[The relationship among the five of you has grown closer.]
So strange.
No matter how many times she looked at it, Nijika felt it was strange.
Just as she was about to continue the simulation, footsteps came from the doorway.
Because their father was away on business all year round, in this house there was no one besides her except her older sister.
But it was already almost ten. Why was her sister still not asleep?
A hard-earned day off, staying up late would be such a waste.
Driven by curiosity, Nijika paused the simulation.
After opening the door, Nijika saw her sister wearing a strange expression, her face tinged with an unusual flush.
Besides that, she was holding a set of clean clothes, as if she were about to go take a shower.
"Sis, didn't you take a shower two hours ago?"
It was only February, the weather was cold to the bone.
Even the earliest cherry blossoms had not bloomed yet.
Could it be that in those two hours, her sister had worked up another sweat?
Seika froze in place like a startled marmot.
Why was Nijika still not resting at ten tonight?
"I…" Seika thought about how to answer.
Just a moment ago.
Seika had freeloaded off Toru more than a dozen times.
Because it would feed back into reality.
Seika needed to do some cleaning up.
Thankfully, Seika was not like Bocchi-chan, otherwise she would have needed to change the bedsheets.
"I wasn't feeling very well, so I used the massager you gave me last time in my room and worked up a bit of a sweat."
That was the only clumsy excuse Seika could come up with.
After all—
"Just now, sis was keeping company with the boy you like…"
That was something Seika did not dare say. The simulator was her biggest secret.
"Mm…"
Nijika looked her sister over suspiciously. "Really?"
She scrutinized her for several seconds. While Seika was feeling anxious—
"Sis, I'll wash with you. It's been a long time since I helped you scrub your back," Nijika said.
And also take the chance to strengthen their bond.
Seika nodded.
That request was not strange at all.
————
A few minutes later.
Inside the bathroom, filled with steam.
Nijika helped scrub her sister's back.
When she came in earlier, she had sneakily glanced at what her sister tossed into the washing machine and noticed some blind spots.
Based on the existing clues, Detective Nijika-chan quickly reached a conclusion—
Her sister had been doing xxxxx in her room, worked up a sweat, and that was why she wanted to shower.
"Sis, I don't mind if you get a boyfriend."
Doing that all the time is not very good, and it could even affect your health because of hygiene issues.
"…?"
Seika looked at the fogged-up bathroom mirror in front of her and tilted her head slightly.
A question mark popped up in her heart.
What on earth was Nijika thinking about?
Could it be that her sneaking a bite had been discovered?
…That could not be.
The difference between simulation and reality was something Seika could still distinguish.
When it came to the simulator.
There was a fundamental difference between Seika and Ryo and the others...
The four girls treated the simulator as a dating game.
But this big sister, Seika, was different. To her, the simulator was completely treated as xx..
Toru was her "harbor for the soul." Whenever she felt uncomfortable, she used him to comfort herself.
Real life was already bitter enough.
At least in the simulation, she wanted to have fun, taste an extraordinary romance, and turn into an emotionless GKD machine.
Seeing that her sister was not responding, Nijika thought she had stepped on a landmine.
Her sister was already thirty and still had not tasted a man. It really was rather pitiful.
Forget it, change the topic.
"Sis, what do you think of Toru-kun?"
"He's... he's pretty good." As soon as Seika heard Toru's name, she became tense all over.
It felt very much like the guilt of a lover sneaking around and being caught in bed by the legitimate partner.
"Huh, sis would actually give such an evaluation?"
Nijika widened her eyes. Seika was a huge tsundere. When praising someone, she usually took a roundabout route. People she praised so directly were few and far between.
"Toru's guitar and bass playing are pretty good."
Seika chose a fairly ordinary point.
"…Just that? Toru-kun has quite a lot of good points, doesn't he?"
"His stamina is very good."
Nijika nodded. "That's true."
Very impressive.
"Anything else?"
"He has a lot of stuff, it's rather hard to clean up."
"Ah… a lot of stuff?"
Nijika took a few seconds to react, unable to figure out which aspect her sister was referring to.
"Uh…"
Seika realized she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly tried to patch it up. "I mean, that is… um, last time he stood at the live house entrance for a while and helped attract a whole bunch of customers, which was hard to deal with."
"That should count as an advantage, right?"
"Of course it counts."
Nijika nodded.
Looks were only a very small, insignificant part of Toru's strengths.
After muddling through.
Seika asked in return, "Why are you asking me this?"
"Sis, I want to invite Toru to be the band's manager and wanted to ask for your opinion."
After careful consideration, Nijika planned to recreate the plot of this simulation.
If Toru were willing to join the band…
Everyone's future would undoubtedly be bright.
"Toru has ability, connections, and a pleasing appearance. Of course he can be your manager."
Seika thought it was something serious.
In the end, the question her younger sister asked was so ordinary it was unbelievable.
"Since sis says so, I'll go invite him tomorrow…"
Nijika put down the scrubbing towel, scooped up water with the basin beside her, and with a splash poured it over her sister's back.
The grime quickly disappeared into the drain along with the flow of water.
After a thorough wash.
The two of them lay down in the bathtub.
When they came out after soaking, half an hour had already passed.
While drying her hair.
Nijika opened the simulation.
[After Kessoku Band disbanded.]
[With the burden of managerial work gone, Toru freed up a large amount of time and spent his days constantly circling around you all.]
[As for his several companies, they are currently being handled by professionals. Toru only takes responsibility for planning and product research and development.]
[Since the core technologies are all firmly held in his mind, Toru is not afraid of the companies slipping out of control.]
[That same year, AI technology began to enter the public eye.]
[Countless people had a premonition that over the next ten-plus years, the world might undergo drastic changes.]
[And at the center of those changes would be this man named Toru, with everything becoming connected to him.]
[However, this has nothing to do with you, who have already achieved fame and success.]
[Because of your marriage, Kessoku Band will probably never make a comeback. It will become a band that lives only in people's memories.]
[It does not matter. To you, dreams are no longer a necessity, but an optional supplement.]
[You only hope to guard your own small patch of land and build a warm little home.]