"Ano-chan, I didn't expect you to be this impatient."
Watching Anon hurriedly snatch the marriage registration form out of Tomori's hands, Kamijou Mutsuki instead revealed a "dotingly indulgent" yet somewhat helpless smile.
"Don't worry, how could I ever neglect you?"
"You get a share too!"
As he spoke, he stuffed another marriage registration form into Anon's hands.
"Oh, well, that's more li—wait, no!"
Anon was already a bit light-headed from agitation, and for a moment she really was fooled by Kamijou Mutsuki—but she quickly reacted.
"Who wants to marry you?!"
Good grief, not only Tomori, but even her—he wasn't letting anyone off, huh?!
Anon was so angry she wanted to rip the two marriage registration forms in her hands to shreds and then slam them hard into the face of the scumbag in front of her.
"I really must've been possessed when I believed your nonsense…"
She couldn't take it anymore—she was done playing nice!
"You bastard who deceives innocent girls, have you figured out how you want to die?!"
"I know you're angry, but don't be angry just yet. You should have something else to deal with first."
"What, trying to beg for mercy?"
Anon was so mad she actually laughed.
"Ano-chan…"
At that moment, Tomori at the side couldn't quite watch anymore and timidly tugged at Anon's sleeve.
Only after calming down a bit did Anon realize that the interaction among the three of them had already drawn the attention of the Haneoka JKs nearby—and their gazes were rather subtle.
"Isn't that first-year Takamatsu and Chihaya?"
"Just now, it sounded like Chihaya said… marriage?"
"That guy—is he Chihaya's boyfriend?"
"They're already talking about marriage? That's… amazing…"
"Pass it on—Chihaya got proposed to by a guy from another school…"
"What?! Chihaya and a guy from another school proposed to Tomori together?!"
Listening to the surrounding chatter, Anon's entire being instantly turned gray-scale.
Her image.
Her carefully cultivated persona.
Her social relationships.
Her beautiful school life…
All ruined!
"Let's change places to talk, shall we? You wouldn't want people gossiping about you, right?"
Looking at Anon, whose eyes had completely lost their light, Kamijou Mutsuki showed a bright smile and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Ano-chan, my car is already ready!"
"You think this is whose fault?!"
The girl felt utterly defeated. Could it be that the guy in front of her was heaven's punishment for all her past avoidance?
Still, the girl who wanted to escape reality in the end dragged Tomori along and, in a sorry state, was tricked by Kamijou Mutsuki into getting into the car—completely failing to notice the even more animated group of JKs chatting behind them.
"This car of yours…"
After pulling Tomori into the car, before Anon could settle accounts with Kamijou Mutsuki, she was drawn in by the interior.
"…A Maybach 62S?"
As a well-off, socially adept rich girl whose family could afford Land Rovers, Anon had some knowledge of luxury car models.
This scumbag was actually this rich?
"…But isn't it a bit too spacious?"
"I had the dealer modify it when I bought it…"
After all, the original model couldn't fit all of MyGO!!!!!.
"Cars like this can even be modified?"
"The suffering of the rich is beyond your imagination."
"You…"
Looking at the smug scumbag in front of her, Anon ground her teeth in anger.
My family isn't poor either!
…but she really couldn't compare to a rich guy who drives a Maybach…
That just made Anon even more annoyed.
"…Too bad it's not pouring rain today, and there's no overpass ahead. Otherwise, I'd definitely show you this car's true performance…"
"…So you came to see me today just to show off your luxury car?"
Ignoring the weird nonsense Kamijou Mutsuki was saying—things she couldn't even understand—Anon crossed her arms and said with a cold laugh.
"…The band members I mentioned to you yesterday—I've already found them."
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki cleared his throat twice, and his expression became serious.
"Please rest assured. Every one of them is an outstanding talent, just like me!"
"…That's exactly why I can't be reassured!"
Good grief—just like this scumbag?!
Even one Kamijou Mutsuki was already enough to nearly piss her off to death—if there were a few more, wouldn't she just ascend on the spot?!
"And besides, every one of them has something exceptional about them. Each has their own unique specialty, and their musical talent is downright astonishing. They'll definitely bring you some extra surprises!"
"…The way you're saying that just makes it feel even weirder…"
What if they're all abstract weirdos like Kamijou Mutsuki?
Anon felt deeply concerned.
However, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't care about Anon's reaction at all, instead turning his gaze toward Tomori.
"What about you, Tomori-chan? Do you want to form a band together?"
"That's right,"
Hearing this, Anon finally remembered the actual point and also looked toward Tomori.
"Tomori-chan, you should join too. Your situation… this guy already told me all about it."
"You actually… really want to form a band too, right?"
"Haruhikage… really is an amazing song. I really want to hear Tomori-chan sing it again!"
In fact, at the very beginning, Anon had only planned to put together a casual, filler band just to fit in, and inviting Tomori was simply because she was the class's universally adored mascot—it would sound impressive to say.
But Kamijou Mutsuki's stunt yesterday had directly turned it into an obsession for her.
That said, even without Kamijou Mutsuki, the outcome probably wouldn't have changed.
After all, the gravity of a black hole…
…is something even light cannot escape.
"I…"
Tomori had been dragged into the car by Anon in a daze and never expected the topic to circle back to herself.
Faced with the two of them inviting her, her wounded heart almost instinctively wanted to refuse.
But when she saw the expectation in Anon's eyes, what came out of her mouth ended up being something else entirely.
"It's all… my fault."
"It's because of me… that Sakiko quit, and that CRYCHIC broke up."
"If I join… it'll definitely fail again…"
"It's not Tomori-chan's fault! It's obviously that girl who suddenly quit—that's whose fault it is!"
Seeing Tomori fall back into self-blame, Anon immediately spoke up to refute her.
"She didn't even explain the reason—that's way too selfish. That's why everyone got hurt so badly…"
"It's not Sakiko's fault… It's because I didn't sing well enough, that Sakiko was disappointed…"
Tomori wasn't Soyo, but she also clearly couldn't bring herself to casually dump all the blame onto Sakiko.
"That's right. It's all your fault."
Just as Anon was anxiously thinking about how to comfort Tomori, Kamijou Mutsuki's voice caused her expression to freeze on the spot.
"Huh?"
The girl stared at him in disbelief, looking exactly like Soyo had when she was backstabbed by Wakaba Mutsumi during Sakiko's withdrawal from the band.
"Not just your fault. All of you are at fault."
Kamijou Mutsuki ignored Anon's reaction and continued laying it on.
"Takamatsu Tomori—singing way too desperately."
"Soyo—her head full of nothing but herself."
"Taki—stress monster. My evaluation is that her talent doesn't measure up to Sakiko's."
"Wakaba Mutsumi—never once felt happy playing in a band."
"Sakiko—the main culprit. She'll get hit by karma sooner or later."
"And Anon…"
"Wait…"
Anon hadn't expected Kamijou Mutsuki to call her out by name.
No, bro—when CRYCHIC disbanded, she didn't even know Tomori yet. How was that possibly related to her?
However, Kamijou Mutsuki calmly smiled and directly pulled out a signature skill from his homeland.
"Setting aside the facts, doesn't CRYCHIC's breakup mean you bear at least a little responsibility?"
PS: After convincing Tomori, they still need to go to RiNG to form MyGO!!!!!. Probably one or two more chapters before they can start making the anime. Ahem—everything is under control.
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