Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

Upon arriving at the headquarters of Bushido, Toru Tazaki went to the conference room to wait. The meeting was still attended by the script supervisor, Fujita, and others.

To Tazaki Toru's surprise, today's composition meeting wasn't about MyGO, but about another band: Ave Mujica.

As a band project running concurrently with MyGO, Ave Mujica is lagging far behind MyGO, and has yet to find all its members.

In fact, MyGO's timeline is also extremely tight. Due to the longer time spent on casting than expected, and considering the need for members to gel together, it will have to be postponed until at least next year if they want to reach the level of holding a concert.

This result was not unexpected for anyone. After all, there are only five months left in the year. Rather than forcing them into something and ending up with a mediocre result, it would be better to let those female voice actors have more time to mature.

The meeting lasted for nearly two hours.

It can be said that the styles and composition requirements of the two bands are completely different. Director Kakimoto was very worried about whether Tazaki Toru could handle the task. Although Mr. Fujita also had such concerns, he decided to let Tazaki Toru try boldly first.

After all, compared to MyGO, Mujica has more time available.

After the meeting, Toru Tazaki and Mr. Fujita walked out of the conference room together.

"By the way, Tazaki-kun, the project team has hired a singing teacher for the lead singer of the MyGO band. They will have one-on-one lessons every week. I think it would be better if you were here."

Tazaki Toru was taken aback by what he said: "Miss Hitomiya?"

"Correct."

Tazaki Toru recalled the girl whose voice was like fine sand. She had such a unique speaking tone, but her singing skills were not satisfactory, which was a real pity.

Just by listening to her speak, Tazaki Toru had no doubt that her voice would become her most powerful weapon.

Skills can be improved through hard work, but talent is something you are born with.

Although I hate to admit it, sometimes effort really is insignificant.

Especially in the music industry, people care more about how much talent you have than how much more effort you put in than others.

"I understand, I'll go take a look."

"Okay, I'll send you the location later. I have a meeting to attend, so I'll be going now."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

"You've worked hard too, Tazaki-kun."

After Mr. Fujita left, Toru Tazaki stood alone in front of the elevator, pondering the matter of the lead singer.

After the elevator doors opened, two women walked out.

To be precise, it was a middle-aged woman and a young girl, a combination that seemed like any other idol and manager.

Tazaki Toru was already used to this kind of pairing; all the young female voice actresses he had ever met were always accompanied by an older female manager.

"Stop looking at your phone all the time."

The girl leaned against the elevator, looking down at her phone. After her manager gently tugged at her shoulder, she slowly walked out of the elevator.

The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance and reluctantly put her phone away.

Tazaki Toru stepped aside, and the middle-aged woman glanced at him before looking away and leaving.

Tazaki Toru subconsciously gave the duo a polite, business-like smile, but his mind was preoccupied with Ms. Hitomi's singing ability. He then walked into the elevator on his own.

Ever since taking on this job, Toru Tazaki would unconsciously smile whenever he saw a female pairing of an older and a younger woman, with no idea what level of voice actress they were.

Little did Toru Tazaki know that his casual, polite smile would shape the future of him and all the gentle and lovely female voice actresses he had encountered so far.

This sowed the seeds of a potential disaster.

Tazaki Toru stepped into the elevator, pressed the floor button, put on his headphones, and pressed play. The recording of Hinami's singing, sent by Mr. Fujita, began playing.

It's not so much terrible as to be completely off-key.

Even so, just hearing that voice made Tazaki Toru relax and almost smile.

Outside the elevator, the girl suddenly turned around and looked eagerly into the elevator.

Because he was wearing headphones, Toru Tazaki, whose hearing was normally very sensitive, failed to hear the rough, hoarse female voice coming from outside the elevator.

The elevator doors closed completely.

The girl stood motionless in place, and only when her manager urged her repeatedly did she turn her head with shining eyes.

"Mom, I just fell in love at first sight."

……

……

After exiting the station, Tazaki Toru looked at his phone's navigation, glanced around, and pondered the location of the recording studio.

Today he's going to a recording studio he's never been to before, and without navigation, Toru Tazaki has no idea where to go.

But as soon as he brought up the navigation route, his phone screen flickered twice and then went dark.

"Eh?"

He was initially bewildered, then shook his phone, but the screen remained black and unresponsive.

No, are you just playing around?

Just as Tazaki Toru was at his wit's end, a beautiful voice, as lovely as fine sand in spring, reached his ears.

"Huh? Mr. Tazaki?"

Tazaki Toru turned his head and saw a cute girl with a round face walking towards him, happily eating a freshly baked croissant.

The struggle between 118.hina.

Tazaki Toru considers himself not a careless person. Before going out, he always checks his clothes, appearance, makes sure he hasn't forgotten his keys, and checks his phone battery level.

Therefore, Toru Tazaki was quite certain that his phone battery was still above 60%.

However, no matter how many times he pressed the power button, all that was displayed was a faint "no battery" indicator.

As far as I can remember, he started using this phone when he first started living alone, so it's been quite a few years. It's not surprising that the battery life is having problems.

But precisely at this crucial moment when he needed navigation, things became somewhat frustrating for him.

"Huh? Mr. Tazaki."

The sound made Tazaki Toru almost think that he had been exposed to the scorching sun for three days and three nights, and that he had finally received this torrential rain that washed away the heat and moistened his parched and cracked body.

Her face was round, and there were bits of breadcrumbs and chocolate sauce on the corners of her mouth.

After saying Tazaki Toru's name, her pink tongue naturally stuck out and precisely licked away the chocolate sauce from the corner of her mouth.

"Miss Yang Gong?"

The girl immediately hid the half-eaten croissant behind her back and bowed very earnestly in greeting.

For Yang Gongfei, the intimidating title of composer was enough to make this fledgling lead singer feel apprehensive and subconsciously bow.

Moreover, from Hina Himegami's perspective, Toru Tazaki seems somewhat frightening.

Even so, she wouldn't turn a blind eye and sneak away.

For example, a child who doesn't do well in school but will still take the initiative to greet their homeroom teacher if they happen to run into them during a holiday.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Tazaki."

This nickname was learned from Kobayashi Koko, and it gradually became used among the female voice actresses.

"Um……"

"Tazaki-sensei?"

Tazaki Toru nodded slightly: "It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? Then I'll trouble Miss Hitomiya to lead the way."

"Lead the way? What do you mean, lead the way?" Yang Gongfei Na looked completely bewildered.

Seeing this, Tazaki Toru couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Mr. Fujita tell you?"

"Mr. Fujita?"

"I heard you're taking a singing course, so I came here specifically to check on you and see if I could help you in any way."

"...Huh?"

"Eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh~~~~~~"

The girl looked at Toru Tazaki, blinked rapidly a few times, and then her expression turned to panic. She took a step back with great force and bent over quickly.

Her long, straight black hair swung in the wind, the ends almost brushing against Toru Tazaki's nose, like a sharp ink mark on paper, before falling with a "whoosh," creating a gust of wind carrying the scent of shampoo.

"I'm so sorry!"

This apology came out of nowhere.

"I sang 'Spring Shadow' terribly!"

Her loud voice attracted the attention of passersby, who curiously looked over.

Tazaki Toru remained calm, showing no intention of blaming her, and simply replied, "Yes, there is indeed still a lot of room for improvement."

Miss Yang Gong was trembling with fear and dared not raise her head.

"Anyway, let's talk as we go, it wouldn't be good to be late."

"...Yes, yes."

……

……

On the way to the recording studio, Hinamiya Himegami was still tense, with Toru Tazaki walking diagonally behind her.

Seeing that she looked quite nervous, Tazaki Toru thought it might be his fault and deliberately kept his distance from her.

It's not surprising, really; students with poor grades always find it hard to hold their heads up when they meet their teachers.

In this project where everyone praises "Spring Shadows," the final presentation of the song rests entirely on her shoulders.

The lead singer is the face of a band and enjoys the most fan-attracting treatment, so naturally, they should be subjected to more rigorous training than other members, which is the only way to make it an equal exchange.

At that moment, Miss Hitomiya was walking briskly in front of Toru Tazaki, holding a half-eaten croissant in both hands.

The temperature in Tokyo remained high today, and the chocolate sauce inside the croissant softened even faster. She couldn't bear to let the chocolate sauce drip onto the back of her hand, so she had to carefully nibble on the croissant.

They arrived at their destination in silence, not even exchanging a word while riding the elevator.