Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"Eh?"

Mika Kohinata's hand holding the sake jar trembled slightly.

She felt the air around her subtly solidify, making it impossible to inhale into her lungs, and she could hear the thumping of her heart.

She forced out an incredulous voice, seeking his confirmation.

"Tou-kun, what did you just say?"

Tazaki Toru relaxed his body and lay down on the floor somewhat lazily. The living room ceiling light shone down on him, causing him to squint slightly.

"Yes, I also want to see places outside of Tokyo."

When facing other female voice actresses, Toru Tazaki rarely... no, she never shows such an attitude.

He was always gentle and humble in front of others.

Although he is not good at dealing with people, he is also very good at maintaining social distance with outsiders so as not to give people unnecessary illusions about him.

However, when he was with Mika Kohinata, Toru Tazaki often didn't feel that she was a female voice actress, but rather that she was just a simple, close friend of his.

Is it really possible?

"It will be very boring. Minamiboso really has nothing. The shop closes at four or five o'clock."

"It's cold at night, and it's pitch black outside. You can't see any lights anywhere, and it's nowhere near as bustling as Tokyo."

"And there's more..."

The girl racked her brains trying to find fault with her hometown.

Tazaki sat up, looking at Kohinata Mika with amusement.

"Didn't you tell me to go?"

"Well, that's because..."

Mika Kohinata was speechless for a moment, a faint blush appearing on her slightly tipsy face, her long eyelashes blinking rapidly.

Tazaki Toru, standing before him, always wore that same faint smile.

It seems that it is not an illusion.

"...Okay. Then let's go."

After that response, a string that had been taut in my heart was suddenly pulled and snapped.

Little Hinata Mika lowered her head quietly.

The living room was quiet, with only the sound of the stove burning and the casserole bubbling away.

It was as if a furnace had been shoved into her body, relentlessly scorching her pounding heart.

"Toru-kun, you always grant my every request."

"Who can grant every request? I'm not that great. Do you think I'm some kind of spirit living in a lamp?"

He always says that.

But in Mika Kohinata's mind, Toru Tazaki had already reached that level long ago.

Since meeting him, he has fulfilled her wishes time and time again, changing her life.

It was as if he were truly a spirit appearing in the lamp. While feeling joyful, she was also afraid that if she made too many wishes and used up all her chances, he would one day suddenly and silently return to the lamp and no longer respond to her.

"But Toru has never refused my request, has he?"

Tazaki Toru pondered for a moment, then looked at the girl in front of him: "Could it be that I've misunderstood?"

Xiaori cast a doubtful look at Meijia.

"Meijia was just being polite before, but I didn't expect that I would take her seriously and now I'm in a difficult situation."

Mika Kohinata immediately looked flustered and hurriedly clarified, "That's not true at all. I genuinely want Toru to come to Minamibosou."

"Then I really want to go back with you."

Tazaki Toru's response was so smooth that Kohinata Mika, after a moment of stunned silence, couldn't help but let out a shy whimper.

"That's a very cunning way of putting it."

Her gaze lingered on Tazaki Toru, and a sweet smile finally appeared on the girl's face.

No matter how much she thought about it, Mika Kohinata couldn't deny that Toru Tazaki's willingness to grant her every request made her extremely happy.

It almost gave Mika Kohinata the unreal feeling that even if it were the end of the world, he would be willing to give her his last supplies if she asked.

Tazaki Toru looked at the girl: "Then, can I still go?"

Feeling the gaze from Toru Tazaki, Mika Kohinata, after a moment of panic, dared not meet his eyes, her lips moving slightly:

"……Um."

Once she made the promise, the smile on her face never faded.

In previous years, around this time, she was always anxious about not being able to find work, felt ashamed to face her parents, and even had thoughts of not wanting to go home.

Now, however, he longs to leave all his work behind and return to that shrine in the remote countryside as soon as possible.

Introduce him to the place where Mika Kohinata grew up.

Just imagining that scene fills my heart with something.

That was enough to make her say "I'm full" with satisfaction.

After a hearty meal and drinks.

Tazaki Toru lay comfortably on the floor, curled up inside the kotatsu, finally understanding why people often say that the kotatsu is a demon that makes people feel tired.

"Toru-kun, are you going back tonight?" Mika Kohinata asked.

It's no secret to Mika Kohinata that Toru Tazaki is living with two female voice actresses.

At first, it made her feel strange, thinking that it was awkward for a boy like Tazaki Toru to live under the same roof with two girls.

She thought that perhaps her relationship with Toru Tazaki would end there.

But reality seems far more absurd, even more illogical than the stories created.

Tazaki Toru is still the same Tazaki Toru, and she doesn't want to distance herself from him because of this incident.

"Hmm... Although the kotatsu is very cozy, let's go back. It's still early, and the trams are still running. It wouldn't be good to disturb you for too long and affect your rest."

What Mika Kohinata really wanted to say was that he hadn't bothered her at all.

But the agreement she made today made her overjoyed.

At this moment, just gazing at Tazaki Toru's face makes her heart flutter and her thoughts become jumbled.

In this state of mind, Mika Kohinata had absolutely no confidence in controlling her emotions to let him stay at her house overnight.

They might say or do something strange.

So, Tazaki Toru climbed out of the kotatsu, straightened his somewhat disheveled clothes, and prepared to leave.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Mika Kohinata still appeared slightly tipsy, a flush from the alcohol lingering on her face.

"Then, Tou-kun, please be careful on your journey."

"OK, good night."

Only after Tazaki Toru's figure had completely disappeared from sight did she lower her waving hand and lock the door.

With her back against the door, Mika Kohinata's supple body, like a falling ball, slowly squatted down.

He buried his face in his knees; his presence seemed to linger in the empty room.

The furnace inside his body seemed to be burning...

It's getting more and more intense.

……

……

When Tazaki Toru returned to Tsukishima by train, it was already past 11 p.m.

Stepping into the living room, the lights are bright, and a female voice actress is sitting alone, watching a TV program that isn't funny.

Tazaki Toru walked over and found her staring blankly; although she was watching TV, there was no glimmer of light in the depths of her pupils.

After greeting her, it took several seconds for Tachibana Rin to gradually come to her senses and give him a nonchalant glance.

"Oh."

This indifferent expression startled Tazaki Toru slightly.

Rin Tachibana's unpredictable moods are nothing new.

More than anything else, Tazaki Toru was still very concerned about what happened last night.

What was the meaning behind Tachibana Rin's abrupt kiss? Was it just a drunken tantrum, or was it premeditated?

Tazaki Tooru couldn't tell.

"Um, Ms. Tachibana, do you have time to chat now?"

Keeping things bottled up inside and giving vague answers is simply not in Tazaki Toru's nature.

Perhaps most men would choose to "forget" after experiencing something like this.

Tazaki Toru could do that too.

Toru Tazaki believes that if this was indeed Rin Tachibana's long-planned scheme, he cannot pretend it never happened and must give her the response she deserves.

A socially awkward girl, who is not good at socializing, mustered up her courage and, under the influence of alcohol, expressed her feelings.

If you can ignore even something like this, Toru Tazaki will definitely become the kind of person you hate.

Of course, there is a greater probability that this is due to Tazaki Toru's excessive ego.

After all, judging from Tachibana Rin's usual attitude towards him, the probability that Tachibana Rin likes him is quite high.

The probability of her becoming an overnight sensation like Mika Kohinata, receiving numerous lead roles and becoming a highly sought-after voice actress, is much smaller.

But at least Tazaki Toru wanted to figure out what Tachibana Rin was really thinking.

"How much does Miss Tachibana remember about what happened last night?"