Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"The stage play tickets were given to me by the manager of my workplace. I thought you might be interested, so please accept them if you don't mind."

"Huh? Is this okay? Isn't this for you?"

Mika Takagi looked down at the ticket in her hand, at a loss.

She naturally wanted to see a stage play up close and learn a lot from it, but she didn't know how to accept the knowledge.

He was wondering whether he should pay Tazaki Toru, how much he should pay, and whether he should raise the price.

Tazaki Toru waved his hand: "I still have tickets. Since some people in the store weren't interested, the manager gave me the remaining two tickets, saying I could bring my friends to see it."

"friend……"

Mika Takagi stared blankly at Toru Tazaki.

"The date on the ticket is the evening of the 13th. Oh, I didn't even ask if it was a convenient time for you. If you're not free..."

"I have time!"

"Okay, let's go together then."

"Huh? Together?"

"Yes, these two tickets are for adjacent seats."

Upon hearing this, Mika Takagi blushed instantly.

Could it be... that he's inviting her on a date?

Seeing that Mika Takagi had suddenly fallen silent, Toru Tazaki couldn't help but look puzzled.

After a moment of silence, the girl nodded shyly, "Then, let's go together. Thank you, Tazaki-san."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Toru Tazaki chuckled softly, then glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It's getting late, it's time for me to go back."

Mika Takagi then realized that it was almost 1 a.m. For some reason, time seemed to be flowing so fast lately.

"I'm sorry to keep you up so late again. Let me see you out," she said softly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"It's me! I got to freeload another meal. Thanks for the treat."

After saying goodnight to each other, Tazaki Toru returned to the next room.

……

……

The next day.

Tazaki Toru came to the shop to do the final arrangement work. He completed three arrangements within a week, and each one was of extremely high quality. Yoshimura was almost worshipping Tazaki Toru.

After delivering the music, Yicun hurriedly carried out various follow-up work for CD production, spending half an hour just on the phone.

As for the arrangement fee, it will be paid to Toru Tazaki at the previously agreed price of 10 yen per song.

For a new arranger with no reputation or even any works, this is definitely a high price.

This allowed Tazaki Toru to escape poverty immediately, so he no longer had to worry about food and drink and live off the voice actress living next door.

When the store manager finally finished his work, Tazaki Toru took the initiative to come to him.

"Manager, I've thought things through regarding yesterday's matter."

Yoshimura glanced at Tazaki Toru.

He understood Tazaki Toru's choice without even having to say a word.

Unlike yesterday, after a night of hardship, Toru Tazaki's eyes were exceptionally bright and resolute; he knew exactly what he wanted.

So even without my help, this young man will surely become a great musician in the future.

"Come with me."

Yoshimura led Tazaki Toru into the lounge, entered a URL into the computer, and the screen redirected to a well-known music website.

Tazaki Toru remained silent, but he already understood.

“Tazaki-kun, you are very talented, more talented than any young person I have ever met.”

“You should know the difference between underground music and mainstream music. I’ve already made a deal with someone I know. If you can get a nomination for this original song award, I can recommend you to a mainstream music company.”

14. *Remains* (or *Revue Starlight Junior High School*)

"Clear Sky" Original Music Cup.

It is a competition initiated by Sony and sponsored by well-known companies such as Lantis and Bushiroad, open to musicians nationwide.

It is mainly divided into two parts: "Singers" and "Songs".

Held annually, the singer selection process specifically targets talented amateurs, grooming them for stardom.

Many well-known singers or bands have entered the public eye through such competitions.

In contrast, the selection process for the songs is much simpler. There is no need for the creators to appear on camera. Creators only need to upload their original songs to the website before the deadline, and then the website will score them.

In terms of "competition", it can be said to be a rather inconspicuous way.

According to Yoshimura, if Tazaki Toru receives a song award nomination at this year's Sky Cup, it can be used as part of his resume, introducing him into the mainstream music scene.

Tazaki Toru couldn't tell how much of what Yoshimura said was true or false. Perhaps even if he had no qualifications, Yoshimura would still find a way to give him a job.

But these things are actually unimportant.

Since Tazaki Toru had already decided on his future path, there was nothing to hesitate about, so he readily agreed.

With one month left until the submission deadline for the song section, Toru Tazaki plans to learn about the previous songs in this competition before making any decisions.

After all, composing is different from arranging; it's a process of creating something from nothing, takes more time, and most importantly, requires a certain amount of creative inspiration.

If you had a system to rely on, things would be much easier to handle in this situation.

But Toru Tazaki doesn't dislike things as they are now.

……

……

September 13th, 4:30 PM.

In front of Ueno Station.

A slender, handsome young man had been standing there for a good twenty minutes.

This attracted frequent glances from passing women, and a few bolder female high school students even approached her and asked for her Line number without warning.

Even more extreme, some have already gone in and out of the station four or five times, eagerly hoping that the other party will take the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Unfortunately, the entire army was wiped out.

So they became competitive and insisted on setting up camp there, determined to see what kind of stunning beauty this ungrateful handsome man was waiting for.

But when they saw the girl running out of the station, they all looked surprised.

Her tacky black-rimmed glasses and braided hair, her face flushed from running, and the vanity bag swaying back and forth on her waist made one worry that her cushion foundation, lipstick, and powder might spill out at any moment.

She looked exactly like a country girl who had just arrived in the city; just seeing her appearance was like seeing an endless golden wheat field.

She looks like an ordinary girl you could find anywhere, with nothing to do with anything extraordinary.

So he secretly concluded that they were just ordinary friends, no, she must be his cousin from the countryside who had come to the capital to find her relatives.

There is absolutely no vulgar physical relationship.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, at least he had protected Tazaki Toru's chastity in his mind.

That's not wrong.

Mika Takagi arrived breathlessly in front of Toru Tazaki, not even bothering to tidy her long hair which had been ruffled by the wind.

"Sorry, something came up at the firm. You must have been waiting a long time."

Tazaki Toru shook his head: "I just arrived too."

The girl smiled shyly.

—What a Tokyo man who lies without batting an eye.

The women hiding nearby gritted their teeth, then dispersed dejectedly.

Tazaki Toru pointed to his head, and Takagi Mika looked puzzled, standing on tiptoe and staring at Tazaki Toru's head from left to right.

"petal."

"What? What flower petals?"

Helpless, Tazaki Toru had no choice but to reach out and pluck the cherry blossom petals stuck to her head.

Mika Takagi blushed instantly, looked into Toru Tazaki's clear eyes, and stammered a thank you.

She turned her back, took out a small vanity mirror to tidy herself up, then snapped the mirror shut and smiled shyly at Tazaki: "Let's go."

The stage play starts at 6 p.m., and ticket checking and entry begin at 5 p.m. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the station to the theater, so there is plenty of time.

Today is the first day of the stage play's performance, with two shows every day, and it is said that it will run for more than ten days in a row.

Upon arriving at the Flying Ship Theater, a long line had already formed outside, with many support flower baskets placed on both sides. Tazaki Toru saw a familiar name on one of them.

Takagi Mika, standing beside him, looked at the flower baskets filled with blessings, and Tazaki Toru noticed a hint of envy on her face.

Will there come a day when this country girl from Nanboso will also be among the flower baskets filled with her name?

I wish I knew how.

Tazaki Toru thought to himself.

Entering from the upper side, the two sat down together. Their seats were quite close to the front, offering a clear view of the stage.

The venue wasn't particularly large, roughly accommodating 500 people. Tazaki Toru wasn't very familiar with stage plays and didn't know if this scale was large or small, so he had to ask Takagi Mika, who had experience in stage play performances, to explain it to him.

It can be said that they have experience, but the number of roles with lines is very small.

According to Mika Takagi, the airship theater is operated by a subsidiary of Bushido. This is the second time Toru Tazaki has heard the name "Bushido". Previously, when the store manager Yoshimura explained the "Sky Cup" to him, he had mentioned it briefly.

"This venue was originally designed for a concert hall, so the reverberation time was designed to be longer. But for a theater, a shorter reverberation time is better, so we installed soundproof curtains. Look over there."