Since everyone in the studio besides Ichin was a girl, it had pretty much become a routine for him to bring back something everyone loved on the way back—milk tea.
Of course, as much as everyone enjoyed it, moderation was key. Drinking it every day wasn't a great idea!
Opening the door to the studio, Ichin called out to everyone already busy inside, "We're back! It's afternoon tea time—come grab some milk tea! And cream puffs too!"
"Oh! Afternoon tea!"
"Welcome back—milk tea!"
"Eh?"
Realizing she'd blurted that out, Shinoda quickly corrected herself, "I mean, sorry—welcome back, Ichin-kun!"
"Now that's more like it."
Ichin nodded in satisfaction and handed over the bag of milk tea to Shinoda. "Put it on the table. Everyone take a break—fresh cream puffs just came out of the oven."
One by one, everyone set their work aside and gathered around the dining table.
"Mmm—these cream puffs are amazing!"
Aoba took a big bite, her expression turning blissful as the custard filling melted in her mouth. "It's been getting colder lately, and honestly, nothing beats milk tea and cream puffs in this weather!"
Now that the exams were over and Ichin was finally back, even Hazuki seemed to relax a little. Taking a small sip of her milk tea, she glanced toward Eriri, who was slumped over the table.
"What's up with Eriri?" she asked curiously. "Don't tell me the exams went badly?"
At Hazuki's question, Eriri's lips immediately drooped as she mumbled gloomily, "The test was way harder than I expected... I might not even make it into the top thirty like I hoped."
Nene Sakura, who had already finished her exams the week before, responded calmly, "Don't worry too much. If the test was really that difficult, you're definitely not the only one who struggled. It's likely that a lot of people didn't score well—so you still have a shot."
Eriri gave her a sideways glance. "What about you, Nene? How'd your exams go?"
"Eh? Me?"
Nene grinned as she held her milk tea, her slightly round cheeks dimpling, "Hehe, I did pretty well. I think I've got the scholarship in the bag."
"Oh right... I almost forgot—you're a top student too."
Nene was currently attending Kira University, a well-known women's university in Tokyo, and she was majoring in law.
Eriri had looked into Kira University's law school before—it ranked among the top three in Japan. Only elite students could get in, and Nene was definitely one of them.
What made it even more impressive was that despite her packed academic schedule, she still came to work at the studio twice a week—doing programming, no less—and her work was always outstanding.
Now she was about to snag a scholarship on top of all that? Yeah, there was no doubting Nene's brainpower.
Eriri could only mentally roast herself.
_Why did I even ask about her grades? I just set myself up for disappointment..._
On the other side of the room, Narumi Tsubame and Momiji Mochizuki exchanged a glance, but ultimately decided not to mention their own final exam results.
Though both of them attended vocational colleges, their grades weren't bad at all.
Once everyone had finished their snacks, they each took their milk tea and returned to their workstations.
Ichin and Eriri also returned to their desks for the first time in a while and powered on their computers.
As his machine booted up, Ichin turned to Hazuki.
"Hazuki, go ahead and assign Eriri her tasks. Aside from having to visit the school the day after tomorrow, she's free to work as usual now."
Hazuki nodded and looked over at Eriri.
"You sure you're up for this? You just finished exams today."
Plugging in her drawing tablet, Eriri suddenly seemed filled with energy.
"No problem at all! It was just exams, and they're over now. Right now, all I want to do is work on game development—I don't want to think about anything else!"
Yeah, she was definitely feeling bottled up.
Seeing her so fired up, Hazuki relaxed and handed over the task list.
Eriri had originally just been an illustrator, but she'd recently picked up 3D character modeling, and she'd gotten the hang of it surprisingly fast—there was no need to worry.
After glancing through her assigned work, Eriri didn't say much. She just put on her headphones and jumped right into work mode.
As for Yukino, who had come along with them, she was currently cuddling Mozuku—the studio cat she hadn't seen in a while—petting it as she chatted with Utaha.
"So after the Christmas party, you're heading back to Chiba?"
Yukino nodded.
"Yeah. I have to go back before New Year's. There's always a lot going on at home during that time."
At the mention of New Year's, her expression stiffened a little.
Noticing the change, Utaha's curiosity was immediately piqued. She glanced around to see everyone else hard at work, then scooted her chair a little closer to Yukino.
"So tell me—your family gets _really_ busy during New Year's? Eriri never talks about anything like that. She's already making plans to come hang out here right after the holidays."
Yukino gave a small sigh, even she couldn't hide a flicker of envy as she mentioned Eriri.
"There's no comparison, really. Our family in Chiba runs a successful company, and my father's a prefectural assemblyman. So when it comes to managing us kids... yeah, things are strict. Whether it was me or my sister, we were both pushed to learn all sorts of things growing up—whether we liked them or not. And even then, most of the attention from our parents and relatives was always on my sister. I never really liked the whole social scene, so I've kept to myself. But around New Year's, there's no escaping all the family gatherings and formalities."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"Still, after a few recent chats with senpai, I've started to see things a little differently."
"Senpai? You mean Ichin?"
Yukino immediately caught Utaha's tone and quickly waved her hands.
"It's not like we were hanging out privately or anything! Just happened to run into him a few times at the Service Club... and a few more times here at the studio. He noticed I seemed a bit troubled and asked if something was bothering me."
Utaha didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the clarification. She smiled and waved it off.
"You don't need to explain so nervously. I know you well, Yukino, and I know exactly what kind of person Ichin is. I won't misunderstand. So, when you said you talked—was it about your sister?"
Yukino's mood softened slightly. She nodded.
"Yes. Part of it was about her, and part of it was about myself. My sister has always been mature—well-mannered, capable. She's already started getting involved in our family's company. Meanwhile, all I can do is study. I can't seem to do anything else. But senpai gave me a different perspective. He helped me think more clearly about how I view her... and also made me start to wonder what it is _I_ really want to do."
"Your ideal path, huh? That's definitely something worth thinking about," Utaha said thoughtfully.
"Honestly, if you asked most of our classmates what their goals are, or how they plan to achieve them, I bet most of them couldn't give you a clear answer. But in that regard... Ichin really _does_ have some authority. So, what about you, Yukino? Have you figured it out yet?"
"Somewhat."
Yukino gently brushed her fingers through Mozuku's fur and spoke softly.
"I've decided I want to take a different path than my sister. But... I know it won't be easy."
...
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