I Just Want A Single Ending!

To be honest, Nyamu hadn't expected karma to come around quite so fast.

Now it was her turn to be on the spot, faced with a tricky question she couldn't easily answer.

If she admitted she'd researched bass guitars for Saku's sake, he'd definitely push further and ask if she liked him. Of course, her only possible response would be a denial. And from there, he'd just laugh and accuse her of being a tsundere—exactly what she'd done to him earlier.

After a brief hesitation, Nyamu put on her best sheepish smile. "Hahaha, well, actually, I was researching basses just to make sure you wouldn't get ripped off too!"

"Oh, really? Then, does that make you the tsundere?" Saku replied, his smile unrelenting.

Finally, the tables had turned in his favor! Who's the tsundere now?

"Please, Saku-sama, have mercy!" Nyamu laughed, pretending to beg. "I was just joking around earlier, honest!"

"That title sounds terrible," Saku said, immediately stepping away from her with a look of exaggerated disgust.

Being addressed like that by someone significantly older wasn't flattering in the least—more like a painfully awkward honorific.

"Now you know how I felt when you called me 'senpai' all mockingly," Nyamu said, grinning mischievously. "Saku-sama!"

"Compared to that 'sama' thing, 'senpai' is way more common in everyday life," Saku replied, crossing his arms with conviction. "And besides, calling you 'senpai' is actually accurate given our ages, while you calling me 'sama' is just… weird."

"Oh, please, you were totally making fun of me with that whole 'senpai' thing earlier!"

Well, Nyamu did have a point. She wouldn't normally care if he called her 'senpai,' but coming from him in that tone, it was anything but respectful.

"You're just misinterpreting it. It's because I'm such a 'tsundere,'" Saku said with a smirk. "Once you understand my 'tsundere nature,' it all makes sense, right?"

"…How about we just call it a truce?" Nyamu said after a brief silence, giving in. "I won't call you 'Saku-sama' anymore if you drop the whole 'senpai' thing."

"Deal," Saku replied immediately, clearly pleased.

This was exactly what he'd been angling for, after all—a perfect excuse to shed the 'tsundere' label once and for all. So far, his plan had gone off without a hitch.

Then, Nyamu looked at him hopefully. "By the way, can I use what we talked about in the video?"

"Which part, exactly?" Saku asked, tilting his head.

"You know, from when I said I was buying an electronic drum kit up to the truce we just made," Nyamu replied, clearly picturing the final product in her head. "I feel like it'd make for a funny little clip. Just showing the store and picking an instrument would get boring otherwise."

If only she'd managed to capture their whole exchange on camera—then she'd have a perfect segment ready to go.

"Sure, as long as you don't reveal my identity," Saku said with a shrug.

This wasn't a big ask, so he had no reason to turn her down.

"Don't worry, I'll just refer to you as 'my friend.'" Nyamu flashed him a thumbs-up. "Though I might tweak a few details for the sake of humor. Sound good?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Great!"

As Nyamu planned out her video's pacing, Saku said, "By the way, thank you."

"Huh?"

Nyamu looked up, genuinely surprised.

"I mean thanks for researching beginner basses," Saku clarified, deciding the least he could do was acknowledge her efforts.

"You know," Nyamu said after a pause, leaning closer with a mischievous smile, "you really might be a tsundere after all."

Realizing her effort hadn't gone unappreciated was honestly a nice feeling. Despite the back-and-forth teasing, it looked like they were on track to becoming friends.

Saku took off his sunglasses, fixing her with a steely gaze. "Nyamu-senpai, what exactly are you implying?"

"…Never mind, let's just keep the truce," she said quickly, deciding it was best to avoid provoking him further.

Nope, Saku wasn't a tsundere—he was probably more of a kuudere, if anything, or maybe even a bit of a schemer.

With the truce in place, Nyamu resumed filming her clips while Saku wandered around the store. After they each made their purchases and arranged for their gear to be delivered, they left the music shop together.

"So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day? Need to shoot any more footage?" Saku asked.

"Nope, today's video is done," Nyamu replied, already sensing what he was about to suggest.

"Then, if you're free, I'd love to get your input on that beauty project I mentioned," Saku said. "The one for the makeup video?"

"Sounds good!"

This was the perfect chance to get to know him better, so Nyamu accepted enthusiastically.

"Thank you."

They found a cozy, upscale café nearby, placed their orders, and waited for their drinks to arrive. Once they'd settled in, Saku went over his video concept, explaining the high-end versus budget product comparison idea.

"Oh, so you're planning to pit high-end and budget brands against each other, which should stir up some buzz and attract attention," Nyamu summarized with a grin.

"I wouldn't put it like that," Saku corrected her, though he was well aware that the comparison would inevitably spark debate.

The unspoken truth was that he'd chosen this angle for the very purpose of stirring conversation, though he wasn't about to say that outright.

"Oops, my bad," Nyamu laughed. "But yeah, it sounds solid. Only thing is, there are already a lot of similar comparison videos out there."

With so many content creators out there, originality was rare, and this format wasn't exactly groundbreaking.

"I know," Saku replied, nodding. "Which is why I hope you'll help me out by appearing in the first episode."

---

T/N: (morax millionaire has been reuploaded under the title of Contracts Beyond Realms: The Geo Archon's Journey id appreciate it if you can put it in your collections again pwetty please)

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