Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I wouldn't really ask him to pay only 60,000 yen. Of course, there are additional conditions."

"Additional conditions?"

"You'll see in time. If it works well, I can lend it to you too." Aoki Hina smiled brightly.

"It works... I can still borrow it..." Tachibana Rin murmured to herself.

Rin Tachibana stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her little head, which was constantly surfing the internet, instantly filled with all sorts of obscene fantasies.

"I would never do such a thing!"

"Let's go downstairs, we can't keep Tazaki-kun waiting."

When the two came downstairs again, they saw that Tazaki Tooru was still standing in the same place. Tachibana Rin mustered up her courage and walked up to Tazaki Tooru and circled around him.

Those curious eyes were as if they were examining an expensive item whose purpose was unclear.

"name."

She asked, and only then did Toru Tazaki realize that the girl's voice seemed to be naturally like that.

She had medium-length hair that was slightly past her shoulders, and her forehead was exceptionally bright. Compared to Hina Aoki, her skin wasn't as fair, but she was still a stunningly beautiful girl who would attract attention on the street.

According to Hina Aoki, they were colleagues at the same agency. It seems that stage actors really do need good looks.

Tazaki Toru couldn't help but feel a strange, indescribable emotion, and couldn't help but think of a simple girl whose smile made him feel like he was photosynthesizing.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Toru Tazaki. Please take care of me."

The girl nodded, crossed her arms, and revealed a dazzling set of white teeth: "Tachibana Rin is the owner of this house."

Tazaki Toru was slightly taken aback: "But the note on the door says Kubo."

That's my original surname.

Upon hearing this, Tazaki Toru suddenly understood and nodded, saying, "I understand."

Since the other party was unwilling to talk about it, Tazaki Toru did not intend to pry. After all, a name is just a title.

"Although it happened suddenly, since Hina likes you so much, I won't say anything more."

"Thank you."

Surprisingly, she seemed to be a girl who was relatively easy to talk to.

Tazaki Toru thought.

"I heard from Hina that I can also order you around at will? Well, that makes sense. After all, I'm your landlord, so my rights should be higher than hers."

Tazaki Toru didn't understand what she was talking about, so he turned his gaze to Aoki Hina.

Miss Aoki turned her head away at the opportune moment.

"Do you know how to make tiles?" she asked.

"what is that?"

Tazaki Toru thought to himself, "Could it be some kind of trendy new musical instrument?"

Hina Aoki moved behind Rin Tachibana and silently gave Toru Tazaki a meaningful look.

Tazaki Toru doesn't like to lie. Relying on his talent and confidence in music, he said, "I can."

"very good."

Rin Tachibana snapped her fingers.

There was no sound.

I like this answer.

"I'll add you later, I'm sleepy today, Japanese food, I'm going back to my room now."

After saying that, she picked up the unfinished potato chips and beer, humming a tune as she went upstairs.

Aoki Hina and Tazaki Toru were left alone downstairs.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, Tazaki Toru felt that Tachibana Rin's gaze towards him and Aoki Hina was filled with a strange meaning.

Hina Aoki walked to the sofa and unplugged the hairdryer.

"Tazaki-kun, you just got off work, right? I'm sorry, Rin-chan is just like that. I should have reminded you to come back earlier. We have to go to the agency together tomorrow."

"It's alright."

After giving Tazaki a slightly apologetic smile, the girl went upstairs.

Tazaki Toru stood there, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him, and all he wanted to do was take a shower and rest.

The bathtub in the new house is very spacious.

His legs can be stretched out freely, he no longer needs to squat to take a bath, and there are no plastic bottles to compete with him for space.

Empty.

Nothing made him feel as at ease as that little bathtub.

28. "Spring Shadow"

The next day, Tazaki Toru got up early and went out.

The saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm." Tazaki Toru's body is a bit thin now, but he hopes to be healthier and plans to start a morning run habit from today.

After finishing his morning run, Toru Tazaki returned home. As soon as he entered the living room, he saw two figures rushing around, exchanging words like, "Why didn't you wake me up?" and "I called you but you didn't get up," as if they were watching a cute anime.

One person was bouncing around on tiptoe while putting on socks, while the other was constantly combing the stray ends of their hair in front of the bathroom mirror.

This lively scene seemed to be leading Tazaki Toru to another world.

"Good morning, Tazaki-kun. Oh? You're out so early?"

Miss Aoki put on her socks, sat down in the entryway, slipped her small feet into thick platform shoes, and occasionally turned her head to call out, "Rin-chan, hurry up!"

"Oh right! There's something I need to trouble you with. Someone will be delivering a package before noon. Could you please sign for it for me, Tazaki-kun? The stamp is in the cabinet drawer in the entryway, the second one from the left."

"I see."

Before long, Tachibana Rin finally managed to tame her unruly hair. Her pure white cotton socks slid smoothly across the floor as she rushed to the entrance to put on her shoes. Tazaki Toru instinctively stepped aside.

"Let's head out now!"

"Okay, uh... be careful on the road."

The door slammed shut, and the world gained a moment of peace.

Unlike the other two, Tazaki Toru prepared breakfast at a leisurely pace, and then began working. He needed to finish the piece as soon as possible while his inspiration was still fresh.

Around noon, the package that Aoki Hina had mentioned arrived. After glancing at the packaging, Tazaki Toru immediately understood what was inside.

She sent a message to Hina Aoki, who asked Toru Tazaki to move to the practice room on the second floor for installation and testing. It seemed that Toru Tazaki would have to give her a composition lesson tonight.

The practice room wasn't particularly spacious, but considering that this was at home, having a separate and complete practice room was a real luxury.

There are quite a few musical instruments in the room, including an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a keyboard instrument.

The effects pedals and speaker cables on the floor were neatly arranged, showing that the owner is a meticulous person.

Unpacking the package revealed its contents: a fully weighted 88-key Arturia KeyLab MK3.

To simulate the feel of a piano, this fully weighted MIDI keyboard is quite heavy, so it took Tazaki Toru a lot of effort to move it to the practice room on the second floor.

After connecting the MIDI keyboard to his laptop, Toru Tazaki tried it out for a while and found it quite good.

The melody that had been lingering in his mind became clearer, and this feeling was extremely familiar to him.

Whenever he composed a piece that satisfied him, he could feel the presence of those notes. They transformed into little sprites dancing in the air, resting on the back of Tazaki Toru's hand, tightly embracing his slender fingers, prompting him to press the keys.

This is a 6/8 major key song. Even though it is still in the composition stage, Toru Tazaki seems to be able to hear it. Adding his favorite block chords, there must be keyboards, then guitars, drums, bass, and so on. Only in this way can the expression of the melody gradually become fuller and show a three-dimensional sense of layering.

Repeat the intro over and over again, three times, no, four times.

He was so engrossed in playing the piano that he didn't even notice the notebook that had fallen off the stool and made a strange noise.

The notebook, lying quietly on the floor, remains on the page where "he" shouted.

……

……

"I'm back."

Although there was no one to greet them inside the house, Aoki Hina would habitually greet the air every time she returned home.

I glanced at the entryway and saw that Toru Tazaki's shoes were neatly arranged.

There was no movement on the first floor. As if she had thought of something, Aoki Hina said impatiently, "Rin-chan, let's go check out the practice room."

"Huh? Do I have to practice even when I get home? Please, I have to hunt monsters today."

Seeing Aoki Hina quickly run upstairs, Tachibana Rin wearily threw her handbag on the sofa, moved her feet with difficulty, and followed Aoki Hina upstairs.

"Hey, Ri-na, how about pizza tonight? I didn't ask for your opinion, because I've already decided to order it."

no respond.

"Japanese food? Why are you ignoring me?"

Rin Tachibana was looking down at her phone when she accidentally bumped into Hina Aoki, who was standing there blankly. Her nose turned red from the impact.

The soundproof door was pushed open, but Hina Aoki stood outside the practice room like a motionless statue, seemingly isolated by an invisible barrier, unable to take a step.

Rin Tachibana rubbed her nose, about to complain, when she heard a melody that seemed to be steeped in the warmth of spring. The music made her subconsciously close her mouth and swallow all her words.

In the practice room.

A slender, aloof young man stood in front of the keyboard instrument that Hina Aoki usually used, playing an incredibly gentle melody.

The sound of the zither was exactly like the impression he gave off. Hina Aoki couldn't help but hold her breath, afraid that her breath would seep into the music and disrupt their dance.

Tazaki Toru didn't even glance at them; his fingers danced smoothly across the piano keys, and his slightly deep voice hummed indistinct lyrics.

Even though I couldn't hear him clearly, I seemed to understand what he was trying to say.

After the music completely faded away, Toru Tazaki slowly exhaled and looked at the two girls standing at the door.

"came back?"