The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

"It's ok."

Hmm? That sound?

The two of them looked up at the same time.

"Hachiman? What are you doing here? And Iori too!"

Looking at Kohei's shocked expression, Hachiman Hikigaya was genuinely surprised that he would be sitting next to him. He was just about to explain when he saw the other man breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's great to meet you all."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyelashes twitched. What did that mean?

"To be honest, after buying the admission ticket, I didn't have enough money for my train ticket home. Luckily, I met you guys here."

Kohei Imamura had no doubt as to why they were here. In his view, it was not surprising at all that Hachiman, who was also a member of the Lala-chan group, would come here; rather, it was quite reasonable.

Wow, what luck! Not only did I find a windfall of 5,000 yen, but I also ran into Hachiman and the others here. Now I have the money for the train ticket that I wouldn't have been able to get back from.

Is this the will of Heaven? Even the merciful God cannot bear to see his unfortunate state! Ah! Camille Sama! From this day forward, he will surely come to offer sacrifices to you every year.

He was relieved that he didn't notice Hachiman's strange look.

These two guys are such troublemakers everywhere they go! This isn't intentional anymore; they can do it unintentionally!

Why don't I just use going to the bathroom as an excuse to leave alone with the money after the meet-and-greet? Anyway, most of the money is mine. Iori only contributed 1,100 yen, which is practically nothing. I can just buy eleven of their favorite yakisoba buns and stuff them in their mouths.

Hachiman Hikigaya's cheeks twitched speechlessly. To be honest, he thought this method was feasible, at least it would give him a peaceful night.

It's not easy for a single dad to get a day off! What's worse than having a mentally challenged son? Well, having two, of course!

In this state of grief and indignation, he took out his phone and sent a text message to Chisa.

[If I leave these two idiots here, please don't be angry, okay?]

There was no reply from the other party, presumably because their phone wasn't with them.

Hachiman Hikigaya stuffed his phone back into his pocket. His anger subsided slightly, and he began to think of a solution. Unlike the two carefree guys next to him, he couldn't just leave one of them here. Although cleaning up their messes was indeed a bit annoying, he could tolerate it to some extent as a friend.

After thinking it over, there are three ways to solve the problem. The first is to ask Chisa or her seniors to bring money to pick them up, but that would require an extra expense.

The second option is to ask Totsuka or Zaimoza for some money. How can you repair it? You two good-for-nothings have made him lose face!

The third one is quite simple.

Hachiman's eyes were gloomy. He thought he would beat these two up later, put some flowers on their faces, and make them look like beggars so they could go out and beg on the streets.

Ah, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"Next, Ms. Mizuki will be singing the theme song for her debut work, 'Melting Magical Girl Lala.' What a show to look forward to!"

The host's words pulled him out of his thoughts. Hachiman Hikigaya looked up at the stage in the distance, sighed, and thought, "Oh well, I should just enjoy this voice actor meet-and-greet now, since it cost me 14,000 yen."

He gazed at the woman in the center of the stage, holding a microphone and singing a cappella to the accompaniment. When he actually met her, the familiarity that existed between them disappeared, replaced by a natural sense of ease.

He hummed a song he had heard on television before, and it perfectly overlapped with the woman's singing on stage. It seemed he had the talent of a singer.

-

Staying in the monitoring room, Kanako Iida gazed longingly at Maya Iida on the screen. On stage, her older sister was like a glamorous princess, captivating everyone in the audience.

Most girls probably dream of becoming a princess in a fairy tale, but in her eyes, only her older sister has achieved that.

Confident, beautiful, elegant, and noble, she is like a swan spreading its wings and soaring high. Such a woman is dazzling even without a prince.

She acknowledged her sister's achievements, but also felt a little disappointed. To dispel this inappropriate emotion, she looked down at the audience.

Upon looking, she spotted several familiar faces.

Looking at the three of them on the screen, she wrinkled her nose. Weren't these guys from the last matchmaking event? Were they also her fans?

Her gaze was fixed on the short-haired, dead-eyed boy in the middle of the three. Even now, she couldn't be sure if this was the same person who had been her childhood playmate.

The difference is too great. In her memory, Hachiman was a very cheerful person who would take her to catch frogs on rainy days and climb trees to pick apples because of a joke she made. No matter what, he always had a smile on his face.

But the person in front of me, apart from vaguely resembling the blurry figure in my memory, didn't resemble me at all.

Perhaps they don't even look alike. It's been too long for her to remember clearly. Whenever the name Hachiman is mentioned, the image in her mind involuntarily aligns with his appearance.

If it really is Hachiman, my sister should be able to recognize him.

That guy spends more time with his sister than with her.

Hmm, thinking about it like that, I suddenly feel a little unhappy.

That guy who likes older women! Don't you dare steal her sister away!

Kanako Iida stared fiercely at Hachiman, who was humming softly on the screen, her gaze sending chills down one's spine.

Hachiman Hikigaya, who was whispering and harmonizing, suddenly felt a chill. He stopped talking and looked around.

"Why did you stop singing?" Kitahara Iori asked, surprised that Hachiman could sing quite well.

"Heh, only half my level, but I'll reluctantly admit it." Kohei Imamura wiped his nose. As a die-hard fan of lesbians, he thought the other party was passable.

After looking around but not finding anything, Hachiman hugged his shoulders. How strange, had the temperature dropped? Why did he keep feeling a chill down his back?

Iida Maya, who was singing on stage, noticed the other person's movements. While everyone else was looking at her, only the boy was looking around. Was he looking for something?

She looked at the man, and as he turned his head, she, a former professional singer, went off-key by a note.

That boy, could he be...?

Chapter 47, another attempt? I don't recall it!

As he listened to the song, Hachiman Hikigaya gradually felt drowsy, and once he sensed it, he quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up, the voice actor meet-and-greet was almost over. He yawned, which attracted the attention of the two people next to him.

"How can you sleep in such a noisy place?"

Kitahara Iori rubbed his ears. The otaku energy of the Japanese people was just too strong. Every time a voice actor on stage finished singing a song or telling a joke, excited applause and shouts would erupt all around him, making him feel like he was at a market.

"As a die-hard fan of Lala, how could you fall asleep at the voice actress meet-and-greet? Hachiman, you have absolutely no otaku charm."

Kohei Imamura, still immersed in his idol's singing voice, criticized a fellow fan who had personally praised Lala as the cutest, for completely disregarding the fan club of her voice actress.

"I've never heard of the term 'otaku charm' before."

Hachiman touched his neck to dispel his drowsiness. For some reason, he had become sleepy after hearing the song.

It's practically a lullaby! But according to Kohei, the other person is a six-time consecutive winner of the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle). Could it be that he doesn't know how to appreciate it?

That's true. He mostly likes niche music genres now, like rock, rock, and more rock.

It's been a long time since I've seen Goto-san. After that performance, she seems to be avoiding me intentionally or unintentionally.

Could it be that the support she received that time made her too embarrassed?

Indeed, their behavior at the time was even more enthusiastic than that of die-hard fans, which led to them being featured on the front page of Twitter. Although their faces were blurred, the only girl band with four members of different hair colors is probably Goto's "Bond Band".

That said, why do all the people he meets have such different hair colors? They could make up a rainbow!

Hachiman Hikigaya, who has never dyed his hair and has always kept his natural black hair, doesn't understand the current trend of hair dyeing. He only knows that if he were to dye his hair back one day, Komachi would definitely dislike him until he gave up on dyeing his hair back to black.

He shook his head, bringing out the rainbow inside, and squinted at the place where Totsuka was. They had bought tickets for seats together, and were in the middle of the hall.

Judging from the expressions of the three people, he could tell that Totsuka was the one who initiated this trip to Akihabara. Ebina, who was sitting next to him, looked bored. Compared to the voice actors on stage, her eyes were more focused on them. The drool at the corner of her mouth was proof that in her mind, they were probably in a terrible state right now.

Cai Muzuo looked like he was giving serious critiques, but after going to karaoke with him a few times, he realized that this guy had absolutely no musical talent, and the best song he could sing was actually a gymnastics tune from his elementary school days.

During his elementary school years, there were often gymnastics performance competitions between different classes at the sports meets. He must have had a deep impression of that period.

As for Totsuka... he's cute, that's enough.

He turned his gaze away and took out his phone. Qian Sha had already replied to his message with three consecutive question marks, presumably because his question without any context had left her confused.

He replied with a brief "It's okay," and this time it was read in less than a second. Then the other party sent a message.

"Did you dispose of it? Where did you bury it? Will anyone find it?"

The rapid-fire interrogation made Hachiman Hikigaya chuckle. After spending a lot of time with them, Chisa had also become more playful.

"It's been taken care of. Just dig a hole and bury it. Don't worry, there are no spies around, everything is safe, Commander Chisa."

This time, the other party sent three dots.

"How about we have pork chop rice for dinner tonight? I'll be waiting for you."

Wait a minute, the former sounds like a joke, but the latter doesn't seem to mean anything by it. Could it be that Chisa is serious? Impossible, is he a cruel person in her eyes?

Just as he was thinking this, he caught a glimpse of Kohei Imamura out of the corner of his eye and remembered the time he had stripped this guy naked in front of a girl and hung the wooden plaque above his Truth-Seeking Ball. Hmm, thinking about it carefully, he seemed like he could actually do it.

Anyway, when it comes to their own interests, each of these scoundrels can cut off the enemy's supply lines and make eliminating the other party their top priority. He, who hangs out with them, is probably the same type in Qian Sha's eyes.

He hurriedly typed a message back.

"I'm just kidding, they're perfectly fine."

"Really?"

"Really, really!"

Fearing she wouldn't believe him, he took a picture of the two of them now and sent it to her, thus clearing up the misunderstanding.

"What are you doing?" Chisa texted.

"Attending a fan meeting for Kohei's favorite idol, Natsuyo Mizuki, whom I mentioned before," he replied.

"Did you have fun?"

"To be honest, it's a bit boring."

After all, he had been fast asleep like a baby the whole time, and he hadn't seen or experienced any of the lively atmosphere or exciting scenes, so naturally he found it a bit boring.

Moreover, he wasn't interested in voice actors at all, so the only thing that could attract him in this venue was Mizuki Natsuyo's face, which seemed familiar.

He gazed at the woman's face in the distance, and at that moment, she seemed to be telepathically looking down at the audience, her gaze fixed on him.

Huh? His passive ability as a human observer disappeared? Wasn't he supposed to be undetectable when activating a skill?

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya thought he had been too direct in his gaze, he turned his head and saw Kohei holding up a sign that read "I love you" above it, attracting the attention of many people.

Well, he was just being presumptuous; it turns out it was this guy who caused all the commotion.

He quickly shifted his body, turned his face to the other side, and pretended not to recognize the guy.

Kitahara Iori: "..."

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Seeing Iori making the same move as him, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded. It was understandable, understandable—they had always been very in sync.

"Next, we'll move on to the final fan interaction segment. Ms. Mizuki, please choose which lucky fans will get this opportunity."

The host looked at the gentle and poised woman in front of him and began to read the prepared script.

"Ok."

Iida Maya looked at the crowd below the stage, her gaze once again inadvertently sweeping over Hikigaya Hachiman, and finally choosing the blond boy holding the "I love you" sign.

Although she didn't think she would admit her mistake, his reaction was too indifferent, as if he didn't know her at all. This sense of unfamiliarity made her hesitate, so she decided to observe him further.

"Then, please let the blonde fan in the back row holding the sign do it."

The staff at the venue quickly handed the microphone to Kohei Imamura, who was so excited that he almost jumped up when he was called upon to be eligible.

After tidying his clothes and calming himself down, Kohei Imamura said, "Ms. Mizuki, I'm a fan of yours. The first anime I ever heard you do voice acting was called 'Melting Magical Girl Lala,' and I really, really love that anime."

Lala is the work that launched her voice acting career. I never expected that she was a fan who had been watching her for so long.

Maya Iida couldn't help but feel happy; having such loyal fans is something every idol would want to see.

"Thank you, your appreciation is my greatest motivation."

Upon receiving a reply from his idol, Kohei Imamura's face instantly turned bright red, just like Cherry in a certain Plants vs. Zombies game.

"Um, this! Besides that, I also bought a lot of merchandise featuring characters voiced by Mizuki-sensei, and I cherish each and every one of them."

Love in the world of anime and manga can be so heavy.

As Hachiman Hikigaya listened to his words, he thought to himself that sometimes he didn't quite understand whether liking a voice actress meant liking her voice, liking the character she voiced, or simply liking her as a person.

He felt that these three things should be considered in a certain order. If you like a voice actress, you will naturally like her voice and the characters she voices. But if you like the characters or voice she voices first, then there is a certain probability that you will not like the person herself, because she may have some bad behavior.

According to Kohei, he first learned about Natsuyo Mizuki through anime. So why did he come to like this person directly through an anime character?