Text

Several Tens of Minutes Later

RaikaOkay, everyone's favorite Pockin'ice is here~! Let's eat together~!

ChieriChieri will have a whole one.

RaikaNo, you can't, because we only have two. Break them in half, and it's just enough for four of us.

YomogiThen please take mine... A person who can't even talk to the newcomer doesn't deserve to eat, so...

RaikaNo~! It only tastes good because we share it.

RaikaOkay... It broke cleanly~ These are for Cherie and Yomogi... And this is for Miku!

MikuWow~ Thank you.

RaikaAlright everyone, put our hands together...

ChieriLet's eat~!

YomogiLet's... eat...

ChieriHehe, how's that? Chieri said it first.

RaikaThat was a false start! Alright, let's do it again!

ChieriNo do-overs. And Yomogi has already started eating.

RaikaHuh~!? You should say "Let's eat" first, Yomogi! Greetings are the basics of family!

YomogiI-I said it...!!

RaikaReally? Sorry, I didn't hear it!

RaikaWell, can't undo it because you've already eaten. Then I'll start too, let's eat~

MikuLet's eat... *Munch*...

Miku(*Sigh*... This is the worst...)

Miku(No matter how many times I check the documents, the property is correct, and my signature and my father's are both right there.)

Miku(If I look closely, it actually says in the footnote at the bottom that working part-time at the live house is mandatory... And I missed it, I'm such an idiot.)

Miku(There's also a note saying "people who can play an instrument preferred." I guess that means I'm supposed to play in a band with these girls...)

RaikaMm~ Delicious~! Eating with family really makes it taste twice as good!

MikuRaika-chan... Um... What does "family" mean?

RaikaHuh? It means exactly what it says.

MikuUm... Does that mean we're bandmates? Or that... Living in the same dorm makes us family?

RaikaBoth! A family should live together and play in a band together, right?

MikuHmm... I don't think I've really heard of that~

ChieriSee! This whole "family" thing you talk about is definitely weird, Raika!

RaikaNo, it's not~ We have our rules, they have theirs!

RaikaMy family has been like this since I was living with Granny and others!

MikuYour grandma and "others?"

RaikaYeah. Me, Granny and her family... Oh, we were living with her band members together.

MikuHuh... By the way, do you have a blood connection with those band members...?

RaikaNo! The only one I'm connected to is Granny!

MikuI see...

Miku(So, they were just sharing rooms with a bunch of strangers, but they called that... a "family?")

RaikaThis house and the live house are both Granny's, and I was born and raised here!

RaikaUntil last year, I had been eating and playing in a band with Granny and others every day...

RaikaGranny and others said, "We should go on a tour around the world before we die☆ World tour, let's go!" and took off on their trip.

RaikaAt that moment, I made up my mind. I decided to stay in Japan and create my own family!

RaikaSo, I got the house and the live house passed on to me, and I turned it into a dorm last year!

MikuHuh...

YomogiRa... Raika-san, maybe you see it that way, but I kinda moved in thinking it was just a regular dorm...

RaikaOh really? I've thought of everyone as family ever since you came to this dorm!

RaikaEating, working part-time, and playing lives together every day... Just doing all that already makes us the best family ever!

RaikaLet's enjoy our peaceful family life of us four from today on!

Miku(Ah, so for her, that's what "family" is.)

Miku(This is the natural form of a family. A symbol of happiness. She grew up in a place that made her believe that.)

Miku(I think that's fine... As long as I'm not involved.)

YomogiI... I can't do it...! I'll just end up causing trouble to everyone...!

RaikaBring on the trouble! That's all part of being family!

Yomogi...!

ChieriIt's not okay at all! And besides, Chieri isn't your family...

YomogiThere it is!!! Raika-san's Godo-kun move!!

MikuHuh...? Godo... what?

YomogiHuh? Ah...

YomogiWhoaaaaa! It's nothing!! I'm definitely not talking about "Saga of the Steel-spirit Bancho: Onishigure"!

MikuUm... Is that a movie title or something?

YomogiGyaaah!! I can't believe I blurted out stuff about the manga I treat as my bible... This is way too embarrassing...!

ChieriHey, Yomogi! As the subordinate of Chieri, you shouldn't get flustered over something like this!

YomogiI-I-I'm sorry! When my heart is about to burst, I can't even stop myself...!

RaikaYomogi, when that happens, just take a deep breath! Okay, breathe in~ breathe out~

YomogiUgh... How embarrassing... I'm always like this...!

Miku(This girl doesn't listen to people either... But she probably just doesn't have the mental space for it.)

Miku(If you're mentally overwhelmed, you can't hear the voices around you, and you can't meet anyone's eyes either.)

Miku(I know that, because I've seen people like that every single day.)

Miku(Whether that person is in a bad mood today, whether she can talk calmly... I was always thinking about stuff like that...)

Miku!

Miku(Why am I thinking about this? I don't need to do that anymore.)

Yomogi*Inhale*... *Exhale*...

YomogiI'm sorry, I'm fine now... I'm really sorry...

ChieriYomogi, you apologize way too much! It's just a manga, isn't it?

YomogiJ-Just... a manga...

Miku(Ah~ Come on... She just calmed down, and you say that kind of thing...)

MikuFor Yomogi-san, it isn't just a "manga," right?

Yomogi、ChieriHuh?

MikuI think I get it a little, from what you just said.

MikuYou got so emotional about it that you can't hold it in. It must be a really important work to you.

YomogiTh-Thank you very much!!

MikuOh, you don't have to thank me...

YomogiThat line you just said is exactly like something Sayuri-chan would say. She's the heroine from volume 3 of "Saga of the Steel-spirit Bancho: Onishigure!" I'm so moved!!

MikuHuh...?

YomogiGodo-kun never talks about himself to girls, but that day, somehow he told Sayuri-chan about his beloved car! That's a famous scene!

Yomogi"Geez... Why did I talk about all that..." "That means it's that important to you. I get it."

YomogiThat's the moment the two of them get much closer! I never imagined the same thing as "Onishigu" would happen to me...!!

YomogiI feel like, I can try a little harder now!!

RaikaAmazing! Yomogi's try-hard energy is fully charged!

ChieriMmm... Just Raika and the newcomer...

ChieriYomogi, please be as moved by Chieri's words as you were just now!

YomogiYes! Huh...!? That might be a bit difficult...!

ChieriWh-Why!? Chieri is so amazing!

YomogiUmm, if you say something like "Onishigu," maybe it can do, perhaps...!

ChieriNewcomer Miku! What kind of skill have you used?

MikuHuh, I didn't do anything... I heard of the manga just now.

ChieriCh-Chieri is also an amazing leader who cares about subordinates!

RaikaI know, I know! Cherie's that kind of person, like a love slap!

RaikaYou know that word? A four-character kanji phrase for a Spartan style of encouragement...

YomogiA four-character phrase for encouragement... Maybe it's the one Godo-kun carries—"Ai Mei Jin Gu"...!

ChieriI get it! That's "Ten Sai Den Setsu!"

RaikaHmm... I feel like it had more of a sharp, crisp ring to it...

Raika、Yomogi、ChieriHmm...

MikuMaybe... it's "Shi Tta Geki Rei?"

RaikaThat's probably it~~~!! Amazing! Miku knows everything!

YomogiThe way you're good at four-character phrases is so like "Onishigu" too...!!

ChieriGrrr... Getting more attention than Chieri, I just can't forgive that!

Miku(Ugh, what am I doing now...!)

Miku(These girls are absolutely idiots. There's no way I can have a normal conversation with them.)

Miku(Anyway, I should stay away from them, or I'll become an idiot too!)