【Music Theory has reached Mastery level.】
【Cello (Beginner): 50% → 70%, reach 100% to advance to Proficient.】
Suzuki Yuu arrived at the designated spot, quietly standing in place as he waited for Hasegawa Aoi to arrive, taking the opportunity to check his system progress.
After confirming that his afternoon practice had shown some progress, his attention shifted elsewhere.
It was just a trip to the arcade, yet this club president insisted on “getting ready,” which Yuu thought was a bit unnecessary.
Still, he waited where he was.
The location was Akihabara, where the streets and alleys were covered in all sorts of illustrations and profiles of two-dimensional characters, both proper and not-so-proper.
Because it was the afternoon—right around when most people were getting off work—the streets were crowded with passersby.
Businessmen in all sorts of suits hurried along, mingling with young people carrying anime-character backpacks and pausing in front of shop windows, together creating this district’s unique scenery.
On a giant electronic billboard, idol girls in anime form beamed sweet smiles down at the crowd, while from a nearby maid café came a stream of cheerful “Welcome home, Master!” greetings.
Yeah, Yuu had already lost count of how many maids had called him “Master” and tried to invite him inside.
Maybe it was his looks, but he could clearly feel that these maids were noticeably more enthusiastic with him than with other guests.
No doubt, they were all very cute, but Yuu had been hanging around with even more beautiful girls lately, so it was hard to get interested.
Yuu glanced at his phone—ten minutes past the agreed time.
“She can’t have gotten lost, right?” he muttered in his heart.
But he quickly shook his head; Hasegawa Aoi was definitely more familiar with this area than he was.
There were still plenty of her manga in the clubroom, after all.
Just as Yuu looked around, a girl suddenly appeared behind him. She tiptoed, stretched out her hands, reached around his neck from behind, and started squishing his cheeks.
“Good evening, underclassman.”
Yuu quickly broke free and turned around.
Then he saw a slightly surprising sight.
His club president had taken off her forever-unchanging black hoodie and changed into a pure white short-sleeved dress.
A thin white ribbon was tied at her waist, and the skirt fluttered gently in the evening breeze, making her figure look even more petite and delicate.
Her always-messy, light chestnut short hair had been carefully styled, the ends curled in just a bit, and a tiny star-shaped hairpin was clipped to the side.
She’d even put on a little makeup, which made her already bright eyes sparkle with even more spirit.
Yuu eyed her suspiciously, as if trying to confirm whether this person was really Hasegawa Aoi.
“What’s with that look?” Seeing Yuu’s stare, the usually lively Aoi took a few steps back.
She clenched the hem of her skirt with one hand, then, as if summoning her courage, put her hands on her hips and asked,
“So, how do I look in this outfit?”
“Mm, ninety-three points. If you could act more proper in the clubroom, the score would be even higher.”
“Underclassman, you’ve got such a handsome face—if only you didn’t have that mouth.”
She shot Yuu a disdainful look, then immediately bounced back to her lively self:
“All right, let’s go, underclassman! But first, let me stop by the specialty bookstore!”
“Are you going to buy more of your shoujo light novels and muscle-man magazines again…”
Yuu grumbled. Hasegawa Aoi was serious when it came to music, but outside of that, she was always slacking off.
Especially the magazines in the clubroom—she might as well plaster “pervert” on her forehead.
Even more shameless than he was.
“Wha… what are you saying?” Aoi’s cheeks reddened slightly as she fiddled with her hair and stammered, “Th-that’s me appreciating art!”
“Muscle-man magazines count as art…?”
“The human body is a form of art, too. Someone as vulgar as you wouldn’t understand.”
As she gave this weak explanation, she was already pulling Yuu by the sleeve with practiced ease, ducking into a building with a massive anime poster.
The bookstore was packed, the air thick with the smell of ink.
As soon as Aoi entered, it was like a fish back in water. Her earlier embarrassment vanished, and she dragged Yuu between the shelves with such determination it was like she was on a secret mission.
“Found it!” She stopped in front of a shelf labeled “Shoujo Manga,” tiptoed, and grabbed several beautifully illustrated comics from the top row.
Yuu took a glance—without exception, the covers all featured several impossibly handsome anime guys in poses that made his teeth ache.
“Senpai, your taste is as… consistent as ever.”
“Mind your own business!” Hugging her pile of books, Aoi strutted off to the cashier, completely ignoring the looks from people around her.
Of course, she was the one buying, but it was Yuu who ended up carrying the bag.
“All right, next let’s hit the arcade! Underclassman, you’re on my turf today—I’m going to crush you!”
“So far, my record against you is ten to zero. A couple of those were total shutouts.”
“That was just me having a bad day.”
“If you’re bad, practice more.”
“You’re calling me bad? How am I bad! The weather was—”
Before Yuu finished, Aoi was already bristling, listing all sorts of excuses.
Yuu just smiled and followed along behind her.
But then, her voice abruptly stopped.
Puzzled, Yuu turned his head, only to see Aoi frozen in place. All her lively, agitated expressions vanished, replaced by a look of shock and confusion he’d never seen before.
“What’s wrong?” He followed her gaze.
On the street corner—there should have been an arcade. But as they got closer, it was pitch dark inside. The shutters were tightly closed, and a faded notice was pasted to the door.
It was as if all the strength had drained out of Aoi. She slowly walked over, with Yuu following, still carrying the bag of manga.
She stood before the cold metal shutters and reached out to lightly touch the paper.
There were a few simple lines written on the notice: “This store has closed due to the lease expiring last month. Thank you for your long-time support.”
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.” Her voice was full of disappointment.
“That’s a shame.”
“Ugh—this was one of my favorite places. How could this happen?”
“There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Yuu stood awkwardly, unsure of how to comfort her.
He could fully understand how she felt—it was like your favorite restaurant suddenly closing after years of eating there.
If it were him, he’d be sad for a long time, too.
But then he thought of food, and suddenly realized that might be a good way to distract her.
“How about we go eat? My treat.”
He tried to pull Aoi away.
“Let’s go! I need to vent my feelings—hard!”
Aoi spun around, eyes still a little red, but her tone full of determined energy.
Soon, they were sitting in a yakiniku restaurant.
Watching Aoi order as if trying to drill holes in the menu—top-grade short rib, thick-cut tongue, diaphragm steak… Yuu eyed the server’s long list, feeling his wallet ache.
“Senpai, are you venting, or trying to bankrupt me?”
“Doesn’t matter! You said you’d treat!” she said righteously, then grabbed the tongs and tossed a slice of short rib onto the grill with gusto.
The meat hit the sizzling-hot grate and immediately made a “zzzla” sound, the aroma spreading at once.
Aoi, as if she had a grudge against the meat, kept flipping it, and before long the edges were already charred.
“Ah! My meat!” she wailed.
Yuu sighed and took the tongs from her hand. “Let me handle it. You just focus on eating.”
With practiced ease, he grilled the meat to perfection, then set it in Aoi’s dipping dish.
Aoi stared blankly, then at Yuu who was focused on grilling. The anger on her face faded without her realizing it. She picked up the meat, dipped it in sauce, stuffed it in her mouth, and her cheeks puffed out.
“…It’s good,” she mumbled.
Seeing her mood lift a little, Yuu seized the moment to comfort her.
“Senpai, look on the bright side—at least you’ll have plenty of time to read your magazines tonight.”
He said this teasingly, but Aoi suddenly looked thoughtful.
She gazed at Yuu and said,
“Underclassman, even though you look skinny, you have muscles, right?”
She still remembered the feeling when she’d accidentally hugged him before.
“What are you up to?” Yuu instantly became wary.
“Nothing, I just want to see,” she muttered, quiet enough for only the two of them to hear.
“You… could you be a pervert?”
“What are you talking about! I just want to appreciate the view.”
“Give it up.”
Yuu rejected her without mercy, leaving Aoi looking a bit disappointed.
But soon enough, a mischievous smile spread across her face:
“No problem. The school trip is right after our performance—I’ll be sure to bring a high-powered camera and snap all sorts of pictures of you.”
“You really aren’t a pervert?” Yuu was speechless.
“By the way, I can’t believe you work out. That’s a surprise.”
“Couldn’t help it. The entrance exam for outside students has tough physical requirements. I trained really hard for a long time.”
Her words brought back memories of grueling exam prep—none of them pleasant.
“I’m suddenly curious—why did you insist on coming to our school? Did you already have a girlfriend here?”
It wasn’t the first time Yuu had been asked this. His answer was always the same:
“Because it’s an excellent school. As for a girlfriend… before enrollment, definitely not.”
“Hmm? So now you do?”
“Strictly speaking, not really?”
Yuu hesitated, but then decided to explain his “contract” situation.
He left out the part about the system, only calling it a “high-level part-time job.”
Aoi listened quietly, chopsticks frozen in midair, even forgetting to chew her food until Yuu finished. Only then did she slowly swallow and ask:
“So, underclassman, who did you sign this contract with?”
Yuu paused, deciding not to mention Jinguu Amane.
It could damage her reputation, after all.
“I think she wouldn’t want me to say.”
“Tch, making it sound so mysterious…” Aoi looked exasperated.
“Can’t be helped. Gotta protect client privacy.”
“I get it. So basically, you’re making money by selling your looks.”
“Cough, cough…” Yuu almost choked on his drink at her words.
“That’s not it! I said, I just handle problems and provide emotional value. I’m not selling myself.”
Aoi didn’t reply, only gave him a pitying look and leaned in to whisper,
“Are you really that hard up for cash? If I recall, you’re working a job, too?”
“I’m fine, actually. I do work part-time, but usually only four days a week. Recently I’ve cut it down to two, since I need to practice.”
“So, underclassman, did the performance put extra pressure on you?”
“Not at all, don’t worry, Hasegawa-senpai. I’ve got everything under control.”
Yuu explained honestly—life was going smoothly at the moment.
“All right.”
Aoi didn’t ask further, but her eyes flickered with thought, as if something occurred to her. Then she spoke again, and this time her question caught Yuu off guard:
“Then, underclassman, what rules are there in your ‘contract’?”
Why was she asking this?
Yuu was stunned for a moment, but answered anyway:
“Generally, the girl sets the rules, according to the amount of money. The more you pay, the more rules you can add, as long as it doesn’t cross any boundaries.”
“Oh~”
Aoi nodded thoughtfully, which made the boy sitting across from her feel a little uneasy.
But she said nothing more, and Yuu didn’t ask.
They continued eating. Then, Aoi’s phone suddenly rang. After taking the call, she looked apologetically at Yuu.
“Um, underclassman, something came up and I have to head back first.”
“Go ahead.”
Yuu didn’t say much. After she left, he sat for a while longer, finishing off the extra food, then stood up to pay.
“The young lady from earlier already paid. Didn’t she tell you?”
Yuu blinked, then smiled and shook his head.
“That girl…”