Night.
Kita Ikuyo dried her hair while checking the simulator's content.
She had just taken a shower.
Changed clothes.
Kita Ikuyo planned to go to bed on time after finishing this simulation.
By her estimate, it was nine o'clock now, so the simulation should end before midnight?
If some special scenarios were triggered, it might take a bit longer.
But it did not matter. Resting inside the simulated world also helped relieve stress, so staying up late tonight was fine.
[Izakaya.]
[After several rounds of drinks, everyone felt a bit tipsy.]
[Gotoh Hitori was lying on Toru's lap and had fallen asleep at some point.]
[You could tell she was not pretending. She was truly asleep...]
[She always used her naturally airheaded side to build favor with Toru.]
[Sincerity is always the strongest weapon. Compared to you, who had a bit of calculation, Gotoh Hitori might actually fit Toru's partner criteria better?]
[At times, you wondered whether maintaining this delicate pentagonal love relationship was really a good thing.]
[Think about it.]
[You are not outstanding.]
[You do not have Gotoh Hitori's talent.]
[You do not have Ijichi Nijika's angelic personality.]
[You do not have Yamada Ryo's courage to chase individuality.]
[You joined the band simply to change a boring life.]
[Would Toru really choose you?]
[You stared at his handsome, refined face and asked yourself honestly.]
[You actually knew that Toru would not choose you. He had better options——]
[Whether it was Ijichi Nijika or Yamada Ryo, even the quiet Gotoh Hitori...their odds were all far higher than yours!]
[In the end, compared to Gotoh Hitori, perhaps you were the truly insecure one. You wore a bright mask called "normie," yet your heart was pitch dark, longing for salvation.]
[Before joining the band, Yamada Ryo was your faint light.]
[After joining the band, Gotoh Hitori became your star.]
[And now.]
[Toru had taken their place and become your sun.]
[As you thought about it, your heart grew increasingly restless. You looked at the glass in front of you and decided——]
[1. Drown your sorrows in alcohol and pass out.]
[2. Put down the glass. The concert is coming soon, drink less.]
[3. Throw a drunken fit, strip, and dance.]
[4. Personally simulate.]
[Please note, this option will significantly affect the ending!]
As if to warn Kita Ikuyo not to mess around, the simulator deliberately displayed a line of bright red text.
"What is this, it's not like I'd pick randomly."
After suffering losses twice, Kita Ikuyo had learned her lesson.
Besides.
Even a grandma would know which answer to choose.
Kita Ikuyo decisively chose the second option.
Steady as can be.
[You did not drink much, quietly scrolling through your social feed and liking your friends' posts.]
[Another hour passed, and it was almost time to disband.]
[…Gotoh Hitori still had not woken up. You recalled that something similar had happened back in high school, and Toru had been the one to send her home.]
[You felt a bit regretful. If only you had drunk a little more. If you were properly drunk, maybe the person you liked would have sent you home...]
Ah...did I choose wrong?
Kita Ikuyo continued reading.
["Everyone...I'll take Hitori home. After all, she got drunk because of me."]
[As expected, Toru said exactly what everyone present had anticipated.]
["Mm, Toru-kun, make sure you get home early." Ijichi Nijika smiled.]
[Since she was Toru's aunt, she lived together with him.]
["Bye." Yamada Ryo said her farewell.]
[To Miss Ryo, Bocchi-chan's combat power was very low.]
[From beginning to end, she never saw Gotoh Hitori as a romantic rival.]
[You stayed silent for a few seconds, then spoke——]
["Toru-kun, I'm a little drunk too. Could you send me as well?"]
[You had not drunk little. No one present noticed anything unusual...]
[They did not know that tonight, you planned to break the fragile balance, or rather, to withdraw from the pentagonal love altogether.]
[This kind of complicated emotion was twisted and nauseating.]
[Since the odds were slim anyway, why not set the goal a bit lower?]
[For example, being a lover.]
[You never expected to stand beside Toru in the first place. Instead of wasting effort fighting for it, it was better to enjoy his gentleness early.]
["Kita-san, you've had a bit too much to drink today."]
["Mm, sorry." You replied hazily.]
[Thinking that he was sending one or two people anyway, Toru did not refuse.]
[A few minutes later.]
[In the back seat of a taxi.]
[You leaned against Toru's shoulder, savoring a brief moment of happiness.]
["Toru-kun..."]
["Mm, what is it?" Toru turned his face toward you.]
["I like you."]
[The back seat fell into silence, and the taxi driver deliberately slowed the car.]
[After passing two traffic lights.]
[Having finished thinking, Toru replied——]
["I see. Then let's date."]
[Toru's answer made your heart flutter.]
[But you knew this was a betrayal of everyone in the band...]
[Including Gotoh Hitori, who was sleeping beside you right now.]
["No..."]
[You shook your head.]
["They would be angry."]
[The band was in a rising phase. If the manager dated a member, Kessoku Band's future would be over.]
[Toru did not seem to expect to be rejected by you and looked down at your profile in surprise.]
[Even though he was the one being confessed to.]
["We don't have to date..."]
[You watched his slightly stunned expression through the taxi's rearview mirror.]
["Being lovers is enough for me."]
[Toru did not know how much resolve you had gathered, but his personality meant he would never accept such an unequal relationship——]
["Sorry, I can't accept that."]
["…Why?"]
[Could it be that Toru would not even allow you to be his lover?]
[But he had clearly agreed to dating just now.]
["You have no reason to wrong yourself for my sake."]
["I don't mind."]
["But I do..."]
[To ease your worries, Toru proposed a compromise——]
["Kita-san, if you're afraid of being exposed, we can secretly date without telling everyone. That way you won't have to worry about the band finding out."]
[Toru believed you made this decision out of fear that Kessoku Band would fall apart.]
["I..."]
[You had nothing to say.]
[You thought he would readily accept your proposal. You never expected things to turn out like this.]
[If you became Toru's girlfriend, what about the other band members?]
[Grow old alone?]
[Find new love?]
[Or perhaps...you could instill the idea of building a harem into your boyfriend and inject some scumbag genes.]
Toru was too pure and unwilling to cheat.
So troublesome.
Life is not easy, Kita sighed.