Did the girls gathered here really not trigger any Gravity?
Fuuki gazed at the surveillance footage: Sakiko's encouragement, Tomori's deeply buried head, Taki's slightly displeased gaze, Soyo's formal smile, Mutsumi's frozen stare... The expensive soundproofing material firmly locked the silence within the room.
The next second, Fuuki's confusion was unexpectedly interrupted.
"Yuutenji Nyamu?" He frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on another surveillance window.
In the first-floor elevator lobby, a figure, completely drenched, her bright yellow uniform clinging to her body, was embarrassingly rushing into the elevator, clutching a bag of juice.
"How did she end up here?"
The hidden cameras installed by [Spider] on the rehearsal room floor and in the first-floor lobby faithfully captured every detail. Seeing Nyamu looking like a drowned rat, Fuuki was genuinely surprised.
"Unlike her unreliable brother, has she chosen the most down-to-earth path to earn a living?"
This choice itself exuded a stubbornness like a country wheat sprout.
"Twenty minutes ago, Nagasaki Soyo, to ease the tension in the rehearsal room, ordered a drink for everyone."
"And the delivery person for this order just happened to be her?"
"It's a bit too coincidental." A hint of scrutiny flashed in Fuuki's eyes.
Pure coincidence? Or was some kind of Gravity, which he hadn't yet perceived, at play?
He got up and walked to the restroom in the corner of the room, took a brand new dry towel from the hanger, opened the door, and disappeared into the corridor.
============
"...Eh?"
Yuutenji Nyamu shook her wet head, her consciousness seemingly just struggling to surface from deep water, her memory like water-soaked paper, a small part blurred.
"What's going on? Just now... it seemed like everything went black for a moment?" She mumbled in confusion, feeling unusually heavy.
Immediately, she felt something was off.
On her head... what was covering it?
Soft, dry, with a strange, gentle, clean scent.
She instinctively raised her hand, grasping a light yellow, brand new towel with a cute triangle pattern printed on it.
"A towel... when did it get on my head?" She touched her hair in confusion—it was already half-dry. Only the tips were still damp.
"My hair seems to be dry too..."
She instinctively cupped the towel and brought it to her nose to sniff, and that fresh, warm scent inexplicably relaxed her tense nerves for a moment.
But the next instant, she realized something was wrong.
"Eh, no!" She suddenly looked down at her empty hands.
"Where did my delivery order go?!" Five colorful juices, an entire bag of juice that she had painstakingly protected in her arms while rushing through the downpour, had vanished.
"Who the heck stole my delivery?!"
The Working Warrior's lament echoed in the empty corridor, filled with the anger of being toyed with by fate.
"Someone even steals deliveries... Has God died, and justice perished?!"
Ignoring the cold and discomfort of her drenched clothes, Nyamu, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, anxiously searched the corridor, her gaze sweeping over every corner, every closed door, not even sparing the space behind the fire extinguisher.
Ten minutes of desperate searching yielded nothing.
Just as the feeling of despair was about to engulf her like a tide, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled out her phone with trembling hands.
The screen lit up, and a prominent notification popped up on the [Teiai Rider] APP interface:
[Order Delivered!]
[Customer Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★]
[Customer Message: Thank you for your hard work, the juice was very timely!]
[Extra Tip: 500 yen]
"Gah!"
Nyamu's eyes instantly widened, immense joy dispelling all fatigue and anger, dynamic tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm so grateful! There are still good people in the world!"
She looked at the fluctuating numbers in her APP wallet, as if seeing the light of hope for survival shining.
"Achoo!" A loud sneeze interrupted her joy, making her shiver.
"Oh no!" Nyamu instantly sobered up, "Getting sick is a big taboo for a Working Warrior!"
She remembered the high medical expenses in the big city, which she definitely couldn't easily afford.
"This isn't a small town... seeing a doctor and buying medicine costs a lot, a lot of money!" She shivered, quickly making a decision.
"Ugh, I'll retreat for today." She tightened her wet and cold uniform, dragging her heavy steps towards the elevator.
"Tomorrow, I'll regroup and fight again!"
Working Warrior Nyamu, withdrawing from the battlefield!
[Name: Yuutenji Nyamu]
[Title: 'Working Warrior' (NEW)]
[Today's Earnings: Delivery fee 1600 yen + Tip 1000 yen - Uniform rental 500 yen - Platform commission 200 yen = 1900 yen!]
[Total Wealth: 6105 yen (including deposit 3000 yen, video earnings 1200 yen, temporarily untransferable)]
[Actually Usable: 3105 yen]
[Stamina: 30]
[Satiety: 40]
[Spirit: 40]
[Item Slot: 'Teiai Delivery Set' (wet), Cheap Clothes (wet), Yuutenji Nyamu's Panties, Triangle Pattern Towel (brand new).]
[Quest: 'Working Warrior, Working Soul!' (Completed)]
[New Quest: 'Shout! Ikebukuro Wild Kingdom' (Not Accepted)]
[Ad Space Available]
============
'The vocalist is the face of the band, this position cannot have any problems.'
Shiina Taki's tone was severe.
'Tomori-chan, don't push yourself too hard.'
Nagasaki Soyo's comforting words were just right.
'...'
Wakaba Mutsumi stood quietly in the intersection of light and shadow, holding her guitar.
The city lights began to glow, and night fell.
The first band rehearsal ended sadly in silent performance.
Taki, Soyo, and Mutsumi packed their things and left, while Togawa Sakiko, because it was on her way, walked with Takamatsu Tomori, who was still looking down and clutching her notebook.
The city's night wind carried noise and coolness. The two walked side by side on the pedestrian overpass, with a continuous stream of cars below them, their lights merging into flowing lava.
Tomori remained silent until Sakiko handed her the almost untouched cup of juice.
She took it and gulped down more than half the cup in one go. The cold liquid stimulated her throat, causing her to cough violently, her slender shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
After the coughing subsided, she looked up, her orange-pink eyes reflecting the car lights below the bridge, shimmering with a bewildered watery gaze.
"Why... did you choose me?"
Sakiko stopped, her light blue twin tails gently swaying in the night wind.
She didn't answer immediately, only gently brushed back the fringe blown by the wind. A moonlight-like glow fell on her serious profile. She turned around and gave the bewildered girl in front of her a determined and powerful smile.
"Because you wrote the lyrics, of course, only the author can sing them to convey the most genuine emotions."
She took a step closer, her gaze burning into Tomori's eyes.
"Because, Tomori's lyrics, are a cry from your heart."
As if to immediately prove the power of these words, Sakiko took a deep breath, her hands suddenly braced on the cold railing of the overpass, her body leaning slightly forward, and facing the noisy traffic below the bridge, she shouted with all her might:
"I really want to—become human, desuwa!"
A clear, slightly cracking female voice cut through the night sky, carrying a desperate sincerity and longing.
"Eh? Saki-chan?!" Tomori's eyes widened in surprise at this sudden action, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson. Such a bold, such a "shameful" act, completely exceeded the boundaries of her imagination.
But the next second, her gaze was drawn like a magnet and could no longer move away from Sakiko.
The moonlight seemed to cast a hazy, sacred halo over the girl standing by the railing.
After shouting, she panted slightly, then turned her head to look at Tomori. Her golden pupils shone brightly in the night, and her smile was as brilliant as the morning sun breaking through the clouds.
That light was so pure, so dazzling, carrying an almost divine infectiousness that deeply captivated Tomori's heart.
An unspeakable impulse, mixed with the courage ignited by that light, surged within Takamatsu Tomori.
She involuntarily imitated Sakiko, her hands tightly gripping the cold railing. She took a deep, deep breath, her chest heaving violently from nervousness. Her eyes were tightly closed, as if to shut out all timidity and hesitation.
Sakiko immediately stood beside her, her gaze full of encouragement, silently conveying strength.
"I... I really want to—" Tomori's voice trembled, yet it rang out with unusual clarity in the night sky, striving to break through that invisible shackles.
"Become human—gu."
'Gu?'
Tomori suddenly opened her eyes, startled and ashamed by the strange sound she had made.
"Amazing!" Sakiko beside her, however, seemed to have completely missed the strange ending sound, excitedly patting her shoulder.
"Isn't this great, Tomori! See, you can definitely do it, be the vocalist, meow!"
'Meow?'
Tomori blinked, wondering if her ears had been damaged by choking on the juice.
Under the bright moonlight, the radiant girl who was cheering for her, encouraging her... on both sides of her head, it seemed... had really grown a pair of fluffy... cat ears?
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