"Mutsuki~"
As soon as Kamijou Mutsuki got home, Mutsumi immediately threw herself into his arms, rubbing her head against his chest as she began to act spoiled.
For some reason, lately this "little cucumber" had been getting more and more clingy with him—especially in front of a certain "Lady Sakiko," who had already evolved from customer service into a maid?
"..."
Off to the side, Maid Sakiko watched their interaction with half-lidded eyes and let out a faint sigh.
Originally, seeing the closeness between Mutsumi and Kamijou Mutsuki would make Sakiko feel shy, along with a subtle, inexplicable trace of bitterness.
But after seeing it so many times, she had developed a resistance and was more or less used to it by now.
As long as it wasn't something especially shameless, she basically didn't feel much about it anymore.
…Though somehow, something still felt off. Could it be that Mutsumi was playing some kind of very new "play" with her?
"Dinner is already prepared, Master."
Maid Sakiko was becoming more and more accustomed to this form of address. Especially that gaze of disdain, as if she were looking at kitchen waste—it had practically become a daily experience Kamijou Mutsuki had to endure.
"…It's been ready for quite a while. We've all been waiting for you."
"Sorry, quite a lot happened today."
Hearing Maid Sakiko's words, Kamijou Mutsuki chuckled softly as he replied.
"What happened today?"
Maid Sakiko might have thought she was hiding it well, but the concern in her eyes was painfully obvious.
"Today, I met an interesting band."
Kamijou Mutsuki stroked his chin, smiling as he looked at the girl in front of him.
"The bassist is a wealthy young lady, there's a guitarist who doesn't like to talk, and the drummer looks very hardworking."
"They think the band members are a shared destiny, and they've promised to stay together as a band for a lifetime…"
"What a group of adorable kids~"
"..."
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's words, the expressions of both girls turned subtly complicated.
"Who exactly are you implying here?!"
At the same time, Maid Sakiko thought to herself—this isn't what she wanted to hear at all!
"Oh right, there's also the MyGO band…"
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki finally bring up MyGO, Sakiko instantly perked up.
Then she realized—he suddenly stopped talking.
"…And then?"
In the end, it was Maid Sakiko who lost patience first.
"Saki-chan cares that much about MyGO?"
Faced with the boy's slightly teasing expression, Sakiko's face instantly turned red.
"…That has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Sakiko knew she couldn't win against Kamijou Mutsuki in a battle of words, so she simply refused to answer.
"…How is MyGO doing?"
"What else could it be?"
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't mind and simply spread his hands.
"Of course, Soyo's ambitions were exposed, and the band fell into chaos~"
"..."
Hearing this, Sakiko's eyes instantly dimmed, and a trace of guilt appeared on her face.
In fact, as Episode 8 of the anime aired, she already knew things would go badly on MyGO's side.
Although it was mostly Oosuna-sensei's doing, Soyo had acted for her sake after all. That made Sakiko—who only wished for Tomori to be able to feel at ease and happy in her new band—feel deeply guilty.
In truth, Sakiko had originally thought about going to MyGO together with Kamijou Mutsuki today.
But due to a certain inner conflict, she ultimately chose not to bring it up. However, now it seemed she couldn't stay out of it any longer.
"Tomorrow, I'll talk to Soyo…"
Maid Sakiko said this, her gaze filled with determination.
She would be the one to cut off Soyo's delusions!
You're doing perfectly fine in MyGO—what are you stirring up all this trouble for?!
CRYCHIC is already over!
"…That won't be necessary."
Looking at "Lady Sakiko," who seemed to have already made up her mind, Kamijou Mutsuki quietly added,
"They've already resolved it through internal discussion!"
"Eh?"
Hearing this, the expression on Sakiko's face froze completely. She blinked instinctively, looking unusually dazed.
It's… already been resolved?
Hearing that things were fine on Tomori's side, Sakiko should have felt happy.
But aside from that, there was an inexplicable complexity in the girl's heart.
As if to say—this isn't needed (referring to Lady Sakiko)!
"So, have you considered rebuilding CRYCHIC?"
Looking at Maid Sakiko, whose expression had turned somewhat subtle, Kamijou Mutsuki said with a smile.
"Soyo is very persistent about you, you know~"
"And right now, CRYCHIC is quite popular. If you agree to Soyo, you might even pay off your debts faster~"
"Rebuilding CRYCHIC…"
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's words, Sakiko actually fell silent for a moment, but soon shook her head.
"CRYCHIC is already over!"
Also, didn't you just say they've already reconciled internally?
Then why would Soyo still not have given up on reviving CRYCHIC?
"Why not have both~"
Facing Sakiko's questioning gaze, Kamijou Mutsuki explained, "MyGO and CRYCHIC can exist at the same time. The two don't conflict."
"That's ridiculous!"
Sakiko instantly understood what Kamijou Mutsuki meant and couldn't help but frown.
To her, at this moment, a band still held a rather special place in her heart.
Moreover, although Soyo had used Umiri as an example before, she was essentially a mercenary—an exceptional case.
A normal, stable band would never operate like that.
At least, in Sakiko's view, she would never allow her band members to run back and forth between two bands!
"Won't you really consider Soyo's feelings?"
Looking at the girl before him, Kamijou Mutsuki said with a smile.
"Even setting CRYCHIC aside…"
"You clearly still care a lot about Tomori and the others, don't you?"
"I can't go back anymore."
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's words, Sakiko's expression grew somewhat downcast.
"That was my own choice back then. What I can do now is only to make it up to Tomori as much as possible, and protect her current band."
But have you ever thought about it—do Tomori and the others really need your compensation and protection?
Have you considered what they truly want?
As Kamijou Mutsuki looked at Maid Sakiko, who fell into silence after speaking, he somehow saw a shadow of Soyo in her.
Could it be that the end of the universe really is Soyo?
"If you don't start eating, the food's going to get cold."
In the end, it was Mutsumi who spoke up, breaking the somewhat delicate atmosphere between the two.
Hearing this, Maid Sakiko also temporarily put away her somewhat complicated thoughts.
Especially afterward…
"Mutsuki, tonight… shall we do it together again?"
Wearing her pajamas, Mutsumi hugged Kamijou Mutsuki's arm, her cheeks slightly flushed as she said this.
So what exactly do you mean by "together" at night?!
Hearing Mutsumi's words, which easily invited wild imagination, Sakiko's face instantly turned red.
How much longer was she supposed to endure these days of watching the two of them do such shameless things right in front of her?!
..........................