakurakoji Talent called over a waiter to pay the bill, then took the two of them somewhere.
Twenty minutes later, the three got out of a taxi and stood before an impressive two-story detached house with a yard.
"Mr. Talent, where is this?" Inoseri Nina asked curiously.
"This is a house I rented. Since I might be coming to Kawasaki often in the future, I thought I should have a place to stay, so I rented it. That's what I was doing during the day." Sakurakoji Talent explained.
"Huh?! All of this is yours?" Inoseri Nina was utterly shocked, her gaze moving back and forth between the detached house and Sakurakoji Talent. "This place is not only bigger than Miss Momoka's old home, it's also much newer. Just how much is the rent here every month...?"
Inoseri Nina's eyes gradually lost focus in a sea of money. This had already exceeded the limits of her understanding.
"Don't think about it. Thinking won't help. I told you already, this guy's a rich young master." Kawaragi Momoka used a hand chop to interrupt her confused state, looking helpless.
"Well, let's go inside and take a look first." Sakurakoji Talent neither confirmed nor denied it. He unlocked the yard gate with his key and invited them in.
"There are quite a few rooms here. Even ten people living here probably wouldn't feel crowded. And most importantly, there's a recording studio with excellent soundproofing!" After turning on all the indoor lights, Sakurakoji Talent introduced the layout of the new house to them, his tone quite proud.
That was exactly why he had chosen this place.
Even if they played inside until the world went dark, no one outside would notice. Wasn't that great? It had the feeling of a secret base. Boys should all like that kind of thing, right?
"The furniture and appliances are all ready-made, so you can move in right away with just your bags. Doesn't that sound tempting?"
"It feels like you're aggressively pitching this place... Is that just my imagination?" Inoseri Nina rested her hand beneath her chin, her mouth curving downward with an inscrutable expression.
"By the way, does Mr. Talent really need such a big house living alone? Isn't that a little wasteful?"
"And speaking of the recording studio, you can't use it alone, right? Is Mr. Talent a musician?"
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