Hitori Gotou's Invitation

"What? Kato-san also went to Shin's house to play?"

During lunch, Ikuyo Kita couldn't help but exclaim when she heard Megumi Kato talk about her visit to Shin's house yesterday.

As someone who is socially active, she was quite looking forward to visiting a friend's house. Although she hadn't been to a boy's house yet, she already considered Shin a friend.

If she had the chance to visit Shin's house, she would be more than willing—but she didn't expect Megumi Kato to have already gone yesterday.

"That's so nice! Is Shin's house really that big? And there are even maids?"

Since Megumi Kato had roughly described what she saw and heard during her visit to Shin's house, Ikuyo Kita now knew just how big Shin's house was.

For most people, such a massive mansion and a house full of maids were things you'd only see in TV dramas. This was the first time Ikuyo Kita had heard that a friend of hers came from such a wealthy family.

"They moved there recently. Before that, they lived in a regular apartment."

Shin picked up a meatball and swallowed it, speaking casually—the lunchbox he was holding was still made by Megumi Kato, though the portion was much larger than before.

Perhaps after talking to Sayu Ogiwara yesterday, Megumi Kato had learned that Shin's appetite had grown recently, so she increased the portion size when making today's lunch.

This made Shin feel a bit embarrassed. When he first received the lunchbox, he even thought about transferring some money to her as a meal fee, but Megumi Kato just smiled and refused.

It had to be said that Megumi Kato really gave off the vibe of a perfect wife. If this were in the world Shin had come from before, a girl like her would definitely be fought over.

"But why did Shin suddenly move to such a big house recently?"

After hearing Shin's words, Ikuyo Kita became even more curious—if Shin had lived in a regular apartment before, it suggested that his family's financial situation was quite ordinary, right?

But from Megumi Kato's description, Shin's new house gave off the impression of being extremely wealthy.

Previously, Ryo Yamada had mentioned that Shin had the "aura of a rich person," and Ikuyo Kita had thought it was just a joke. But now it seemed to be true.

"I-it must be because he made a lot of money from business, right!?"

Hitori Gotou, who had been silent until now, quickly chimed in to answer Ikuyo Kita, as if delaying even a second would result in Ikuyo Kita being silenced.

There was no helping it—Hitori Gotou's impression of Shin was still stuck on his identity as a yakuza boss. In her mind, if Shin had so much money, it must have come from the yakuza!

And of course, such a thing couldn't be revealed to Ikuyo Kita. Ikuyo Kita was just an ordinary high school student. If she found out about such a secret... she might be silenced!

In Hitori Gotou's mind, she pictured Ikuyo Kita being stuffed into cement and sunk into Tokyo Bay, and she couldn't help but shiver.

Such things should be borne by her alone.

"What strange things are you thinking about?"

Shin immediately noticed that Hitori Gotou's nervous response was due to her overactive imagination.

But he could understand. After all, the first time Hitori Gotou met him, she had seen him being bowed to by a group of yakuza, which was indeed quite shocking for an ordinary person.

"Still, you're not entirely wrong. I am currently doing business with the Shinomiya family, so I've made quite a bit of money."

The Shinomiya family was a great shield, allowing him to enjoy life while avoiding troublesome situations.

"The Shinomiya family...?"

Ikuyo Kita also showed a look of surprise. The Shinomiya family was a well-known conglomerate in Japan, and Ikuyo Kita never expected Shin to have connections with them.

But now, Ikuyo Kita understood why Shin was so wealthy, able to move into such a large house and have maids to take care of it.

If he had ties to the Shinomiya family, everything made sense.

"But since Kato-san has already been to Shin's house, can I go too?"

Ikuyo Kita had an outgoing personality. Although she was amazed by Shin's connection to the Shinomiya family, what she really wanted was to visit a friend's house.

So after a brief moment of surprise, she eagerly proposed the idea—since Megumi Kato had already been to Shin's house, shouldn't she, as one of the lunch group, also be able to go?

"And Hitori-san can come too... no, let's just have the entire Kessoku Band go to Shin's house for a team-building event!"

The topic-shifting ability of socially active people could leap to such heights. What started as Ikuyo Kita wanting to go herself ended up involving Hitori Gotou, and eventually the entire Kessoku Band.

But considering the personalities of the Kessoku Band members, Ijichi Nijika definitely wouldn't refuse. She was naturally cheerful and wouldn't turn down such a team-building event.

As for Ryo Yamada... she had recently spent all her money buying Ikuyo Kita's bass and was now struggling to find places to eat. Going to Shin's house for a free meal was something she would definitely jump at.

So in the end, everyone's gaze fell on Hitori Gotou—would this socially anxious girl be willing to go to Shin's house?

"Eh... eh?"

Hitori Gotou, being stared at by everyone, showed an awkward expression, but after some hesitation, she reluctantly nodded.

"T-then... alright, I'll make time this weekend."

This was a lie—as a socially anxious person, Hitori Gotou spent every weekend at home and didn't need to "make time" at all.

"Yay! Then this Saturday, the Kessoku Band will meet at Shin's house!"

Ikuyo Kita looked very happy and didn't forget about Megumi Kato.

"Of course, Kato-san, you should come too!"

Megumi Kato had recently become quite close with the Kessoku Band. If it weren't for the fact that Megumi Kato didn't play any instruments, Ijichi Nijika might have even invited her to join the band.

...

After lunch, everyone packed up their lunchboxes and prepared to leave.

But just as Shin was about to walk out of the rooftop door, he felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes.

Shin stopped to avoid pulling the person too hard and causing them to fall, then turned around to see that it was Hitori Gotou who had grabbed him:

"What's wrong, Bocchi? Is something up?"

"Um... Shin, are you free after school today?"

Hitori Gotou seemed a bit shy, her head lowered as she spoke in a nervous tone.

"I... I want to invite you to my house!"

It seemed like this sentence had drained all of Hitori Gotou's courage. Just saying it made her look like she was sweating bullets.

"Oh?"

Shin was a bit surprised, but he quickly realized something.

"Is it your family who wants to see me?"

This was a reasonable assumption. Shin didn't think Hitori Gotou would actively invite someone to her house—her social anxiety was already severe. It was probably because he had walked Hitori Gotou home last time, and her family had seen him. They must have been urging her to bring him over, but she had been putting it off until now.

She must have finally run out of excuses and mustered the courage to bring it up today.

To be continued…

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