Chapter 169: A Technique to Eat a Free Food

Passersby occasionally cast their gazes toward Bocchi.

After all, a pink-haired girl carrying a guitar while holding tickets and glow sticks to give away was bound to attract attention.

For selling tickets, this kind of visibility was, of course, a good thing.

However, for Hitori, it was practically fatal.

As a severe social anxiety sufferer, Bocchi would instinctively lower her head and avoid eye contact whenever someone looked at her.

The panic from being watched, the sense of duty to actively sell tickets, and the guilt after potential buyers walked away gradually drained the color from Bocchi's world.

Haruto watched this scene with great interest from the side.

Hmm… No matter how you looked at it, Little Lonely was just too cute.

He wanted to tease her.

He wanted to toy with her in the palm of his hand.

Just the thought alone brought him joy.

Haruto shook his head, clearing the not-so-kind thoughts from his mind.

He was, after all, a benevolent neutral god who wandered through multiple worlds, sheltering anomalies across universes and protecting humanity. How could he have such wicked thoughts?

At that moment, Bocchi happened to lift her head and glance in his direction.

Their eyes met.

Hitori: !

Instantly, she lowered her head again.

'We made eye contact! We made eye contact! Was I being rude? I deeply apologize for daring to look at someone like him…'

'But that boy seemed strangely familiar? Have I met him somewhere before? No, no, how could I have acquaintances?'

'Aaaaah! He's coming over! He's walking this way! It must be because I was too rude when we locked eyes!'

Bocchi screamed internally, her mind flooded with chaotic thoughts.

"Bocchi?" Haruto called out softly.

"I'm very sorry!" Bocchi immediately apologized the moment he spoke, bowing deeply.

A conditioned reflex.

It wasn't until she had bowed twice in succession that she finally processed the situation.

"Eh? Do you… know me?" Bocchi pointed at herself in shock.

Haruto nodded.

Upon receiving confirmation, Bocchi's eyes widened in disbelief.

For the first time, her bright blue eyes peeked out from beneath her long bangs. Those clear and pure eyes were like untainted jewels.

As Bocchi stared at him in astonishment, Haruto explained,

"I've heard you perform before. During the event, your bandmates introduced you that way on stage."

At that moment, Bocchi finally recalled who the boy in front of her was.

He was the one who, according to Nijika, had attended one of their performances once before.

'Could it be… a fan?!'

A previously unseen light shone in Bocchi's eyes.

"Excuse me, are you a fan of Kessoku Band? Did you come specifically to listen to us last time?"

Faced with the hopeful gaze of such an adorable girl, most people would probably go along with it and tell a sweet little lie.

However—

"Huh? No way. They weren't selling Kessoku Band tickets back then, right? I was there for another band and just happened to notice you guys."

Haruto ruthlessly shattered Bocchi's fantasy.

Hitori: !

In that instant, she nearly burst into tears.

"I'm very sorry! I assumed you were a fan! That was extremely presumptuous of me!"

Bocchi immediately began apologizing and bowing again.

If she weren't wearing shoes, she would have been curling her toes so hard she'd dig a hole in the ground.

Haruto waved his hand dismissively.

"It's fine. I was there with a friend for the live event anyway. Besides, calling me a fan isn't entirely wrong. That last performance, though it still had some rough edges, your band had a unique style that caught my interest."

With just those two sentences, Bocchi, whose world had nearly collapsed, suddenly regained her sparkle.

Watching her emotional rollercoaster, Haruto couldn't help but smile.

She was simply too fun to mess with!

Pure joy! This was true joy!

"So, are you selling tickets right now? Is this for Kessoku Band's next performance?"

Haruto shifted the conversation toward the tickets in her hand.

Hearing this, Bocchi hurriedly nodded.

She had been agonizing over selling tickets for so long…

But now, here was someone who had noticed her band—and he was the one bringing up the tickets…

Could it be?!

Could she finally sell her first ticket?!

Bocchi thought excitedly, waiting for Haruto's next words.

However…

"Bocchi, you don't seem to be in a hurry right now. Would you mind joining me at that dessert shop over there?"

Haruto invited her with a casual smile.

Hitori: !?

In the end, believing that he might buy a ticket, Bocchi nervously followed him into the dessert shop.

Haruto glanced at the timid girl trailing behind him, head bowed deeply, and sighed internally.

She was way too easy to trick.

Just a little bit of obvious bait, and she took it without hesitation.

With someone like Bocchi, he could get her into bed in a day!

Cough cough…

After they sat down, Haruto ordered a cappuccino and a slice of cake. As for Bocchi, she was too nervous to speak to the waiter, so she didn't order anything.

"You know, it's actually really impressive," Haruto mused casually.

Bocchi tilted her head in confusion.

"I mean your guitar skills. You're still just a high schooler, but your technique is already quite refined."

Hitori: !!!

Hearing the praise, Bocchi nearly melted on the spot.

Lowering her head, she giggled foolishly, too flustered to respond.

"No, no, I just practiced a lot… Please praise me more…"

Then, just as she was basking in joy, Haruto suddenly added,

"But your teamwork with your bandmates is a disaster, and hiding inside a cardboard box doesn't count as a real performance, does it?"

Hitori: !!!

Instantly, her world turned gray again, and she seemed on the verge of crumbling into dust.

Seeing her dramatic reaction, Haruto couldn't suppress his mischievous side.

Bocchi was just too amusing!

"You should try interacting more with your bandmates and the audience," he advised sincerely.

Perhaps overwhelmed by too many emotional ups and downs in one day, Bocchi slumped onto the table in despair.

"I want to… but for me, it's just too difficult…"

Her social anxiety was simply too severe.

Even just imagining engaging with the audience made her feel like ants were crawling all over her body.

Seeing this, Haruto leisurely took a sip of his coffee.

"Maybe next time you perform, you could try imagining the audience as cardboard boxes."

After chatting for a while, Haruto casually grabbed two tickets from Bocchi's hand.

This instantly pulled her out of her slump…

"Uh… Are you going to buy them? If not, I can just give them to you…"

Bocchi said nervously.

Haruto waved a hand and took out a 1,000-yen bill from his pocket.

"I was planning to buy them. They're 500 yen each, right? Here you go."

Hitori accepted the money, feeling like she was dreaming.

She had actually sold a ticket!

This was…

Unbelievable!

'Bocchi you rock!'

She cheered internally.

However, at that moment, Haruto suddenly spoke again.

"Uh… Sorry, but it looks like I don't have enough cash on me. Would you mind covering for me, Bocchi?"

Hitori: !?

Her joy instantly shattered.

She looked at Haruto, trying to maintain a smile, but it was worse than crying.

'Say no, Bocchi! Say no! If you don't refuse, you'll fall into his trap!'

Haruto, meanwhile, put his hands together in a pleading gesture.

"Please, Bocchi! You wouldn't want your fan to end up washing dishes here, would you?"

And so...

"That'll be 5,700 yen. Thank you for your patronage, and we hope to see you again!"

As the clerk's voice rang out, Hitori's eyes welled up with tears of despair.

"Um..."

She wanted to say something more, but as she looked around, she realized that the boy who had been by her side just moments ago had completely vanished without a trace.

Bocchi stood frozen, consumed by shock and numbness.

Like a soulless shell, she carried her guitar on her back and trudged back to the live house.

After recounting the entire incident to her bandmates...

"That was totally a scam, right?"

The ever-blunt, blue-haired bassist, Ryou Yamada, coldly remarked.

"Yeah, sounds like she really ran into a swindler. I can't believe someone would even scam Bocchi, that's just cruel!"

The blonde drummer, Nijika Ijichi, said angrily.

"Do you remember his name? I can ask around and see if we can find him."

The pink-haired vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Ikuyo Kita, asked with concern.

Bocchi stiffened. After a moment, she buried her head deep into her arms, curling up as tightly as possible inside her cardboard box.

Seeing her reaction, the other three immediately understood.

"You didn't even know his name, yet you had such a friendly conversation with him and even lent him money? Does the world really have such naive people...?"

Ryou muttered in disbelief.

Before she could say more, Nijika quickly covered her mouth to prevent her words from inflicting further emotional damage on Bocchi.

"This is really bad... Senpai, you're way too careless."

Ikuyo sighed.

Meanwhile, Nijika struggled to offer some comfort,

"Maybe he just had something urgent to take care of, and that's why he left without saying anything? Maybe he'll come back during the show to return the money."

Hearing this, Hitori hesitantly lifted her tearful face and asked with hope,

"Really...?"

"Probably...?" Nijika averted her gaze.

Though she was trying to console her friend, even the optimistic "Shimokitazawa Angel" couldn't believe that nonsense.

There was no way they'd ever get that money back, it was obviously a scam.

Realizing this, Hitori once again burst into loud sobs.

Seeing her cry, the other three felt their anger flare up.

They silently swore vengeance against Haruto in their hearts.

"You even scammed Bocchi,are you even human!?"