"Is this really okay?"
Chihaya Tetsuya showed his phone to Misumi Uika with a worried expression.
"I feel like it reads with a subtle, dismissive feeling..."
"But you're not lying, are you?"
Uika didn't look at his screen. Instead, she stood up and, without drawing attention to it, folded the loungewear that was hanging on a rack by the room's entrance. Even though the style and color weren't exactly shameful, she didn't want to show too much of her unrefined side to a designer like him.
"By the way, you don't have to keep staring at the screen. They definitely won't reply right away."
After all, for a "dismissive message" this obvious, it must be a major incident for them that requires a serious discussion... Uika could already imagine the chaos in the Chihaya household.
"I see..."
On the other hand, Tetsuya, with no such image in his mind, simply followed her advice, put down his phone, and scanned the space around him.
On Uika's suggestion, the two had come straight to her rented apartment in Tokyo after leaving the vegetarian restaurant. Under her guidance, he had sent that "notice of staying out" just a minute ago.
It was a very standard 1LDK single-person apartment. Although with her current income and status she could afford a much better place, she had told him that the security and soundproofing of this apartment building were very reliable, making it perfect for her to create and rest.
Even though he was just sitting at the dining table in the living room, Tetsuya felt restless for intruding on this private space. The moment he realized that the open door not far away led to her private bedroom, he would immediately avert his gaze.
Meanwhile, in stark contrast to his restlessness, Uika was much more relaxed now that she was home.
"What would you like to drink, Tetsuya-san? Well, even though I ask, all I can really offer right now is barley tea or coffee."
Uika, who was diligently controlling her diet for the [TGC], looked regretfully at her empty refrigerator.
After quickly replying, "Barley tea is fine," Tetsuya remained seated in a prim and proper posture, afraid he might accidentally see something he shouldn't.
Not long after, when Uika brought a cup of tea to him, she couldn't help but be amused by his incredibly stiff posture.
"What kind of sitting posture is that? Are you a good student listening attentively in class?"
"Er... it's nothing. I'm just a little nervous," he said, coughing awkwardly. "I've almost never been to a girl's home alone before..."
"Is that so? But I heard from Sakiko that you went to her current home very late at night once, right?"
"That was a special situation. And that place... rather than personal privacy, all I remember is being worried about Sakiko at the time."
"Mhm, it's true that's not a place that would inspire any romantic thoughts..." Uika nodded, then continued, "But the atmosphere in my apartment isn't that serious, is it? Look, on the shoe cabinet, I even bought some aromatherapy diffusers to make it feel more like a home and help me relax!"
"...Those are two different things. A person's habits can't be overcome with just a few words."
He shook his head helplessly.
"Not to mention I just sent such a suspicious message home..."
"What's suspicious about it? Everything you said was the truth." Uika's tone held not a trace of hesitation or nervousness. "First, as your exclusive model, I am indeed a very important business partner. Second, maintaining your physical and mental health by relaxing is indeed a major matter concerning your future. And finally, my family's home address is indeed very remote... it just refers to my hometown, not here."
She was well aware of how terrible he was at telling lies, which was why she had him use this vague and highly misleading statement to put off the girls at home.
With a little bit of manipulation, even the truth could be used to hide a great deal of information.
Even after hearing her twisted logic, Tetsuya's unease did not subside.
"What if they question me when I go home tomorrow?" His voice was still full of worry, even though he hadn't technically lied. "Questions like, 'Was that business partner a man or a woman?' and 'What did you talk about?'... with how sharp they are, they'll see right through my evasiveness..."
"If that's the case, then just don't answer."
Uika said calmly, "Listen up, Tetsuya-san. Although your status in the family is certainly precarious in certain specific areas, beyond that, their respect and love for you are also undeniable facts. In this situation, that affection is your most effective weapon."
"...W-Weapon?" He looked completely bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Whether it was the incident in Paris or you asking me for help this time, they used 'suspicion' as an excuse to pressure you, right?"
Uika looked him straight in the eye.
"In that case, why not use their 'suspicion' to counter-attack? For instance, you could question them back with things like, 'Why do you suspect me so much?' or 'Am I so untrustworthy to you?' If your attitude is firm enough, they'll be the ones to back down, worried they might have actually made you angry. After all, no matter how much they like to act unreasonably, it's all predicated on the fact that you won't leave them."
As she spoke, she watched his increasingly astonished expression with an incredibly profound gaze.
"If you can act even angrier, they might even drop all their suspicions and apologize to you out of fear of losing you."
"Eh..."
Uika's eyes, as deep as the night sky, and this incredibly dangerous lesson in manipulation, caused Tetsuya's brain to short-circuit for a moment.
Although he was a late bloomer when it came to romance and relationships, he understood in a very short time the kind of calculation and logic hidden behind the series of points she was making.
Using the fact that they don't want to lose him to apply reverse pressure, making them drop all their suspicions...
Although he had never actually done something like that, he knew that if he did as she said, the four girls at home would, just as she predicted, unhesitatingly drop their suspicions out of fear of losing him.
It wasn't just this incident; this logic could be applied to any potential conflict he might have with them in the future. As long as they still loved him, he could continue to apply this reverse pressure with impunity, forcing them to concede again and again...
But—
"I can't do that, Uika."
Tetsuya shook his head with great seriousness.
"Turning their feelings for me into a convenient tool... I can't do that."
Even though he had been worn down these past two weeks to the point where he was dreaming about that sort of thing, and even though he himself felt his lovers' suspicions and punishment were a bit excessive, he knew that it all stemmed from how much they cherished him, and their own insecurities about their appeal.
"From the moment I confirmed my relationship with them, I decided to treasure their feelings for me and properly compensate them for the compromises they made for my sake. I don't want to betray the resolve I made back then, and I don't want to do anything that would hurt their feelings."
With that, he picked up his phone with a serious expression.
"Thank you for being willing to discuss this with me. I'll go back and explain things properly myself—"
"Wait."
On the other side, after being rejected so seriously by him, Uika's face showed no sign of dejection or disappointment. On the contrary, from the moment she heard him say, "I can't do that," a knowing smile had already appeared on her face.
"Relax. What I just said... was just a little test. If you had actually planned to do as I said, you wouldn't have even needed to explain to them. I would have been the first to inform Sakiko and have them take even stricter measures to control you. Like putting a 'lock' on a certain part, for instance."
"L-Lock..."
A chill shot up from Tetsuya's lower body and quickly spread throughout his entire being.
Uika continued, "But, just as I expected, even after confirming your relationship with them and sealing the deal, you aren't the kind of man who would easily use someone's feelings, Tetsuya-san."
"Well, of course not," he said, breaking out in a nervous sweat. "If I were that kind of person, with Sakiko's powers of observation and personality, forget about being with me, she wouldn't have had any interest or trust in me from the very beginning..."
"Hmph hmph, who knows. I've heard plenty of stories online about scumbags who turn on a girl the moment they get her into bed. Though in your case, it seems you were the one who was tricked into bed~"
With a half-joking tone, Uika stood up again and went into her room, returning a moment later with a laptop.
"Alright, the tests and jokes are over. This is the main reason I invited you to my home."
She pulled a chair up next to his and sat beside him. Curious, Tetsuya looked at the laptop screen she opened.
"What... is this?"
The large array of strange waveforms and multicolored lines on the screen was rather dazzling.
"Audio editing software... well, to put it simply, it's for composing music."
With that, she pressed the spacebar, and a melody he had never heard before began to play from the computer.
"This is [Summer Zodiac]'s next new song. It's about sixty percent complete."
Uika explained, "Because it's the first new group song since Mana joined, its significance is quite major. After the [TGC] is over, the three of us will probably focus on recording this song and its MV... speaking of the MV, you can probably guess what I'm going to say next, right?"
"Performance outfits!"
The moment he heard the letters "MV," memories from several months ago flooded his mind.
That was the beginning of this whole series of stories, and one of the most unforgettable, major turning points in his life.
"I see! Uika, you want to commission me to make new performance outfits for your new music video!"
"Exactly."
Uika pressed the spacebar again, stopping the song.
"According to the original plan, we were supposed to wait until the composition was completely finished before sending a work request to [Starry Sky]. But since you don't have much to do right now, and you get arrested by them the moment you're idle, I figured it's better to find something for you to do... What do you think?"
"This is a huge help!"
Tetsuya looked at her with incredibly surprised eyes.
"This is exactly what I need right now, Uika! As long as I have new work, I'll have a reason to refuse them even at home!"
"Right? And since my new song isn't finished yet, every time I'm about to revise or finalize it, I'll have a reason to call you over here to discuss the song and the style of the outfits again. That'll give you more breathing room."
Feeling the person beside her practically start to sparkle from sheer happiness, Uika smiled and said, "In other words, this is a win-win deal. You get to relax, and I get your outfits a step ahead of schedule. What do you think? Not a bad idea, right?"
Although her tone was light, behind that ease lay many thoughts she hadn't voiced.
For her, tricking... persuading him to come to her apartment was just the first step. Making him feel at ease staying in a girl's home was the second. If she could use work as a reason, even this teenage boy, who was physically experienced but hadn't matured one bit mentally, would surely let down his guard and relax here.
"So, when you go back, you can tell them the truth with even more conviction."
Uika said, "After all, this time, and every time you come to my place in the future, it really will be for work... won't it?"