Meanwhile, Kazusa's mother, Youko, left home on Saturday, June 4th, officially heading off for work.
Before she left, she specifically invited Chisato to have a meal with her.
During the meal, Chisato reminded her with concern not to overwork herself, considering that she hadn't taken much rest at home after her recovery.
Youko smiled and reassured him that there was nothing to worry about.
According to her, thanks to this "reborn" body, she was now in far better shape than before.
She even joked that she could now perform ten consecutive solo piano concerts without feeling exhausted.
Before leaving, she pulled Chisato aside and told him to take good care of Kazusa. And if he really couldn't hold himself back, he must make sure to take proper precautions.
Well… that last part was unnecessary. Chisato was not an elementary school kid—he didn't need a mother-in-law reminding him about things like this.
However, there was one sentence in Youko's words that caught his attention.
"Spend more time with Kazusa while I'm away. She won't have as much free time in the future."
Chisato wanted to ask more, but Youko didn't give him the chance. After a brief farewell to her daughter, she got into her assistant's car and left.
That day, after finishing his part-time job, Chisato didn't return to his apartment. Instead, he followed the plan with Kazusa and went to her house.
At midnight, he made her a simple late-night snack.
After eating, Kazusa continued practicing the piano, while he went to the guest room to study until two o'clock.
Eventually, sleepiness took over. He went downstairs to check on Kazusa once more and found her still fully immersed in her practice.
Seeing this, he didn't say anything and went back to his room to sleep.
But when he woke up the next morning, he found Kazusa lying beside him, sleeping peacefully.
Lifting the blanket slightly, he checked—her clothes were all properly in place.
…A little disappointing.
But then again, even if something tempting had happened, seeing Kazusa this exhausted, he probably wouldn't have been in the mood for anything.
At most, he would have just enjoyed the view, but that might have been even more torturous.
So this was probably for the best.
Carefully getting out of bed, he made breakfast and left a note before heading to Fanstars.
The music festival was set to officially begin next Saturday and would last for two days. That left only one week for preparation—not exactly a lot of time. Every moment counted.
At around 8 AM, the Kitazawa area was peaceful and quiet, completely different from the lively and noisy atmosphere at night.
Chisato arrived at the store's main hall. As he designed the third set of matching outfits for the band using his new laptop and drawing tablet, the band members gradually arrived, each showing up late at their own pace.
He didn't rush them into practice right away. Instead, as usual, he had them sit in a circle with drinks and snacks.
Then, he turned the laptop screen toward them so they could decide on their uniforms, or at least provide input for adjustments.
Once a decision was made, he would need to contact a clothing store to place a custom order.
The four girls immediately widened their eyes in surprise.
Nijika, in particular, was astonished as she stared at the highly detailed and professional-looking outfit designs on the screen.
"Suzumiya-kun, your drawing skills are amazing!"
"This isn't important," Chisato replied calmly, unfazed by the praise.
After all, he had copied and pasted this skill from Eriri. If anyone deserved praise, it was Eriri—not him.
"You're tall, you write lyrics, compose music, have more than one girlfriend, and now you can even draw?
You must be an alien hiding among us humans," Ryo muttered, continuing her usual sarcastic remarks.
Even someone as eccentric as her found Chisato's existence unbelievable.
"You, of all people, have no right to say that, considering you eat random plants on the street."
"That wasn't a random plant—it was wild vegetables," Ryo corrected him.
And was promptly ignored.
Meanwhile, the little kitten, Hitori, had sparkling eyes as she seriously compared the different outfit designs on the screen.
By the time Chisato returned from the restroom, they had already made their choice.
It was a performance outfit consisting of a black jacket with a white undershirt and a short skirt—simple and stylish, giving off a sharp and clean look.
Since the decision was made, Chisato confirmed each member's clothing size and sent them off to practice. Then, he left the store to visit the tailor and placed an order for the costumes.
Once he paid the deposit and confirmed everything, he headed back toward Starry—only to receive a call from Iroha.
The moment he answered, a pitiful voice came through the receiver.
"Stupid senpai! What's the deal with you always reading my messages but never replying?"
Chisato was momentarily speechless.
Thinking back carefully, he realized she had a point.
It wasn't intentional—he had just been too busy lately. Every time he saw her messages, he told himself he would reply later, but he kept forgetting.
Still, there was no excuse. It was rude of him.
So he simply apologized.
That calmed Iroha down a little, but she was still upset, making her next words sound a bit forceful.
"Stupid senpai, where are you right now?"
"I'm on the street, heading to work."
"Even working on Sundays?"
"Long story. I have my reasons."
"But I was planning to ask you out today!"
"Sorry, I really don't have the time today."
"But this is important! I followed your advice last time, but things didn't go the way I expected at all!"
"What happened?"
"It's hard to explain over the phone! I need to talk to you in person!"
"But I—"
"If you can't leave the store, I can just go there, right?"
"It's not that—"
"Senpai… Are you really going to ignore me when I'm this unlucky? You promised to take responsibility for me!"
"…"
Just from her tone, Chisato could picture her pouting on the other end of the line, looking all pitiful.
Even though he knew most of her emotions were exaggerated for effect, he still couldn't bring himself to flat-out refuse her.
Fine, fine.
"Alright, come over. Be careful on the way. I'll send you the address."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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