"An uploader?"
The girls of the Light Music Club looked at each other in confusion. After pondering it for a moment, Ritsu's eyes suddenly lit up.
"You mean becoming uploaders in Gensokyo's video section?"
"Yep."
Sato nodded with a smile.
"We could upload videos of our performances whenever we have time."
Honestly, the members of the Light Music Club had a lot of potential for amateurs. More importantly, they were all very attractive. In a society that cared so much about looks, uploading videos would definitely attract plenty of traffic from cultured fans, whether male or female.
Sato was very confident about that.
A faint smile appeared on his face, and a glint of "everything is going according to plan" flashed through his eyes.
This would help fill out the video section too!
"It sounds really interesting! How about... we all do it together?"
Kotobuki Tsumugi had been listening with great interest and finally couldn't help looking at everyone expectantly.
"Eh?! A-Are we really going to do that?"
Mio's face turned bright red as she stammered.
Shy by nature, this was exactly the sort of thing she feared most.
Just imagining videos of her performances being uploaded online for countless people to watch and judge made her face grow redder and redder. The light in her eyes gradually faded, and that feeling...
"Ah! Mio fainted!"
Yui suddenly cried out and hurriedly caught the collapsing Mio.
"Seriously, Mio's still way too shy."
Ritsu folded her arms and looked speechlessly at the unconscious Mio. Then she turned to Sato.
"Sato, pick Mio up and lay her over there. She'll wake up after a few minutes."
Why are you so experienced with this?!
Sato couldn't help complaining inwardly. After thinking about it, however, he frowned slightly.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to do that?"
"Huh? You're the only guy here. If you don't do it, who will?"
Ritsu stared at him in disbelief.
Then she suddenly seemed to realize something, and her gaze toward him became meaningful.
"I see now!"
"You want to take advantage of the opportunity and get handsy while carrying Mio!"
She suddenly pointed at him and declared loudly, wearing an expression that said she'd uncovered the truth.
"Eh?!"
The rich girl and the airhead both looked at Sato in shock.
"Who said that?! I didn't! That's nonsense!"
Sato immediately denied it three times in a row.
He simply felt that physical contact between unrelated men and women should be avoided. After all, he was widely recognized as a good man.
"Then what are you worried about? Hurry up! It's cold today!"
Ritsu rolled her eyes at him and muttered something under her breath.
Sato: "..."
That was annoyingly reasonable.
He found himself unable to argue.
With a sigh, Sato walked over and took Mio from Yui. He skillfully lifted the girl into a princess carry.
As for why he was so skilled, he'd carried plenty of people like this since childhood. Konomi, Natsumi, Komari, Renge...
Konomi mostly did it for fun, but the others had practically been raised by him. Especially when they were little, they were all unbelievably adorable. Whenever they tripped and came crying to him, he'd carry them home just like this. Thinking back on it now was strangely nostalgic.
"You better not try anything!"
Even the usually absent-minded Yui looked at him suspiciously.
Sato's mouth twitched, but he ignored her.
At this rate, Ritsu was going to completely ruin his reputation.
The girl weighed slightly more than he'd expected.
Her figure was slender and well-proportioned, so he had no idea where the extra weight came from. Still, she felt soft to the touch. If he had to describe it, "soft as boneless silk" would be the closest expression.
Beside the cabinet was a small makeshift bed assembled from several chairs and covered with fluffy cushions. During the summer, Ritsu used it for naps.
Under the watchful eyes of the three girls, Sato carefully laid Mio down on it.
Then he turned around, raised a hand, and lifted an eyebrow.
"See? I didn't do anything."
The three girls had gathered into a huddle.
While keeping a wary eye on him, they whispered among themselves.
"Did you see it?"
"I did. When he was carrying Mio, the hand holding her legs touched her butt exactly three times."
"I counted four!"
"And the hand around her waist almost touched her chest!"
"Really?!"
"Yep!"
Sato: "..."
His feelings at that moment were too complicated to put into words.
He instinctively glanced at both of his hands.
So you all worked this hard for me without me even knowing?
No, wait!
"Those things were unavoidable!"
Sato glared at the girls, who were discussing the matter with great enthusiasm. His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Who knows whether it was intentional or not?"
Ritsu said righteously with her arms folded.
Enough was enough.
Sato clenched both fists and pressed them against her cheeks, using a technique he'd learned from his sister-in-law Nohara Misae for dealing with Shin-chan.
Grinding his teeth, he said,
"In that case, next time this kind of job comes up, it's all yours!"
"Ahhh! I was giving you a bonus opportunity!"
Ritsu cried out in pain but still tried to defend herself.
"Then thank you so much for your generosity!"
Sato replied irritably.
Then his gaze suddenly landed on the phone in her hand.
The screen was still lit, displaying a photo of him carrying Mio.
"Wait a second! What exactly are you planning to do with that?"
He suddenly smelled a conspiracy.
Smiling gently, Kotobuki Tsumugi explained,
"Ritsu said she was going to keep the picture and use it to blackmail Mio later."
Sato instantly understood everything.
Gritting his teeth, he increased the pressure on her cheeks.
"So that was your real objective, Ritsu!"
"Ahhh! I was wrong! Please spare me!"
The next second...
"Tsumugi, you actually sold me out!! Our friendship is over!"