256 – Partners
The next place we headed was the recording studio.
“Oh, it’s pretty serious here too.”
As I said that while looking around the recording studio, Ayase, who was next to me, cautioned me.
“Be careful because the audio equipment here is very expensive. If you break even one, you will have to work for one year without pay at our company.”
“…Is that enough?”
As I looked around the recording studio without much thought, I shrugged my shoulders in fear.
Miss Shirasaki, who was guiding me, covered her mouth and laughed, probably because it was funny to see me like that.
“Whoops, do you believe Ayase’s words seriously?”
“Oh, you’re kidding, right?”
“One year is nonsense, half a year will do.”
“…I’m leaving right now.”
As I said that and grabbed the recording studio doorknob, Ayase grabbed my collar from behind, saying, “It’s all a joke, don’t take it seriously.”
Mr. Shirasaki, who was watching us from the side, asked with a mischievous smile.
“The two of them are good. Are they like childhood friends?”
“Yes? Do we look like that?”
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“Yes. Sorry if not.”
“No, until I’m sorry. We’re just normal friends. We’ve probably known each other for about two years now, right?”
“Really?”
Mr. Shirashiki looks at me and Ayase alternately as if surprised.
“The two of them are so close that I thought they were like childhood friends.”
“Sister is also really…”
Ayase said that and slapped Shirasaki-san on the shoulder, but he didn’t look too upset.
Does it feel so good to hear that friends look good?
“Rather than that, speak more comfortably. If you use polite language with Ayase and only use honorifics with me, it will confuse you.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I went outside after touring the recording studio, and the staff were chatting in groups of threes and threes, as if it was lunch time before I knew it.
Most of the topics were about thinking about what to eat.
Seeing that, Mr. Shirasaki turned around and asked.
“How do you two like lunch?”
Then Ayase answered.
“I was trying to eat moderately around here.”
“Then would you like to eat with me? There’s a restaurant I go to often.”
Mr. Shirasaki said that and looked at me as if asking for my consent.
“I like it.”
There was no specific reason for refusal, so I nodded, and Ayase, who had noticed, also said he liked it.
Having unified opinions like that, we decided to go down to eat.
***
Maybe it was lunchtime, and the streets were crowded with office workers coming out to eat.
“There are so many people.”
As I muttered that with a slightly tired expression, Mr. Shirasaki, who was walking slightly in front of me, said.
“This area is a fairly famous office street. Usually, lunchtime starts at 12:00, so it’s the most floating population during the day.”
The people seen through the glass windows on the street eating rice were truly diverse.
Even if it’s a waste of time to eat, people who casually fill their meals with sandwiches or hamburgers, people who can’t take their phones off their ears while eating, and people who eat while chatting with the people who came with them.
It is truly a collection of all kinds of human groups.
Mr. Shirasaki took the lead, saying he would introduce a restaurant he knew, and took us to a rice bowl restaurant with a long line in front.
“Wow, waiting line is no joke.”
“It’s such a famous restaurant that it’s been introduced in magazines and on TV. But today is a short day. There aren’t as many companies that go to work on weekends as I thought.”
“Ha ha…”
When I laughed vaguely at the black joke that only office workers can do, Mr. Shirasaki added, “Still, our company provides weekend work allowances and annual leave.”
… Shouldn’t that be taken for granted?
Well, there are rumors that black companies in Japan squeeze their employees to the brink of death, so they might be satisfied with that.
“You’ve worked hard.”
When Ayase said that, Shirasaki-san shook his hand in embarrassment and denied it.
“Ah~ What is this? And we have to work hard so that the company’s broadcasters can safely broadcast on weekends, right? Thinking of that gives me strength that I didn’t have before.”
Ah… Ah….
It’s too dazzling.
It was as if a halo shone behind Ms. Shirasaki’s back, with lines full of passion that would be possible for a newcomer to society.
As if I wasn’t the only one who thought of this, Ayase was also looking at Shirasaki-san with a warm expression.
“What’s wrong with both of you?”
“No, nothing.”
“I just thought it was fortunate that you were my manager.”
We couldn’t bear to answer, “You’re too dazzling,” So we dutifully waited for our turn to come back.
***
“For three guests!”
After waiting for about 20 minutes, we managed to enter the store and took a seat at the counter right in front.
Beyond the counter, I could see the owner cooking in real time, so I didn’t feel bored while waiting.
“What would you like to eat?”
Mr. Shirasaki said that and casually handed us the menu.
“What’s delicious here?”
“Well, all the rice bowls here are delicious, so it’s hard to pick just one. My personal recommendation is Tendon and Ebidong. The shrimp tempura here is really good.”
“Then I want to eat Tendon.”
“What about Kim?”
I glanced over the menu and answered.
“I’ll eat katsudon.”
After the menu was decided, Mr. Shirasaki ordered on behalf of us.
“Here’s two tendon and one katsudon!”
“Deposit!”
After the order was finished, Mr. Shirasaki asked as he sipped the water the waitress brought him.
“But how did you two become friends?”
“Us?”
“Yeah, to be honest, I don’t think the two of them are a very good combination.”
Mr. Shirasaki said that while looking at Ayase and me in turn.
Well, it’s not unreasonable.
Because it’s a combination of a muscle man that even boys of the same s*x feel burdened by and a virtuber who plays an honor student at school.
So I told you what happened between us in first grade.
To be precise, the identity of Luna Minazuki, a virtuoso I met by chance, and the story of Ayase, who misunderstood my intentions, ate a lot of kimchi soup.
Mr. Shirasaki, who listened to the story for a long time until his order was served, burst out laughing and burst into laughter.
“That’s why Ayase told me to keep it a secret at school because he’ll do anything with his mouth, right?”
“…….”
Ayase’s face turned red, as if it was embarrassing even thinking about it.
Honestly, I never imagined that there would be people who would actually say those lines in real life.
“It’s a pity that I caught you, it would have been a big deal if you got caught by a bad guy.”
“Oh, yes. If so, it would be like an erotic doujinshi by now…”
“Sister!”
Ayase couldn’t stand it and exploded in the end! When I screamed, Shirasaki-san asked back with a worried expression as if nothing had happened.
“Why?”
“Ugh…”
While grinding his teeth in anger, Ayase took out his smartphone and fixed his gaze on the screen.
She seems to be protesting in her own way that she won’t talk anymore.
So Ayase kept her mouth shut, and Shirasaki-san and I naturally started talking about different topics.
“Sirasaki-san, since when did you become Ayase’s manager?”
Then Shirasaki-san gave a thoughtful expression and said “Hmm~”.
“I joined Kirby right after graduating from university, so it’s been two years now. I’ve been with Ayase since her first debut.”
“Then you’re like Ayase’s partner.”
“Partner…Yeah, that’s right. It’s a bit embarrassing, but.”
Mr. Shirasaki scratched his cheek as if he was embarrassed after saying that, and stared at Ayase, who was looking at his smartphone beside him.
“She’s not really related by blood, but Ayase is like her little sister to me. So, if possible, I want to be with her until the end.”
“I see.”
“Did I tell you something too boring?”
“No, it’s funny. The Ayase I know is Ayase when she was in school. She doesn’t know much about Ayase who is a vertuber.”
When I said that and smiled, Mr. Shirasaki took out a few things from his handbag and showed me, perhaps feeling more confident.
“Then why don’t you join the fan club of Kundo Kim and Luna at this point? If you sign up now, you will receive a 30% discount on your annual membership fee and various other benefits…”
“The food you ordered is here!”
“Let’s eat first.”
“Oh! Wait a minute! Don’t look away casually!”
“I can’t hear, I can’t hear.”
I said that and put down the tendon in front of Ayase, whose fingers stopped at some point.
Then Ayase put down her smartphone and prepared her meal.
“It feels good! Sign up now and you’ll get bromide and fanlight as a set!”
I listened to Mr. Shirasaki, who was persistently beside me to join the fan club, with one ear and the other, and greeted my portion of katsudon with a reverent attitude.
Thick lean meat and fat visible through the brown batter.
And the onion and eggs lightly covered on top are mixed with the katsuobushi broth, giving off a fragrant smell.
As the saying goes, Mt. Geumgang is also after a meal, so now I focus on eating.
“I will eat well.”
I muttered that with gratitude, then split the wooden chopsticks in half.