Can Lixi look at me alone?

So it's time to get up.

Good morning, Riki-chan~

With a dark expression, Li Xi reached out and rubbed her soft cheeks for a while.

"What do you mean 'early'? School's out already!"

The drummer, a smile unconsciously appearing on her lips, took Yuzuki's hand.

Li Xi-chan... I like you.

Yuzuki smiled with her eyes half-closed, and only opened her clear blue eyes again after her eyes adjusted to the light.

It was filled with the girls beside her.

It's okay, even though Riki-chan is a little clumsy.

Yes... but very soon, very soon, one day... I'll get it.

Yuzuki returned home and, after Riki-chan left, hailed a taxi. She filled a jar with candy from the kitchen and got into the car.

Oh, I almost forgot!

We can't forget about Miss Keyboard at home...

Yuzuki smiled apologetically at the driver.

It was precisely because of the little bit of time she wasted that the gray-haired girl who had been sitting in the KTV gripped the microphone tightly in her hand.

The month of reckoning will come, it definitely will come...

Listening to the loud singing next door, she felt...disliked this feeling.

Holding the small stones I collected today in my palm and examining them closely, the cleaned stones gleamed under the light.

I wonder if Yuzuki will like this little stone... It feels like this stone is just like Yuzuki!

The lamp, which inexplicably felt that the glowing stone resembled the girl who made candy for it, was greeted by a knock on the door.

"Little Lamp? Sorry, I'm a little late..."

Xiaodeng arrived so early...you're really working hard! Make sure you sing well at the live performance!

Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Yuzuki handed the candy jar to Akari. Then she placed Keyboard Girl on the table, and noticing Akari hadn't taken a drink, she went to get her a glass of juice to soothe her throat.

"It's okay, I just arrived too..."

As expected, Yuzuki is here...

Although no one else came, she inexplicably felt that... it would be enough if only Yuzuki came.

While handing her the apple juice, the girl, who was complaining about Xiao Xiang's haste, simply flexed her fingers.

"Have you finished the candy lamp from last time? If you have, I can bring you some more tomorrow."

Yuzuki gently tapped the piano keys to check if the keyboard lady's throat was normal.

"It's delicious! I really like it... but I haven't finished it yet."

As if explaining to Yuzuki why she hadn't finished the candy, the lamp grabbed her wrist.

"Making these must be very troublesome, right? I... I've seen the process of making konpeito. These candies must be a burden for Yuzuki...?"

What an adorable little lamp…

She's so considerate of others; she's so much better than that blue-haired guy.

Jieyue licked the tiny sugar granule that she had picked up from her fingertips with the tip of her tongue.

It still hurts my throat a bit.

He shook his head at the light after diluting the taste with juice.

"Although it was indeed a bit complicated, luckily I made a big pot of it at the time."

Is that so...? Did I cause any trouble for Yoshiyuki...?

"Ah~ Little lamp, open your mouth."

Immersed in guilt, the girl obediently opened her lips, and the sweet and delicious taste hit her taste buds in the next moment.

I... got fed candy by Yuzuki?!

After realizing what had happened, the lamp didn't know what to do... what would be a 'human' action.

Should I be shy now?

But she... only felt happy.

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Volume 1 Crychic!!!: Chapter 42 Yuzuki's Tenderness

Hmm...? Why is Xiaodeng spacing out?

Yuzuki blinked, somewhat puzzled, and patted the lamp, unsure how to react.

"Little lantern? Is there something wrong with the taste of the konpeito?"

Although I don't know why, let's give Xiaodeng a way out.

The gray-haired girl, who was in a daze, suddenly shook her head.

I can't let Xiaoyue be sad...

After pouring a little more stardust-like candy into her mouth, and taking advantage of the sweet taste... Akari gave Yuzuki a cute smile.

"It's delicious! I really like...the candy made by Yuzuki!"

I'm glad I like it...

Tucked a few unruly strands of hair behind Deng's ear and gestured for her to pick up the microphone and practice singing.

Unfortunately, Kasuga no Kage isn't available on karaoke song lists...

The thought of possibly singing alone made Deng swallow hard; she was still a little nervous… Without accompaniment, it felt like running aimlessly, lost and disoriented. She disliked that feeling of being lost in solitude…

It wasn't until a few nimble keyboard clicks rang out that Deng raised her head to look at the keyboardist beside her.

The other person didn't speak, but instead played the intro while giving her an encouraging wink.

Keep it up, little lamp!

She saw this message in those beautiful blue eyes, and in order not to let her companion's hard work go to waste, Deng nodded vigorously to her.

Is that about right?

Helpless, Yuzuki played the complete "Spring Shadow" for Xiangzi, who had never heard her play before, so that she wouldn't be completely clueless about when to start...

But why didn't Xiaoxiang let Xiaodeng, who was in charge of writing the lyrics, play it first, and instead went to me instead?

Yuzuki controlled her facial expressions, trying her best not to put any pressure on the girl who was gripping the microphone.

Ah...right!

Yuzuki deliberately played a serious wrong note to interrupt her own performance, then gave the lamp an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, it seems I need more practice than Xiaodeng..."

Unable to understand why Xiangzi had sought out her first, Jieyue simply stopped thinking about it. Feeling weak from not having eaten dinner, she opened the glass jar filled with stardust and poured some into her mouth to quickly replenish her strength.

"Without the sugar syrup simmered under a small lamp, you simply couldn't make such delicious candies!"

The lamp silently nodded in response to its companion.

Me... this, did I make this?

Did I succeed in making Xiaojieyue happy?

Just like the day Xiangzi tackled her, there's Xiao Xiang who led his own band... Xiao Yuyue who accompanied her to practice and even made her konpeito (Japanese candy), Xiao Sushi who kept comforting everyone, and Xiao Lixi who really hoped everyone could improve...

I'm so lucky to have met everyone!

"So, Little Lamp, you should smile."

Yuzuki didn't know the lyrics, so she didn't know how to respond specifically. She could only offer comfort like this… hopefully it would work on a girl like Kotomi.

"If everyone laughs, everyone is happy. Then the band can keep going like this forever, right?"

Smile, little lamp... if you don't smile, I might not be able to hold on much longer. Why can't I sing no matter what I do?

Yuzuki reached out and turned off the stage lights that were making her eyes uncomfortable.

The lamp wasn't stupid; she knew the girl in front of her didn't need to practice at all. Everything she'd done today—the candy she'd brought, the wrong note earlier—was to relieve the girl's pressure and allow her to sing her own voice…

But she can't.

Every time she wanted to speak, a voice inside her told her... she would ruin the live performance, ruin Xiaojieyue's good intentions, and even ruin Crychic...

An inexplicable sense of inferiority and pressure made it almost impossible for her to speak, so she could only nod or shake her head at Yuzuki.

Yuzuki gently stroked her hair, seeing the girl's distress and helplessly preparing to comfort her. But she didn't know which door to open... after all, she had no idea why the lamp dared not sing.

This is really troublesome... If Xiaodeng likes the planetarium, she should also like stars.

Yuzuki looked out the window

She wanted to find a relatively easy-to-find star to help her, but the still-setting sun made her wonder if she should use the sun.

Forget it, observing the sun with the naked eye is really asking too much. Just now, Yuzuki, who was feeling uncomfortable from the stage lights, wiped away some tears from the corners of her eyes.

Where else can I find stars...? Konpeito?

Perhaps Kodama likes konpeito because it looks like pretty stars...?

A ray of sunlight fell on the golden glass jar, refracting through countless sugar granules and casting a faint glow throughout the room.

The gray-haired girl, head bowed in self-reproach for letting Yuzuki's efforts today go to waste, heard something hit the glass...

Yuzuki, shaking the glass jar in front of her and letting the stardust swirl freely, winked playfully at her.

Hmm... I've finally managed to get the little lamp's attention.

"Koyuki...?"

The lamp involuntarily looked at the bottle she was holding, and finally stopped shaking it when Yuzuki's arm started to ache.

"Does Little Lantern know? There's a legend about konpeito~"

The legend of konpeito?

After thinking it over carefully, Lamp shook her head, realizing she had no knowledge of this. Somewhat curious, she prepared to ask Yuzuki for information about her favorite candy.

"Actually, konpeito are just stars in the sky... but because so many people make wishes to them, the number of wishes is much greater than all the stars combined."

Yuzuki opened the glass jar and poured a few delicate sugar granules into the palm of the girl who was listening intently to her story.

"So, the stars decided to let people create their own stars..."

Before the light could figure it out, Yuzuki fed her another piece of candy.

"So that's the origin of konpeito? It's made by creating a sugar core, then condensing sugar syrup on its surface, then evaporating the syrup... and finally, the remaining components accumulate little by little over time..."

Yuzuki guided the light little by little. After swallowing the candy, the girl raised her head and looked directly into her companion's eyes.

"Just like the stars in the sky! Little by little... getting bigger."

Finally, things are on the right track.

"Yes, just like the stars in the sky. So these are actually stars too."

The lamp took the glass jar and hugged it tightly to its chest.

"You can make a wish upon the little lights, like this..."

Yuzuki picked out a candy from among them and whispered a wish upon it.