Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

She wanted to stay with everyone as long as possible. To achieve such a vain wish, she couldn't just wait for someone to fulfill it for her, she had to work hard on her own first...!

"Okay, okay, let's end this topic here." Baodeng Zheli clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.

He was just casually teasing Toyokawa Shoko, how did it turn into a part of torturing Takamatsu Touma?

"Anyway, could you please let Ms. China observe your practice? I'd like Deng to demonstrate for her."

Blood Star Superman is omnipotent, except for his major weakness in teaching.

Of course, he can sing out what Chinae calls the "inner voice", but in the final analysis, it is just a highly imitative imitation of Takamatsu Touma: he makes his body state as close as possible to Touma's when she sings, and his singing voice as close to Touma's, so naturally he can sing out "Touma's inner voice".

But how can this kind of imitation, which relies purely on physical functions, be taught to others? After all, the state of mind when singing, or the power that drives the tongue and throat, are all powers that come from the depths of Deng's heart.

Well, of course it would be better to ask me to teach, as it would be more suitable for China Hiiragi, a humble and eager-to-learn girl.

"I'll try my best." Deng didn't refuse and responded solemnly.

Even though he has been on stage twice, Deng still feels nervous about the presence of the "audience" to this day.

But she won't run away now.

Just as Zhe Li had once said to her: I feel nervous because I want to do my best no matter what. Perhaps some of this... no, most of it, is a manifestation of "lack of confidence", but deeper and deeper, at its root, is an "urgent desire to achieve."

That strong desire was the driving force that drove her trembling and stiff body to sing loudly in front of everyone and everyone's eyes.

——So amazing.

At this moment, China seemed to see a blaze of fire in her eyes.

That was a completely different emotion from the tenderness that flowed in Baodeng Zheli's eyes when he was singing on the street yesterday, but it was equally strong.

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

"If you're looking forward to it... then forget it..."

●

August has quietly arrived, and summer vacation has entered its peak along with rising temperatures.

Summer vacation is clearly the time for students to relax after a busy semester, so why are there so many people near this bus stop in the school district? The Obon Festival, which is celebrated by adults, is still two weeks away, so who are these people hanging out in the afternoon?

The pink-haired girl wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief while looking down at the map on her phone.

"The cafe... should be entered from this alley."

On the map app screen, the large word "nascita" is followed by a rating of "★5.0 (2)". The high score averaged from just two reviews is naturally of no reference value, but it does contain an important "clue".

Hot au lait (★★★★★): (No comments.)

This Google account has had almost no activity, and its only recent public activity was to rate this coffee shop that has received very little feedback. Chihaya Aine searched in both English and Japanese kana, and finally found this suspicious account among a vast amount of "Ole Recipe" and "Ole Recommendation". The weight of this "clue" is of paramount importance.

Thinking back on the hard work she had put in during this period, Aiyin couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

…I just wanted to pay off what I owed, how did it turn into such a troublesome spy-vs-spy situation!

She had considered just letting it go. It was obvious the other party didn't care about the small amount of money. But the very thought that had arisen in her mind made it even harder for her to accept it. She didn't want to turn over in bed years later, in the dead of night, and suddenly remember that years ago someone had given her a precious gift without regard for the price, and she only knew their name.

Could it be that the man did this just to arouse the hearts of girls?!

"Really? It's not my fault that I'm too charming."

The girl scowled at the sky. The slight flutter of her eyelashes, the angle of her gaze... Oh, wait, wipe the sweat off, take a selfie, hey! Perfect.

“Instagram first.”

【＃Sad Holiday＃Clear Sky and Gloom＃Beautiful Girl】

"...Okay. Now, let's get to the point."

Chihaya Aine looked towards the other side of the zebra crossing.

Just a moment ago, when she walked out of Mejiro Station, Chihaya Aine wanted to complain about the crowds of people walking through the hot air, but now, just standing in front of the zebra crossing, she suddenly felt that the surroundings became very quiet.

Is this why this cafe doesn't have many reviews? The photos show it's quite delicious...

"Never mind. Let's go first."

Even if there were no new "clues", she was already extremely thirsty!

Chapter 24 of the Box: Autumn Frost and Falling Maple Leaves, Snow Clears and the Plum Blossoms Appear: Chapter Part

Actually, there was no bell hanging on the door of Nascita's store at first.

However, even before Nagasaki Suyo visited Nascita, Baodeng Oiri had already felt quite bored with this overly quiet little shop - there were no customers, no sound, and even if he bought a record to play, the melodies that were repeated rigidly would soon lose their novelty due to Oiri's overly detailed memory.

Then leave the window open and hang a bell by the door.

Let the occasional wind touch the bell to ring, so that he can feel that "time is still moving forward."

It was only then that he finally waited for a young girl to enter his life amidst the drizzling rain...

Now, the ringing of the bell is no longer so rare, no longer so magical, but he still likes this sound very much.

Even if the face behind the door is a familiar one, or it's just a chance encounter that they'll only meet once, it symbolizes a future of unknowns and possibilities, and it makes him look forward to it immensely.

……

Hiiragi China followed everyone from CRYCHIC into the back room, and the cafe fell silent again.

The "gate" seemed to remain where it was last connected. Takamatsu Deng and the others had arrived after Chinae, so the gate was currently connected to the normal state of the Bang Bang world, and the subtle sounds from the outlying island port could no longer be heard through this gate.

He leaned over to the window, drew back the curtains, and could see condensation forming at the corners. Outside, the still-empty street shone brightly, as if transmitting warmth through sight. Compared to scorching Tokyo, the coastal islands of Inazuma were even cooler... Was this the power of global warming?

He was about to lower the curtain when a strange color outside the window caught his eye.

"..."

Baodeng Zheli maintained the posture of holding the curtain cord and blinked out the window.

A pink-haired girl's eyes widened, and she seemed to have let out a loud cry to drown out the noise. Fortunately, it was summer vacation and not during school, and the other person was not Tang Zeguiyang.

Zhe Li simply opened the door, went out and waved to the girl... then immediately retreated back into the store.

Even a blood-star slime couldn't stand Tokyo's sweltering heat. It was a relief that everyone from CRYCHIC was willing to go out for group practice. But perhaps because they were in an alley, this street was still a bit cooler than the main road outside. So, he didn't close the door, but stood by it, listening to the pink-haired girl's menacing footsteps approach until she stood in front of the door, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey. Welcome." Zhe Li smiled and waved his hand.

The girl, Chihaya Ain, put her hands on her hips, grinned and revealed her small fangs, and said angrily: "Finally I found you——"

"Come into the store first. It's cool inside." "...Oh."

Bao Dengzeli and Chihaya Aine have met once, no, twice.

The first time was when she was selling toys at a street stall in Ikebukuro when she was approached by Chihaya Aine who was passing by. Having noticed the bass case Ori was carrying, Aine approached and asked for recommendations for a music store. She was told that the school was holding a cultural festival, and as a student council member, she wanted to perform in the band they had formed.

Zheli recommended the live house "RiNG" to her and also introduced the toys he sells.

Finally, he gave her a pair of glasses.

As a result, the girl could not accept receiving gifts for no reason. Without leaving any contact information, she used various clues on the Internet to find the online account "Hot au lait" that Zheli Kailai used to sell toys and arranged an offline meeting to trade.

...Then Zheli gave her a second gift. This time it was a pair of bracelets.

As the old saying goes, there is no ceremony without three, so Chihaya Aine came to the door for the third time.

"Here, this is the menu."

Chihaya Aine was led to the guest seat in a daze, and took the menu handed to her in a daze.

At the top of the menu was written "nascita" in beautiful handwriting, followed by pictures of beautiful coffees.

"Thank you... No, that's not right. I'm not here for coffee! Don't change the subject." She glared at Zhe Li and put the menu down. "This isn't a deal. You can't use 'favorable review rate' or something like that to put me off, can you?"

"I didn't expect you to be so persistent."

Generally speaking, if someone says they are giving it to you for free, it is normal to make a few excuses. However, there are not many people who insist on not wanting to "owe" money like Chihaya Aine.

The girl looked sad and said in a low voice, "I didn't expect that either."

At first, it was just the kind of anger she'd felt when she'd been fooled. She scratched her head in frustration, thinking of a way to get back at him. The most diabolical method she could think of was a human flesh search, so she held her breath and began searching the internet for clues... While her anger subsided, her interest was piqued.

I have to say - it's quite fun to unravel the mystery and explore the "secrets" in the vast world of the Internet.

And then just like that, a light bulb went off in my head.

"I run a cafe nearby. When business isn't busy, I sell toys here..."

Nearby. Café. Relais… The chaotic fragments reassembled in the fountain of wisdom, and the sparse clues were strung together, eventually converging on this café called Nascita.

Then, I found it, so I took advantage of the summer vacation to take a look and satisfy my curiosity...

Unexpectedly, she actually hit the target.

Seeing her strange expression, Zhe Li couldn't help but look puzzled: Wasn't she the one who found Nascita? If she was angry or surprised, it would be understandable, but what was this expression of "something seems to be wrong"?

"If you're not ordering a drink, have a glass of ice water first. Isn't it quite hot outside?"

The cold cup made her lose consciousness for a moment. "Eh? Ah... thank you, thank you."

It's been really hot outside lately, and the air conditioning in this store is not very strong.

When she entered the store, she felt like she was stepping into a steamer—an illusion, the heat radiating from her pores being trapped by her clothes. Now, sitting quietly, she felt the temperature was just right: the breeze from the air conditioner just enough to wipe away the sweat on her forehead, and the ice water helped cool her stuffy palms.

Only now did she have the leisure to look around.

"Mr. Bowden, is this your shop?"

"Yeah. The name of the shop is 'nascita', which means 'birth'."

Seeing that Chihaya Aine had no intention of placing an order, Zheli retreated to the counter. He gestured with his hands and said with a smile, "As you can see, business isn't very good. You can sit down and relax. Don't worry about me kicking you out."

"Oh...I feel so pitiful."

"..."

Zhe Li opened his mouth and glanced at her lightly.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too outspoken?"

Aine quickly covered her mouth. "No. Well, it was just a careless mistake..."

It’s this damn summer that’s killing my brain!

Chapter of the Box, Act 25, Autumn frost, falling maples, snowy days, and coming out of the blue: Chapter , Isn’t this how business simulation games are played?

There was silence in the store for a moment.

Chihaya Aine glanced cautiously at the counter.

Baodō Zheli had a faint smile on his face, his head down, working on something, his hands hidden by the counter. Aine guessed he was probably cleaning cups or practicing latte art—that was probably the image of a barista in her mind.

If we ignore the economic pressure and only consider interest as the criterion, Aiyin once included "opening a coffee shop" in her future blueprint.

"Ok?"

Aine only glanced up for a fraction of a second, and Zheli noticed something and murmured in confusion. Before he could even glance back, Aine quickly fetched the menu and pretended to be troubled.

Now that I calm down and take a look, I think the design of this menu is quite good.

The most common basic styles, such as American, latte, macchiato, etc., are evenly distributed in the four corners of the menu page in the form of photos. The remaining space is filled with text to describe the different flavors, while another page uses a similar layout to mark different types of tea.

For example, at this moment, Aine saw "Earl Grey Tea" at first sight.

She hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist her curiosity and raised her hand, "Can I order a cup of tea?"

"Of course. You can order anything on the menu. Why do you ask?"

Aine blinked. “Eh? Because, wouldn’t it be a bit rude not to order coffee in a cafe?”

"Hehe...someone else said something similar before."

Zheli recalled Kaedehara Manye's confused look at that time, and felt that it was quite similar to Chihaya Aine's current confused look.

This girl seems lively, even a little crazy in a sense (referring to the fact that she is so persistent that she can find this cafe in the alley with the help of scarce clues), but in essence, she is the type of person who treats others and things very seriously, just like Manye.

"What do you want to drink? The prices are written on the side, you can take your time to think about it."

Aiyin looked at it for a long time, and finally couldn't suppress her curiosity. She said, "Then I'll have a cup of Earl Grey tea."

"Okay." Zhe Li didn't say anything more, took out the tea leaves and started brewing them.

The faint scent of tea mixed with the hot steam made Aine's nose twitch.

"By the way, do you want hot or cold drinks?"