Chapter 29: Is Minami an Angel?

"Ah..."

Looking at Minami's slightly sad expression, Bocchi instinctively reached out her hand. "Um... I'm sorry."

"No," Minami smiled as he took Bocchi's pale, soft hand, his expression serious as he looked at her. "I should be the one apologizing to you, it's something from the past, and you shouldn't have heard this news."

"Uh..."

Bocchi's originally pale face quickly turned bright red in the next moment.

Her pink lips trembled as she wanted to pull her hand back from Minami's, but seeing his "forced smile," she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Minami-san... he must have been really close to his friend.

[Ding~ Received 50 Heart Value from Bocchi] 

[Ding~ Received 50 Heart Value from Bocchi] 

[Ding~ Received 50 Heart Value from Bocchi]

Good!

Minami, with a sad expression, listened to the delightful sound in his ears and let out a comfortable breath. 

As the first beautiful boy in Tokyo, isn't it easy for me to win over a shy girl like you?

As for lying? 

Minami didn't lie.

After all, didn't the things that happened in the simulation count?

But thinking about how he had been holding Bocchi's hand, which could seem like taking advantage of the situation, he slowly loosened his grip.

"Sorry."

Minami said contentedly.

"Ah... it's fine."

Bocchi retracted her hand, her face still red. She didn't dare look up and could only speak hesitantly, "It's really great to help you, Minami-senpai."

"I really appreciate it."

Minami smiled and then continued, "Because Gotoh-chan also plays the guitar, just like her, that's why I approached you yesterday. Thinking back, I was a little forward at that time. Sorry, Gotoh-chan."

"Eh? Minami-senpai's friend also plays the guitar?" 

Bocchi looked at Minami in surprise.

"Yes."

Minami sighed deeply. "But she didn't want to interact with others, so even though she's good at playing guitar, she rarely performs in front of others."

"...Is that so?"

The more Bocchi listened, the more surprised she became.

If it weren't for Minami mentioning this friend, she would have thought he was describing herself.

"Yeah."

Minami nodded, as if lost in thought. "Because she was too shy to perform in front of others, she secretly opened an account online, where she has a group of like-minded friends. Looking back, it was really a beautiful memory."

"..."

Bocchi didn't know how to respond.

Because she had never imagined there would be someone with the same experiences as hers in this world.

When she thought about it carefully, wasn't she also afraid to perform in front of others at first? It was only with her father's encouragement that she began performing online as "Guitar Hero," right?

Thinking like that, when Bocchi looked at Minami again, she felt a little closer to him.

Minami-senpai, if he could become good friends with someone like that, he must be really kind, right?

Maybe even I...

At this point, Bocchi had clearly forgotten that it was she who had been unwilling to be alone with Minami at first.

Now, seeing Minami look sad, she even felt a bit sympathetic.

"When she passed away, I kept thinking whether I had fulfilled my responsibilities as a friend."

Taking advantage of the opportunity.

Minami knew he had to get the tragic story right from the start. After all, if he brought it up later, it wouldn't have the same effect.

He gathered his emotions and was about to speak again—

"Definitely!" 

Huh—?!

Minami looked at Bocchi in surprise. 

After all, Bocchi always spoke softly, and any louder voice seemed like a frightened hamster.

Clearly, Bocchi also realized she might have been a bit rude.

Her face turned red, and she didn't dare look at Minami, covering her mouth with her palm. After a while, she whispered:

"Definitely... If someone has a friend like Minami-senpai, that girl... she must have been very happy. Yeah, it must be like that."

She tried hard to affirm Minami, and although her voice was still awkward, the certainty in her words made Minami unable to ignore them.

"..." Minami.

Looking at Bocchi like this, Minami fell silent.

The memories from the simulation rushed to his mind.

He remembered the girl, who he had tried so hard to make smile, comforting herself in the simulation like this.

Minami shook his head.

No matter if it was in the simulation or in reality, Bocchi was still Bocchi.

She would feel lost when no one paid attention to her.

And she would feel sad when her friends were upset.

Minami sighed.

Perhaps he had gone too far.

So he turned his head, smiling, and spoke, "Sorry, I was just joking."

"Eh...?"

Bocchi looked up in confusion.

"I don't have that kind of friend. I was just joking." 

Minami smiled and reached out to ruffle Bocchi's hair, his voice filled with affection. "Gotoh-chan, you're so easy to trick sometimes. Be careful; men like me could easily deceive you."

Feeling the touch on her head, Bocchi didn't feel embarrassed for once.

Because she felt that Minami's words didn't seem to be fake at all.

But she didn't know how to respond, so she just lowered her head and mumbled, "Mmm."

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

But fortunately, Minami broke the awkward silence.

"By the way, Gotoh-chan, your guitar."

Taking the guitar bag from the side, Minami handed the guitar back to Bocchi. "This guitar must be really important to you, right? If that's the case, you should cherish it more and not just hand it over to a stranger like me casually."

"Ah... yes."

Hearing Minami's encouraging voice, Bocchi quickly responded and then carefully said, "Then about my wedding expenses..."

"I'm not interested in extorting money from anyone." 

Minami waved his hand.

Angel.

Bocchi opened her mouth.

The extortion plot she had imagined didn't happen.

Instead, she had a heart-to-heart talk with Minami.

This man... is he an angel?

She couldn't help but think.

Minami smiled and looked at Bocchi before thoughtfully speaking, "Of course, if you have time, Gotoh-chan, I would be really happy if you taught me how to play the guitar."

"Ah... okay. If I can, of course."

For the first time, Bocchi felt that agreeing to someone's request wasn't that hard.