"By the way, have you finished trying everything?"
After a moment, Chihaya Anon managed to suppress her earlier embarrassment. She looked up at Kamigawa Saku, who was seated across from her, pretending to casually change the topic.
"Yes."
Kamigawa Saku nodded.
"So, what's next? Writing reviews? Or something else?" Chihaya Anon asked curiously.
"There's nothing else to do."
Kamigawa Saku shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why not?"
Chihaya Anon looked puzzled.
"Because the desserts here aren't that great, and the coffee is pretty ordinary. Neither is worth recommending."
Kamigawa Saku glanced around to make sure no servers were nearby before lowering his voice to explain.
Since she wanted to see his typical work routine, he hadn't gone out of his way to pick a good restaurant. Instead, he chose a random café he hadn't visited before, just like usual.
And this was the result.
"I see."
Chihaya Anon looked down at the coffee in front of her before commenting, "You must have high standards. I thought the desserts and coffee here were pretty good, but to you, they're just average."
"Well, I have to take responsibility for the places I recommend," Kamigawa Saku said matter-of-factly.
"To be honest, your job feels a little too easy," Chihaya Anon remarked, clearly intrigued.
"I've said it before—it's just eating food. I never claimed my work was difficult."
"That's true, but it must still be challenging, right?" Chihaya Anon swirled her coffee lightly. "Without a sharp palate, someone like me might think coffee of this level is decent."
"You don't need to praise me for something like that," Kamigawa Saku chuckled. "Especially when you just said my job seemed easy, and now you're saying it's hard. It feels a bit contradictory."
"It's not contradictory! Easy applies to you; hard applies to me."
Chihaya Anon took another sip of her coffee, sighed softly, and continued, "Because I've thought about doing something similar myself."
"Similar?"
Kamigawa Saku picked up on the keyword immediately.
"Yeah, like going to trendy places, taking videos, and posting them online," Chihaya Anon admitted honestly.
"That sounds great," Kamigawa Saku said with a smile. "Having ideas like that is a good thing."
"But that's all it ever was—just an idea," Chihaya Anon said, poking fun at herself.
"Why not give it a try? Filming videos should be easy for someone like you, right?"
Someone as socially adept as Chihaya Anon should naturally act on such thoughts, shouldn't she?
It didn't quite fit her personality not to.
"I just can't," Chihaya Anon replied with an awkward laugh. "I'm not cut out for filming videos."
She had considered it before—attracting attention by creating videos about restaurant visits.
But after some thought, she decided against it.
The reason was simple: the places she wanted to feature were all local spots. Posting such videos online could lead to her former classmates discovering she had returned from England.
These days, though, her main obstacle was time.
After forming the band, her schedule was packed. Afternoons and weekends were for rehearsals, and she also needed time to practice guitar.
Add in outings with friends, and she barely had any time left.
So, the idea of filming videos was shelved.
"You're still worried about being recognized by your old classmates?" Kamigawa Saku recalled her past of running away.
"If I were still worried about that, I wouldn't have agreed to appear in your makeup video," Chihaya Anon replied calmly.
Appearing in his video had a much higher chance of being noticed by her former classmates than posting her own.
Besides, appearing in his content would boost her visibility far faster than making her own videos.
There was no point in going out of her way to do it herself.
"You have a point."
Kamigawa Saku realized she had moved past that concern.
"So, what's the reason you can't make videos now?"
"Well..."
Chihaya Anon explained in detail how her packed schedule left her with no time to film.
"You've really been working hard—putting in so much effort lately."
For ordinary people without a cheat like a "learning card," mastering an instrument took long-term dedication.
Especially when preparing for live performances, which demanded even greater skill.
It was just like Kita Ikuyo—she needed a lot of practice time, too.
Wait a minute. Thinking about it that way, Chihaya Anon and Kita Ikuyo seemed quite similar.
Both were guitarists, specifically rhythm guitarists.
Both were socially outgoing in real life.
Both had histories of running away—Kita Ikuyo ran away from the band initially, and Chihaya Anon ran back from England.
Most importantly, both were now practicing guitar.
Setting aside differences like family background, appearance, and other irrelevant details, the two were startlingly alike.
"You seem to be thinking something rude," Chihaya Anon said, her gaze sharp.
Caught off guard by her intuition, Kamigawa Saku quickly denied it. "Not at all."
"Let's get back to the topic—your practice," he added hastily.
"Fine."
Her suspicion was evident, but she didn't press further. Instead, she said, "Honestly, I'd prefer a tangible reward over verbal compliments."
"I'm not sure if this is appropriate to say, but aren't you practicing for the band?" Kamigawa Saku hesitated before voicing his thoughts.
"Well, yes," Chihaya Anon admitted, looking slightly guilty.
"If you're practicing for the band, asking for a reward feels a bit off," Kamigawa Saku pointed out. "If I were to reward you for your efforts, I'd also have to reward everyone else in the band."
"Everyone is putting in effort for the band. I can't give you special treatment."
"Besides, I'm part of the band, too—even if my role is managing it."
"By your logic, if I'm working hard to manage the band, shouldn't I also get a reward? And who's supposed to give it to me?"
"But didn't you buy a bunch of aquarium-themed bags for Tomorin when she helped write lyrics?"
Though it had been a while, Chihaya Anon still remembered that clearly.
"That's different. Tomori is the lead vocalist, and writing lyrics was an extra task we assigned her," Kamigawa Saku explained. "Thanking her for going above and beyond was the least we could do."
"What about Rikki, she handles composing? What reward did you give her?" Chihaya Anon asked with evident curiosity.
"I haven't given her anything."
Helping Shiina Taki with her composing issue didn't count as a reward.
After all, if she hadn't been composing in the first place, those issues wouldn't have arisen.
Not to mention, Kamigawa Saku also helped Takamatsu Tomori when she struggled to write lyrics.
If solving problems counted as a reward, then wouldn't Takamatsu Tomori have gotten an extra reward?
So, no—it didn't count.
"I see," Chihaya Anon said, looking relieved.
"Exactly, which is why I can't give you a reward either."
Kamigawa Saku could tell Chihaya Anon wasn't actually keen on getting a reward.
Instead, she was using the idea of wanting a reward to... act spoiled?
He wasn't sure if "spoiled" was the right word, but it was the best way he could describe it.
If he did agree to give her a reward, her request probably wouldn't be outrageous.
It would likely be something simple or an inexpensive gift.
Even so, he had no intention of agreeing.
He'd already explained why.
Kamigawa Saku added, "Of course, if you really want a reward from me, I could give you something as a private gesture. But it can't be from my role as the band's manager."
"And it can't be because you're practicing guitar."
The reason he brought up the idea of a personal reward was to test her.
If she asked for something like a date as a reward, it would confirm she had feelings for him—possibly even ulterior motives.
One date in exchange for such clear information? Totally worth it.
He wasn't worried about falling for her after just one date.
To him, this was a win-win situation with no downside.
If he confirmed her feelings, he could take measures to handle it, like avoiding being alone with her in the future.
After all, his ultimate goal was to stay single.
In other words, this was a calculated move—he was fishing for intel.
"A private reward isn't necessary," Chihaya Anon replied, catching him off guard. "I'd rather have a reward from you as the band's manager."
Kamigawa Saku was surprised.
"Why are you so insistent on a reward from the manager? What's the difference between that and a personal reward?"
"And like I said, I can't give you a reward as the manager."
"I know." Chihaya Anon nodded. "But you also said that everyone in the band has been working hard."
"I did say that."
It hadn't been long since he'd said those words, so he hadn't forgotten.
Chihaya Anon smiled. "Then why not give everyone a reward? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"You mean...?"
Kamigawa Saku began to see where she was going.
"That's right—everyone in the band can go out together," Chihaya Anon said happily. "As a reward for everyone's hard work for the band."
"I see."
Was he overthinking things?
From her response, it seemed like Chihaya Anon didn't have any special feelings for him after all.
Could this be one of those infamous illusions?
The kind where you mistakenly think someone likes you?
"What do you think?"
Chihaya Anon beamed at him, her expression bright and cheerful. She was no fool.
"A reward like that should be fine, right?"
"It's fine."
Kamigawa Saku couldn't refute it from a managerial perspective, nor could he argue against it from his goal of staying single.
After all, a group outing clearly benefited him—it was a chance to strengthen the band's camaraderie.
He had no reason to reject the idea.
"Still, we should ask the others what they think, right?"
That's what he said, but Kamigawa Saku already knew how it would turn out.
No one was likely to refuse.
"If you think it's fine, then let's bring it up at our next practice," Chihaya Anon suggested.
"Alright."
Having confirmed that Chihaya Anon didn't seem to harbor special feelings for him, Kamigawa Saku felt significantly more at ease.
"Speaking of which, should we use this time to brainstorm where to go?" Chihaya Anon continued.
"It's better to discuss that as a group," Kamigawa Saku reminded her. "And don't assume everyone will agree to the outing."
"If they don't, we'll have discussed it for nothing."
"You're right."
Chihaya Anon nodded softly, but she quickly added, "Just so you know, I absolutely won't go to the beach or a water park."
"Are you afraid of water? Or can't swim?" Kamigawa Saku asked, confused.
"No special reason. I just don't want to go to the beach."
As she spoke, Chihaya Anon glanced down at her chest.
She was generally satisfied with her figure—except for a certain area that was slightly lacking.
If they went to the beach or any place requiring swimsuits, that shortcoming would be magnified.
Especially with some of the other girls in the band, who were downright unfair.
It's often said that comparison is the thief of joy.
While regular clothes could hide it, swimsuits made everything painfully obvious.
She had no intention of subjecting herself to that.
So, going to the beach with them was something she'd never even considered.
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T/N: I started translating again, and now I remember the pain of wrong names...