Chapter 76

After listening to the other party's report, he asked a few more questions, and after getting a basic understanding of the situation and confirming that there were no problems, he hung up the somewhat conspiratorial phone call.

"That should solve everything, right?" He let out a soft sigh and put his phone away.

In short, he paid someone to do something for a specific person, and he just received a report that it was completed.

The story begins a few days ago.

After finalizing the game details with Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others, in addition to making behind-the-scenes preparations, a worry arose in his mind.

That means school is about to start—what if Aki Tomoya also plans to make games and steal his girlfriend after school starts? What should he do then?

Reason told him that if things really continued this way, he actually had a good chance of succeeding.

While he might not be able to sway Kasumigaoka Utaha, with whom he had been in a long-term cold war but whose relationship with him had improved, he really couldn't predict what would happen with Eriri.

Although a contract had been signed, since it was a friendship contract, he didn't make the breach of contract clauses too harsh, as that might damage the goodwill that had been formed.

If she really acts impulsively and succumbs to his repeated persuasion, and decides to back out at the last minute, then he'll be in real trouble.

Although given her "glorious deeds," she should still value his work more, so it's unlikely she would do this, but you never know what might happen.

After thinking about it for a long time, he decided to cut off this possibility at its source.

He wasn't one for robbery, murder, or arson; he wasn't that brutal.

It's actually quite simple: just prevent him from having the idea of making games.

Why did Aki Tomoya decide to make games? Because before the start of his second year of high school, he met Kato Megumi on a slope and was shocked by the sight of her beret blowing in the wind. From then on, his mind started to wander.

Therefore, as long as this incident is stopped, it is unlikely that he will continue to make games in the near future.

Maybe from now on I'll just be an ordinary homebody and never enter the world of creators.

That would have absolutely no impact on his subsequent plans.

Those who are supposed to be in a cold war will continue to be in a cold war; those who are supposed to be losers will continue to be losers; and those who are supposed to be invisible will continue to be invisible.

The slope wasn't hard to find; it was close to the Toyonosaki Academy and his house, and it was so conspicuous and long that it was easy to find.

So he had people keep an eye on that slope for the past few days and keep a close watch on Aki Tomoya.

Whenever he goes out, he pulls some prank, big or small, like getting splashed with dirty water, accidentally falling off his bike, or being chased by a dog... and so on.

By doing these things, he can disrupt his daily routine and change his pace, thereby reducing the number of times he goes out recently.

In particular, he was strictly forbidden from approaching that slope, and if necessary, the area was to be sealed off under the pretense of construction.

Meanwhile, each day, people are made to wait by the slope until a short-haired girl wearing a white dress, a flesh-colored coat, and a white beret appears. Once she picks up her hat that was blown away by the wind, the process can end.

He just received a reply that the task was completed.

Actually, if he could, he would like to go and participate in the plot himself.

However, he didn't know the exact time, nor could he deduce the specific day based on train schedules and weather like Inoseri Nina had done.

All I know is that it's about a week before Toyonosaki starts school. If I wanted to participate, the only option would be to have someone follow her, but that's unnecessary.

Besides, he hasn't been very free lately, and even if he knew her whereabouts, he might not have time to go and wait for her.

"In any case, this story is now over. We can take our time with the rest."

Having resolved one of his worries, he walked lightly toward the Starry.

"You're back?"

Upon arriving at Starry, Ichiji Hoshika greeted him calmly.

"Oh, yes, you're back."

"It's good that you're alright."

Sakurakoji Talent was somewhat surprised, not expecting that she wouldn't scold him for taking three days off in a row.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ichiji Hoshika couldn't help but frown.

"No, I'm surprised you didn't scold me for skipping work."

"I'm not some heartless boss. I'll allow my employees to take a few days off if they want to rest." She was speechless.

"Besides, you're still at this age, it's perfectly normal for you to want to travel."

"Is this a vacation?"

"Yes, I did go to another city." Sakurakoji Talent nodded.

"That's good. Nijika and the others are on spring break too, and they've been having a lot of fun these days." With a lollipop in her mouth, Ichiji Hoshika nodded in understanding.

"Get back to work when your vacation is over. You're in charge of preparing dinner tonight."

"I understand." He relaxed, chuckled, and walked behind the bar.

Suddenly, a question occurred to him, and he turned to Ichiji Hoshika and asked, "Oh right, has anyone come looking for me these past few days?"

"Looking for you? Don't people look for you every day?" She took out a lollipop, looking puzzled.

Although he wears a mask every day, a few people who like a sense of mystery still try to talk to him.

"... No, that's not it. I mean... has that girl with the Black Long Straight Hair from last time come again?"

When talking about Kogisora Yukina, he naturally thinks of Touma Kazusa.

Come to think of it, it's been a few days since he last saw her. He hasn't seen her since she left in a huff last time.

"No, I don't think so. By the way, isn't that your friend? Why are you asking me?" Hearing him ask this, Ichiji Hoshika was a little annoyed. Last time, when Sakurakoji Talent left, it was because Touma Kazusa came to see him that she had some objections.

"What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"

"We wouldn't call each other friends, just acquaintances for now. Of course, we haven't really argued either." Sakurakoji Talent pondered, then realized that she hadn't come over these past few days.

Is this stubborn, Delinquent Girl really angry?

Just because of a message?

If that's the case, then it's too dramatic. He sighed, stopped thinking about it, and began preparing for the evening's business.

After some time, Ichiji Nijika arrived here with Yamada Ryo and Kanau.

"Oh, Mr. Talent is back today!" Seeing him, Ichiji Nijika skipped over to the kitchen.

"Yes, you've had a hard time these past few days," Sakurakoji Talent smiled at her.

"I didn't do anything, I just filled in for someone," she said, scratching her head sheepishly.

"Hey, Talent, have you been having fun these past few days?" Yamada Ryo came over and greeted him.

"Talent, Matcha Parfait." Kanau spoke her mind, staring straight at him.

"Yo, Ryo, Rakuna, you guys are here too."

"Rakuna! Didn't I make a lot for you before?"

"Nijika's isn't as good as Talent's." Kanau's expression remained completely unchanged. "Besides, yesterday is yesterday, and today is today."

"Waaah~~" Ichiji Nijika wailed, "I know, I know, anyway, my level is just not as good as Mr. Talent."

"But Mr. Talent is busy right now, let's not disturb him, let's go practice!"

"Ahhh~ Parfait!"

As she was being dragged away by the back of her collar by Ichiji Nijika, she reached out towards Sakurakoji Talent's direction.

After watching the three leave, he continued his kitchen business.

The Starry as ever that night, and after a few days away, he felt a touch of nostalgia as he experienced the atmosphere here again.

However, just as he had expected, Touma Kazusa did not come here tonight.

This is bad; it seems the other party is really angry.

Although there was no rule that she had to come here often, he felt that things couldn't continue like this in order to maintain their relationship, especially since he didn't even have her contact information now.

It seems we need to take the initiative, but how?

Taking advantage of his free time, he began to make plans.

The next day,

He had prepared a large bag of things in advance at Ten no Yashiro, and after checking that everything was in order, he prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he glanced at the slightly haggard-looking maid beside him and suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Nanami, how's Mashiro doing? Is everything alright?"

A few days ago, after Shiina Mashiro greeted her Relatives, she moved her luggage over with the help of Sakurakoji Talent and has now officially become a resident of this apartment building.

Naturally, Aoyama Nanami's life of taking care of her began.

"... Young Master, how Mashiro has Mashiro managed to live all this time?" Aoyama Nanami's voice was weaker than ever before.

By the way, she just came back from Shiina Mashiro's room this morning.

Even without her saying anything, Sakurakoji Talent had already imagined what the scene would look like.

Since Shiina Mashiro had just moved here, he left Tokyo for Kawasaki, so he didn't witness what had happened in the past few days, but he believed that the process must have been extremely tragic.

"Well, just try to understand. Geniuses are all different," Sakurakoji Talent comforted her. "Although Mashiro's way of doing things is a bit unusual, I believe in you!"

"This isn't a matter of behavior at all!" Aoyama Nanami couldn't hold back any longer, her composure completely failing her. "She has absolutely no common sense!"

"This child is the kind who can't even dress himself, can make a mess of his room in half a day, doesn't know which underwear to choose, won't wear anything unless you help him choose, needs help to blow-dry his hair, and won't pay for his food!"

"Hmph, this is the first time in my life I've ever seen a child like this!"

She covered her face with her Hands, her voice choked with sobs, her body trembling involuntarily, as she loudly complained about Shiina Mashiro's glorious record.

"Ugh~ I think I can't hold on much longer." She slumped to the ground, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.

Even Aoyama Nanami, who doesn't take intense part-time work and study seriously, rarely shows this vulnerable side.

This made Sakurakoji Talent curious about what Shiina Mashiro had done these past few days to push her to this point, and he couldn't help but admire her.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 108 I've Discovered You're Extremely Serious

"It looks like you're having a tough time. I'll try to help you out when I have some free time."

"But not today, I have other things to do today."

He picked up the prepared gift bag and headed towards the elevator.

"Young Master, are you going out again today?" Aoyama Nanami asked casually as he was about to leave.

Although watching him leave every day has become a daily routine, she still doesn't know what he's going to do.

Leaving aside his evening jobs, which he considered as a way to experience life, he was also very busy during the day, constantly running around, which was really baffling.

"Okay, I'll leave Mashiro to you." He didn't turn around, but simply stretched out his arm and gave a thumbs up.

"..."

Upon hearing this, she slumped against the wall, her eyes losing their sparkle.

Sakurakoji Talent's destination for today is Touma Kazusa's house.

He obtained her home address through some secret methods that he couldn't tell others.

Out of concern for his friend (informally), he decided to go to her in person to talk to her about their relationship and mend any possible rift between them.

Instead of going to the first floor, he took the elevator directly to the Underground Street.

He planned to take public transportation there, with the subway as his first stop.

It's worth mentioning that although Touma Kazusa and Kogisora Yukina both attend Minegashiro High School in Shinjuku Houjou, and Kogisora Yukina's home is indeed in Shinjuku, Touma Kazusa's is not.

She lives in Kita Ward, Tokyo, which is further north than Toshima Ward, where Kasumigaoka Utaha and her friends live. It's basically the furthest north of Minato Ward, where Sakurakoji Talent lives. She takes the train to and from school every day.

For children in big cities, going to school is almost like going to work; both require commuting.