Track 1
Flashback Starts
*piano music plays*
.....My fingers are cold.
It was the preliminary round of an international competition I was competing in for the first time.
As the person before me neared the end of their performance, I grew more and more nervous.
Could I.... really do this.....?
I wiggled my fingers inside the mittens Mama knitted for me.
That one measure I practiced over and over, to the point where I played it more times than I had messed up.
That one chord I had to play after a leap. It still made me so anxious.
My fingers' movements and that of the performer's started to sync up. My mind was a mess.
"Kuguri."
And then, Mama crouched down in front of me.
She would normally never let her pretty skirt get dirty, and yet...
Mama took off my mittens, and massaged my fingers with a gentleness that felt unreal.
"Go on and show the whole world. That you were chosen by God himself, a true genius."
That was what Mama said. It seemed like she truly believed her words.
"It's okay. God will surely guide you so that you will be perfect."
.....He seemed like a god. All of a sudden, that boy from before flashed in my mind.
—I think God decided to give you special hands when he made you.
The warmth returned to my fingertips.
I looked down to my fingers. White, and long.
The ones God had given to me..... the ones Mama kept warm.
My hands seemed to sparkle, as if a spell had been cast on them
These hands and arms of mine are connected to the rest of my body, so I'll be okay.
Surely, I was someone... special to "God".
Or so I believed.
Flashback Ends - HAMA Tours Office
(Ahhh, finally done with those negotiations..... All that's left is my paperwork for the day..... Wait, what's that?)
.....Ugh......
Nayuuki, option two was probs the way to go, don'tcha think?
Nah, I feel like he would've ended up leaving even if we chose that instead.....
Based on the data I have collected thus far, there is no significant difference between the "I'm-Leaving" rate of option one and option two.
What are you four up to?
Chief, welcome back. Good work with the negotiations today.
Welcome back.
Calculating the number of steps Master walked doing business today: approximately 18,000. Mild fatigue observed. I will bring you a drink to relieve this right away.
You don't need to do that..... More importantly, what are you guys doing with Nayuki-kun's computer?
Hehe! You wanna join us Chiefy~? Nayuuki just made this, the Kugurinu Go-Home speedrun game!
Natsuyaki-kun. To be more precise, the goal is not to make the AI leave, but to get him to work.
Well, either way it's turned into a Go-Home speedrun.....
Mm? What do you mean?
Master, I have brought a totes lit vitamin-infused lemonade to help with your fatigue. What they are discussing is an AI version of Kuguri that our manager created based on his usual speech patterns and behaviors.
Thank you, Kinari-kun. .....Wait a minute, an AI of Kuguri-san?!
Of course, I received his permission before making it..... Would you like to give it a try, Chief? The goal is to get Domeki-san to do his office work.
(Err, even if he gave his permission, I feel kinda guilty doing this. Still, I am curious about what it'd take to get Kuguri-san to actually work.....)
Okie dokie! Restarting aaaand... you can choose now!
"Hey there. Did you need something from me?"
CHOOSE;
Could you come to the office? | I've heard about some really good wine.....
If "Could you come to the office?" is chosen:
I'd rather not. I've got things to do, so I'm leaving now.
*failing music*
Sure enough, we'll have to pick the wine option to make him stay, huh.....
Alright then, let's tell him about it.
If "I 've heard about some really good wine....." is chosen:
"Hmmm..... Which wine exactly?"
"Please enter a label name using voice input."
EH?! A wine label.....?! Uh, uuuhhhmmm, Unicorn.....
Chief, I believe you mean Únicco.
WAH, shoot! The other day I rewatched the CelebRoyale episode Renga-kun appeared in and he must have rubbed off on me.....!
".....*Sigh.* I'm almost amused that you'd try to win me over with such a boring lie, but... I'm not in the mood anymore, so I'm leaving now."
*failing music*
Oh nyooo, even Chiefy couldn't get past the 1% mark. So literally nobody's gotten Kugurinu to do his job yet.
Chihiro, you did manage to get him all the way to the office though. Your 50% is the furthest any of us have gone.
But he just painted his nails and left right after.
I also made an attempt based on the data I had collected, but he left just before reaching the office.
Ugh..... Even I can't get Domeki-san to work, and I'm the one who built this…..
.....Come to think of it, isn't Kuguri-san hosting the next feature tour? We should probably figure this out as soon as we can.....
Indeed..... That's precisely why I developed this game in the first place, but he simply won't work no matter what we do.....
Wait, didn't we receive an offer addressed specifically to Kuguri-san the other day? I haven't checked the details myself, but.....
.....I'm planning to decline it.
As this job may be harmful to Domeki-san.
Eh, what's that mean?
That being said, his position as ward mayor was given in exchange for his parole. We absolutely cannot tolerate him neglecting those responsibilities simply because he's been released now. We must get him to work, no matter what.
But we couldn't get the real Kuguri-san to even stop by the office today either...
*ping!*
Manager. By communicating with the AI Kuguri via free voice input, I have managed to pinpoint a few locations where the real Kuguri might be.
.....! Good work, Azekawa-kun! I'll head over right away!
Ah..... Nayuki-kun, I'll go with you!
Yumejuuya Bar
Whaaat~ So you went straight home after that? Poor little lamb.
You think so? Don't you think it's enough that I spent any time with her at all? I even accepted that boring little trinket she was so proud to present.
It was pretty pricey, wasn't it? If ya don't want it, then you can hand it over to me~
Fufu. You're so good at begging, Yuda. How cute.....
DO. ME. KI. SAN.....
G-Good evening~ Kuguri-san and Yunyun-san.....
Oh, welcooome~
Well, I'll be taking my leave then.
(As if I'd let you.....!)
The bar recently received some high-end wine, but it hasn't been served to customers yet, correct? Please bring it out for me. I'll pay the full price.
Eh, you know 'bout that? Did the boss tell ya?
Precisely that. Now, Domeki-san. Let's have a drink.
(Nayuki-kun, your smile isn't reaching your eyes.....)
.....*Sigh.*
Oh well. Picim seems rather desperate, so I suppose I'll spare him this time. I'll at least partake in the wine.
Let's go all-out for tonight! After all, we have... a lot of things to discuss.
Dammit..... What the hell is wrong with you guys..... My hands are always full just dealing with that brother of mine, and yet.....
It's rather unusual for Nayuki to get drunk like this. I suppose it's because he's trying to follow Kuguri's pace?
They're really going at those expensive bottles, huh~ Well, that's great for business, so whatever~
Fufu, little one. I wouldn't mind listening to you badmouth your brother, you know?
(Once Nayuki-kun started insulting Raito-san, Kuguri-san suddenly became so lively..... I'm so glad I stuck to the non-alcoholic stuff~ I didn't think Nayuki-kun would get this drunk.)
.....Things have been getting just a little bit better lately... but, that guy still.....
STILL SITS ON SOME DAMN HIGH HOOORSE!! It really pisses me off! Kitakata Raito, do you think you're a god or something?!
Pft, ahaha..... This is the best. I really hate that part of him, too.
Right?! From the second he was born, he's just been doing whatever the hell he wants! And what pisses me off even MORE is that SOMEHOW it always works out!
I suppose that is just one of Raito's talents.....
NO! Did you know that guy just recently bought out a company on a whim, without even doing any research?! I had been staking it out for the past 6 months, hoping to buy it myself and yet.....
I wanted to be fully prepared so that we could see rapid growth! And when I complained to him, he just said "Aah, shall I sell it to you then?"! It REAAALLY pissed me off, that's NOT what I meant!!
Woaah, they've both got such a messed up sense of money. Scary~
He didn't even bat an eye taking something I was working so hard to get. That arrogance of his.....
MAKES ME SOOOO DAMN PISSED JUST REMEMBERING IT ALL!!!
Fufu. I get what you mean. That man is the very epitome of arrogance. Raito is arrogance. Arrogance is Raito.
I-I wouldn't say that.... Raito-san's very kind, y'know?
That kindness just makes it all worse. It'd be better if he had bad intentions instead.
Indeed. There is nothing more hideous than harm done in the name of kindness. I suppose you could say the people that do so are "malignantly good".
Yes, yes, exactly that!
(Y-Yikes. I'm starting to feel bad for Raito-san. But Nayuki-kun and Kuguri-san are really hitting it off.....)
Chief, no need to look so down. They say that the opposite of affection is indifference. So I don't think that their aversion means there is a lack of affection.
Well, it's pretty frustrating when you're going through so much trouble just for someone to swoop in and ruin things without even knowing. I get it.
B-By the way! Kuguri-san! Since you'll be hosting the next feature tour, did you have a place in mind for the study trip?
What's with that, Cica? My mood was just starting to improve.
Surely there's at least one thing you wanna do under HAMA Tours!
......
What I want to do is.....
Is?!
Destroy Raito.
(E-Eehh.....)
Ahaha, he's so into it~
I don't have interest in anything else.
Um, there's gotta be something else.....
.....That sounds good.
?! NA--NAYUKI-KUN?!
Let's do that..... Let's do exactly that! I was just thinking it's about time Raito gets taken down a peg.
Oh? Little one, didn't you say that there was no point in destroying that brother of yours?
Yes, it is pointless. He'll get back up in two seconds flat anyway. But if he doesn't at least suffer a little every once in a while, he might revert to his selfishness from before.
It's like taming a wild beast. If you don't whip it every so often, it'll just break out of its cage and run free.
Fufu, is that so? Looks like our interests align after all. I was also thinking it's about time to cut into him.
(To the point where he'd never recover, of course.)
Domeki-san. Let's shake on it.
Sure. I'll play along. However, in return, you're not allowed to say anything this time. No matter what happens to your brother.
(E-Eeehhh..... They shook hands..... Is it really okay to be making this kind of agreement while you're drunk, Nayuki-kun?!)
(But..... Maybe Kuguri-san will do his work for once, just so that he can break Raito-san.....? )
HAMA Tours Meeting Room
Good morning! Sorry to call you all first thing in the morning. Thank you for coming.
Chief, thank you for helping me gather everyone here.
A-Ahaha, no problem.....
(After what happened at Yumejuuya last night, just looking at Raito-san makes me feel guilty.....)
U-Ugh..... I'm still hungover from last night.....
Nayuuki, what's wrong? You look FR pale.
I have detected alcohol in Manager's bloodstream.
Come on, Kuguri-san. Please just walk on your own already!
Ahh~ Last night was just too deep and intense..... My legs still aren't working properly, Maci.
WHA- Could you stop breathing so close to my ear.....?! We're here now, so I'm putting you down!
How cruel... You're being so rough with me. Do you like it better that way, Maci?
Alright, looks like everyone's here. We're meeting today because I have some great news for the next feature tour. The one Kuguri will be hosting.
.....Hah?
I would love to volunteer as the sub-host— You see, we've received a collaboration request from a world-renowned piano manufacturer in Hamamatsu.
Kuguri. Won't you do this with me?
.....Ugh, my head.....
NA--NAYUKI-KUN!!
(Could this be... what Nayuki-kun mentioned before? The job that'd be harmful to Kuguri-san.....?)
.......
(Kuguri-san looks like he's gonna kill him.... Plus, it's about piano.....)
(Tao~ The vibes kinda tanked just now, huh?)
I have detected two veins popping on Kuguri's temple.