Chapter 68

Ebizuka Tomo's gaze towards Rupa was indescribable. It was unclear whether Rupa had noticed, but although she seemed to be able to detach herself from her emotions quite well, it seemed that it was only an appearance...

Back at the villa, Sakurakoji Talent glanced at the shoes placed by the door and knew that Kawaragi Momoka had returned.

He went into the living room, Kawaragi Momoka was indeed sitting on the sofa, fiddling with something on her phone, perhaps trying to synthesize a new melody.

"You're back?" She didn't even look up.

"Yes, I'm back." He nodded, feeling it necessary to tell her what had happened. "Do you have time? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Hmm?" She looked at him questioningly. "It's possible, but what do you want to say?"

"..." He walked over and sat down opposite her, carefully considering his words, before slowly asking, "Momoka, what are your thoughts on the Mirai of the band?"

"... What's the meaning?"

"Do you want to just casually play music with Nina and Subaru, or do you want to start afresh in this field with them and their future teammates?"

"..." Kawaragi Momoka stared at him intently, her expression serious.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, she sighed and sat up straight.

"Is this your first job as Band Manager?"

"No, let's call this the second thing. The first thing was already done, so I'm here to give our beautiful captain some advice." Sakurakoji Talent smiled slightly.

"W-what did you just do?" Her face was full of astonishment, and she squinted in confusion.

"Well, I'll tell you about that later. Let's talk about what we were discussing earlier."

"We still have to tell you the result." Kawaragi Momoka clicked her tongue, crossed her arms, and turned to look to the side.

"Running away won't solve the problem. Just like how you might have initially planned to leave, but you couldn't deceive your own heart, and then Nina pulled you back."

He got up, went to the kitchen next door, poured two cups of tea, and then returned.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 99 Don't Underestimate Me

"Give."

"Thanks."

She glanced at the teacup on the coffee table in front of her, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. After a moment, she asked, "Before answering, may I ask why you have this question?"

"Of course! Let's have a real heart-to-heart talk, you two captains and managers!" Sakurakoji Talent took a tactical sip of water, then explained:

If I had to pinpoint a reason, it would probably be intuition.

"Intuition?"

"Hmm, it seems to me that you haven't quite gotten over leaving the team yet, and you don't seem to have a clear goal for your Mirai."

"..."

"Perhaps deep down you still think that you've already escaped Diamond Dust, so is it really necessary to go back to a professional career? Isn't it enough to just casually play around with friends?" he analyzed, addressing her silence.

"--This kind of confusion, right?"

"..."

"Of course, I admit you're a musical idiot, and you'll probably never be able to live without music in your life," Sakurakoji Talent shrugged. "Even if you stop playing in a band for some reason, you'll probably still play it as a hobby on your own."

"You're the musical idiot! You arrogant big idiot!" she suddenly made a face at him.

"Hehe," Sakurakoji Talent chuckled at her state, "Besides that, you probably lack confidence in your own abilities and are unsure whether you can really lead the team to survive in this cruel industry."

"Can I truly achieve success in making the music I want without relying on capital, while simultaneously receiving positive market feedback?"

"You're very scared and worried about these things, aren't you? So I think I need to have a serious talk with you beforehand, considering the Mirai of the band."

"What... who told you all this? It's just your own guess, isn't it?" Kawaragi Momoka retorted.

"It was probably based on a fan's observations of their idol, and what a drunken idiot who likes to talk nonsense got into."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Kawaragi Momoka suddenly stood up, her face changed, blood rushed to her head, and she became incoherent.

"What... what... what did you hear?!"

"It's nothing. When that idiot tried to say more, I stopped her and let her take a shower, so it was just a little bit." Sakurakoji Talent closed one eye, glancing at someone with disdain.

"If we don't want this to happen again, how about someone tries to quit drinking?"

"..." Kawaragi Momoka was speechless, and it was rare to see shyness in her cool expression. Then she sat down hard as if sulking.

The shy cat finally quieted down, deliberately giving itself some time to think, and softly added:

"Hey, aren't you underestimating me?"

"?" She looked puzzled.

"Who do you think I am? I'm Sakurakoji Talent, the manager of this new band. Don't underestimate me!"

"You should trust my abilities, both in terms of appreciating your music and guaranteeing the band's smooth development."

"Do you think I'm some kind of music idiot who likes any kind of music and has absolutely no taste? You should be proud of yourself, you fool, for getting my approval."

Even if you lack confidence in leading the band to success, you should still believe in me supporting you.

"I will absolutely make you a hot, wildly popular band! I can guarantee you that!"

Kawaragi Momoka stared blankly into his unwavering eyes. Unlike his usual gentle and peaceful demeanor, his eyes were now filled with an all-knowing confidence and indifference, as if all difficulties were nothing to him.

A warm feeling rose in her heart, and her fingers repeatedly clenched and unclenched.

Can I trust you?

"Ah, you just need to enjoy making music, leave the rest to me." He regained his usual expression. "You'll find that you've naturally reached the top without even realizing it."

"Then it's up to you!" Kawaragi Momoka showed a carefree smile, seemingly feeling much more relaxed instantly.

"You'd better do a good job! I personally appointed you as the Band Manager!"

"For Captain Momoka! Loyalty!"

"Hahaha! What kind of move is that! Don't do that, it's too embarrassing!"

She laughed heartily for a long time at Sakurakoji Talent's suddenly hilarious pose. After she wiped away her tears, he figured it was time to move on to the next step.

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic?"

"Huh? There's more?" Kawaragi Momoka in surprise.

"Of course, rather than saying that what happened just now was merely a prelude; what follows is the main event."

"... What you're saying is making me a little scared. Is there any danger?"

"What are you thinking? Okay, now you have good news and bad news in front of you. Which do you want to hear?"

"What? There's more bad news! Well... let me hear the bad news first."

"No, you need to hear the good news first."

"Then don't ask me!" Kawaragi Momoka couldn't help but spit at him.

"Ugh~ You've spit your saliva into my tea, how dirty!" Sakurakoji Talent with disgust.

"Alright, first, the good news: I've found the remaining Bass and Keyboard for the band."

"Huh? Ma Ji?" Kawaragi Momoka was stunned. Your movements were far too fast.

It's only been a few hours since we discussed this topic, and you've already found someone? What about all the time she spent finding teammates before?

Her gaze towards Sakurakoji Talent was tinged with horror. Could the difference between people really be so vast?

"Since it was your recommendation, there shouldn't be any problem, right? But how did you find it so quickly?" she couldn't help but ask, voicing her doubts.

"Because you search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly."

Speak like a human being!

"Actually, it's because those two people are right next to us, and you know them too." Sakurakoji Talent stopped beating around the bush, "Do you remember the two shop assistants from the store we went to today?"

"Yoshinoya? Could it be?!"

"That's right, what's surprising is that both of them are in a band! And they happen to play Bass and Keyboard!" He confirmed her idea, "After listening to our conversation today, they asked me for more details later."

"I've seen their work, and I think their skills are definitely not an issue."

"How about that? Such a coincidence, don't you think it's fate?"

"... Don't mention the word 'fate' to me anymore," Kawaragi Momoka sighed, covering her forehead. "But it's truly a coincidence that makes me think there's no other explanation besides those two words."

Do you have audio recordings of their works? I'd like to listen to them.

"Of course." He took out a video he had prepared beforehand.

After the playback ended, he asked, "How was it?"

"Your skill level is quite high. You've distinguished between the melody and vocals very well, and the pauses are just right," Kawaragi Momoka slowly offered her opinion.

"Right? I told you my strength was definitely not an issue."

"I never expected to find such a suitable person so close to me. Could it really be..." She frowned in thought, her fingers resting on her chin.

"Never mind, what about the other one? It's the bad news."

"It's not so bad for you now. Actually, for certain reasons, their goal is to quickly accumulate fans and then go into the professional arena."

"Ah--so that's why you just now..." Kawaragi Momoka understood why he had done that earlier.

"Is everything alright? Then I'll contact them to arrange a joint rehearsal. Since you don't have any works yet, I went to great lengths to get them to agree to participate in one rehearsal so we can see your abilities."

"They will only be willing to join if you are qualified."

Sakurakoji Talent took out his phone, ready to make a contact.

"What? They haven't agreed yet?" Kawaragi Momoka slumped onto the sofa, her body going limp. "What about the piece we practiced? Which one did they choose?"

"And if there's not much time left, we need to contact Subaru and Nina immediately to start practicing."

"They said it's up to me to decide, so I set it for tomorrow," he said, staring at the successfully sent page.

"Oh, so it's tomorrow..." Kawaragi Momoka frowned as she sat up from the sofa, her lips downturned, looking at him with displeasure. "What did you say?"

"Tomorrow, the location is right here. How about that? I'm efficient, aren't I?" Sakurakoji Talent gave her a flirtatious look.

"Height my ass!! Are you out of your mind? Rehearsals start tomorrow, how can we possibly have time to prepare?!" Kawaragi Momoka couldn't help but shout angrily.

"I'll contact Subaru and Nina right now; we need to rehearse all night!"

"Oh no, this is terrible, I'm going to mess this up!"

"Calm down," he said, placing his Hands on her shoulders to stop her from pacing back and forth.

"Do you think I wouldn't have thought of something this small?"

"--So?" Her eyes were full of distrust.

"Guess which song I chose?" he asked with a smile, blinking rapidly.

"... Which one?" A sense of unease crept into her heart.

"<The Empty Box>."

"!!!" Kawaragi Momoka's eyes widened in astonishment. "Why would they play this piece?!"

"There's nothing I can do about it. I can't stay in Kawasaki for too long. As a responsible manager, I have to resolve this before I leave," he said with a hint of helplessness.

"Isn't 'The Empty Box' great? It can save you a lot of practice time. The other person seems to have heard of it too, so they should be able to master it quickly."

"Just because of that?" She didn't believe it.

"And also, of all your songs, this is my favorite, is that not allowed?" Sakurakoji Talent smiled shyly and gave her an embarrassed look.

"I didn't say no..." With his face so close to hers, Kawaragi Momoka's heart raced, and she unconsciously took a step back, feeling her face getting hot.

That's a foul! A foul!

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 100 You Joined the Band Just to Play with Women?