"Eh? What in the world..."
"What happened?"
When Nagasaki Soyo and Chihaya Anon walked through the door, they were startled by the scene before them.
Chihaya Tetsuya was lying on the living room sofa, looking completely burned out. Togawa Sakiko, already changed back into her regular clothes, was frantically fanning him with a hand fan—
"Sakiko, what happened to Tetsuya?"
Soyo hurried over to them, looking at Tetsuya with a worried expression.
"Did he get heatstroke?"
"Er, not exactly..."
A rare, sheepish grin appeared on Sakiko's face.
"To be precise, it's more like 'overheating' caused by 'overuse'."
"???"
Neither of those words sounded like they should be used to describe a human being!
Completely failing to understand what Sakiko meant, Soyo could only look back down at Tetsuya, trying to get an answer from the man himself.
At that moment, Tetsuya was staring blankly at the ceiling, the usual light completely gone from his hollow eyes...
"Tetsuya?"
Soyo tried calling his name.
Tetsuya only moved his head slightly to glance at her before muttering in a daze.
"It's no use... I can't draw another one..."
"Eh? Can't draw?"
Soyo was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Sakiko in confusion.
Realizing she couldn't easily bluff her way through this, Sakiko could only point helplessly at the coffee table—
"He's talking about design sketches... Tetsuya-kun's work for the day is all over there."
"?"
Tetsuya spent most of his time every day on design. Just drawing sketches shouldn't have reduced him to this state.
Was there something different about today's sketches?
Filled with curiosity and confusion, Soyo cast her gaze in the direction Sakiko had pointed.
Immediately, an unusually thick stack of paper came into view.
"Eh? Wait, you don't mean these aren't blank pages, do you?"
Soyo quickly began flipping through the stack. And sure enough, the pile of thirty or forty sheets she had assumed were just spares were actually all filled with completed designs. And given Tetsuya's habit of carelessly tossing his failed drafts while neatly stacking the finished ones, all of these were designs he considered up to standard...
In other words—
"In one day—no, in one afternoon, Tetsuya actually completed this many designs!?"
Soyo was utterly dumbfounded by the sight.
"Even when he's at his best, Tetsuya can usually only produce about ten finished drawings a day at most. But today's number is nearly four times that! How on earth did he do it?"
"About that..."
Sakiko scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed.
"I'm not sure if I should call it teasing him too much or wanting to test his limits... In any case, it's entirely my fault that Tetsuya-kun ended up like this. I'll take full responsibility for getting his spirits back up!"
"..."
So, what Sakiko meant by "overuse" was that Tetsuya overworked his brain?
But if it was just that, she shouldn't have taken all the blame herself. That means she was the one who put him into this overloaded design state.
So, how did she do it?
"I know you're probably curious about what I did, Soyo. I'll tell you the specific 'method' later."
Sakiko put down the fan and began to gently massage the top of Tetsuya's head.
"For now, let's not mention it again. It wouldn't be good if we made Tetsuya-kun remember what just happened."
"..."
Eh? That's terrifying. He should avoid even thinking about it?
Soyo couldn't help but sense a rather ominous aura from that response.
Meanwhile, Anon remembered something else.
"So, does that mean your 'maid-for-a-day' punishment is over, Sakiko-san?"
"Mhm... at Tetsuya-kun's request, it was terminated early."
Sakiko guiltily averted her gaze.
"After all, if we had continued, it could have led to some rather serious consequences... By the way, Anon-san, is there any food that Tetsuya-kun particularly likes, something that would perk him up?"
"Hmm... my brother isn't a picky eater at all, so I don't know if he has any particular favorites."
Anon shook her head.
"But more than food, I think what he needs right now is a good, long sleep."
"...You're right."
Design was inherently a task that required high concentration and consumed a great deal of energy. A high-intensity session like the one he'd just had all afternoon must have left him incredibly fatigued. Not to mention, throughout the whole process, he had to constantly endure her continuous stimulation and intimacy...
"Alright, let's let Tetsuya-kun rest quietly here for a while. Soyo, Anon-san, let's go upstairs for a bit."
Sakiko stood up and spoke to the two of them.
"This is a good chance for me to share what I just mentioned, about how to stimulate Tetsuya-kun's creative inspiration..."
...Ten minutes later...
"EH?!"
After hearing the whole story, Soyo let out a cry of disbelief.
"Tetsuya's inspiration and work state are linked to that sort of thing..."
"Ah, now that you mention it, that time with me and Hoshino Ai, my brother finished a yukata and a windbreaker design that same night."
Anon's face lit up with realization.
"I thought it was just his way of distracting himself, but now it seems... we must have unintentionally flipped a switch for him..."
"And according to my observations, the quality of his designs also varies with the level of stimulation."
Sakiko reported her findings from the day with a serious expression.
"Of the thirty-seven designs from today, the first two were the highest in both precision and quality. But as his tolerance increased, his subsequent designs gradually returned to their normal level."
In other words, if Tetsuya needed to complete a very important design in the future, then in addition to his own efforts... they might be able to play a very important "support" role.
...
The three of them looked at each other.
If this discovery was true, then they just needed to wait for the right moment, and... they would all have a legitimate reason to make a move on him.
When that time came...
"W-well, we probably won't need that anytime soon, right? The August exhibition only requires [Real Clothes]."
Sakiko hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"And as for the [TGC], since it's already been decided that Hoshino Ai's concert outfit will be the [First Look], he probably won't need to create another incredibly elaborate design..."
"Mhm, that's true."
Soyo nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Tetsuya probably won't need to work that hard for a while!"
"And he finished so many designs today, he should be able to relax for a bit now!"
Anon added.
And so, with a tacit understanding, the three of them mutually denied the possibility that they would ever make a move.
But in a place they knew nothing about, two members of [Summer Zodiac] were in the middle of a very important meeting—
...
"This time, the [TGC] is a little different from usual. I originally thought the finale would definitely go to a fashion model brought in by Mr. Teruzane, but because of that Mr. JP's whim, you've also gained the opportunity to compete for the closing spot... on the condition that your combination with Chihaya Tetsuya can outperform his combination with the originally scheduled model—"
The manager spoke to the two idols before her.
"...So, what do you two think? Do you have the confidence?"