Chapter 91

"Ha..." Her gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, not understanding what kind of relationship they had.

But it seems like, at least, not a very bad relationship.

Sakurakoji Talent was relieved to see the relatively quiet and peaceful atmosphere; thankfully, his worst fears hadn't come true.

That makes sense, they're not people who lack common sense, they wouldn't start arguing on their first meeting, he's overthinking it.

"Alright, that concludes the introduction. Would you like something to eat, perhaps Yukina?"

"Hey, I'd like crème brûlée and an Italian latte!"

She couldn't help but smile as she recalled the time he showed off his cooking skills at her home.

"Speaking of which, Talent-kun really showed off his amazing skills a couple of days ago!"

"These past two days, Takhiro has been complaining that Mom's cooking isn't as good as yours, and as a result, Mom gave him a good scolding."

"You're exaggerating, it's not that serious." He quickly handed her the pudding and coffee cup.

"Thank you... It's true, even Dad's expression has been subtle these past few days while eating."

"That must have been very hard on you, Auntie."

"Haha, that's absolutely right!"

Thinking of her mother's aggrieved expression as she watched her family collectively complain about how bad the food tasted, despite her mother's hard work preparing meals these past two days, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Touma Kazusa, who had been listening quietly, glanced thoughtfully at Sakurakoji Talent.

The look in his eyes clearly said, "So you've been to her house before, huh? You even called her 'Auntie' now."

"..."

I clearly went to your house, okay? It's your mother's fault for not being there, how can you blame me for that?

He swallowed his complaints, turned his face away in anguish, coughed twice, and pondered a safer topic.

Suddenly, looking at the two of them, he recalled what had happened that morning, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

Such a great opportunity, it would be a waste not to make good use of it!

He first glanced at Touma Kazusa, then shook his head inwardly, thinking it was too difficult; then he looked at Kogisora Yukina —feeling that this was a safer approach.

So he said to her, "Yukina, are you short of pocket money lately?"

"Huh?" Kogisora Yukina, looked on in confusion. "So sudden? What happened?"

"Hmm... I'm doing okay so far because I work at a convenience store."

"But allowance... right? Naturally, the more the better."

She shyly crossed her fingers, hesitated, and then spoke her mind.

"That's perfect!" Sakurakoji Talent stared at her with a smile, as if looking at a little lamb that had fallen into a trap.

"I happen to have a part-time job available, would you like to give it a try? The pay is very good!"

"Part-time job? What kind?"

"It's about games. I know of a project that's currently recruiting voice actors for the female lead and music talent. If you're interested, I can introduce you to them," Sakurakoji Talent explained calmly.

This is the art of language; even though it's clearly his project that can't be done without her, he deliberately speaks as if he's thinking of her best interests.

"Huh? But I've never had any experience with this before, it definitely won't work!" Kogisora Yukina waved her hands repeatedly, somewhat flustered, afraid that she would mess things up.

"It's okay, it's not a big investment project anyway, it's just a single-player game, and it's not very difficult, you'll be fine."

"Red bean paste?" she asked Kokoro.

"Red Bean!" he said with certainty.

Her face showed struggle, her gaze constantly shifting between him and Pudding.

After a long pause, she hesitated and said, "But I'm still worried, and it might take a lot of time, so it really is..."

"Is it okay? The pay is high!" He interrupted her. "If everything goes well, you won't have to secretly work behind the school's back anymore."

"And it doesn't take much time; you can go whenever you're free, after school or during holidays."

"..." She paused, then asked Kokoro, "How tall?"

Sakurakoji Talent chuckled, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a few words.

Kogisora Yukina's beautiful pupils visibly widened, and after a moment of silence, she looked at Sakurakoji Talent: "If it's possible, I think it's not impossible to give it a try."

"Very good." He snapped his fingers, celebrating the moment.

"Besides, the game needs a lot of theme songs and character songs, and I think you'd be perfect for that. How about giving it a try? You could even release your own album!" he continued to persuade.

"Huh? Releasing a record?" Kogisora Yukina was genuinely shocked.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies - Chapter 124: What Right Do You Have to Slander My Innocence?

"This really won't do! No, no!" She was even more vehement in her refusal than before.

"How could someone like me, who can only entertain himself in karaoke, possibly have the qualifications to release an album?!"

"How will you know if you don't try?" Sakurakoji Talent was completely unconcerned.

Although others call her the "Queen of KTV Rooms," who says KTV Queen can't release albums?

If even online celebrities can produce such songs, then her proven singing voice is certainly no problem.

Furthermore, as long as you have thick skin and enough money, these are not problems. At worst, you'll just get scolded by some petty scoundrels.

"While I am very grateful, choosing me would definitely be a waste of their money." Although Kogisora Yukina was somewhat tempted, she still hesitated before explaining.

"It's alright, they definitely won't care about these things, and I guarantee your abilities, there won't be any problems, KTV Queen."

"What's KTV Queen?" she pouted cutely, clearly dissatisfied.

"This game, is it the one you told me about before?" Touma Kazusa asked casually, stirring her coffee with a spoon.

Unexpectedly, she would be interested at this time. Sakurakoji Talent nodded, "Yes, that's it."

"Hmph, no wonder." She smiled knowingly, turning to Kogisora Yukina: "Then you don't need to worry, Ogiso, because that was his own investment project. Even if it lost money, it's because he misjudged people, so it's not your fault."

"..." Sakurakoji Talent opened his mouth, unable to refute.

"Huh? This was invested in by Talent-kun?" Kogisora Yukina covered her mouth in surprise, staring at Sakurakoji Talent in astonishment.

Having been pointed out by Touma Kazusa, he scratched his head helplessly. "That's right."

"Don't let his current job fool you, he's actually quite wealthy." Touma Kazusa said with an amused expression, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"But it seems he didn't tell you."

"I never told you that! You figured it out yourself, okay?" Sakurakoji Talent retorted irritably, expressing his disdain for her instigation and spectator behavior.

"Hmm~~" Touma Kazusa remained noncommittal, secretly sticking out her little tongue as she quietly sipped her coffee.

"..." Kogisora Yukina stared blankly, her eyes wide open.

Seeing that she didn't respond for a long time, he could only wave his hand in front of her to try to wake her up.

"Moshi moshi~ Are you alright, Miss Kogiso?"

"Ah-- Guomai!" She pulled herself out of her inexplicable thoughts and turned her attention back to him.

She thought that what she had seen about Sakurakoji Talent was all there was to him, but she didn't expect that there were still aspects of him that she didn't know about. It was like finishing a puzzle piece, only to find that there were still many hidden pieces.

It's both mysterious and alluring—yet subtly unsettling...

He was already outstanding enough before, and now he's added another one: an extraordinary family background and the fact that he's starting a business.

Who exactly are you, Talent-kun? A complex emotion flickered in her eyes.

Now, aside from the fact that his business venture led to his family's bankruptcy, there's probably nothing else that can surprise her anymore.

"But—you might think I'm being fussy, but I still have to ask: Are you really sure it's okay? What if Talent-kun suffers a loss because of me...?"

"It's alright, I already knew you were a bit of a fussy person." He offered a consolation that sounded like criticism. "It's okay, it's just an attempt. Even if you fail, it's fine. The most important thing is to have fun."

"Furthermore, I've also hired other outstanding staff members, and I personally wrote the script, so there's definitely no problem. You can rest assured."

"Then we can declare it's doomed in advance," Touma Kazusa commented sharply from the side.

"Could you please shut up...?"

"Maybe because of my involvement, the project will get a lot of criticism? If that happens, I'll really break down," Kogisora Yukina murmured softly.

"Then it will be my job to comfort you then. Or how about we just write 'You bunch of troublemakers! Play if you want, get lost if you don't! Don't insult our excellent staff' on the website homepage?"

"Hehe, oh dear, I forgot to bring it~" Kogisora Yukina was amused by his mischievous joke, and her tense mood relaxed.

"Then it's settled. If something like that really happens, it'll be your responsibility, Talent-kun." She clutched his collar, her face slightly flushed, and looked up at him with her bright, watery eyes.

"... I see."

Why did he feel that the atmosphere was a little strange?

This is an employee recruitment event, right? It really is just an employee recruitment event, right?!

"Crack!"

A crisp, sharp sound interrupted the slightly eerie scene, Touma Kazusa, standing nearby, calmly put down her coffee cup.

"Ahem," Sakurakoji Talent took the opportunity to step back and turn to her. "Touma, what about you? Do you want to join in too? Have you thought it over?"

Now that we've won over one of the Flower on High Mountain, it's time to start persuading the remaining one.

"Have you ever seen anyone give you only a day to consider something? Your sense of time is really weird!" Touma Kazusa frowned and questioned.

"Isn't one day enough?" Sakurakoji Talent glanced sideways, pondering. "I think you can get a lot done in one day."

"Don't treat everyone else like you! A day is only enough for me to practice the piano once and get some sleep, right?"

"That's true, that's how you are." He nodded in deep agreement.

"But I don't think thinking about this for too long is pointless. How about we just follow our feelings and make a decision directly? You're not uninterested, are you?"

"Who said I'm interested? I have so many things to do, I don't have time to play this childish game with you."

"Hehe, putting aside the fact that everyone here is a highly skilled professional, I'm really curious to know what 'lots of things' you have to do, since you never travel, have no friends to hang out with, and your professional skills are just so-so."

"... Nonsense, mind your own business!" She looked away, her face slightly flushed.

She had forgotten that the person in front of her was arguably the one who understood her best right now.

"Don't be like that. Isn't it more fun and challenging to make something new together? What do you think?" Sakurakoji Talent leaned against her and poked her back.

"..."

"I'll create a group chat first, then add you all in. We can discuss any issues online, okay?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Bang!" She slammed her fist on the bar counter, her eyebrows lowered, her eyes filled with anger as she looked at him.

"..." Ignoring the commotion she was deliberately creating, he created a new group on his phone and added the two of them to it.

He didn't directly add them to the work group where Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others were, because he really didn't want to complicate the current situation further.

It's a matter for the future for them to meet again; at least for now, based on their job assignments, there shouldn't be any chance for them to see each other.

"OK, it's built, and I've brought you all in." He put down his phone, a smile on his face.

"..." Touma Kazusa remained silent, turning her head away without expressing any further dissatisfaction.

Although she initially seemed resistant, she didn't object further once he actually did it—that's just how awkward her personality is.

"Don't think you can make me obey your orders like this. If I don't want to do it, I still won't."

"Fine, whatever you want, but you're always welcome to join us." Sakurakoji Talent shrugged helplessly, then secretly leaned closer to Kogisora Yukina: "As you can see, her personality is just that terrible."