Watching Akira busy in the kitchen, a peculiar glint flickered in Rin's eyes.
Come to think of it, she had originally wanted to go up and help, but he had smilingly ushered her back to the sofa, telling her to watch some TV first, with the excuse, "How could I let a guest do the work?"
However, compared to the TV programs, the sight of him busy in the kitchen was far more captivating.
Mochizuki-kun actually knows how to cook...!
The sight of him wearing an apron when he opened the door earlier had been quite a shock, but seeing him skillfully working at the stove now was even more incredible to her.
After all, in this day and age, especially in Japan, it is extremely rare for men to cook.
There are even quite a few people who still cling to the traditional notion that "a man should not be in the kitchen."
Home economics was a compulsory subject for them after entering middle school, and cooking was one of the things they had to learn in that class.
She remembered the home economics teacher saying that it was from their year onwards that home economics became a compulsory subject for all students.
Before that, home economics was only for girls, while boys had to take another course called "Industrial Arts."
Even so, she rarely saw any boys studying seriously during home economics class, let alone someone like Akira who could cook skillfully.
Akira, who was busy working, did not know what Rin was thinking; if he had known, he would probably have been left between laughter and tears.
Because, in his own opinion, his cooking skills were just at an average level.
In his past life, he had a friend whose family ran a restaurant, and that friend had often helped out in his father's kitchen since childhood; that was what real cooking skill was.
Whenever they had a get-together that required cooking, that friend was always the designated head chef, while he was responsible for being the assistant, picking up a few tricks along the way.
"—It's done!"
One dish after another was brought to the table: Chicken Piccata, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, Bruschetta Tomato Basil, and Tomato Egg Soup—a simple meal of three dishes and one soup.
"Is this Italian cuisine? That's amazing!"
Rin's eyes lit up, and as the aroma drifted over with the steam, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Akira laughed upon hearing this and said, "Amazing, nothing... anyway, just try it first."
"Mm. Well then, I'll dig in."
Seeing her pick up her silverware, he also picked up a piece of the Chicken Piccata and put it in his mouth, and his eyes immediately lit up as well.
Huh?
He didn't know if his skills had really improved or if it was just psychological, but this bite nearly moved him to tears.
He didn't even have time to chat with Rin; he went straight into "devouring mode," burying his head and eating until he had almost finished all the food.
He couldn't waste the rest either.
After a satisfying meal, the two sat on the sofa to rest, and only then did they start chatting.
At this moment, Akira suddenly remembered something and asked Rin curiously, "Come to think of it, we've known each other for so long, but I don't think I know how old Miss Shimizu is. But you look about my age, right?"
Rin nodded and said, "I just turned 18 this year."
"Then we're the same age. In that case, did Miss Shimizu also choose to graduate after finishing high school?"
"No," Rin shook her head and explained, "After I proposed wanting to try becoming a singer, my parents let me take a year off from school. As a condition, if I couldn't achieve my goal within that year, I would have to go back to school."
So that's how you can do it?!
Akira immediately wanted to slap his thigh in frustration, but on second thought, whether or not he went to university didn't seem to matter much to him anymore.
Come to think of it, if that's the case, then her current situation is a bit precarious.
After all, it's already June, and more than half the year has passed, but her path to signing a contract doesn't seem to be going very smoothly.
Of course, if Rin were willing to lower her standards and debut as a vocal-focused singer or an idol, it would be quite easy.
However, Rin herself didn't seem very anxious about this, and even changed the subject to talk about something else.
"Speaking of which, Mochizuki-kun mentioned before that you learned guitar for a while in middle school, right?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Actually, I've been thinking about something ever since then."
Rin looked as if she had found something interesting, her eyes shining as she said enthusiastically, "Even though you only learned guitar for a short while a long time ago, Mochizuki-kun, you can still remember the chords and songs you learned back then..."
"So I was thinking, Mochizuki-kun might actually have a talent for music!"
"Uh, well, about that..."
Hearing Rin say this, he scratched his cheek awkwardly, not knowing how to explain.
He didn't know if he had talent in music, but he knew that what Rin mentioned had absolutely nothing to do with talent; it was purely cheating.
...Wait a second.
Just then, a flash of inspiration hit him, and some new ideas popped into his head—
Speaking of music-related topics, he suddenly remembered that in the urban entertainment novels and other types of web novels he read in his past life, plagiarizing songs was a classic way to make one's first pot of gold!
Moreover, in these kinds of web novels, there are often scenes where the protagonist plays and sings a song on the spot to amaze everyone, or writes a song in five minutes when asked, stunning everyone present.
This would be much easier than him struggling to make money drawing manga!
At the same time, he also thought of another issue, one related to the Fsn he was currently working on.
That is, the soundtrack for Fate, or even the Type-Moon Series.
Although the soundtrack for the Type-Moon Series is not as widely talked about as that of the Final Fantasy or Persona series, it has its own style and its own classic tracks.
For example, the insert songs composed by Kenji Kawai for the 2006 Fsn anime, which are also Artoria's character themes, "glory of the knight king" and "Lonely Pilgrimage";
For example, the song "Last Stardust," sung by the artist Aimer and composed as an insert song for episode 20 of the UBW anime, which is hailed as the "scabbard divine song."
Although these songs have nothing to do with him for the time being, he believes that once Fsn starts serialization, it will be noticed by animation studios, and it will only be a matter of time before it is adapted into an anime.
What should he do then?
Not to mention whether Kenji Kawai can create "glory of the knight king" in this parallel world, but "Last Stardust" is definitely out of the question, as it is a song from 2015.
As for replacements...
Honestly, as long as the quality of the song is good enough and it fits the animation well, he believes any song could replace the famous tracks he is familiar with and become a classic for the audience in this world.
But as a transmigrator, such a future makes him feel somewhat unwilling to accept it.
Although he can't cover every single detail, at least for the most critical parts, he still hopes to make the presentation of the work look as familiar as possible.
Of course, this specifically refers to the good aspects.
So...
If he wants to achieve his goal, he really has to do it himself, right?
So now the question is—
As someone who has only learned guitar for a little over a month, how can he successfully plagiarize a song?
"...Mochizuki-kun, what's wrong?"
Seeing him silent for a long time, Rin looked confused, and her question successfully pulled his thoughts back to reality.
At this moment, looking at Rin in front of him, his eyes gradually brightened, and a plan suddenly formed in his mind.