Bomen

Why did Kitahara-san come to talk to me? Hitori Gotoh pretended not to hear and continued lying down.

I can't hear, I can't hear.

The only thing I need is to fall in love with Kitahara-san in the game. In the real world, please leave me alone! I beg you, great god!

'If you fall in love with such a handsome boy,' inhale, exhale... inhale, exhale... inhale and exhale...

Oh no, I'm suffocating! ——

Gahh!

Hitori Gotoh, 15 years old, died from severe burns caused by the force field of a handsome boy.

[Breaking news alert.]

Moments ago, our beloved national rock queen, Ms. Hitori Gotoh, suddenly passed away in the classroom of Shuka High School. The killer has been arrested and brought to justice. What's even more shocking is that the one who ended the Rock Queen's life, before she could even start her career, was...! Let's hear the report from our on-site reporter:

"Hey~ Are you still alive?" Kitahara Toru looked at Hitori Gotoh, who was completely lost in her own world, and waved his hand in front of her.

Wow, how is it that the future rock star has social anxiety in middle school?

Could it be that without an unforgettable love, she wouldn't be able to grow?

I'll have to find time to woo her and then leave her... cough cough, just kidding, Kitahara Toru isn't that evil.

"Ah... yes!" Hitori Gotoh snapped back to reality, but since it had been so long since she talked to a stranger, she couldn't control her volume.

Instantly, all eyes in the class turned to her, whispering.

"P-please, is there something you want?" Gotoh asked timidly.

Kitahara Toru smiled at her, "It's nothing, I'm just really interested in your guitar."

When he was playing the simulation game, he had admired Bocchi-chan's guitar several times—it was impressive, but in real life, he had never heard her play.

"...?"

Guitar?

Bocchi-chan struggled with her thoughts.

What does Kitahara-san mean?

Very interested in guitar → guitar → I want guitar → Hey! Give me your guitar, girl! → Robbery

As a poor and weak social creature, when faced with robbery, it seemed she had no choice but to kneel and beg for mercy, or else she'd die!

"Here's the guitar... Please, please, please let me go." Hitori Gotoh said in a trembling voice as she handed over the guitar on her desk.

Then she knelt, ready to bow.

Even Kitahara Toru was surprised by her smooth combination of apologizing and kneeling.

Wow, so agile, she knelt down in one go!

"Gotoh-san, if you keep this up, people are going to misunderstand us."

Kitahara Toru handed the guitar back and said with a slightly lonely expression, "Since you don't want to chat with me, then forget it... I thought Gotoh-san might become my friend. After all, there are few in this class who understand music."

"Seems like I'm overthinking it."

"..." Gotoh tilted her head.

Huh? It wasn't a robbery?

What does this mean?

Watching his lonely back as he walked away, Bocchi-chan froze as she recalled what Kitahara Toru had just said.

It's over, it's over!!

Kitahara-san wanted to be my friend, and I rejected him!

'Dad, Mom, Futari, Nijika-chan, Yamada-san, Kita-san, my life... is ruined!'

With a look of grievance on her face, Hitori Gotoh fearfully put away her guitar and noticed that many students in the class were looking at her like she was a weirdo.

Of course, rejecting Kitahara Toru's kindness was something very strange.

It was like a white crow—so rare.

Woo!! My life!!

My beautiful life, which hasn't even started, is already over!

————

Live House [STARRY].

Not much different from other live venues, the interior of "STARRY" is small but elegant, with a lot of style.

The mysterious pink creature often found there attracts visitors, who don't hesitate to take photos and upload them to their social media. Wow! What is this? A snail, or maybe a snake?

No, it's Bocchi-chan.

"What's wrong? Ryo, today Bocchi-chan is more afraid of strangers than usual." Nijika Ijichi, the great Archangel of Shimokitazawa, the queen of social media, invited (crossed out) "kidnapped" Bocchi-chan to join the Kessoku Band over a week ago.

She was very concerned about this guitarist.

After all, the new guitarist and singer, Ikuyo Kita, was still a rookie.

"Seems like someone she likes rejected her," Yamada Ryo said indifferently.

"Someone she likes?" Nijika Ijichi tilted her head, put her finger on her chin, and then unconsciously said, "Does Bocchi-chan really have someone she likes?"

After saying that, she quickly apologized, "Bocchi-chan, I didn't mean anything weird, just..."

"Nijika, she's not listening." Yamada Ryo pulled out a handful of roots from her jacket pocket and chewed on them.

She's been so poor that she's been eating grass lately.

Don't tell me, it tastes pretty good.

"Hey, Bocchi-chan, snap out of it soon. We're going to start practicing soon, okay?" Nijika Ijichi ran over to Bocchi-chan, who was lying motionless on the table, and shook her shoulders.

However, it didn't work at all.

What can we do? The first sound audition is in two weeks. If I don't pass my sister's evaluation, the Kessoku Band will have to disband before it's even born!

Bocchi-chan, cheer up!

"Ah... Nijika-chan..." Hitori Gotoh called out in a half-muffled voice, then halfway sat up.

She could no longer go on living.

"Gaaah~!"

With a strange sound, Bocchi-chan stopped breathing.

"Don't make weird noises and pretend to be dead, Bocchi-chan~!" Nijika Ijichi shook her shoulders again.

This was the first time she had encountered this situation.

"Should we take Bocchi-chan out into the sun to get some air?" Yamada Ryo said seriously, "I heard mushrooms become healthy if exposed to sunlight."

"Bocchi-chan isn't a mushroom!!" The little angel of the group, Nijika, lived up to her role as the complainer.

Yamada Ryo gave her a thumbs-up, "Good joke!"

Midway through the conversation, a red-haired girl entered through the entrance of STARRY Live House.

It was Ikuyo Kita.

"Kita-chan!! Come here and take a look, Bocchi-chan has turned into a mummy." Nijika Ijichi greeted Ikuyo Kita.

"Mummy?" Ikuyo Kita trotted over to the group, then reached out and placed her hand on Bocchi-chan's forehead.

Hmm, the temperature is normal.

Sniff.

The smell is also normal, no musty mummy odor.

"Kita-chan, I don't mean a real mummy. Didn't you notice Bocchi-chan is very stiff today?"

Bocchi-chan seemed to have sensed the popular-person aura emanating from Kita Ikuyo, and her body collapsed like a robot.

Life and death unknown.

Kita Ikuyo saw this and stared at her for a few seconds.

Surprised, she said, "Wow! It's a robot! Oh my god, Gotoh-san started dancing mechanically!"

Bocchi-chan was trembling on the floor, like a robot vacuum running out of power.

Goodbye, this world.

Sayonara.

[The simulator has completely cooled down.]

[Do you wish to start the second simulation?]

[Note: This simulation can use fully realistic mode.]

!!

Hitori Gotoh sprang up like a carp and, at lightning speed, quickly got up from the floor.

Bocchi-chan has resurrected!

Yamada Ryo picked up the hardcover book on the table, "Saint Bocchi resurrected on the third day after her death on the cross."

She made a gesture.

Pray sincerely.

"Bomen."