N-A-A Page 143
Page 143
"Animation...?" Her voice was soft, with a natural ethereal quality.
“Yes.” Yuto tried his best to make his smile seem genuine and harmless. “It’s a story about trying to survive in another world, and your singing has that feeling.”
The girl looked at Yuto and remained silent for a long time.
Finally, she nodded again.
“My name is Yuzuriha Inori,” she said softly.
"Itsukawa Yuuto."
Yuto took out his phone and exchanged contact information with Yuzuriha Inori.
Throughout the process, Yuzuriha Inori appeared somewhat clumsy, as if she were not very familiar with these modern social methods.
……
After saying goodbye to Yuzuriha Inori, Yuto's excitement was hard to contain.
He was almost certain that he had found it.
He found the voice that could breathe life into "Farming King".
However, before he could even feel happy for long, his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Itsuka-kun, I heard you 'found' an incredible treasure on the streets of Shibuya this afternoon?"
Yuto's eyelids twitched.
What is the structure of this woman's intelligence network?
Immediately afterwards, a second message popped up: "Just a reminder, the club activity room is already crowded, and there's no room for any more weird women."
Between the lines, that familiar, sour taste, mixed with teasing and possessiveness, almost overflows from the screen.
Before Yuto could figure out how to reply, another person's avatar started flashing in the chat list.
It's an English leek. ?phosphorus left 〢G俬镏齐拔」emu shrimp/Q*un pear pear.
She didn't send any text, but just a picture.
It was a partial screenshot of a drawing, showing a chibi-style blonde girl with twin ponytails, fiercely poking a stick figure whose face was obscured with a pen, smoke rising from the stick figure's head.
Yuto could almost hear the sound of paper being punctured.
He sighed helplessly and put his phone back in his pocket.
It seems that the peaceful days are coming to an end again.
……
A few days later, at A-1 Pictures' recording studio.
When Yuto brought Yuzuriha Inori to the production team, everyone was stunned by the girl's stunning appearance.
Producer Ando even subconsciously pushed up his glasses, while Director Kinoshita had an expression that said, "Is this kid really here to sing, not to be an idol?"
Only the sound director, Shinsuke Takahashi, maintained his unchangingly serious expression.
He merely glanced at Yuzuriha Inori before coldly saying, "Appearances are meaningless in front of a microphone. Go inside and let me hear your voice."
Yuzurihashi seemed completely oblivious to Takahashi's pressure. She carried her guitar and obediently walked into the recording studio.
Aoyama Nanami happens to have some lines to re-record today, and he's currently sitting in the corner of the control room.
When she saw Yuzuriha Inori, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
But what she cared about even more was Yuto Itsuki, who brought Yuzuriha Inori with him.
It's him again.
He always manages to find such unpolished yet exceptionally talented "rough gems".
First it was myself, and now it's this pink-haired girl.
A subtle sense of crisis rose in Nanami's heart, a sense that she herself could not quite explain.
The lights in the recording studio came on.
Yuzuriha Inori didn't look at the sheet music; she simply closed her eyes and gently plucked the strings.
A melodious tune began, followed by her ethereal and pure voice.
She was still singing the same wordless humming that Yuto had heard on the street corner that day.
But this time, with professional recording equipment, the emotions in the song were amplified infinitely.
Loneliness, confusion, resilience, longing...
The control room was completely silent.
Producer Ando forgot to drink water, and Director Kinoshita closed his eyes, completely absorbed in the moment.
Aoyama Nanami clenched her fists, deeply moved by the song, as if she saw her own reflection—the one struggling alone in Tokyo, facing countless empty rooms by herself on countless nights.
The song ended, and the lingering sound lingered.
Shinsuke Takahashi remained silent for a long time before picking up the walkie-talkie, his voice filled with rare excitement: "What's your name?"
"Yuzuriha Inori".
“Very good.” Shinsuke Takahashi said succinctly, “Mr. Ando, we’ll use her for the theme song.”
No one objected to this decision.
Yuzuriha Inori's voice captivated everyone present.
Yuto breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
My judgment was right after all.
Things went more smoothly than expected, and Yuto decided to share the good news with his clubmates, which would also be a formal introduction of the new member.
He took Yuzuriha Inori to the club activity room at Toyosaki Academy.
The moment the door was pushed open, the atmosphere inside froze instantly.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was sitting on the sofa, elegantly crossing her legs, with a cold smile on her face.
Eriri stood in front of the easel, pretending to be focused on her painting, but her tense back and the sharp gaze that occasionally fell on her betrayed her inner turmoil.
Even Kato Megumi, who is usually not very noticeable, stopped wiping the table and looked over curiously.
"Let me introduce you all," Yuto said, forcing himself to speak. "This is Yuzuriha Inori, the singer of our anime's theme song."
Yuzuriha Inori seemed oblivious to the strange electromagnetic field in the room. She looked at Utaha and Eriri, tilted her head, and then gave them a friendly smile.
In Shiyu's eyes, that smile was a signal of war.
In her eyes, Yuzuriha Inori's otherworldly demeanor was a higher level of disguise, more threatening than Eriri's tsundere personality and Aoyama Nanami's hard-working persona.
In Eriri's view, that smile was nothing short of blatant boasting.
A stunningly beautiful woman suddenly appeared, stole the most important theme song from the anime, and was even personally brought to their "territory" by Yuto. This was an utter disgrace.
"Welcome!" Shiyu spoke first, her voice sweet enough to be cloying. "I never imagined that Itsuka-kun's hunting grounds had expanded from the voice acting world to the independent music scene. He's really becoming more and more like a producer."
"Hmph!" Eriri snorted coldly, turned her head, and muttered in a voice only she could hear, "Another one... Is this guy trying to build a harem...?"
Yudou felt a chill run down his spine.
The girl named Yuzuriha Inori just blinked her innocent, deep red eyes, seemingly still confused as to why everyone was silent.
弍疚鹨氿伊氵.芭柳!……
After the singer of the theme song was finalized, new problems arose one after another.
“Itsuka-sensei,” Producer Ando approached Yuto with a troubled expression, “This… Yuzuriha Inori, it seems she doesn’t have a fixed address in Tokyo.”
“Look, she’ll be going into the studio frequently to record, and she’ll also be communicating with us about the details of the arrangement. It’s not good for her to be constantly traveling around.”
Yuto frowned: "She's not signed with an agency?"
“No, she’s a completely independent musician.” Ando shrugged. “We can arrange a hotel for her, but this kid… how should I put it, she seems to lack social experience a bit…”
“Our staff took her to check in, and she almost used her ID card as a discount coupon. We were really worried about letting her stay alone.”
Yuto recalled Yuzuriha Inori's clear and innocent eyes and immediately understood Ando's implication.
This girl was like an elf who had stepped out of a fairy tale and knew nothing about the real world.
Ando looked at Yuto and gave him a friendly smile: "So you see, as the original author and the one who discovered her, you have the least barrier to communicating with her."
"To facilitate creative communication and help her better understand the soul of the work... could she stay with you temporarily?"
Yuto's lips twitched.
This sounds noble, but it's really just a way of passing the buck to someone else.
Why would a male high school student living alone take in a stunningly beautiful girl of unknown origin?
He could almost foresee the horrific chaos and bloodshed that would ensue in his family once the news got out.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's sharp tongue and Eriri's tears could melt his heart.
However, when Ando brought the helpless-looking Yuzuriha Inori to him, all of Yuto's refusal stuck in his throat.
Yuzuriha Inori looked at him, her deep red eyes filled with dependence and trust, as if he were her only piece of driftwood in this unfamiliar city.
“…Fine.” Yuto squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth, a sense of despair washing over him.
He's done.
That evening, Yuto posted the message in the club's Line group in a very businesslike tone.
"Who's more handsome than me: Just letting you know that Ms. Yuzuriha Inori will be staying at my house temporarily for work purposes, so that the theme song can be produced later."
Three seconds after the message was sent, the group chat exploded.
"Xia Shizi: ?"
Kasumi Shiko: Itsuka-kun, please explain in one sentence what you mean by "work requires"? What kind of work needs to be done at night? And what kind of follow-up production absolutely has to be done in a male high school student's bedroom?
Eriri: You bastard!!!
"Eriri: You've let a wolf into the house! You've let a wolf into the house! You brought that pink-haired woman home?! Yuto Itsuka, you big idiot! Didn't you even consider how we feel?!"
Kasumi Shiko: Oh dear, Sawamura-kun, please watch your words. We're just ordinary upperclassmen and childhood friends. Is it any of his business what we feel that he needs to consider?
Kasumi: But speaking of which, Itsuka-kun, I happen to have some new ideas about the script tonight, and I might need to discuss them with you in more detail. I'll be right there now.
"Eriri: Kasumigaoka Utaha, you scheming girl! You're not allowed to go! Yuto, you just wait, I'm coming right now! I want to see for myself what you're up to!"
Yuto was overwhelmed by the constant stream of messages popping up on his phone screen.
At this moment, in the eye of the storm, Yuzuriha Inori was wearing a large white T-shirt that Yuto had lent her, sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, holding a guitar, and softly humming a new melody.
She knew nothing of the impending war, and even when Yuto sighed, she looked up with concern and handed him a piece of apple that she had just taken out of the refrigerator.
"Eat?"
Looking at her pure face, Yuto felt a lump in his throat, unable to swallow it.
Sure enough, disaster struck.
When the doorbell rang, Yuto felt that it wasn't a doorbell, but the tolling of a judgment bell.
He steeled himself and went to open the door. Standing outside was Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had a radiant smile but icy eyes.
"Excuse me, junior." Shiyu walked in carrying a laptop, her eyes immediately locking onto Yuzuriha Inori in the living room.
When she saw the T-shirt that Yuzuriha Inori was wearing, which clearly belonged to Yuto, and the ambiguous length of the T-shirt that barely covered her thighs, the smile on her face froze for a moment.
"This must be Ms. Yuzuriha Inori?" Utaha's voice was as sweet as ever. "Seeing is believing, you're even more...cute in person than in photos."
Yuzuriha Inori looked up, blinked, seemingly unaware of the implied meaning in his words, and nodded politely.
Just as tensions were about to rise, the doorbell rang urgently again, accompanied by forceful banging on the door.
"Open the door! Yuto Itsuka, I know you're in there! Open the door!"
It's Eriri.
Yuto rubbed his forehead and opened the door.
The blonde girl with twin tails stood panting at the doorway. Upon seeing Utaha and Yuzuriha Inori inside, she instantly went into battle mode.