If love were to be compared to a long and arduous campaign, then a confession would symbolize the triumphant blast of the victory horn, while a date would be the sweet process of settling the spoils that begins after that victory.
Unfortunately, Narumi Tōru was not in any kind of intimate relationship with anyone—let alone something that could be called romance.
Even though Yukinoshita Yukino had proposed something like "Let's make some time this weekend and go shopping together," an invitation that was very easy to misunderstand, given her naturally awkward personality, it was probably wiser not to read too much into her true intentions.
"So, yeah. That's basically how it is."
After the celebration party ended, the curly-haired boy stood by the roadside outside the izakaya, turning to look at the blue-haired girl walking one or two steps behind him.
The Ijichi sisters had headed home together after dinner. Narumi Tōru and Yamada Ryō, who happened to be going the same way—and Bocchi, quietly slinging her bag over her shoulder and following along behind them, presumably also headed in the same direction—were all walking toward the station.
"So this weekend I'm going shopping with the Director. If there's any practice, I might not be able to make it."
Narumi explained this to Yamada, who had her hands in her pockets with her bass case slung over her back. Leaving things unsaid was his way of preserving some leeway for himself.
"Besides, I never actually agreed to join your band in the first place, right? I'm just filling in as a temporary guitarist and vocalist."
And judging by how things should develop over time, Kessoku Band will definitely get the guitarist who truly belongs to them in the future.
Kita Ikuyo—she was probably already waiting in line for that role.
Even though all three of them present were well aware of this fact, each of them tacitly assumed that only they themselves could "foresee" how the future would unfold.
Considering that talking about the simulation could lead to unpredictable risks, Narumi chose to keep his mouth shut. Bocchi, thin-skinned and timid, was afraid that blurting out something so illogical and unbelievable like that "dream" would just get her labeled an idiot, so she only dared to probe indirectly. As for Yamada Ryō—she hadn't paid much attention to it from the start, and after realizing that the absurd "dream" hadn't really affected her daily life, she didn't care about it at all.
As a result, the three of them, each withholding information from the others, all believed that only they themselves truly understood what was going on—and each gave up on trying to communicate it to anyone else.
"Well—what you're saying isn't wrong, and today's performance was really fun, but it's not like that's going to be the only time we ever play together on stage, right, Koumi?"
Chewing on a piece of gum, Yamada frowned slightly, looking a bit unhappy. That expression appearing on her face was honestly rather rare.
"And besides, Bocchi-chan did great too. Don't you want to perform together with Bocchi-chan again next time?"
"N-no, that's not—!"
The pink-haired girl jolted in surprise, shuddering slightly, but she understood that Yamada was using her own way to look after the feelings of the only person present who hadn't spoken up yet.
I-if this doesn't have to be our last time performing together…
Unfortunately, Hitori Gotō, who had never been able to say things like that honestly, could only desperately suppress her racing heartbeat and watch as Yamada calmly voiced the very thing she herself cared about, in that breezy, offhand tone.
"Even if this was your first time performing on stage, Koumi, with some polishing and proper training, joining a band wouldn't be a problem at all. Are you really not going to think about it?"
This was probably the nth olive branch Yamada Ryō had extended. In Bocchi's impression, someone as detached and indifferent as Yamada—who seemed to desire nothing—rarely became this persistent about anything, let alone someone.
"Yeah… mainly it's just that my schedule might not really work out. You see, I squeeze in music during my free time, and by the time activities end, it's already dark."
Narumi looked at his elongated shadow under the streetlights. Without the bright lamps illuminating the road, the street swallowed by night would have made passersby unable to see even their own hands.
"It's just part-time work, right? My living expenses should be enough for you to drop those average hourly student jobs and free up some time, don't you think?"
Yamada pursed her lips, still trying to fight for the slim possibility of performing together with her friend.
"Yeah, but I'd also need to feel okay about taking your living expenses in the first place. What do you even take me for?"
And besides, he also had a secret online pen name for writing novels—he might need to devote part of his energy to writing and submitting manuscripts in the future. That kind of long-winded personal detail was something Narumi had no intention of sharing with others.
"Also, how I arrange my private life is my own business—unless Yamada-san is planning to add more money and further take control of my weekends."
"Well, if I hadn't already spent all my living expenses buying you that guitar, I totally would."
Yamada awkwardly turned out her empty pockets—though, to be fair, no one had asked her to.
"Why, though."
Narumi shot her an unabashed look of exasperation, which caused Bocchi—who had been silently following behind and viewing him as a polite, gentle person—to gain an entirely new impression of him.
"Well… if you really want to know why."
Yamada Ryō rolled her eyes, thought about it for a long while, and then arrived at a conclusion that was somewhat baffling.
"Intuition."
"And may I ask, Yamada-sensei, what exactly your intuition is pointing to…?"
After a long day, the curly-haired boy just wanted to hurry home and sleep. His head drooped, and his voice already sounded drained of energy.
"That invitation wasn't just a club director asking a member to go out together."
Yamada Ryō, who was always overly sharp in the most unexpected places, bluntly pointed out the issue.
"In any case, it's definitely not just shopping and browsing."
Unfortunately, her ability to articulate herself wasn't quite there, so she could only express her feelings in words that sounded a bit rough and immature.
"That cold-faced beauty aside, it feels like you, Koumi, might also have ulterior motives."
"How did this suddenly turn into me being suspected of having impure intentions? It really is just going out to buy something for a club member."
If it were Yukinoshita Yukino from the simulation, he might have thought the air would be filled with pink bubbles—but this was reality.
"If you're just helping someone buy stuff and strolling around, then I'm going too."
As expected, Yamada raised her hand like a student volunteering in class. That, apparently, was the full extent of her "grand strategy."
"And why is that…?"
"Because I need someone to go with me."
Narumi had already prepared a refusal in his head—after all, letting Yamada and Yukinoshita meet felt like it would cause inexplicable trouble—but her straight-on response smashed it head-on.
"I-I also…"
Bocchi, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, finally found a chance to murmur something, successfully drawing both of their gazes.
"Bocchi, you need someone to go with you too?"
Yamada gave her a thumbs-up.
"Then let's all go together."
"Hah."
Narumi tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Eh?"
Bocchi's expression instantly froze.
I-I just wanted to say that I also felt like it wouldn't be just shopping and buying things, that's all…!