Track 2

Ughhh… Business lingo is, like, hardcore difficulty LVL~! Wouldn’t it be sooo much better if we lived in a world where saying, “Looking forward to a love-happy-eternal-future with your company, xoxo~!” counts as proper business speak? Chii would be so here for that~!

The advantage of business terminology is that it allows people to communicate clearly with minimal miscommunication, regardless of the depth of their relationship with one another. It is knowledge well worth having… Oh.

Apologies, Chihiro. It’s time for me to head out with Oguro-sama.

Huh?! It’s already that time?! For reals?!

Yes. The time has come to demonstrate the results of our presentation boot camp―the one that had us #rizzing and #locking in to find our resolve. I will ensure that I am of help to Oguro-sama.

Okay! If it’s you, Kinyari, Chii’s positive you can do it! And thanksies again for checking my emails right up ‘til the last second!

See ya, Kinyari! Slay hard with those sales―fightiiing~!

Alriiight… Chii’s gotta keep at it a liiittle longer, too~!

Yodachosu?

You’ve been pushing yourself hard for a while now, haven’t you? I thought it might be a good idea to take a little break. I made you a sweet café latte just the way you like it, Chihiro.

Waaah, you’re so kind~! Thanksies! Gonna drink it all up– ♪

Ah, lucky~ Yodaka-san, mind making me a cup, too? Black, please.

Huuuh? Ten-cham, didn’t you just head off for a break a wee bit ago?

Hmm? Nope, ‘course not, must be your imagination. I’ve been so glued to my computer the whole time, just like you.

…

Raito-san? Is there something wrong?

No, it’s just… Seeing the office this lively makes me feel like the company’s finally hitting its stride.

That’s true! We’ve got some kind of project moving every single day now.

It’s nice to see this much energy around the place. Don’t you think so, Nayuki?

Chief, we’ve received a reply from the client regarding the recent tour. Could you please take a look?

(...Nayuki-kun completely ignored Raito-san again… I’ve gotten so used to these exchanges that they don’t even faze me anymore.)

Oh, the phone’s ringing…!

I’ll get it. Chief, please go ahead and check that reply.

Thank you for calling HAMA Tours, this is Kitakata speaking. …Yes…yes…and you are…?

...Yep. The corners of his mouth have relaxed by about 3 millimeters. Sounds like some good news came in.

Huh? You can tell?

I can! It is the cumulative result of observing him ever since he was a baby. For reference, when he’s displeased, the space between his eyebrows narrows by approximately 5 millimeters.

Even before, I’d always felt that there was something different about his expressions, but I could never quite put my finger on it… It was Kinari who gave me the exact measurements. Since then, I’ve kept an imaginary ruler in my head that’s calibrated just for Nayuki.

I-I see…

...Yes. I’ll confirm the details and get back to you shortly. Not at all—the pleasure is ours. Thank you for calling.

Nayuki-kun, what was the call about?

It was an invitation to take part in a live festival held at a mountain lodge. The venue’s a bit of a trek from HAMA, but the offer itself isn’t bad.

...See? I called it, didn’t I?

You sure did! As expected of you, Raito-san.

...What are you two whispering about?

O-Oh! It’s nothing. Go on!

Apparently, they’re putting together a lineup of “the hottest people everyone’s talking about right now!” from all over. That’s how HAMA Tours caught their attention—they’d heard about the reputation we’ve been building and decided to reach out.

From what I gathered, it should be good publicity for HAMA, so I told them we’re leaning towards accepting their offer. Though, of course, final approval from the President will have to wait until we receive the full details via email...

I see… That’s wonderful! Since it’s a live festival, does that mean the Evening Team will be the one handling this?

Yes. However, the other members all have prior commitments on the client’s requested date. The only ones available are Natsuyaki-kun and…

Me?

...Just those two. I have a prior engagement myself, so I think it’s best to ask some help from the other teams.

In that case, leave it to me! I’ll talk to Chihiro, and I’ll take care of selecting the rest of the members, too.

...Fair enough. If so, I will arrange the transportation to the lodge on the day of—

No, I’ve already got an idea for that as well. Leave it to me, Nayuki.

...

Alright! Now that that’s settled, let’s get right to it...!

...That ridiculously bright smile of his… It’s giving me a bad feeling…

N-Now, now! Let’s just leave it to Raito-san in the meantime. If anything goes wrong, we can step in afterward, okay?

...Sigh. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.

Raitiiin~! I got the scoop on the Snow Mountain Fest sched from the Night Team while they were hanging around HAMA House, just now~ ♪

Thanks, Chihiro. That was remarkably quick.

Hehe~ Total boss move, right? Anyways~ Yodachosu’s gonna tag along from the Night Team!

Yodaka-san, huh… That’s reassuring. With a lineup like this, I believe we can put on a performance unlike anything we’ve done before.

Right, right?! ♪ Powerful and mature, but we can’t forget the cuteness either! Let’s go full explosive heart-melting charm~☆

Looks like the event folks are providing the outfits, so Chii was thinking of doing the hair and makeup styling to match! Lemme work my magic ♪

Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. With your sense of style, Chihiro, there’s no doubt it will be magnificent.

Ehehe~ Thanksies!

Oh, BTW, are we good with just three members?

I think so… They didn’t specify a number, but it might be better to have a few more people. Let’s give it some thought.

Gotcha! Then I’ll check with the Morning Team and Day Team to see who’s free―

Aaah...

...Ugh…

Hah…

Huhnya?

It’s unusual to see the three of you up at this hour. Is something the matter?

Wait, aren’t you guys all supposed to be asleep? And why do you all look so #dead?! Y’all okidokes?!

...Well…

We’re lost, man! We’re trapped in a labyrinth —Yes! A labyrinth called life! In a paradise overflowing with manatees!!!

...To put it more accurately, Kiroku’s been trying to sketch a “snow mountain monster” for Akuta’s next movie, but he’s hit a creative block.

…

(Kiroku… He looks like he’s really agonizing over this.)

The three of us have tried just about everything we could think of. Up until we started sculpting with clay, it was still somewhat reasonable...but then, for some reason, we started doing group gymnastics...

That’s when I realized we all needed to take a step back and clear our heads. We were getting hungry anyway, so we called a timeout and came downstairs.

Hehe, we’re gonna score ourselves an epic midnight snack, get our motivation cranked through the roof, and BAM! The ultimate flash of inspiration’ll hit us! Right, Kiroku?!

…Mhm…

Haha, you guys are FR yoloing out!

...A monster lurking around in the snowy mountains, is it?

Talk about a coincidence! So like, we’re actually heading up to a snowy mountain soon, too—

―In that case…

(There is no reason to hesitate.)

Raitin?

WHOA WHOA WHOA?! Whoa! Hold the phone! Raito-san just walked right up to Kiroku and grabbed his hand like he’s about to pop the question?!

E…Eh?

Kiroku. Will you come with me—

—to search for a UMA?!