They all have hidden attributes!

"Complex, contradictory, and with a strange, inexplicable heroic tendency, pursuing a kind of obsessive idealism."

This is Tachimi Yuki's summary of Takahashi Makoto's speech at the art museum. He clearly cares about the unfortunate girls in arranged marriages, but when he says things like "using absolute violence to intimidate," he doesn't consider at all that it will hurt more people.

"His views on love are very idealistic, he won't like you."

Uesugi Maya noted down her summary and casually made a sarcastic remark to Tatsumi Yuki: "No normal person would like a vicious dog with an overbearing desire for control. In matters of love, I will definitely win in the end."

"I'm clearly very gentle."

"Ha, do you even believe that yourself?"

As Uesugi Maya sneered, the atmosphere in the office suddenly became tense. Just as Tachimi Yuki was about to lash out, the sound of a door opening reached their ears.

She instantly put on a gentle smile and turned to look at Takahashi Makoto who walked in: "Greetings, Takahashi junior."

"Greetings, Mr. Cheng." Uesugi Maya greeted him without even looking up, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips.

Tachikatsu immediately shot her a murderous glare.

Sensing the lingering tension in the air, Makoto Takahashi frowned unhappily, finding it hard to like this kind of light music club.

He only likes a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, where drinking tea, chatting, and building friendships are what Makoto Takahashi's ideal light music club is, not one where walking in feels like arriving at the Normandy landings.

"Are we already at a point where we can call each other by our first names?"

Makoto Takahashi's gaze fell on Maya Uesugi, who was sneering. She tossed her long, straight black hair and said indifferently, "Of course, distance won't make you fall in love with me."

Upon hearing this, Makoto Takahashi felt a headache coming on, as if someone was hitting his head with a hammer.

He picked up his bass, sat down in his usual spot, and began his daily ten-minute practice session of writing on the keyboard.

"Would black tea be alright?" Tatsumi asked.

"Thank you, senior."

Just as she placed a cup of black tea in front of him, she reached out and offered him a [Black Thor] chocolate. However, after knowing them for a few days, Makoto Takahashi no longer felt nervous or awkward: "Thank you, I'll eat it. Please put it down for now."

"Would you like your senior to teach you how to play bass?"

Tachibana Yuki's offensive was relentless, and before he could defend himself, Uesugi Maya snapped the book shut and looked up at the two people sitting on the same side.

"Regarding the slave game we talked about last time, I've thought about it. We'll conduct it by drawing lots, with each pair competing against the other."

"Wait, I have a question."

Makoto Takahashi raised his hand, and after receiving a look of approval from Maya Uesugi, asked, "If you win, will you give up playing in the band and doing something as foolish as making me fall in love with you?"

Uesugi Maya crossed her arms, pondered for a moment, and nodded to him.

"In that case, I won't participate."

Makoto Takahashi was certainly interested in having two beautiful girls as his slaves, but considering their backgrounds, he couldn't do anything outrageous, so he decided to do things in a way that made him comfortable.

He stared directly into Uesugi Maya's caramel-colored eyes and said in a serious tone, "How about we compete in archery? I can teach you, so the friend fee is non-refundable. Just like in a band, we can achieve the results you want."

"Takahashi-kun, you're being a bit biased."

With a smile, Tachibana Yuki leaned close to Takahashi Makoto's ear and said with a meaningful trailing off, "And how do you plan to convince me? As the challenger, Sayo must take on a project that interests me."

"Such a thing is true?"

Takahashi Makoto confirmed with Uesugi Maya, and seeing her nod, he remained silent.

No wonder Maya Uesugi keeps losing. The person who sets the rules naturally has an advantage. Why not just refuse to participate in projects you're not confident you can win?

Just like in kendo, Tatsumi Yuki can set requirements that Uesugi Maya can hardly fulfill, such as winning the Tamatsubune team tournament. Uesugi Maya, who is estranged from her teammates, can only give up in the face of difficulties.

"Are you confident? I've never done archery before," Maya Uesugi asked.

"You just need to hit the target. It's not difficult for beginners."

Seeing that Takahashi Makoto looked relaxed, she turned to look at Tachimi Yuki and said, "Just tell me your conditions, I agree."

"It would be fair if junior Takahashi helped me correct my problem of releasing arrows too quickly." Tachimi Yuki picked up his teacup, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

"Of course, I promised Kashima-senpai."

"Also, if Sayo loses, Takahashi-senpai will have to pay a price too."

Upon hearing this, Makoto Takahashi hesitated.

Just as he was about to confirm the boundaries, Maya Uesugi gave him courage: "Takahashi-kun, whatever she asks you to do, you can ask me to do it too, and I will never be angry."

The way she's addressed me has changed back to "[Takahashi-kun]", but that's not important. What's important is that Uesugi Maya dares to say such things, which shows she's truly kind and righteous.

If Rikka is tempted by his body, then that means... wait, it seems like this is completely turning into a part of their two-person play.

"Then it's settled. The competition will be held on the first day of summer vacation."

Tachibana Yuki clapped his hands lightly, and as if afraid the two would change their minds, stood up from his chair and quickly left: "I'll take my leave now. See you tomorrow, Takahashi-senpai."

As she walked to the front of the community office, she turned around and gave a cryptic look.

Makoto Takahashi didn't understand, but Maya Uesugi did, though she didn't say anything.

The elegant and delicate aroma of black tea wafted between the remaining two people. Through the white steam, Takahashi Makoto said to Uesugi Maya, "I didn't expect you to believe me."

Uesugi Maya wants to live without relying on anyone and rejects her companions. For someone like her, trusting others must be very difficult.

In other words, if she hadn't been disappointed by the people she thought she could rely on and trust, she probably wouldn't have become a loner.

"Don't misunderstand, it's not that I trust you, it's just that I'm willing to try and don't want to miss any opportunity."

Uesugi Maya immediately chimed in, a cold glint in her eyes: "Since I've never won before, it doesn't matter if I lose again."

"Don't you think you're going too far?" Takahashi Makoto asked, staring at her delicate face.

"This is to protect you. That's why she didn't dare to go too far."

Maya Uesugi raised her face slightly, her calm and confident gaze was very convincing, making people feel that she was trustworthy and very reliable.

That's true. She really helped me a lot, and she was sincere. She didn't complain about doing errands or odd jobs.

Thinking of this, Makoto Takahashi looked toward the corner of the "L"-shaped club activity room, where there was a newly added refrigerator filled with cola and electrolyte water.

"I will teach you archery seriously. After you win, can I still come to the club office?"

"It's up to you, I can even leave the light music club to you."

It sounds like Maya Uesugi is planning to leave the club on her own.

Makoto Takahashi sighed with slight regret, and was about to open his laptop when she continued, "I will learn archery on my own first."

She's so independent; it makes you feel uncomfortable, like you're being rejected.

Makoto Takahashi suddenly lost the will to practice. He put down his bass, closed his computer screen, and picked up a cup of red tea to sip.

Maya Uesugi gazed at his expression and eyes. After Makoto Takahashi put down his teacup, she suddenly asked, "You don't seem to be in a good mood today?"

"You could even tell that?" Takahashi Makoto admitted instinctively, surprised.

He knew that Uesugi Maya was very observant, but he didn't expect her to be able to read his feelings. Even though he knew Nekoya Hina the most, she hadn't noticed him today.

"Because the band name was rejected?" Uesugi Maya didn't answer, but pressed for an answer.

"No."

"I wasn't the only one to win the gold medal; were there others?"

"Just how serious is my personality in your eyes?" Takahashi Makoto's lips twitched speechlessly.

During their first meeting, he did say some strange things because he wasn't good at dealing with unfamiliar women, which is hard to explain now.

"What's the reason for that?" Uesugi Maya asked.

"Tell me how you found out first."

"It's so obvious. Your honesty doesn't feel prickly, but you were very restrained when you spoke today, as if you were afraid that your emotions would hurt other people's feelings."

She was absolutely right. Makoto Takahashi was already feeling down today, and when he came to the club office and saw the two of them secretly competing over something strange, his mood worsened.

Moreover, he really hated Uesugi Maya's arrogant statement that she wanted him to "fall in love with her."

That's why they directly rejected the game they were originally going to consider, wanting to end this farce in a simpler and more direct way.

The feeling of being understood helped Makoto Takahashi to barely muster his spirits. Maya Uesugi was very talented at playing the role of a friend, or as she herself said, she was not lacking in social skills.

"Actually, it's because of the lingering smell from the hot pot we had in my living room yesterday. The thought of smelling it again when I get home is really annoying," Makoto Takahashi said.

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Maya remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a sound from her delicate pink lips: "You are more burdensome than I imagined."

Makoto Takahashi spread his hands and shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

"You probably aren't in the mood to practice bass today. I'll go home with you to get rid of the smell. You need to keep practicing tomorrow."

With that, Uesugi Maya stood up and began tidying up the tea set and the Go board.

Although her usual demeanor is as cold as the Siberian chill, she is incredibly reliable when trouble comes, like a righteous partner to a superhero.

"I had an idea yesterday: I want to become a superhero who saves unfortunate girls in the future, and I will definitely appoint you as my assistant, just like—"

Before Takahashi Makoto could find a suitable analogy, Uesugi Maya gave him a disdainful glance, her lips curving into a contemptuous "he" shape.

"Let's put aside the dream for now. Considering the possibility of failing the archery challenge, I won't put the band plan on hold, and you can't slack off either."

“I really hate it when you say things like I should fall in love with you,” Makoto Takahashi immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.

If the band's plan fails, this will probably be the last way for Maya Uesugi to win.

"I bet you weren't interested in the band or the Tokyo Dome, but you still agreed to be my bassist, didn't you?"

"I'm already thinking of quitting. It's a hundred times more troublesome than I imagined." Makoto Takahashi rubbed his temples with his thumb. He hated complicated interpersonal relationships the most.

"Please be mindful of the spirit of the contract. We agreed that we could add money, but we could not withdraw."

"alright."

Since complaining was useless, he could only try to think positively, and then suddenly looked up and met Uesugi Maya's gaze: "Let's think about it another way. If you can perfectly play the role of my ideal type for a lifetime, then I really have an ideal type. It doesn't seem like a loss."

Just like how I can ask Maya Uesugi to clean my apartment because I'm not in the mood to practice bass now, I'll have at least a hundred ways to manipulate Maya Uesugi when her band plans and archery fail.

Not only did they not lose money, they practically made a killing.

Most importantly, judging by appearance alone, Uesugi Maya is truly his ideal type.

"Don't use heavy words like 'a lifetime,' and like I just said, don't talk nonsense."

Maya Uesugi gritted her teeth, her beautiful caramel-colored eyes shooting out a look as if she were looking at a pest: "Just so you know, I'm only going to help you clean your apartment, there's no other implication."