The golden star keychain felt like a lead weight in my pocket.
Ever since I found it, my mind had become a chaotic chalkboard of theories. Shinobu had the resonance, Sakura had the charisma, and Shiina had the mystery. But the more I tried to solve the equation of "Star," the more the variables refused to balance.
"I need to clear my head," I muttered, walking toward the Audio Club room during the early morning break. "Maybe a bit of technical work will drown out the static in my brain."
I arrived at the door, but just as I reached for the handle, I stopped. A sound was echoing from inside—and it wasn't the usual soft hum of the amplifiers. It was... intense.
"Absolute skill issue! You're literally a bot! Uninstall the game and go touch some grass!"
I froze. That voice was high-pitched, incredibly rapid, and carried the kind of aggressive authority you'd expect from a pro-gamer at a world championship.
"Clutch it! Clutch it! Why are you standing there like an NPC?! If my grandma played this, she'd have a better K/D ratio than you!"
I slowly pushed the door open, just an inch.
In the center of the room, Rikko Inoue was a person transformed. Her oversized hoodie was pushed back, revealing messy hair tied into a chaotic bun and a pair of professional-grade, neon-pink gaming headphones. She was hunched over her tablet, her fingers moving like a blur of lightning. Her face—usually a mask of silent shyness—was twisted into a terrifying grimace of pure "gamer rage."
"Rikko-san...?" I whispered.
"DIEEEEEEE!" she screamed at the screen, followed by a weird, victory-dance-wiggle in her chair. "GG EZ. Stay mad, losers. Ratioed."
Creak. The door gave way under my weight. Rikko's neon headphones practically took flight as she spun around. When her eyes met mine, her soul seemed to leave her body in real-time.
"I-I-I-I..."
In a flash, she dived under the main mixing desk with the speed of a startled lizard.
"Rikko-san? Are you okay?" I asked, stepping into the room.
"I AM AN NPC!" a muffled, panicked voice shouted from beneath the table. "I HAVE NO DIALOGUE FOR YOU, IZUMI! PLEASE RESET THE LEVEL OR GO TO THE NEXT MAP!"
"Sorry, Rikko-san, but I'm doing a 'No-Skip' run of this visual novel," I said, unable to suppress a grin. I knelt down, trying to peek into her 'secret base' under the desk. "And I think I just unlocked your secret boss phase. That was some impressive trash-talking. I didn't know you could project your voice like that."
"It's over," Rikko whimpered, curling into a ball behind a forest of XLR cables. "My career as a quiet, mysterious girl is dead. I will now become a hermit and live in the school's ventilation system."
"Hey, look at me," I said, my tone softening. I sat on the floor next to the desk, leaning my head against the cool metal frame. "I spend my days making jokes so dry they could cause a drought. I'm the king of cringe, Rikko-san. Your 'gamer mode' isn't weird—it's actually kind of cool. You sounded... confident. Almost like you were in control of the whole world."
Rikko slowly poked her head out from behind a power strip, her feline eyes wide and shimmering. "You... you don't think I'm a creep? Most people think girls who scream at tablets are... broken."
"Broken? No. I think you've just found a different frequency," I said, flashing a genuine, goofy smile. "Actually, I'm jealous. Your vocal control when you're in the zone is incredible. You didn't stutter once. You were breathing like a professional broadcaster."
Rikko crawled out hesitantly, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's the only time I can talk. When I'm behind my avatar... I don't feel like 'Quiet Rikko' anymore. I feel like I have a voice that actually matters. I don't have to worry about people looking at me."
I looked at her, and for a moment, the detective in me felt a sharp jolt of electricity. A voice that only shines when hidden. It was the perfect profile for "Star." Someone who used the radio to connect with the world because the physical world was too loud.
"Rikko-san, if you can carry a team of 'potatoes' to victory, you can definitely handle the soundboard for our first project," I said, standing up and brushing off my blazer.
"Project?" she tilted her head, looking like a startled kitten.
"The Lunchtime Podcast," I declared. "And I need my best 'Hidden Boss' to make sure our audio quality is top-tier. No skill issues allowed."
Before she could protest, the door swung open and the rest of the club arrived.
"Morning, everyone!" Shinobu chirped, then blinked at the sight of us on the floor. "Eh? Rikko-chan, why are you sitting near the cables? Are you trying to communicate with the electricity again?"
"Izumi... he... he witnessed the glitch..." Rikko pointed at me, her face turning pale again.
"I saw her legendary technical skills!" I interrupted quickly, giving Rikko a subtle thumbs-up. "She's a genius. She just helped me 'reboot' my understanding of the equipment. Truly un-beat-able."
Rikko let out a tiny, relieved sigh, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Un-beat-able... that pun was a 2/10, Izumi-kun. Definitely needs a patch."
"Hey! A 2 is a passing grade in my book!"
As the girls started setting up, I watched Rikko retreat into her hoodie and take her place at the mixer. But the way her hands moved over the faders—with precision and hidden passion—made my heart race.
One secret discovered, three girls to go. The mystery of "Star" was getting louder, and for the first time, I felt like I was finally tuning into the right station.