Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

His smile was exceptionally handsome, and even the girls who were older than him coughed lightly and looked away to avoid meeting his gaze.

Miss Watari, however, remained unmoved and focused intently on eating her dessert.

"Even if it's the truth, you shouldn't say it like that."

I'm very sorry.

No matter the occasion, Toru Tazaki's personality remains unchanged.

Generally speaking, Toru Tazaki is someone who actively tries to please others. This doesn't mean he follows the crowd, but rather that he feels there's no need to highlight his own personality or deliberately create an atmosphere that makes him stand out from the crowd.

Those who frequently interact with Toru Tazaki always find him to be an easy person to get along with, and that's the key to that.

Tazaki Toru is only tough on matters related to music.

This can be seen from the fact that he even personally wrote a song for Riko Sasaki to help her land the role.

In social gatherings like these, Tazaki Toru may not talk much, but if the girls bring up the topic, he's happy to participate.

Through this, Toru Tazaki gained a preliminary understanding of the personalities of the Mujica members.

Just as band members need time to work out together, Toru Tazaki, as the composer of Mujica's songs, also needed to understand what kind of band they were and what kind of girls they were.

For example, regarding Ms. Sasaki, although Tazaki Toru wouldn't dare say he knows her very well, he has already witnessed the hardships Ms. Sasaki has gone through.

She will seize every opportunity without hesitation.

The more she felt powerless and insignificant, the higher she jumped when opportunity presented itself.

She is perhaps the one among the five who most needs to prove herself with Mujica.

Age and popularity are her dilemmas, and how she can break free from these dilemmas depends on the strength she demonstrates in the future.

In contrast, people like Ms. Takao do not have much of a burden.

She doesn't need Mujica to prove anything; rather, Mujica needs her skills.

This disparity in strength can also lead to differences in mentality.

Furthermore, I heard that Ms. Takao was surprised by the self-service beverage machine in the Mujica restaurant during her first gathering there.

He had lived for twenty years without ever entering a regular supermarket.

It's like those jokes on the internet, where people never see a refined lady like an apple with its peel on, as if apples are born with their peel removed and divided into eight segments.

Unlike rich girls like Tachibana Rin, this girl is a genuine heiress.

It's hard to imagine how someone like this has spent the last twenty years.

It is these seemingly insignificant things, unrelated to music, that form the core of their character.

After gaining a deeper understanding, we can then utilize this inherent quality to write songs that are more suitable for them.

Even if they cannot escape the essence of a "commercial band", Toru Tazaki must take responsibility for the songs he creates and for them.

This is Tazaki Toru's job, and also his principle.

295. Late at night, she threw another tantrum.

Before I knew it, it was already past nine o'clock at night.

As the composer for their band, Tazaki Toru was of higher status than them in terms of seniority.

Even though three of the female voice actresses were older than him, Toru Tazaki still offered to pay the bill.

These are the rules of the workplace. No matter how talented you are, you have to abide by them, and Toru Tazaki is no exception.

It's like every time I go out for drinks with Mr. Fujita, even if it's initially said that Toru Tazaki will pay, it's always Mr. Fujita who ends up paying.

The same principle applies here.

As everyone left the family restaurant, Ms. Sasaki bowed apologetically to Toru Tazaki.

"I'm really sorry, it was just a private band gathering, but Mr. Tazaki still had to spend money."

Tazaki Toru slowly shook his head, his voice gentle: "It's alright, it's a rare opportunity, the most important thing is for everyone to be happy."

"Thank you for the treat, Professor Tazaki."

"I'm sorry, I ate so much."

Miss Watari wriggled her cheeks, eating so much as if she were hoarding food to safely pass through hibernation, which was quite adorable.

In Tazaki Toru's eyes, this Ms. Watari was less a band member and more like their mascot.

It even gives you the urge to reach out and gently poke her cheek to see what it feels like.

Of course, Toru Tazaki would never do something so rude.

"I can brag to MyGO tomorrow."

"Don't do those annoying things."

"I was just kidding."

Seeing the five girls playing and laughing happily, for some reason, another band popped into Tazaki Toru's mind.

Although the members of MyGO seemed to get along very well during band rehearsals, it always felt like something was missing.

Mujica, the band that formed later, actually offered him more comfort than MyGO.

Tazaki Toru walked up to the group and said, "It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now. Please be careful on your way back."

"Ah, yes... thank you so much for today."

The girls from Mujica stood in a row, expressing their gratitude to Toru Tazaki.

After Tazaki Toru turned and left, Ms. Takao suddenly said, "Tazaki-sensei, what a gentleman! No wonder Riko-chan admires him so much."

Sasaki Riko, who was staring intently at Tazaki Toru's back, was startled.

"Hey? Don't talk nonsense."

"That's exactly right, everyone can see it, and there's nothing wrong with admitting it."

"Yes, Ms. Tazaki writes great songs and is very gentle and down-to-earth. I used to think that talented people were all arrogant."

"Oh right, she's not bad looking either."

"That doesn't seem to be 'not bad' anymore."

"That's enough, you should leave now. Standing on the street commenting on men's appearances will make you look like a strange woman."

So the girls turned and left.

Sasaki Riko stood still, gazing at Tazaki Toru's retreating figure. Only after he was completely out of sight did she silently turn around and take small steps to catch up with the band members.

"Speaking of which, I heard from people in the company that last year, the person in charge of Morfonica even took the initiative to ask Mr. Tazaki to write a song for Morfonica."

"Wow~~~Morfonica, that's amazing."

"and after?"

"It seems that because he had to be in charge of both MyGO and Mujica at the same time, it was difficult to manage both, so they couldn't reach an agreement."

"Jieyuebao, I didn't realize you knew so much."

"I'm not eating all this stuff for nothing, I have to put it to good use." Before anyone knew it, Miss Watari had more food in her hand, and she was eating as she walked, thoroughly enjoying herself.

The others found it hard to understand, wondering what this had to do with eating.

For Sasaki Riko, tonight was truly a good night. Not only did she see Tazaki Toru again after a long time, but she also did a roadshow with him.

Even after that, he had dinner with his bandmates, and everyone praised him highly.

Deep inside Sasaki Riko, something seemed to have been ignited.

She strode out, her platform boots making a lively yet deep sound, then turned to the band members beside her and extended her palm to them.

"We Mujica can't lose to MyGO either. Starting tomorrow, we need to practice even harder."

One hand after another was placed on top of another, and this heaviness made her long-standing lonely and empty heart seem to be filled at once.

"Ave Mujica! Go for it!"

"Ave Mujica! Go for it!"

……

……

After getting off the tram, Tazaki walked alone through the residential area from Tsukishima Station.

Today, Tachibana Rin was unusually well-behaved and didn't send any messages to bother him.

It was late at night, and the nearby bakeries were already closed, so Tazaki Toru stopped by a convenience store and bought a few boxes of expensive pudding for 360 yen each.

Tachibana Rin seems to be in a bad mood these days. Considering that she is working hard every day, Tazaki Tooru feels that he should give her some reward to maintain her motivation to practice the piano.

Upon arriving home, the living room was brightly lit and empty. Tazaki Toru put the pudding he had bought into the refrigerator and then went upstairs.

Pushing open the door to the music room, you can hear the sound of an electric guitar.

Rin Tachibana has made considerable progress during this period. Compared to a year ago, her piano playing has become more stable, and the number of mistakes has decreased significantly.

The moment Tazaki Tooru pushed open the door, Tachibana Rin looked up and saw that it was Tazaki Tooru. A complicated look flashed in her eyes.

Tazaki Toru finally learned his lesson and didn't ask her where Aoki Hina had gone in front of her.

The friendship between the girls was truly baffling to him, given how good their relationship was.

But these days, whenever Tazaki Toru brings up the name "Aoki," Tachibana Rin looks sullen.

Tazaki Toru would naturally think that they must have had some kind of argument again.

This has become the norm.

Perhaps it is precisely because of their close relationship that they can so freely have conflicts and quarrels.

Tazaki Toru felt that if he insisted on getting involved, he would only become part of their play.

He gave a faint, gentle smile.

Good evening, Ms. Tachibana.

Without a word, Tachibana Rin took the electric guitar off her body and walked silently toward Tazaki Toru.