CH 40

I Have To Be Careful Or Else I'll Get Exposed

Translated by HamletJr

Edited by

Rinka and Hasumi stared at the interior of the house with stiff expressions on their faces, soon followed by Shiorin, Akarin, and Mihorin.

“An open kitchen… And huge ovens on top of that… It feels like something out of a Western drama…”

“A-Are those 5 devices over there oxygen capsules, by any chance?! A-Aren’t those stupidly expensive?!”

“The TV is as big as I am! I-Is it really okay for us to use a house like this?”

…Of course they’d think that way, huh.

Believe it or not, I actually chose the most humble studio in our possession.

Some other studios had balconies built into them, others were mansions that came with seaside cruisers, and there were even some that were straight up castles.

There weren’t even any advanced AI robots here, so I thought it’d work out somehow…

I just really want them to use this place freely without reserve.

“H-Hey… Your dad’s friend, the guy who lent us this place… Is he perhaps a really rich guy…?”

I nodded my head at Rinka’s question.

I’m sure she wouldn’t have been convinced if I hadn’t done so.

Of course, the truth is that this building was built using the revenue we earned as Personia.

“…Rinka, you’re actually right. The owner of this house is a very rich old man, but he has no idea what to do with the property. That’s why he told me he wanted to have someone use the place by all means possible.”

I told her the excuse I’d made up last night.

A rich but lonely old man who had no connections or acquaintances.

I’m sure that was the kind of person everyone was imagining.

I’m going to try and convince them to use this place freely using dirty tricks; tugging on their heartstrings being one of them.

“I-I see… Then, perhaps we should gratefully accept the offer.”

“What an amazing mansion this is… I hope I can live in a place like this someday~!”

“W-We have to try and keep the place as uncontaminated as possible! Only use the showers and nothing more!”

Shiorin and the others, who had seriously believed my story, became a little less reserved.

I continued my assault.

“No, he said to use the place freely to your heart’s content! If the baths and the pool aren’t used every once in a while, the facilities will deteriorate so he wants them to be used!”

I somehow tried to explain to them that I didn’t want to make them feel like living in the house was a burden, always on edge and all that.

What’s the point of exhausting them for something that has nothing to do with practice itself?

“O-Oh… Then, maybe we should indulge a little bit.”

“There are lots of expensive things though, so if we get too excited, we might end up breaking something, and then we might not be able to pay for it… Akari, be careful, okay?”

“Wha?! Why me?! B-But yeah, I agree. Let’s not use the living space too much; instead, let’s indulge ourselves in the studio!”

Even after I’d told them all that, the members of Synchronicity still laughed together with a hint of reservation in them.

I love you all for being so humble.

After I made my confession in my heart, I too looked around the house and breathed a big sigh of relief in my heart.

Thank goodness… There aren’t any of our members’ personal belongings. Looks like I won’t get exposed as Shion this time around.

“I’m sure walking all the way here must’ve made you guys thirsty, right? I’m gonna get you all some drinks, okay?”

With that, I opened the big refrigerator in the living room.

There were a lot of beer cans inside.

They all belonged to Xerena, an onee-san in college who played the bass in our band.

Next to the can was a bottle of vintage wine.

That one must be Xylem’s, our guitarist.

Next was the most dangerous item in the fridge.

A cup of pudding.

On a piece of paper underneath the cup, the name “Xina” was written in huge letters with a magic marker.

There was even a message written on the paper.

“If you eat this pudding without permission, I will get angry and quit practice sessions, so be careful. If Shion wants to eat the pudding, then I’m fine with it. But please give me the spoon you used after you finish eating.”

That’s an outtt!

I shouted inside my heart.

Right now, I couldn’t care less about Shiina’s unintelligible-as-usual message telling me to “give her my spoon.”

What’s more important is that my name “Shion” is written all over it!

In the end, Xenon was the only one who didn’t stow her personal belongings away in the right place!

I crushed Shiina’s note, shoved it in my pocket, and took out unopened bottles of water for each of us.

These are always replenished in the fridge so that we can take them with us to the practice studio.

“H-Heads up, there are some beer cans in the fridge, but just ignore them! If you want to eat the pudding, then feel free to!”

“Okay! We’ll try to avoid touching the stuff in the fridge!”

I handed Shiorin a bottle of water, which she took with a smile.

“Akari, do not drink the alcohol. You can eat the pudding if you’d like.”

“Whaa?! Again, why is Miho warning me?! I-I wouldn’t drink alcohol, you know… But I do want the pudding…”

We all laughed when we saw Mihorin waving her index finger and warning Akarin.

Oh man, just being an idol already makes anything they do shine and sparkle.

Is watching this kind of thing for free really okay?

“Alright, let’s head to the practice studio!”

I led everyone down to the basement to see where their lessons would actually be held.