Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"I was just joking."

The store manager of Yicun was speechless.

"How about we grab a few drinks after the live show?"

"Is the manager treating?"

"That's natural."

After a moment's thought, Tazaki Toru agreed.

Before we knew it, it was time for the live show to begin. Tonight's performance was a patchwork of many puppet groups, with no real band performance.

Tazaki Toru was not very knowledgeable about underground idols, as it was beyond his area of ​​expertise.

Watching a group of scantily clad young girls singing and dancing on stage, Toru Tazaki couldn't really say whether this was beneficial to his creative work.

Anyway, just treat it as watching the fun.

The girls on stage were all bare-armed, with their waists and thighs exposed.

Tazaki Toru didn't think there was anything wrong with his outfit. After all, that's what being an underground idol is all about, and he wouldn't judge it based on that.

But...

The girls, with sweet voices and heavy breathing, sang off-key love songs.

It is of no benefit to the ears.

The audience members below the stage, on the other hand, all looked like fervent believers.

They would also chant some strange cheering slogans in perfect unison, which really surprised Tazaki Toru.

A dazzling array of orange light sticks danced and spun, making Toru Toki unable to open his eyes.

The thought that MyGO and Mujica's audience might also have this infatuated look in the future filled Toru Tazaki with indescribable emotions.

This was Tazaki Toru's first time seeing a live performance of a puppet show. To be honest, given the singing level of the girls on stage, it's no wonder they could only be puppets.

In comparison, Yozuki Soda, who was chosen as the lead vocalist for sumimi, is considered the best among the worst.

"Tazaki-kun, you don't seem very interested."

Ms. Kuroki looked at Toru Tazaki from the side.

She thought that young boys like Toru Tazaki would be very interested in these kinds of minor idols.

Putting everything else aside, just look at Toru Tazaki's face. If he just beckoned with his finger, those girls would be happy to associate with him.

However, Tazaki Toru seemed uninterested. After glancing at her a few times when she first appeared, he didn't look at her again and sat quietly behind the drinks counter, diligently serving the female customers who came to buy drinks.

He always wore a polite smile that was gentle yet slightly distant, and skillfully refused their requests for his contact information.

Miss Kuroki then realized that, based on Tazaki Toru's appearance, he might not even be interested in them.

"No rush, the prettiest ones haven't even appeared yet. Maybe after tonight, Tazaki-kun will also experience the charm of the puppets."

"Ah... but you can't get too obsessed with your idols, that's advice from someone who's been there."

Although Toru Tazaki did not belittle the thoughts of the girls who were singing and dancing hard on stage.

But as a musician, Toru Tazaki felt that he would never fall for a tone-deaf girl in his life.

Compared to all of these, the most beautiful girl that Ms. Kuroki mentioned was...

Tazaki Toru's mind raced, and he asked, "Are you perhaps referring to Miss Sonoda?"

"Huh? Tazaki-kun recognizes her?"

"Ah."

Tazaki Toru naturally couldn't say anything about the project, so he could only give a simple reply.

"Oh, so you've already found a target. You have good taste."

Tazaki Toru was both amused and exasperated, but due to his obligation to keep the secret, he did not offer any explanation.

As the girls on stage finished their performance, Toru Tazaki's ears were finally able to get a short rest.

Ms. Kuroki suddenly nudged Toru Tazaki's arm with her elbow and gestured toward the stage: "Here, it's time to go on stage."

Tazaki Toru raised his eyes.

The girl on stage changed into a sweet stage outfit, her makeup was exquisite, and the dim stage lights highlighted her beautiful and authoritative face, making her look like an exhibit in a glass display case.

While beautiful, it also gives people a sense of distance that makes it hard to touch.

Tazaki Toru rarely comments on girls' appearances; when he interacts with the girls around him, he is always better at seeing the deeper things about them.

For example, Tazaki Toru felt that an ordinary girl like Kohinata Mika, who had an average appearance, was incredibly beautiful.

It's like passing by a country road, where you see low trees everywhere.

But the warm spring sunshine, the pebbles scattered around the tree roots, the shimmering lake surface, and the breeze that inadvertently blows through your hair.

These seemingly ordinary things, when put together, made it hard for Toru Tazaki to look away.

The only exception was Miss Sonoda Yozuki, whom even Tazaki Toru had to admit was someone else.

Regardless of her professional abilities, her face alone, just by standing there, gives people a stunning and glamorous feeling.

It is often said that one should not judge a person solely on their appearance; inner qualities are far more important than physical looks.

But in the idol industry, good looks are also a kind of talent.

As Ms. Soda appeared on stage, the audience below immediately erupted in excitement, chanting "Ha-chan ha-chan" incessantly.

Tazaki Toru had no doubt that those people, after returning home tonight, would be mute by tomorrow morning, given their desperate roars.

Is this what they call a doll-onna doll? Toru Tazaki didn't quite understand.

"Everyone! Thank you for coming to see me~~"

The girl on stage waved to the audience with a big smile.

In this live house that can only accommodate fewer than a hundred people, she can repay them with a hundredfold smile.

Without a doubt, she loved this humble job immensely.

Even if there are only a handful of audience members crammed together in this crowded live house, for Yozuki Sora, this is all there is to being an idol.

Sitting at the beverage bar, Toru Tazaki was quite surprised.

Thinking to myself, I realized that Ms. Sora could also show such a joyful and sunny smile.

From Tazaki Toru's perspective, it seems that Sora Yozuki has had a strange sense of distance and wariness towards him since the first time they met.

To this day, Toru Tazaki still can't understand why.

Ms. Kuroki, standing beside her, secretly glanced at Toru Tazaki and noticed that the girl who had previously shown no interest in the stage was now staring intently at the girl on stage.

He became increasingly certain of his own conjecture.

on the stage.

Ms. Sonoda's dance was exceptionally clean and crisp, with her waist twisting freely. Even a layman like Tazaki Toru could see that her basic dance skills were very solid.

However, her singing skills were unsatisfactory, only slightly better than the girls who appeared earlier. From the perspective of a professional musician like Toru Itazaki, it was really hard to give a proper evaluation.

Tazaki Toru couldn't help but think that, compared to a band project like BanG Dream, Ms. Soda might be more suited to joining Love Live.

Ms. Sonoda's performance lasted only a little over ten minutes, during which she sang three songs before ending the evening's show.

She is not yet qualified to hold a live performance that is entirely her own in this venue.

Even so, in the eyes of ordinary fans, having media planning work from a big company like DJD4, Yozuki Sora is already considered extremely lucky, and it's a job that countless fans dream of.

But she remained relatively unknown; otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed in such a small live house, performing in combination with other groups.

Girls like Yozuki Sakata harbor idol dreams but never manage to achieve them.

It was far more than Toru Tazaki had imagined.

After tonight's live performance, the venue will switch to a bar format and remain open until the early hours of the morning.

Leaving the live house and standing on the streets of Shimokitazawa, Tazaki Toru is accompanied by Yoshimura, the store manager, and Ms. Kuroki.

The group planned to go to an izakaya for a drink, as a small reward for Tazaki Toru who had come to work for free.

Smelling the night breeze of Shimokitazawa, Tazaki Toru stretched. As he glanced at the distant street and saw the girl gradually disappearing into the distance, he pondered to himself.

"Tazaki-kun, we should go now. The manager has called a taxi."

Beside her, Ms. Kuroki urged Tazaki Toru to hurry up.

Tazaki Toru responded, and when he looked in the direction he had been looking before, the girl's slender figure had already disappeared into the night.

……

……

Walking alone on the streets of Shimokitazawa, the girl dragged a suitcase containing her stage costumes and a range of cosmetics.

For underground idols like Yozuki Sora, performing in small live houses like this, it's impossible to provide her with a dedicated makeup artist; she has to handle everything herself.

Despite being exhausted, Yozuki Sakata is extremely passionate about this job.

Even though she's not very famous, she has a naturally beautiful face, so in addition to being an offline idol, she also works in stage plays, and her life is quite fulfilling.

As they left Live Hnouse, the other puppet girls seemed to be heading to karaoke with the band that was performing that day.

Although Yotsuki Sakata accepted the invitation, she declined it.

It's not exactly a stereotype, but those men in bands who dye their hair all sorts of colors seem to be aiming for that kind of thing.

Clearly, the girls were well aware of this as well.

Therefore, Yotsuki Sakata could probably imagine what kind of occasion it would be.

Having been in this industry for a long time, she was no longer surprised by such things.

Therefore, she wasn't too shocked when she stumbled upon Toru Tazaki and Hinami Hina being intimate in a karaoke bar.

I just think that no matter what circle you're in, those kinds of things seem to happen all the time.

To be honest, Yozuki Sora doesn't dislike guys who are into music.

After all, it looks cool, which is quite attractive to her.