After everyone met up, they planned to walk around the school building and experience the lively culture festival at Shuka High.
"I want to see Bocchi in a maid outfit."
In the hallway, Ryo suggested visiting Class 1-2, which was the classroom of Toru and Hitori.
"If I remember correctly, Gotoh-san isn't on customer duty today, right?"
As the school's star, Kita knew the event arrangements of every class by heart.
Hitori, being terribly shy, trembled under the strong normie aura radiating from Kita.
She had never even told Kita about that.
C-could it be that Kita-chan awakened some kind of future telling superpower?
"Gotoh-san, what's wrong? I'm close with your class rep, so that's how I know."
"Ah... n-nothing." Hitori stammered.
She had seriously thought Kita was about to turn into a magical girl.
After learning the reason, Bocchi-chan was no longer as scared.
Normies and shy people aren't that different at the core...
Yes, normies have lives too.
"Toru-kun, are you still wearing the outfit?"
Ryo meant Toru's butler uniform.
"No, I finished my shift in the morning. I'm not on duty this afternoon," Toru replied.
"What a shame."
"It's fine. Hitori has photos, do you want to see them?"
The moment he said that,
Hitori froze in place.
Oh no, he found out about the secret photo...
She originally thought Toru didn't know she had secretly taken a picture of him in a tailcoat.
"Ehh, I want to see."
Kita leaned in toward Bocchi-chan. She had been helping other classes in the morning and hadn't seen it.
Hitori glanced nervously at Toru, and seeing he wasn't angry, she pulled out her phone.
Nijika squeezed in as well.
Ryo acted reserved, planning to ask Hitori to send it to her privately.
"So elegant," Nijika said. "It reminds me of an anime I watched, Black Butler, the butler who serves his young master named Sebastian, though the vibe's not the same. Toru-kun isn't that scheming."
"So sad, I couldn't see it in person..."
Kita said, "But I heard Class 1-2 had a huge line this morning, stretching into the hallways of other classes. If the committee hadn't dispersed the crowd, it would have turned into a safety problem."
Practically school idol level.
Toru was undoubtedly the aloof flower blooming on the highest peak of Shuka High.
Usually, no one dared approach him directly. If a girl wanted to get closer, this seemed to be the only method.
Class 1-2 had taken full advantage of this mindset and offered a bunch of extra services.
Photos, five hundred yen.
Group photos, one thousand yen.
Being fed directly, two thousand yen per bite. Yes, only one bite. Even so, no fewer than ten girls paid for it.
Toru seriously wondered whether he was still a waiter or if he had become a host selling his looks.
After they finished looking at the photos,
"Where should we go next?" Toru asked.
"I'm hungry, let's go to the food stalls." Ryo's stomach made a strange noise.
"It's about time for lunch," Nijika nodded.
Later on, the group went to a yakisoba stand, bought several servings, ate, then wandered around.
As for the various booths at the festival,
Toru made the following evaluations:
Haunted house: very entertaining, the staff chased people with great passion, especially Miss Sadako who crawled out of the TV, then got stuck because her butt was too big. Wildly popular. Rating, 4 stars.
Fortune telling: the atmosphere was intense, so the tarot reading felt mysterious, mostly positive reviews. Rating, 3 stars.
Art exhibit: the works were too abstract, reviews were mixed. Rating, 2 stars.
Crepe stand: good flavor, but the wait was over twenty minutes, mostly negative reviews. Rating, 1 star.
...
In the afternoon, before the Kessoku Band went on stage,
Toru stood in front of the gymnasium, surrounded by familiar faces.
Ijichi Seika looked expectant, ready to enjoy her younger sister's performance, although the drummer was too far back to be seen clearly.
Hiroi Kikuri reeked of alcohol as she slung an arm around Ijichi Seika's shoulder and hiccupped.
She had been hungover again last night, but at least she staggered back to her rental apartment half awake without sleeping on the street.
The entire Gotoh family was also present.
Gotoh's father had brought a video camera to record his eldest daughter's shining moment.
"Big brother Kitahara, I can't see." Gotoh Futari tugged at Toru's sleeve.
Toru looked down and easily lifted the little girl into his arms.
He had held his simulated daughter so many times in the virtual world that doing this felt completely natural.
"Can you see now?"
"Mm hm, big sis and the others are coming up," Gotoh Futari nodded her tiny head.
Nearly a thousand people filled the gym. It was crowded and hot.
Once the Kessoku Band walked onstage, the place fell silent all at once.
"Ikuyo-chan!" the girls screamed.
"Hi, everyone!"
Kita waved at the fans like a tiny idol in a performance outfit, unbelievably cute.
A culture festival?
Anyone who didn't know better would think this was a live show for a rising idol group.
...
As Gotoh's father sobbed with joy, Toru listened to the first song.
He nodded slightly.
In half a year, Kessoku Band had grown this much. Their future looked bright.
In the simulation, they became a sensation in Japan, and now it didn't seem impossible.
"Next, our second song, If We Could Become a Constellation."
After Kita's introduction, Nijika struck the first beat of the drums.
Hitori plucked her guitar strings.
Last night, she checked strings one and two, along with the tuning pegs, to avoid the string breaking accident from the simulation.
Her upcoming solo would go perfectly.
"...If we could come together to form a constellation..."
Kita's gentle voice drifted through the gym.
"On a starry night, I'll make that instant wish.."
"Flickering, shimmering and wavering signals up there..."
The solo approached.
Hitori lifted her head slightly, giving part of her attention to the audience.
Then she saw something that almost stopped her heart.
Her little sister Futari was snuggling in Toru's arms, even sneaking a kiss onto his cheek.
Futari!!
What are you doing to your brother in law?
Hitori could not believe it.
She wasn't allowed to kiss Toru openly, but her five year old sister could? That was unfair.
So being five meant you could do whatever you wanted?
This was a crime.
"Bocchi-chan..."
Nijika whispered, reminding her, "It's your solo."
"!!"
Hitori jolted and snapped back to focus.
Soon, the sound of her guitar solo burst through the gym, fierce and soaring.
The audience fell silent in awe.
But as they listened, one boy in the crowd looked confused.
"The solo sounds amazing... but why do I feel like I've been cheated on? I mean, I've never even had a girlfriend."
Someone began crying.
"Ugh... it reminds me of my ex cheating last week, then breaking up with me over a video call in a hotel."
"That's rough... At least when I saw my girlfriend walking around with an older guy yesterday, it was probably nothing."
Another boy joined in.
"Bro, listen to me, really, don't be a simp."
"No, Chisato and that older guy are definitely just fooling around. She'll marry me someday."
Someone patted his shoulder.
"You need to drop that fantasy. Do you need to see the white cream leaking out of the cream puff to accept it?"
"It's fine, the kid can take my surname."
"...?"
Damn. Simps are something else.
...
Down below the stage,
Toru held little Futari as a wave of emotion ran through him.
Using music to pull in the audience's emotions and make them feel everything.
That was the mark of a true master. For Hitori to touch that level at fifteen was terrifying.
If this were an anime, she would be the main heroine without a doubt.
There was simply no other explanation.
As expected of my 2D wife.
I love her, I love her.