While Chihaya Tetsuya was continuing to perfect his design sketches for the joint exhibition, a sudden, rhythmic knock on the door caught his attention.
"...Come in."
Tetsuya put down his pencil and looked at the door with some curiosity.
Then, when he saw the three of them file in, his expression instantly changed from curiosity to confusion.
"Hm? The three of you together? What's going on? Do you need something from me?"
The three of them coming to my room together at night... this has never happened before. Could it be that something important has come up with the band that they need to discuss with me?
Tetsuya couldn't help but speculate.
At the same time, after hearing his question, Nagasaki Soyo, who was leading them, slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Tetsuya, are you hiding something from us?"
Soyo asked, cutting right to the chase.
"I advise you to come clean!"
Hearing this question, Tetsuya only grew more bewildered.
"Eh? Hiding something? What are you talking about?"
"...Hm?"
Faced with Tetsuya's blank look, Soyo's feignedly serious expression faltered for a moment.
Chihaya Tetsuya is not good at hiding things or lying. This means he really isn't intentionally hiding anything...
However, I can't let my guard down yet. Given how naturally clueless this guy is, his reaction might not be because he's truly innocent, but because he doesn't even realize what he's done.
With that thought, Soyo looked up again and pressed on.
"Alright, let me ask a different way... This afternoon, did a guest we don't know come to the house?"
"Ah, so that's what this is about!"
Tetsuya nodded in a moment of sudden realization.
"A guest did come over. It was Sumita Mana, a new member of [Summer Zodiac]. She came to deliver the model list for the [TGC]."
"Sumita Mana... The new member has been decided so quickly?"
Soyo said, silently committing the name to memory.
"But... why was she the one to deliver it?"
"Uika and Ai were both busy with other things today, and she also wanted to come and say hello..."
Tetsuya answered truthfully.
"Ah, speaking of which, the gift she brought is still in the fridge!"
"It was because I saw that that I realized a guest had been here this afternoon."
Soyo crossed her arms, her expression still tense.
"Delivering a file and saying hello? The reason is sufficient enough."
But if that was all, it still wouldn't be enough to explain the change in Tetsuya's state.
"Besides that file... did you two talk about anything else?"
"Mhm, we also happened to talk about the [TGC] and this joint exhibition."
Recalling his discussion with Sumita Mana that afternoon, a smile appeared on Tetsuya's face unconsciously.
"Thanks to her, I now completely understand the design concept for the joint exhibition and the [TGC]."
"..."
Seeing the mysterious, unprompted smile on Tetsuya's face, Soyo became even more wary of this suspicious statement.
"So, what you're saying is... you got the inspiration you mentioned earlier from this Sumita-san, is that right?"
"You could say that... eh?"
By the time Tetsuya noticed Soyo's expression growing increasingly severe, she had already turned to the other two behind her.
"Anon, Mutsumi, help me hold him in his chair."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Anon immediately rushed over to Tetsuya and sat directly on his lap, preventing him from getting up.
Mutsumi also silently moved behind him and held down his shoulders.
"Sorry, Chihaya-san. Soyo is a little scary right now. I don't really dare to defy her," Mutsumi whispered.
"Huh..."
When Tetsuya managed to move his head away from his sister's hair, which she was deliberately rubbing against him, he saw Soyo's expression.
She was smiling, but there was absolutely no hint of a smile in her eyes or in the aura surrounding her...
"I was wondering why Tetsuya seemed so happy today. So this is what it was all about."
Soyo said as she walked over to the wardrobe and skillfully took out several silk scarves and cords that Tetsuya normally used for practice...
"S-Soyo? What are you taking those out for?"
"It's nothing. I just think... using these might help you remember more things."
Soyo said in a flat tone.
"Now then, to prevent a certain oblivious fellow from making a mistake unconsciously, please be so kind as to tell me everything that happened this afternoon..."
Soyo gently tugged on the cord in her hand.
"You will confess every conversation, every action, okay?"
...Twenty minutes later...
"So, I'm telling you, we really just talked about the [TGC]! I didn't do anything else with Sumita-san!"
After having confessed everything that happened between him and Sumita Mana, Chihaya Tetsuya, whose hands and feet were completely tied to the chair, said, on the verge of tears.
"It's true that I got a lot of inspiration from doing that sort of thing with you all before, but that doesn't mean all my inspiration comes from that... Anon, what are you doing?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing."
Anon, who was still tying more knots on Tetsuya, said in a normal tone.
"I just think this is a little fun... Ah, Mutsumi, how did you tie that interlocking knot? Teach me!"
"...Mhm."
Mutsumi nodded and then showed Anon how to complete the new knot, hand over hand.
Meanwhile, Soyo, having carefully listened to the entire afternoon's events, sat on Tetsuya's bed with a strange expression.
"So nothing I imagined actually happened... but he changed the main model for the joint exhibition?"
She muttered to herself, mentally rehearsing the scene that would unfold when Uika and Ai found out...
...
"The reason is sufficient and just, but even right decisions have a price."
Soyo couldn't help but sigh softly.
"You've already decided to meet everyone this weekend to explain it, right? In that case, I'll help contact Hoshino Ai and Uika. As for the day itself... the rest of us won't get involved. Anon, Mutsumi, untie Tetsuya."
As Tetsuya looked on with a completely bewildered expression, Soyo shot him a look filled with pity.
"After this, someone else will punish him for us."