Around 8 p.m.
Inside the 1R rental, the low table stood to the side; the futon was neatly laid.
Aoki stood at the room's lone window, looking at the night outside.
Even in "the poor part of town," city lights burned.
No stars.
He didn't care. After talking with Nijika and coming home, he was studying the "Love-Obstacle Sim Game" in his head.
He wasn't sure what triggered it, but after Nijika said "I want to shoulder your dream and play together," the game UI popped up, telling him he'd obtained her first CG.
Curious, he stood by the window and opened the Heroine Panel.
The list now had the four Kessoku girls, the "older leftover" Hiratsuka Shizuka, and new—Yukinoshita Yukino.
Not surprising.
He tapped Nijika.
The panel shifted:
[Current heroine: Ijichi Nijika]
[CGs unlocked: 1 (You have a reward to claim)]
[Achievements on Nijika route: (none)]
[Endings on Nijika route: (none)]
CGs had been "none" before. Now it was "1," with a claim note.
He tapped.
The main panel vanished, replaced by a CG album grid.
Only the first slot glowed; the rest were locked. He opened it.
The image enlarged—perfect framing, lighting like a filter.
A lively blonde, a faint smile, juice can pressed to her cheek, wine-red eyes reflecting vending-machine neon.
Even without rewards, CGs were… nice.
And there was a reward:
[Clover Charm Fragment (Nijika's) (1/3)]
Not points, skills, or cash—a weird item. Unusable yet—needed three to exchange. The only description: "If you complete it and give it to Nijika, it might have a big effect."
A month in, one CG by accident—he didn't expect more soon. He glanced at the trinket and closed the interface.
He stretched, sat down, and was about to do math when his phone buzzed.
Not a DM— a new chat group: "Kessoku Band Chat." Ryō had shared a Yutube video.
They'd just made the group. After Nijika said her piece, she'd brought up creating a group for coordination. Aoki happily handed over his socials.
So—
He was curious what Ryō had posted.
Before he could click, Ryō @ed him:
[WeirdBassist: suki-san, watch this.]
He opened it.
Title: "Heartfelt performance of 'Lemon.'"
The video showed a tall person in a giant lemon mascot suit lip-syncing while Aoki's "Lemon" played.
To be fair, "Mr. Lemon" could dance—sinuous despite the bulky suit. With decent editing and dramatic mic-poses, it was… funny. Totally not the vibe of "Lemon," but funny.
If only the audio weren't his own voice.
Mouth twitching, he backed out and returned to the chat—ready to demand why the bassist had posted that—only to see:
[KitaKita: Eh? Is this Aoki-senpai?!]
[WeirdBassist: Mm.]
[KitaKita: Eh?! So Aoki-senpai is amazing at dancing too… incredible!]
[Nijika: ?]
[KitaKita: But the dance kind of doesn't match "Lemon." Is it just me?]
[WeirdBassist: suki-san said he wanted to interpret "Lemon" from a different angle, so he danced like this while he sang. I filmed it.]
[KitaKita: Ohhh, I see.]
[Nijika: No, wait, Kita…]
[Bocchi: That's… um… a dubbed video…]
"..."
'I see' my foot.
He'd expected Ryō to say something like that. He hadn't expected Kita to be her hype-man.
He sighed, but the corners of his mouth lifted.
Dreams and failed lives were too heavy.
He preferred the light, silly vibe of Kessoku.
As long as everyone was okay, it was okay.
-------
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