Chapter 90: Bad Woman PA-san and the Tsundere Manager Seika (Patreon)

"Manager~~ Even if it's your little sister's band's first gig, you don't have to dump all the work on me while you just stare at the stage."

A black-haired onee-san in a black off-shoulder tank top lay limply across the bar, looking completely burnt out as she complained to Seika Ijichi a short distance away.

"I didn't even give you that much to do. Quit the act, PA."

The blonde, red-eyed onee-san walked over, cupped PA-san's small face where it rested on the bar, and started squishing it.

Forced to lift her head, PA-san showed a cold but strikingly pretty face. The stud in her lip and the choker around her neck added a dangerous, alluring charm.

Both women were gorgeous in completely different ways, and some customers who saw the exchange broke into goofy grins.

"Tch."

Seeming to notice the stares, Seika clicked her tongue and let go of PA-san's face.

"It's fine, Manager. Don't worry. Worrying won't do any good anyway."

"A band has to be honed before it can really mesh, and now they've even had to find a guitarist at the last minute. You should be thinking about how to comfort little Nijika afterward."

PA-san rubbed her reddened cheek as she offered the advice to Seika.

"Hmph. Nijika isn't that fragile."

Seika trusted her sister's character. Even if the show got botched, Nijika would only keep working harder instead of falling apart.

Time-wise, it was almost showtime. There weren't many people yet, so sending Nijika and the others up now wouldn't affect many of them anyway.

Just as Seika was about to go tell Nijika to take the stage, the door of Starry swung open from the outside. A boy in a leather jacket walked in with two high school girls.

And the kicker was, all three of them were ridiculously good-looking!

Especially the boy. Seika felt her heart rate jump.

Seriously? Was she actually getting a crush?!

He looked barely old enough to be an adult. She was falling for a younger guy?

"Welcome to Starry. We happen to have a show today. Would you like three tickets?"

Her cheeks burning, Seika tried to sound calm, but the moment the words left her mouth she was startled to realize that the scalp-tingling, syrupy voice was her own.

Behind her, PA-san stared at Daniel with sparkling eyes.

"Sure. How much?"

Daniel wasn't surprised by how the two onee-sans were acting. Ever since his life essence had been elevated, and with the passive effect of the Blond Physique on top of that, he looked like a walking incubus to everyone around him.

"That'll be 15,000 yen. And if you leave your phone number, big sis will throw in a free drink~"

PA-san leaned over the bar and deliberately stuck out her pink, pierced tongue to lick her lips, her voice low and seductive.

Seeing that, Masumi Kamuro bristled instantly and glared at PA-san. Sakayanagi just smiled and said nothing.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. He actually liked this bad-girl type quite a bit. But before he could answer, Seika got angry first.

"PA!"

She whirled around and bonked PA-san on the head, and the bad-girl act collapsed as PA-san crouched down, clutching her head.

"Ow! Manager, are you planning to keep him all to yourself?!"

"Shut up!"

Having put PA-san down, Seika hurried to say to Daniel and the others, "Sorry, this one just likes teasing people. The drink is complimentary. You don't need to leave a number."

"It's fine. There's no harm in getting to know a beauty."

Daniel wasn't angry in the slightest. He was hungry for female characters with actual screen time too.

He used his Authority of Pride to conjure a few 10,000-yen bills with Fukuzawa Yukichi on them and handed two over.

Seika's eye twitched. This brat was kind of a scumbag, wasn't he?

Her fluttering heart settled down a little. She handed over the tickets and change, then used sheer willpower to put some distance between herself and Daniel, turning to go tell Nijika's group to take the stage.

She'd better steer clear of him from now on, or she might fall for him. Kids these days were way too unfair with those looks.

Besides, she could wait in the practice room for Nijika and the others to finish and comfort them.

After Seika left, Daniel led the two girls to seats near the bar.

"I did wonder why Yoru-kun wanted to bring me and Kamuro to a band show. So you were out hunting after all."

"Shall Kamuro and I be your wingmen?"

Sakayanagi Arisu asked with a wounded look as she watched Daniel.

Masumi Kamuro played along. "Scum."

"I won't deny I came looking for girls, but I don't need you two to play along. I just missed you and wanted to take you on a date. Don't think so badly of me."

Daniel saw right away that Sakayanagi was putting it on, pitching her voice toward PA-san behind the bar so she could watch him squirm.

But he had no intention of denying it. They were his women, after all. What if denying it hurt their feelings?

Besides, Sakayanagi just didn't get the band scene. A band was supposed to be chaotic. Couldn't she see that PA-san already had a knowing look on her face?

"Hey, bro, have you played in a band before? Your relationships are super rock."

"Not yet. This is pure talent."

"Really? Then we should try it together sometime. Big sis has plenty of instruments at home. And if you don't feel like making music, we could do something else exciting."

"Something exciting? A new game?"

"More exciting than a game~"

Sakayanagi and Kamuro watched the two of them hit it off more and more, utterly speechless. Did people really play around this much these days?

Seeing their gazes grow more resentful, Daniel eased off. One of the goals of this trip was to take them on a date, after all.

After some time apart, he really had missed them. Otherwise he wouldn't have called them out to watch a band together.

"Alright, that's enough for now. We'll talk later. First I need to comfort my two little girlfriends."

Daniel knew when to quit. He slid his arms around Sakayanagi's and Kamuro's waists, pulled them both against him, and kissed one on each side.

Even a little brat like Sakayanagi and thrill-seeking Kamuro were flustered by the move.

There were a lot of people around, after all.

But feeling how much he cared about them, neither was as jealous as before. This guy was just fickle by nature.

Forget it. Let him be.

Just then, the stage lights suddenly dimmed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Is it starting? Little Ari-chan, Masumi-chan, don't blink. There's something fun to see."

Daniel watched the figures climbing onto the stage in the dark, struggling to hold back his laughter.

Hearing that, Sakayanagi Arisu and Masumi Kamuro perked up, curious about what exactly this "fun" might be.

Click!

The stage lights blazed on, and the spotlights landed on the girls who had come out.

First, the drummer: a beautiful girl with blonde hair, red eyes, and a side ponytail, Nijika Ijichi.

Next, the bassist: a beautiful short-haired girl with blue hair and a deadpan, cool-cute face, Ryo Yamada.

And last, a cardboard box turned upside down, as tall as a person, with the word "Mango" written on it. It looked like it had once held mangoes.

Two holes had been cut in the box, and two hands stuck out of them, holding a guitar.

The mango-box guitarist had made a dazzling entrance.

The audience below the stage fell silent, staring blankly at the mango box.

"Pfft, why is the guitarist a mango box?!"

Masumi Kamuro couldn't hold back her laughter.

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled too, clearly amused. "It is rather interesting. If it isn't a stunt for the show, then this guitarist might have some social anxiety?"