Just then, his phone began to ring.
Touma picked it up and saw that it was his boss calling.
Boss?
Which boss?
“That’s…
my supervisor from my customer service part-time job.” The moment the topic of work came up, Sakiko immediately became interested.
I see.
Probably some low-level manager.
“When was your last paycheck?” Touma asked.
“Three days ago,” Sakiko answered immediately.
“Hello.” Touma answered the call.
“Togawa!
You never showed up at the office today.
Are you planning to quit or what?!” An angry voice came through the phone.
“I quit.
Whoever wants the job can have it.” With that, Touma hung up without giving the other party another chance to speak.
Customer Service Sakiko has been successfully eliminated.
Even though she’d expected this outcome, seeing it happen with her own eyes still made Sakiko’s heart ache.
“Ugh…
I worked so hard to find that customer service job…” She felt as though her future had gone completely dark.
“Don’t be so discouraged.
There are many roads that lead to Rome.
There are plenty of ways to make money.
There’s no reason to hang yourself on a single tree.” Touma figured he could at least understand how she felt, so he offered a few words of comfort.
Then he naturally asked, “You’re pretty good at composing and arranging music, aren’t you?” Sakiko answered weakly, “I know a little, I suppose.
Why do you ask?” “So you’ve never thought about making money by selling your compositions?
You could write songs for smaller bands, and if your work is good enough, even sell them to major companies.” Touma suggested.
It really didn’t make sense.
Why hadn’t Maestro Sakiko ever tried making money by selling songs in the original story?
Her composing skills were already more than good enough.
She had even written a song on the level of “Haruhikage.” “Sell my songs…?” That was a path Sakiko had never considered.
After hearing his suggestion, it felt as though everything suddenly clicked into place.
Like frantically searching for your phone only to realize it had been in your hand the whole time.
Touma was absolutely right.
With her ability, even if she didn’t become wealthy, earning enough to live comfortably would be no problem at all.
She might even be able to afford Tsukinomori’s tuition.
Thinking of that, Sakiko slowly raised her head.
Her eyes lit up.
The future suddenly looked bright again.
Of course, she couldn’t let herself sound too excited.
So she calmly said in their shared mind, “That actually sounds like quite a good suggestion, desu wa.” She even said “desu wa.” Hearing Sakiko actually say it herself felt strangely surreal to Touma.
Sakiko, however, didn’t seem to notice.
Instead, she continued, “So…
what do we do next?” “Right now we’re in the era of girl bands.
There are plenty of small, unknown bands around.
For them, creating an original song is extremely difficult.
As a result, they also struggle to stand out.” Touma glanced at the time.
There were only two hours left in today’s experience.
“Do you know which live houses the students at Tsukinomori usually go to?” “Um…
probably CiRCLE or RiNG?
I haven’t really kept up with that kind of thing for a long time…” Sakiko wasn’t entirely sure.
She added, “What does that have to do with Tsukinomori?” “Of course it has something to do with it.
Tsukinomori is an elite school.
The students there have money.” “Our targets are Tsukinomori students who have formed unknown bands.” Touma explained.
Sakiko immediately felt that made perfect sense.
She had spent enough time around Tsukinomori students to know that most of their allowances alone could crush her current financial situation.
“Anyway, let’s head to RiNG first.” After thinking it over for a few seconds, Touma made his decision.
RiNG?
Several familiar faces immediately flashed through Sakiko’s mind.
She panicked.
“How about…
we go to CiRCLE first?!” Touma understood exactly what she was thinking.
She was simply afraid of running into her former CRYCHIC bandmates.
But…
The one who was afraid was Sakiko.
What did that have to do with him?
“RiNG.” Touma left no room for negotiation.
A short while later, he arrived at RiNG’s entrance and strode confidently inside.
Inside the body, Sakiko was incredibly nervous.
Looking around through their shared vision, she silently prayed that they wouldn’t run into any of her former CRYCHIC bandmates.
After all, the person controlling her body wasn’t herself.
She had no idea what kind of sparks might fly if they met.
Arriving at the second-floor café, he found it fairly crowded, since school had already let out.
Even so, Touma immediately spotted the girl behind the counter.
Long black hair.
A beauty mark beneath the corner of one eye.
And the perpetually stern expression on her face.
It was none other than former CRYCHIC member Shiina Taki.
Naturally, Sakiko noticed her as well.
At the same time, Shiina Taki looked over.
Her brows immediately knitted together.
It’s over…
My image…
My life…
My future…
Is everything about to be destroyed right here?
Sakiko shut her eyes tightly, too afraid to watch what would happen next.
Yet…
She couldn’t resist sneaking a look.
He’s getting closer!
He’s walking over!
Sakiko held her breath.
She felt like she was about to die.
Hearing all the strange noises echoing in his mind, Touma couldn’t help feeling speechless.
Walking up to Shiina Taki, he asked, “Is Ms.
Matsugi here?” Shiina Taki looked puzzled for a moment before answering, “She stepped out for a bit.
She should be back soon.” “Thank you.” Touma thanked her politely.
His main goal was to ask Matsugi Ririko to help spread the word.
Searching for customers by himself would simply be too slow.
Just as he was thinking that, a petite figure climbed the stairs.
Short gray hair.
An aura like a timid little animal.
It was Takamatsu Tomori.
The legendary band’s members were almost all here now.
Seeing this, Touma couldn’t help feeling a little excited.
Naturally, Takamatsu Tomori noticed him as well.
Her eyes widened blankly.
“S…
Sakiko…” She murmured as she hurried over.
Stopping in front of Touma, a mixture of emotions welled up in her eyes.
“Sakiko…
it’s been a long time.
Um…” “Yeah.
It’s been a long time.” For the time being, Touma had no intention of getting deeply involved with any of the former band members.
He simply responded politely.
Just then, Matsugi Ririko’s voice came from downstairs.
“Sorry, I have something I need to take care of.” Touma immediately prepared to head downstairs.
At that moment, however, Takamatsu Tomori reached out and gently grabbed his sleeve.
“Um…
could we…
talk for a little while?” “Maybe another time.” Touma declined.
He had absolutely no intention of getting caught up in the whirlpool of bands.
Once you got dragged into that world, it only pulled you deeper and deeper.
Watching from the sidelines was more than enough.