Mashiro had barely taken a few bites when Kaede, Suzu, and Nanami joined them at the dining table.
Wearing loose loungewear, Kaede blew on her hot porridge while staring at Rin Ito with a look of deep resentment. Feeling the slightly sour air, Rita and Nanami kept their heads down, eating their porridge in silence.
At the dead center of the jealousy storm, Rin Ito maintained a blank expression, pretending nothing was wrong.
"You actually have time to eat breakfast with us today? That's a rare sight," Kaede remarked sarcastically. "Did you meet another big star recently?"
She was pissed!
She was jealous!
It wasn't just that Rin Ito was with other girls; what made her mad was that he didn't tell her beforehand!
Not just Rin Ito, even Karen didn't tell her!
"A big star?" The socially oblivious Mashiro looked up, tilting her head in confusion.
"That's right, Uika Triangle from sumimi... the idol you see in the TV commercials." Kaede's face was full of resentment... I never knew he was such a chick magnet back then.
It's only been a few months since the system arrived!
The list of girls he's 'NTR'd' is already a mile long!
It's one thing for him to get involved with the girls I know, but he's also hooked up with a ton of girls I don't even know!
Even the membership of the Cuckold Alliance has expanded!
The 'green hats' (cuckold hats) on my head are stacked so high they could pierce the ceiling!
"Ahaha..."
Faced with Kaede's sarcasm, Rin Ito could only laugh awkwardly.
Although Kaede did have a cuckold fetish, as her boyfriend, Rin Ito still had to give her some face.
Parties are one thing, but in front of others, I definitely have to give her face!
He hadn't spent much time with her and Suzu lately, either. Being sarcastic toward a playboy boyfriend was a girlfriend's right!
Rita carefully shifted her gaze between Kaede and Nanami.
She was confused.
As far as Rita knew, Rin Ito's girlfriend was Nanami. Kaede and Suzu both liked him, but they were just 'losing heroines'. So... why was Nanami, the actual girlfriend, staying silent while Kaede was throwing a jealous fit?
What is going on here!?
Rita didn't know what was happening, but she knew one thing for sure: as an 'outsider', it was best to keep her mouth shut!
Breakfast concluded under the dark cloud of Kaede's sarcasm. Both Nanami and Rita let out sighs of relief.
...
After breakfast, Mashiro returned to her room to draw.
Rin Ito helped the others clean up the dining table and kitchen.
"By the way, Nanami, you're going to meet up with Nijika and the others later, right?"
"Mmh... Their talent agency rented a recording studio for them to record an EP, and they even hired a professional audio engineer... I'm going to test if recording the game's voice lines there sounds much better than recording at home."
Although Kessoku Band didn't get enough votes to perform at the music festival, a talent agency still took notice and signed them.
However... an agency that signs a student band naturally isn't a major record label.
"A recording studio and an engineer? How much did that cost?" Kaede asked casually while wiping the stove.
"They booked two weekends. I think it was 200,000 yen in total," Nanami replied. "I heard it was heavily discounted because their manager, Miss Shima, is good friends with the engineer."
Kaede was shocked by the price. 50,000 yen for a single day!?
Kaede wasn't some naive princess with no concept of money. To her, 50,000 yen a day was quite expensive.
"50,000 yen for a three-hour recording session is actually the cheapest tier. Slightly better ones are around 100,000 yen for three hours. High-end studios are over 200,000 yen per session, with no upper limit."
Not just Kaede, but Nanami was also shocked.
Rin Ito had previously considered renting a studio to record the game's voice lines and had looked up the prices. The agency that signed Kessoku Band clearly wasn't a big company, so they could only afford the cheapest, lowest-tier studio.
"Plus, recording an EP is different from recording voice lines. They're using a music engineer, but you'd need a voice director... Even a bottom-tier voice director costs over 100,000 yen a day."
"This..." The corners of Nanami's mouth twitched. "Then I'll just borrow Nijika's microphone and record at home."
The game Eriri and the others were making was just a hobby project. If they used such an expensive professional studio, the sales revenue wouldn't even cover the costs.
"It's good to go take a look today, anyway. You can get a general idea of how the equipment works. Just renting a small booth isn't that expensive; it's the engineer and voice director that cost a lot. The cheapest ones are around 5,000 yen a day. Even though it's cheap, the results will definitely be better than recording at home."
"Phew..."
Nanami let out a breath of relief. Rin Ito then turned his attention to Kaede, Suzu, and Rita.
"Do you guys want to go check it out together?"
"I'll pass. I'm going over to Baumkuchen Studio~" Rita waved her hand, giggling as she ran out of the kitchen, then poked her head back in from the doorway. "I won't be back for lunch~"
With that, Rita headed out to Baumkuchen. On days when Mashiro had school and Rin Ito went out, Rita would hang out at the studio.
She didn't go there to draw or learn about manga; she went there to play games with everyone. Ever since Rin Ito brought her there, she had been thoroughly corrupted by the studio's slacking atmosphere.
Whenever she had nothing to do, she'd run over to the breakroom at Baumkuchen to play games with them.
Rin Ito didn't force Rita to come along. The four of them changed into their outdoor clothes, headed out, and met up with Kessoku Band.
...
Outside the recording studio.
Before they even got close, Rin Ito could see Shimokitazawa's golden Archangel waving in their direction. As they approached, they were greeted by Nijika's healing smile.
Kita was holding a beautiful gift bag with the logo of a fruit parlor printed on it. It looked like a present she had brought.
Although he didn't know what was inside, it definitely wasn't cheap.
"Good morning~~~"
Standing next to the energetic band girls was a woman who formed a stark contrast. Dressed in a black office lady suit with slightly curled hair ends, she didn't look old, but her face screamed 'exhausted corporate slave'.
She must be Miss Miyako Shima, the manager from the record label.
"Hello, I am Miyako Shima, a manager from the record label Stray Beat, and the manager for Kessoku Band." After handing over her business card, Miyako curiously observed Rin Ito.
She had a vague impression of him, but not much. She remembered seeing him at the music festival, but he wasn't with Nijika and her band at the time. Rin Ito, on the other hand, had no memory of her whatsoever.
"Hello, my name is Rin Ito. These are Kaede Hoshitsuki, Suzu Hoshitsuki, and Nanami Aoyama. We are all their friends and came to take a look around."
"No problem at all. Nijika already mentioned it to me. You are all welcome to observe."
After racking her brain for a while, she finally remembered. She had seen him go into Uika Triangle's dressing room with a girl.
He was wearing a staff badge that day. Why hadn't he introduced Kessoku Band to his agency?
Although a bit puzzled, Miyako was also very thankful... otherwise, she would never have had the chance to sign them.