After a short trip, my busy life returned to its usual wheel of chaos. The time was slowly approaching to reap the harvest of the idol project, and it was crucial that we wrap up a rather important part of it.
“Ehehe… Hey, Mika-chan. Since we’re in Millennium, could you buy us a 3D model holographic projector?”
“…What’s that?”
“The name says it all about its performance!”
“Hiyori-chan, if you really need it, I’ll get it for you.”
“It’s not that I absolutely need it, but… it could ease my pain a bit. Hehe… Could you please buy it for me?”
“Ahaha… I get it, but can you ease up on my waist a bit? People are watching.”
“Hehe, as expected, Mika-chan is big-hearted. I thought it was just a dream to get something worth 1.5 million yen, but you’d buy it so readily. Maybe my life won’t be so tough if I just cling to Mika-chan.”
“…1.5 million yen?”
Despite being really interested in fashion, Hiyori still wore her Arius-era outfit with only the Trinity emblem on it, but once she got interested in design, she started obsessing over it day and night. After two months, to my surprise, she began producing designs that looked quite good, even to me.
And that got me thinking: what if we let Hiyori handle the costume design for the idol project? Since the existing idols in Kivotos had ridiculously shabby outfits anyway, I figured Hiyori’s creations would be several times better than those.
However, I couldn’t just entrust something so important to Hiyori without any experience. If things went south or ended below expectations, Rion would be greatly disappointed, and that wouldn’t lead to a good situation for me at all.
So, I decided to recruit an additional assistant. Someone I wanted to introduce to Hiyori before, but she hadn’t even entered high school yet, and we had no personal connections back then.
A first-year student in the Engineering Department of Millennium, Nekozuka Hibiki.
Considering her hobby is making costumes to cosplay and the fact that her homemade cheerleader outfit for the 황륜대제 was already super popular in the community…
I confidently declared that if Hibiki and Hiyori collaborated, we could expect results beyond our imagination.
The problem was how to contact Hibiki. Suddenly reaching out to the Engineering Department might raise questions about how I knew her hobbies.
What caught my attention here was cosplay.
If there’s even a single cosplayer in the world who doesn’t use SNS or communities, could you really call them a cosplayer?
Of course, it might be possible, but I believed the chances were greater that such cosplayers do exist. At least, it seemed likely I could find something if I looked for a personal website.
When I found traces of Hibiki on SNS, I was thrilled. There were no contact details, nor anything that revealed her identity, but the important thing was that her SNS account existed. Getting in touch with Hibiki could be tied to throwing money around. If there’s something in this world that couldn’t be solved with money, it’s probably just a simple matter of not having enough funds.
If Hibiki asked if I was some sketchy character trying to recruit her, I’d happily answer Yes. After all, what techies go crazy for is someone who appreciates their abilities and the capital they offer, right?
Thus, I reached out to Hibiki without much effort and managed to set a meeting at a cafe near the Millennium campus. I thought she might be intrigued that someone showed interest in her hobbies.
I found a corner in the cafe, ordered a strawberry smoothie for Hiyori, and a Cafe Mocha for myself. As for Hibiki… I’d ask when she arrived.
“Waaah… Mika-chan is being super stingy today. I never thought you’d go back on your word! My heart feels so pained today…”
“Hiyori-chan, even I can’t just casually drop 1.5 million yen on something that isn’t absolutely necessary.”
“Boo-hoo.”
Of course, that was a lie. 1.5 million yen? It’s a big amount, but it’s not like it’s going to crush me financially right now.
But if I randomly spent that kind of money for no reason, what kind of reputation would I earn?
If it were Nagisa, she’d say something like, “Mika, with all that overflowing love, could you please focus on me instead of wasting it on empty things?” and then she’d shyly follow me around with pleading eyes, tugging at my guilt like a pro. Ugh.
Noa might suggest, “Mika-chan… if you’re having trouble managing your finances, how about hiring Yuuka-chan? I can lend a hand!”
Hina would probably sigh a lot, but still say she’d respect my choices, while Haruna might say something like, “I can take care of at least one person, so isn’t that fine?”
“Hiyori-chan, if you cry like that in a cafe, what kind of looks do you think I’d get…? I’m not saying I won’t buy it, but if you do well on this task, I’ll reward you with one☆ How about that?”
“Ehehe… Since you’re offering, can I receive it first?”
“…Alright, you win. I’ll buy you one. But you have to do a good job, okay? If I don’t like it, I’ll take it back and sell it again.”
“I’m so happy to even be able to help out Mika-chan. So, I’ll do my best… for my holographic projector, at least. Hehe.”
I really know I’m soft-hearted, but I just can’t help it when it comes to the Arius Squad kids. Missaki is fine now, but Hiyori still takes a lot of attention. It doesn’t look like she’s made many friends either.
It would be nice if she could get closer to Hibiki and share some hobbies along the way.
Ding.
And at that moment, the cafe door swung open, and the girl I had been waiting for appeared.
Dressed in a way that clearly showed her interest in fashion, her fluffy dog ears and the tail swaying behind her caught everyone’s attention. Though she was a first-year, she exuded a mature vibe that could easily pass for a third-year student. Hibiki scanned the room curiously.
Waving my hand to catch her attention, Hibiki blinked twice before slowly making her way over.
“Um, are you the one looking for me…?”
“Yep! Nice to meet you, Hibiki-chan. I’m Misono Mika, a third-year at Trinity High School, and this is Tsuchinaga Hiyori, a second-year☆”
“Ah… I’m Nekozuka Hibiki, a first-year. You already know who I am, though…”
“Ahaha, I apologize for that part, but I really need your talent. Oh, please have a seat! Is there anything you’d like to drink?”
“Umm… if it’s not too much trouble, could I get a mango smoothie?”
“Sure, just wait a moment.”
Once I put in the order for Hibiki’s drink, for some reason, Hiyori and Hibiki stared at each other as if they were having a silent showdown.
After taking a seat, I decided to try and lighten the awkward atmosphere a bit.
“Well, first of all, Hibiki-chan, I’m sorry for the odd way I reached out to you.”
“…That’s okay. It’s the first time someone has carefully looked into my hobbies and claimed that they need my skills so much. But cosplay costumes are just a hobby for me… I’m really curious about what kind of work it could be that needs my help.”
“I’d rather mention that when we move on to work topics, but… I’m glad to hear you’re not too bothered. If you’re feeling uneasy, things might get a bit tricky for our future relationship.”
Looks like our Hiyori got tongue-tied as soon as a new face appeared. What on earth am I going to do with her…
Vooom.
“Oh, the smoothie’s here. I’ll quickly grab it!”
“No, I’ll get it. I feel bad making you go back and forth again.”
Before I could rise from my seat, Hibiki intercepted me and headed towards the counter. Watching her from behind, I noticed her tail lightly wagging; it seemed like Hibiki was actually in a good mood. Maybe things would work out just fine.
“Mika-chan, about that person…”
“Yeah?”
“I have a feeling that if we work together, we’ll definitely produce some amazing results… Hehe, I think it’ll be an incredibly fun process.”
“Heueng…”
Maybe as a fashion enthusiast, Hibiki got a vibe from her. True, Hibiki’s outfit made her look slightly older for a student, but it’s hard to deny that she exuded a mature charm.
If looking older through fashion was intentional, that’s a skill. And, of course, with Hibiki, that’s completely intentional.
“Um, can I call you Hibiki-chan…?”
“…? Sure, no problem.”
“Ehehe… So, Hibiki-chan, did you make the outfit you’re wearing? And where do you draw your inspiration from? Do you reference any materials? It must have been a tough process…”
“That’s…”
Yeah, it’s about time for our Hiyori to make friends. It’s nice to see them clicking together.
Once we get into work, I’m sure there won’t be any room for such relaxing moments, so let’s enjoy it while we can!
