145 Ch 143 - 11 June, Hyoudou Michiru 02

Edited by The Darkest Knight#4796

"Join you making games? Hm, I don't think that will let me know why Aki became a Hikikomori."

"That's true, but there's nothing I can tell you. Last time I spoke with Aki, we talked about him wanting to make a game with me." Eriri told her the truth.

"Is that so? Wait, Aki invited you to make a game together!? Don't you think that might be the reason he became like this?"

"Wait, really? Are you saying he became like that because I reject him about working together, isn't that too much? Especially when he came too late. I was already working on another project with these people." Eriri answered Michiru's accusation.

"Hm, really… I don't, Aki, that's a weak person. Even so, there's a chance in your refusal to be the reason this happened."

"Hah? Even if that's what really happened and the reason why he fell into becoming a hikikomori, then he's a bad friend," Eriri told Michiru with her honest feelings when she heard that. Michiru couldn't help but furrow her brows.

"Isn't that too harsh?"

"Well, I don't know about you. But just to be honest, even though we are friends. I am still a professional with a name as a painter and artist. I can't just be nice because we know each other, especially when his proposal wasn't as good as the projects I'd already done. It was even so lame that it would damage my self-esteem as an artist."

Eriri continued to speak too practically, making Michiru's mood worse. It could be said that Eriri was slightly annoyed by Michiru's words about the otaku thing, so she spoke more sharply than usual. Although Michiru understood what Eriri was saying, the person she was talking about was the cousin she liked. Kouta could see Michiru's face, which had a severe expression. Kouta felt that it was better to intervene between the two of them immediately, or else their conversation would become even more hostile.

"Calm down, both of you."

"Hm?"

"Who the hell are you!?" Michiru, who was still in a lousy mood, practically bullied Kouta.

"Me, well…  My name is Suzuki Kouta. Nice to meet you." Kouta replied to Michiru's words calmly. Because, after all, this was an opportunity to get someone who could fill the music in the making of visual novels.

"Ah! My name is Hyoudou Michiru."

"As Eriri said, we can't be sure that the reason your cousin is not attending school was because of Eriri's refusal. There must be another reason that is bigger than that." Kouta told Michiru that, even though he himself knew why Tomoya became a hikikomori, Eriri was also aware of why it happened. But the two of them would not tell her they caused Tomoya to become a hikikomori.

"It may be true, but it may be part of it, right? So what are you here for?"

"Me? Oh, I can't help but interfere because I'm indirectly involved when I heard your conversation."

"Huh?"

"Actually, I was the one who created the project that Eriri worked on."

"Huh? You're?" Michiru looked surprised and observed Kouta from head to toe. As Eriri talked about professionals, she never thought that the person was this pink-haired man who was also the same age as Tomoya.

"I don't see it that way." She spoke gruffly as she didn't blame Kouta at all.

"He may have looked like this, but at least he already made popular manga and games." Eriri replied to Michiru's words.

"Eh, really!?" 

"Yeah, since you don't know about manga. Look, at least he already made games like this." Eriri showed a flappy bird. Of course, Michiru was skeptical of games made by people her age, but it felt like she had heard the names of the games spoken by Eriri. Then, when she saw the game, Michiru realized that the game was a popular game among her friends, including her bandmates. She had even seen the game in forums and news on the internet.

"Wait, so you're the person behind Flappy Bird. I had read that an extracurricular club in a high school created it. My friends and I enjoyed the game." Michiru immediately praised Kouta when she realized.

"Yeah, thanks for playing our game. I'm happy that you enjoyed our game. Ah, we're also making another game, even though it was a different kind of game."

"Really? Wait, so all of you are the group who made flappy birds?"

"Ah, sorry for the confusion, but no. Actually, this is another circle, while the one who made the flappy bird came from the Game Creation Club." Kouta explained to make sure Michiru did not mistake the group with another group.

"Eh, really! So are you saying that… this is a different group."

"Yeah, I have multiple projects."

"That's quite amazing. Doesn't that make you busy?"

"Yeah, but it's a good time to build a career from a young age, right? Ah, anyway, I know that you may feel frustrated, but you can't make accusations just like that."

"That's true. I'm sorry about that."

Michiru apologized and Eriri only nodded and accepted her apology.

"Good then. Anyways we still didn't know how he became like that. I don't know if this is appropriate, but how is he doing?" Kouta tried to be seen as someone who supported Michiru to help her cousin.

"Hm, you know. He became more obsessed with anime and stuff than before, and sometimes it feels unhealthy that he says that those dolls wouldn't betray him at all." Michiru responded to Kouta's question.

When Kouta heard that, he kind of wanted to laugh about it. It looked like what he did with Eriri really hurt him so much that he became like that.

"Hm, to be honest, as someone who knows otaku culture. He probably felt betrayed by someone."

"Well, that's saying something."

It looked like Michiru had already realized that.

"Hm, if that's the case, how about you join our project like Eriri said?" Kouta once again tried to invite her.

"Hah? I don't think it may help me to find the reason-"

"Well, at least you can find something. I mean, you can try to learn the medium your cousin likes, and from our conversation, you may still suspect her. If you join our project, at least you can watch her. I believe in her innocence, but I will let you observe her since we have nothing to hide. So, if you join us, you can learn about what your cousin likes and observe your suspect. Isn't that a good thing?"

Kouta gave a long explanation that actually made sense for Michiru, which made her quite like the prospect of joining this group.

"Well, I'm a guitarist and vocalist in my band. I'm still learning, but I can make some music."

"Really? That's good. We don't have anyone who can provide music for the visual novel we're making. Since you're still a beginner, I think I can pay you this much. So you're not only getting paid, and there's no change if our visual novel becomes great. It would help your career, and maybe your band can get a live event, too. Ah, not only that, you can get those other benefits too, right? I don't think this is a bad idea, right? You may get benefit from this, and you have a chance to help your cousin."

Kouta gave her another long explanation, and in the last word, he told it in such a coaxed way. He gave her reason for what she was doing for her cousin while tempting her with another benefit. It was just like a devil's whisper from Kouta to her.

Michiru nodded her head as she agreed with Kouta's words.

"Yeah, this is a good idea."

"I can even help you so you can enter this school and search for why your cousin became hikikomori."

"You can do that!?"

"Yeah, this is for helping our fellow students, too."

"Hm, okay. I will join your project." Michiru felt that what Kouta said made perfect sense, and it was good for her to check what happened to her cousin at this school.

'Yeah, this guy named Kouta is a great guy.' Michiru couldn't help thinking like that since Kouta had been trying to help her and her cousin.

"Good, can I have your number? We can meet in another place and sign the contract. I'll also meet with the other voice actors tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Fine by me."

Michiru answered and gave Kouta her phone number. With this, Michiru joined the Kouta circle without realizing that Kouta was the one behind why Tomoya ended up like that. As for Kouta, he never thought he would get someone who could fill in the music part without having to search around. He also got another girl who caught his attention. Once again, everything went very smoothly for Kouta.

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3/5

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