Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"This distance can hardly be considered a long journey. Tazaki-kun is a native of Tokyo, right? Is this perhaps the first time he has left Tokyo?"

"I went to Aomori and encountered a bear."

Upon hearing this, Fujinaga burst out laughing: "I thought Tazaki-kun was a quiet person, but I didn't expect him to be so good at joking."

Tazaki Toru turned his head, a quiet smile on his handsome face, attracting admiring glances from nearby female passengers.

Upon seeing this, Fujinaga's expression froze.

"Huh? You're serious?"

……

……

The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka stopped at a station after running for more than two hours.

The company had arranged a private car outside the station for the team to travel together to the pre-booked hotel.

The live performance will be held tomorrow night at 7 PM.

No need to practice today; we'll rehearse at the live venue tomorrow during the day.

After checking into the hotel, Ms. Minase went sightseeing with her close staff.

Tazaki Toru had other plans, so he declined the sightseeing invitations from the other band members.

These band members were all older and more experienced than him. Seeing Tazaki Toru's appearance, they were certain that he had made a date with a girl, and they all looked at him with mockery.

That's not wrong.

Leaving the hotel alone, Tazaki Toru took the train to the place he had arranged to meet the girl.

Compared to Tokyo, Osaka's stations are still crowded, with no fundamental difference.

Shinsaibashi is one of Osaka's landmark neighborhoods. Although Toru Tazaki has never been there, he has seen its appearance through various means.

Centered around the Shinsaibashi-suji shopping street, it is a pedestrian street covered with translucent arcades, filled with all sorts of bizarre and colorful signs.

Tazaki Toru stood on the bridge, gazing at the lake water shimmering in the sunlight, and waited for a full twenty minutes.

After a long while, the girl finally arrived.

She walked briskly and cheerfully, waving and calling out Tazaki Toru's name, lifting her long skirt and running against the flow of people towards him.

It felt like a gentle spring breeze blowing against your face on a warm spring day.

It's ordinary and unremarkable, yet it brings a sense of comfort.

After stopping in front of Tazaki Toru, the girl immediately bowed and apologized: "I'm sorry, I got lost after leaving the station. Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Tazaki Toru shook his head: "I arrived shortly after."

She raised her chin, her narrow eyes looking at Tazaki Toru: "You always say that. So Toru-kun can lie too, huh?"

Tazaki looked puzzled.

“I saw you standing on the bridge from afar on my way here, but I went the wrong way and was delayed for a long time.”

"Really? It's been that long. I didn't even realize it."

He looked serious and focused: "I don't seem to dislike waiting."

Mika Kohinata's pretty face immediately turned red.

The gentle sunlight, falling at an angle, shone on her long brown hair, swaying and catching Tazaki Toru's eye, looking like golden ears of wheat.

"No matter what, you're in the right. You can keep trying to fool me like this."

Tazaki Toru smiled silently, his eyes filled with the girl's coquettishness and innocent laughter, and spoke softly:

"let's go."

390. Because you said you would support me exclusively.

Because of MyGO's hard work during this period, Mr. Fujita gave MyGO a two-day break so that they could have a break from work.

It just so happens to coincide with Tazaki Toru's schedule; otherwise, Kohinata Mika really wouldn't know what to do.

During this period, Mika Kohinata quit almost all her part-time jobs to focus on MyGO and devote herself entirely to the band.

Therefore, the girl looked especially excited on this rare day off.

Today she wasn't wearing those childish and ridiculous overalls; instead, she wore a light yellow top with lace trim, paired with a white, sheer long skirt, the outline of her legs faintly visible.

Although her face wasn't stunningly beautiful, her skin was incredibly smooth and delicate. In particular, her smiling face, which often reflected the sunlight, was absolutely adorable and hard to look away from.

The two walked side by side down the street, but Mika Kohinata sensed that Toru Tazaki was glancing at her from time to time. She felt a pang of panic, afraid that her outfit would look strange.

"Tou-kun, why are you staring at my face?" the girl finally couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing, I just feel that today is a bit unusual."

"My makeup didn't turn out well, please don't laugh at me."

Tazaki Toru found this statement utterly absurd, unable to comprehend how anyone could resist a face as warm as the sun.

"I think it looks great."

"Hmm... saying that kind of thing again."

The girl lowered her head, hunched her shoulders, and slowly raised the corners of her mouth.

She seemed embarrassed to continue the discussion, feeling that since they were already in Osaka, why talk about her face? So she abruptly changed the subject, pointing to the shopping street not far away.

"Let's go take a look over there."

Neither Toru Tazaki nor Mika Kohinata are the type of people who are good at planning travel itineraries.

I simply wandered aimlessly around the city, neither rushing to visit tourist attractions nor insisting on dining at famous internet-famous restaurants.

Simply walking side by side, stopping and starting, seemed no different from being in Tokyo.

But they weren't dissatisfied; they just thought, without prior agreement, that it would be nice if this flowing time could be put on a valve.

Then you can tighten it, making this pouring time flow slower, even slower.

……

……

While waiting for her meal at a random restaurant in the shopping street, Mika Kohinata asked about live performances.

How are the preparations for the live performance going?

"The staff will be setting up the venue today, and there will be a rehearsal before the performance."

The words "performance" and "rehearsal" coming from Tazaki Toru's mouth made Kohinata Mika feel a sense of unreality.

She never expected that Toru Tazaki, who had always worked behind the scenes, would take the stage first.

Even if it's just a temporary substitute role, it's enough to give her a feeling of imbalance.

However, Mika Kohinata felt no displeasure whatsoever; instead, she was overjoyed that he had gained recognition.

It seemed to move her even more than when she learned she had been chosen to serve as Nagasaki Motoyo.

Perhaps it is because only Mika Kohinata in this world had witnessed "their" downfall, and thus was deeply moved by the reward he now deserved.

"Tou-kun, how long can we stroll around together?"

"I have a team dinner tonight, so I probably won't be able to stay with you until very late. As for tomorrow, I'll probably be busy until the live show ends. I'm sorry."

"Don't say things like that. I'm not a child. I don't need you to be by my side all the time. Don't underestimate me."

"When you're not here, I watch support videos alone in the hotel, learning how to properly cheer for all the songs, and how to sing along."

The girl opened her backpack, revealing a light stick inside.

Just as she was about to unleash a few lines in the rough, nerdy tone of a male otaku, the waiter appropriately served her food, stopping her from uttering the half-finished incantation.

Mika Kohinata stood there awkwardly, her hands outstretched in mid-air, unsure of what to do. She then sat up straight, lowered her head, and whispered, "Thank you."

To be honest, it's kind of funny.

Even Tazaki Toru was unusually amused and burst out laughing.

It seems that when you're with Mika Kohinata, you can't help but laugh at her naive and silly behavior.

After the waiter left, the girl pouted and said, "Why do I feel like you're looking down on me?"

"I just thought it was really funny and quirky."

"I'm serious, all otaku would do that," she said confidently.

It was as if this was the truth of how the world works, and that Tazaki Toru was simply oblivious to romance.

Tazaki Toru didn't know much about this, so he could only offer a polite smile.

Mika Kohinata seemed to realize that she was being a bit embarrassing by doing this in public, and she scratched her head with a sheepish grin.

"That's great! You get to have dinner with Ms. Minase tonight. I heard she eats a lot, is that true?"

How would I know that?

"But you know me, I'm not good at handling those kinds of situations. I just want to sit in a corner and be a nobody."

Unfortunately, Tazaki Toru's face always makes female staff members either flirt with him or tease him during meals.

Tazaki Toru gradually got used to it.

"Toru-kun is so extravagant! He gets to dine with Minase-san up close. If it were me, I'd probably faint from happiness."

"I'm not her fan."

"I know, because Toru-kun said before that he would support me alone."

Tazaki Toru remembered it clearly and said directly, "He didn't say he was a single fan."

"Ugh! That's so unfair!"

"Everyone on MyGO and Mujica is a fan of mine."

"What? How did Tou-kun become such a fickle person without my knowledge?"

After saying that, Mika Kohinata laughed out loud at herself.