Chapter 43 — So Strong, Too Strong

His heart started racing, and he instinctively avoided her intense, unwavering gaze.

The faint, intoxicating scent coming from the girl made his mind begin to blur.

Simulation and reality are different, simulation and reality are different—

Kazami Haru couldn't help repeating this mantra in his head, trying to stay calm.

Even just from the memory fragments in the simulation, he could clearly feel Ryo-san's overwhelming charm as his "lover from a past life."

Back then, the simulation only showed brief memories, at most delivering a visual shock, yet even that had been enough for him to willingly become a "pure-hearted love warrior" who chose the solo route for Ryo.

But reality truly was different from simulation.

In real life, every smile, every little gesture from Ryo-san carried a power that far exceeded what he had imagined.

Whether it was gently brushing aside the silky strands of hair near her ear to reveal her soft neck, or the subtle fragrance she gave off without even realizing it—it was a multi-sensory assault on his sight, smell, hearing, and even touch!

In this moment, the seductive power of the blue-haired succubus was fully unleashed!

If he kept going along with her pace, he would surely end up being led around by the nose. Realizing this, Kazami Haru took a deep breath of the girl's delicate fragrance.

He repeated in his mind ten times: "She just wants my body." Only then did the heat in his head begin to cool.

Phew~

Returning to his usual state, Kazami Haru flashed a sly smile and held up three fingers toward Ryo-san: "If you want my contact info, it'll cost at least 3,000 yen as a service fee, alright?"

"Three thousand?"

Ryo-san paused in hesitation. After all, she didn't have 3,000 yen on her.

"We're bandmates now. Give me a little discount."

"I'm a student. Thirty yen."

With a dead-serious face, Ryo-san also raised three fingers.

Most people bargain by cutting the price in half—you, on the other hand, show up with a legendary sword and slash the price to one-tenth.

Do you realize you'd be put on trial for this if we were on America?

"2,500."

"500."

"2,000!"

"1,000."

"1,500!"

"Deal."

After a bout of haggling, Ryo-san wore a victorious smile, having cut the price from 3,000 to 1,500 yen.

From 3,000 to 1,500… why does this feel familiar?

Just as the triumphant Yamada was about to pay, her right hand froze while rummaging through her wallet. Then she covered her face with it, like she was putting on the mask of a gleeful trickster.

After patting herself down, she found only a few clinking coins. Not a single bill in sight.

"Ah… I think I spent it all on KFC earlier."

At this moment, the blue-haired girl wore an expression of sudden realization.

Kazami Haru took a deep breath. He couldn't understand how his simulated self ever fell in love with this woman.

"Haru, lend me 1,500 yen."

And in the end, this woman shamelessly reached out her hand to borrow money to pay him.

Paying him with his own money, in front of him. Only she could do something like that without blinking, and she even had the look of someone who clearly wasn't going to pay it back! There's no way he'd lend it to her!

As the distance between Ryo-san and him shortened more and more, he finally gave in.

"Here."

Ryo-san took the phone. The prize she'd won, with an expressionless face. Then she tapped away at it with her thumb in a flurry of motion, and soon the crisp sound of a notification chimed from his ear.

Her expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

"Well then, I'm heading this way."

"I'm leaving Bocchi to you."

Having just gotten Haru's contact and other info, Yamada immediately turned at the next corner without hesitation, decisively taking a different path.

That woman, was this her goal from the beginning?

As she walked off into the side street, Yamada-san pressed her lips together. The phone in her right hand clearly displayed Haru's contact, saved as "Haru," along with his number, and more importantly, what appeared to be an address.

PIC: Ryo

If she hadn't been worried that he might think she was too flirtatious, and if Bocchi—who might or might not have been fully conscious, wasn't still nearby…

Then perhaps, she wouldn't have stopped at just getting his contact information and address.

…

Ryo-senpai... is actually the carnivorous type?!

(TL Note: 肉食系 (nikushoku-kei) - carnivorous type (aggressive in romance)

Gotoh Hitori, who had just witnessed everything from beginning to end, felt as if a tidal wave had crashed through her heart.

Could it be that all girls in rock bands are actually this bold and aggressive, just like Ryo-senpai?

She had thought Ryo-senpai was a cool, distant "flower on a high peak", someone aloof and hard to approach.

And yet, with just one face-to-face interaction, she'd already secretly exchanged contact info with Haru-san behind the scenes. That kind of lightning-fast move was beyond belief, and left the socially anxious Bocchi, who struggled just to talk to people, completely in awe.

Ryo-senpai's string of confident moves… might be something she could never pull off in her entire life.

So strong… way too strong!

"Hey~ Bocchi, you awake now?"

"Ah, yes!"

Before she realized it, they had already arrived at the Shimokitazawa train station. Startled by something Kazami Haru said, she instinctively snapped to attention.

Everything she had just witnessed, she absolutely, absolutely had to pretend she didn't see any of it. If she said anything, she had a bad feeling something terrible might happen!

"Well then, you can get home on your own from here, right?"

"My place is that way, so I'll head off."

Kazami Haru pointed his thumb toward the side path on the right and let out a tired yawn.

Everything he'd done today felt more exhausting than a full simulation. Even someone like him couldn't help feeling drowsy—it was the kind of fatigue where all he wanted now was to hurry home and collapse into bed.

"—Um, Haru-san!"

After a brief hesitation, Hitori finally called out to him.

Usually the one passively waiting for others to speak, Bocchi-chan suddenly initiating a conversation with him was surprising enough to shake Haru from his sleepy daze just a little.

"Th-thank you so much for everything today!"

"If you hadn't kept chasing after me… I-I don't think I ever would've met Nijika-chan, let alone joined the band I've always dreamed of."

"I got to talk to so many friends… all because of your help, Haru-san."

Her fingers curled tightly into her palm, and under her bangs, her face was full of unease. Her whole body was so tense, it was clear just how nervous she was.

But even with her mind tangled up in nerves, the gratitude welling from deep inside Hitori Gotoh's heart couldn't be hidden.

No matter how anxious she was—she wasn't running away.

"F-from now on—"

"Could you… always be my friend?"

She suddenly lifted her head, and from beneath her bangs, her clear blue eyes met Kazami Haru's directly.

That gloom and self-doubt that had always clung to her seemed to vanish into thin air in that very moment.

Just days ago, she had been so timid and withdrawn, unable to speak to anyone. But now—she was standing tall, looking him straight in the eyes, and expressing her truest feelings.

PIC: Bocchi

"If you can pay your friendship fees on time from now on."

"I-I'll do my best to pay them!"

Bocchi-chan nodded so hard her head looked like a spinning fan, almost kicking up dust from the ground.

Kazami Haru rested one hand on his hip, a mischievous grin slowly spreading across his delicate features.

"You don't have to pay. Being your friend is my honor."