Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

"Does Tazaki-kun think it's strange that I want to understand the people around me?"

"It's not strange at all. Everyone's thoughts and ideas are different, so how can we draw conclusions so easily?"

"Huh? Could it be that Miss Aoki wants to know me better?"

Faced with such a blunt question from Tazaki Toru, the girl was speechless.

She thought she could easily handle this situation, or rather, Aoki Hina actually wanted to realize something.

She wondered if she could always maintain the image of a perfect girl in front of him, just like she did with everyone else.

Before Aoki Hina could reply, Tazaki Toru nodded to himself and said, "I understand."

"Eh?"

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Sometimes I worry that I might have touched a nerve with you and Ms. Tachibana, and occasionally I worry that I’m taking up too much time in the practice room and reducing your practice time.”

"Leaving aside me, Rin-chan would never have such thoughts, I guarantee it."

Tazaki Toru chuckled softly.

"I'm not good at communicating with people. I often end up talking incoherently, so most of the time I only say a few words and then try to guess what others mean."

"But since Miss Aoki has said so, if there's anything you want to know, just ask me in the most direct way. That way, I'll be happy to have some peace and quiet and won't have to presume to guess what a girl is thinking."

"Really?"

"Of course, isn't that a good thing?"

The girl stared at Toru Tazaki for a long time, then let out a soft sigh.

"Tazaki-kun, I think I should retract what I said earlier."

"I think that with Tazaki-kun's personality, he is incapable of toying with female voice actors. In the future, he will most likely become someone's plaything, and she can easily manipulate him."

Why is that?

"With your straightforward personality, any girl would want to tease you."

Tazaki Toru frowned slightly and asked, "Miss Aoki, is that also?"

"Of course."

Tazaki Toru stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "At first I thought that Ms. Aoki was someone who had no interest in anything except music."

"I told you before, I'm just an ordinary girl. I have no resistance to cute things and delicious food."

Tazaki Toru remained silent; he seemed to fall outside the categories of cuteness and food.

Aoki Hina stirred her coffee with a spoon, making a slightly tentative sound.

"Well then, let's continue with our previous topic. I have a question, and I'll get straight to the point."

"Tazaki-kun, do you have a girl you're dating?"

69. The Promise Ceremony with Miss Aoki.

The girl in front of him propped her chin up with one hand and held the handle of a metal spoon in the other, shaking it evenly in the coffee cup, making a soft "ding-ding-ding" sound.

Her smile was very gentle, as if she could maintain this calm and perfect smile no matter what answer she got from Tazaki Toru.

As always.

"Tazaki-kun,"

Do you have a girlfriend?

The way she asked him was as if she were asking him which tram line he would take home later.

Tazaki Toru was slightly taken aback; this question was truly unexpected.

It seems that, just as she said, Hina Aoki is just an ordinary girl who, like everyone else, enjoys talking about romance.

For some reason, the metal spoon in her hand suddenly stirred haphazardly, and even her two beautiful eyebrows showed signs of slightly furrowing.

Do you really love gossip that much?

then……

"Tazaki-kun, why are you laughing?" She subtly pursed her lips.

Tazaki Toru touched the corner of his mouth, suppressing a smile, and shook his head, saying:

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect that Miss Aoki would have such a girlish side."

"Hearing such a comment from Tazaki-kun really makes me feel complicated."

"I'm just telling the truth."

The girl sighed softly, suddenly stopped pointing, and silently looked out the window.

After a while, his voice came from the other end of the line.

I am not currently dating anyone.

"what?"

Aoki Hina looked surprised, met the man's clear and bright eyes, and remained silent.

Tazaki Toru tilted his head and couldn't help but ask, "Do I look like someone who has a boyfriend?"

"I'm just surprised that Tazaki-kun answered me directly. Your previous response made me think you didn't want to answer me and were deliberately changing the subject."

Why beat around the bush? If it's a topic I don't want to discuss, I'll just tell you directly, 'I don't want to talk about it.'

“Those who publicly say they don’t have a girlfriend, but secretly cheat on their partners, I think those are the abnormal ones.”

Aoki Hina suddenly realized she didn't know what to say, and she abruptly pointed to herself:

"By the way, I don't have anyone I'm currently dating, and I have no plans to date at the moment."

Tazaki Toru nodded, showing little interest, clearly uninterested in the female voice actress's private life.

Seeing this, the girl puffed out her cheeks slightly.

Most of the time, conversations with Toru Tazaki are pleasant, but sometimes he is too pleasant and too consistent in his words and actions, leaving no room for others to pause or daydream.

He can say he likes something and he can say he hates something, if he acts like he doesn't care at all.

It means they really don't care at all.

When faced with a man like this, all the pretense, probing, and even playing hard to get are futile.

"This is something that makes Tazaki-kun both liked and disliked by girls."

Tazaki Toru didn't understand what he meant: "What do you mean?"

"It means that people who dislike this type of person will really hate Tazaki-kun's straightforwardness, while those who like him will like him hopelessly."

"That's really an extreme statement."

"Girls' feelings are inherently extreme," Aoki Hina said, adopting the demeanor of a relationship guru.

"Been taught a lesson."

In fact, Aoki Hina wanted to ask far more than just these questions.

For example, who you went out with before, and whose house you stayed at—these things turn into a burning flame, accumulating in your heart and never fading away.

But now, incredibly, the flames have gone out.

He was like a generously open encyclopedia, readily available for her to peruse, containing all the secrets about the existence of "Tasaki Toru." As long as she searched and examined, she would surely find the most accurate answer.

So who did he go out with, and whose house did he stay overnight at?

It seems to have become less important.

Huh?

Did I originally think this matter was very important?

why?

The normally perfectly healthy heart seemed to skip a beat, contracting tightly at a certain point, remaining clenched for an extended period, before suddenly releasing and allowing the accumulated blood to circulate more rapidly.

The thumping sounds were exceptionally clear.

……

……

Everything was peaceful as we took the train to Tsukishima.

Golden rays of sunlight streamed through the car window, and the setting sun in the distance seemed about to be swallowed up by the city.

“Tasaki-kun.” Ms. Aoki, who was sitting next to him, spoke up at this moment.

Tazaki Toru turned his head to look at her profile.

She is indeed cutest in profile.

"This is the first time I've ever gone out alone with a boy. I'm so happy! How about you, Tazaki-kun?"

"Oh? I have experience going out with other women."

"Who asked you that!"

The downsides of being too straightforward are on full display at this moment.

After thinking for a moment, Tazaki Toru suddenly realized, "I'm quite happy too. It's nice to go out and relax like this once in a while."

"Then let's go see the penguins together next time."

Tazaki Toru looked into the girl's eyes and softly hummed in agreement.

"Really?"

"I'm also a little interested in flying penguins."

"Seriously, it's not a flying penguin, it's a penguin that swims on people's heads."

"Whichever version of the story you're referring to, it's quite intriguing."

“Then let’s perform the agreed-upon ceremony.”

"A ceremony... does it mean we have to make a pinky promise?"