Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

After saying this, Ritsu Naruse concluded, "Wearing a mask not only conceals one's appearance, but also empowers oneself, allowing one to become a purer vessel."

For example, there is a contractor who is good at using flying knives, and there is a void container that seals the blinding light.

By the time Naruse Ritsu finished, Toyokawa Shoko was still lost in the key words in the conversation that had caught her attention. Recalling the moment she made her decision, the girl whispered in a dreamy voice, "Do you think it's appropriate?"

"Mask? Sounds great, but what style are you planning on making?" Thinking Toyokawa Shoko was asking about masks, Naruse Ritsu replied, "Broadly speaking, masks include face masks, eye patches, robber hoods, and paper bags. If you want to use masks as a signature feature of your band, you'll need to think carefully about the style."

"Which one do you like?"

"Me? It doesn't matter to me. After all, good-looking people look like clothes hangers no matter what they wear."

It was hard to tell whether Ritsu Narose was bragging about himself or her - or whether he was just telling the truth. After a moment of silence, Shoko Toyokawa took the initiative to skip the topic and focus her eyes on the mask with a half-smile on the magazine page.

The eye-covering mask seemed to be mocking the confused humans in front of it.

After staring at him for a long time, Shoko Toyokawa turned her head away, ending this meaningless confrontation.

"But this kind of thing is usually handled by professional costume designers, so you don't have to worry so much."

"I do not have."

The magazine in front of her face obscured Toyokawa Shoko's expression, but Naruse Ritsu knew that the girl was upset. And the target of her was not someone else, but herself.

A few hours ago, Ritsu Naruse understood the meaning of what Shoko Toyokawa had said to her about dreams and reality.

Because I was still hesitant in my heart, I sought a positive answer from him.

But he couldn't use irresponsible encouragement and affirmation to push the girl onto a path that would carry her life forward.

Thinking of this, Naruse Ritsu's attitude gradually became more serious: "Speaking of which... have you chosen all the members for your band? The selection of members is of utmost importance."

The fastest mainstream debut that Toyokawa Shoko pursues is an extremely severe test for the members' coordination.

This places certain rigid requirements on strength, and if you want to operate for a longer period of time, the background of the members must also be taken into consideration.

If we want to be more idealistic, then we can't neglect the examination of his character...

"But if all these requirements are combined, it's simply unrealistic. It's a bit unrealistic to expect to find such an SSR when you have no reputation yourself."

Toyokawa Shoko did not deny this.

Strong ability, strong self-management, and trustworthy character - as Ritsu Narose said, it is really difficult to find the intersection of these three.

Busy wondering if her demands were too high, Toyokawa Shoko didn't realize that the sight of her and Naruse Ritsu standing together easily made people think of a closer relationship.

The blue-haired girl's movements of sometimes lowering her head and sometimes turning her head to look at the people around her looked particularly light, which undoubtedly revealed her happy mood in communicating with others at the moment.

Standing behind a bookshelf behind the two men, Sanjiao Chuhua, who had just finished work for the day and accompanied his partner to the bookstore, was silently observing what was going on over there.

In her never-fading memory, it was the first time she saw Toyokawa Shoko smile like this.

Adjusting his hat, Sanjiao Chuhua wanted to go up and say hello to his old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years, but he was worried that he would disturb the other person's date.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally saw the face of the man standing next to Toyokawa Shoko.

Her excellent memory allowed her to easily recall this somewhat familiar stranger.

Realizing that this person knew both Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Shoko, Sankaku Hatsuka became more and more convinced that he and Shoko had an unusual relationship.

45. Suspicious Person and Donuts

"Someone is spying on us."

"?"

When Ritsu Narose suddenly said this, Shoko Toyokawa's first reaction was that he was playing a prank on her.

The girl sighed silently at first, then shifted her gaze from the special column in the magazine that explained the history of the "007" film, and searched around for the "suspicious target" he mentioned as if she was cooperating with his performance.

Then she saw a girl wearing a black baseball cap and large sunglasses wandering around the bookshelf on the other side.

No, is it true?

More importantly, after noticing that she turned around and looked in that direction, the suspicious person immediately stood up straight and slowly walked behind the bookshelf as if nothing had happened.

It may sound a bit directed at someone, but the first thing that came to Shoko Toyokawa's mind was a certain guy who was pestering her, and she couldn't help but have the urge to follow him, so she secretly followed them here.

But after seeing her retreat on her own initiative, Toyokawa Shoko removed Nagasaki Suyo from the list of suspects.

In her experience, after being exposed, the guy would just approach her with a polite smile - without considering whether the other person was interested in meeting her or not.

If it wasn't Nagasaki Suyo, who else could it be?

……

The lights in the bookstore were bright, but the tall bookshelves cast shadows, allowing Sanjiao Chuhua to stay in this area where no one could see her.

At some point in the past, she had also stood in that position, enjoying the rare leisure and happiness in life with her friends.

As time goes by, friends who used to talk about everything gradually lose contact. Meanwhile, friends who haven't seen each other for a year have made new friends.

Although this natural thing makes people feel a little disappointed, isn’t it also good?

As an idol, she naturally has the ability to read people's expressions, and is no worse than some adults.

She could see that Toyokawa Shoko was in a very good mood at the moment, so there was no need for her to disturb her.

Actively making friends is the basis of a healthy life - thinking so, Sanjiao Chuhua decided not to disturb the other person's precious time.

But when she was about to leave and prepare to find her partner, she saw Shoko Toyokawa and her friends appear in her sight.

"Eh!?"

The sunglasses suddenly slipped off her small nose. Seeing the purple pupils hidden behind the black lenses, Toyokawa Shoko finally connected them with the blonde hair.

"...Chuhua?"

Although chance encounters between friends are pleasant, they still depend on the context.

For example, as a lawyer, meeting an old friend in court is different from running into him or her in a public restroom without cubicles.

Let Toyokawa Shoko handle her own personal affairs.

Consciously giving space to her and the blonde girl who was embarrassed to meet him, Ritsu Narose decided to take a look at the dessert shop on the street that was selling donuts.

Before entering the bookstore, he could smell the sweet aroma from a distance.

The thought of that fried dessert covered with frosting and cream made my nose, which had been smelled of alcohol today, start to stir.

While the drink was acceptable, it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. He preferred looking at the delicious donuts in the distance to the drink that couldn't even get him drunk.

Holding a magazine he had just bought from the bookstore, Narushe Ritsu was flipping through it while waiting in line. However, before the line even changed, he felt a gleaming gaze coming from behind him.

When he turned around, he found a brown-haired girl wearing a baseball cap standing behind him, standing on tiptoe to peek at the magazine in his hand.

No, are you in the same group with that guy just now?

The scene at this moment reminded Ritsu Narose of watching "Tom and Jerry" while riding on the high-speed train, which attracted the attention of people sitting on the side, in the back seat, and on the side seat across the aisle.

Noticing that the real person had discovered her, the brown-haired girl behind him adjusted the hat on her head, then whistled and looked away staggeringly - it can be seen that this person usually watches a lot of anime.

Turning back to the front in silence, Ritsu Narose continued to read the magazine in his hand.

He lowered his gaze and saw the idol group named [sumimi] that appeared in the magazine. He quickly spotted the familiar blonde girl among them.

Look more closely, I seem to have seen this idol next to him somewhere before?

Touching his chin, Ritsu Narose looked back suspiciously at the girl standing behind him, and happened to meet her eyes as she peeked into the magazine for the second time.

Watching her blush again and shrink her head to look away, Naruse Ritsu was quite sure that she was another idol affiliated with [Sumimi].

Although she was now wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a black jacket, Ritsu Narose was not fooled by her just putting on a hat and changing her clothes.

No wonder she was curious about what was in the magazine.

"Self-searching" is a normal human behavior, and Ritsu Narose quickly understood her approach.

Instead of pretending not to notice and criticizing the idol's bad ideas, Ritsu Narose, whose moral bottom line suddenly became higher than that of an ordinary person, chose to put away the magazine under the disappointed gaze of the active idol behind her and turned to look at the dessert shop menu.

"Strawberry, citrus, original, grape, matcha..."

"One of each flavor, huh?"

"My girlfriends should like it too, so I'll order six of each. I'll pack one to take away, and the other five can be delivered to this address."

"?"

Looking at the astonished clerk, Naruse Ritsu asked in confusion, "Out of stock?"

"Ah, no, no."

I must have heard it wrong. Who would use "they" to describe "girlfriend"? It should be "female friends"...

The diligent clerks managed to calm themselves down and continued their work, which didn't earn them any extra commission. Meanwhile, Mana Junda, standing behind Ritsu Narose, watched as the already short-staffed shop grew busier, as if petrified.

Five flavors, six of each—that's a total of...

"Oh, and please add two more blueberry donuts. Just pack them separately."

Ritsu Narose, who focused on even distribution and thought she was very skilled in her operations, never thought about how terrible a calorie bomb like donuts would be for women.

Mana Junda never expected that after losing her fans, she would have to queue up and watch the store packing the freshly baked donuts.

When she saw that there were thirty-two fancy donuts and she didn't get any, she was terrified!

As an idol, you need to control your diet and manage your body shape. It's so hard to reward yourself with a donut, but you have to endure such torture.

Buddha, are you asleep?

I closed my eyes, but the sweet fragrance kept swirling around my nose.

Tears of anger were almost about to burst out of the corners of her mouth. Junda Mana could only sulk in anger, glaring angrily at the philandering man in front of her who gave her a donut as a gift.

46. ​​You vulgar thing... (two in one)

One day, the rising star Donut Lady passed by a roadside pastry shop that exuded a rich aroma. She saw two people arguing, and one of them was the maniac she met yesterday who bought 32 donuts.

The boy in silver-gray clothes said, "I think freshly made donuts are delicious."

Next to him, a man in a suit said, "Wrong, it should be that donuts that have been left out for a while are more delicious."

The young man frowned and explained, "When the donuts are freshly made, they are fragrant and have a rich and layered taste, which means they are even more delicious at this time."

Another person sneered and retorted: "When I bring snacks home to my family at night, I often find the donut packaging opened and thrown in the living room trash can in the middle of the night. Doesn't this prove that donuts that have been left out for a while are more appetizing?"

The donut lady couldn't decide who was right or wrong between the two weirdos, so she walked away in silence and met Triangle Chuhua, who was already waiting there.

The office building where the two of them are located belongs to their company. Since they are often out and about, they rarely come here.

　5 (One)?Ni Bar〣〈Ling 7膘疑 Putting her hands together, Juntian Mana apologized: "Sorry, I kept Chuhua waiting for so long."

"It's okay, I just got here not long ago."

Like Junda Mana, Sankaku Hatsuka also went home to change out of her school uniform before coming here.

This morning, their agent sent them a message asking about their willingness to collaborate on a business deal. While she didn't mean to pressure them, the reliable agent hinted that this was a good opportunity.

Ultimately, it's just a job of recording songs and filming music videos. Apart from some details that need to be discussed, there's nothing particularly troublesome.

"It's still early, how about I treat Mana to some donuts?" Sanjiao Chuhua suggested after checking the time and seeing that it was still early for the time agreed with the agent.

"Uh..." Junda Mana was happy at first, but then she remembered the two weird guys she saw on the way here.

After some hesitation, she euphemistically said that she was still in "absorbing" mode today - the calories from the donuts she devoured yesterday had not yet been completely dissipated by her.

Using this perfectly normal excuse, the two girls walked into the office building in front of them.

However, when they entered the rest area on the first floor to wait for their agent, the two people that Junda Mana had seen on the road before also came here.

It was her first time at this kind of company. As she looked around curiously, Ritsu Naruse chatted with her fellow editor, "Don't you think discovering idols is a bit like drawing cards? Before an idol debuts, it's hard to know for sure whether you'll get an SR or SSR card."

"Do you think they're SSRs?" The editor gave a mocking expression, seeing the ad for [Sumi] nearby. "They're cute but lack any defining characteristics. Their abilities are adequate but unremarkable. They're a popular group but lack a defining hit."

Such "hot idols" are inevitable in the past and in the future. They may be popular for a while, but rarely can they withstand the test of the times like reefs.

In a nutshell, it is "vulgarity".

"Are you going a bit extreme?"

While searching for information related to [sumimi] on her mobile phone, Ritsu Narose heard the editor next to her making sharp comments about "idols".

He looked up and glanced at the other person. He saw that the editor, who was said to have stayed up late to arrest the author yesterday, was forcing his expression and trying his best to show an indifferent expression as usual on his sleep-deprived face.

While waiting for the elevator to descend, watching the number on it gradually decrease, Ritsu Narose asked, "Do you hate idols?"