"Good morning, everyone!"
"This is Nyamu! Nya-mu, nya-mu~"
"Today, I've come to Enoshima!"
Holding a selfie stick, a mature and alluring-looking young woman cheerfully spoke into her phone's camera.
With her free hand, she even made a cute cat-paw gesture.
Although she looked like a college student, she paid no attention to the curious glances from the tourists around her.
After all...
For Wakaba Yūtenji, this had long since become second nature.
Wakaba Yūtenji.
A beauty content creator.
Nyamu was her online alias.
She had built a respectable following on video-sharing platforms, with roughly twice as many followers as Guitar Hero.
Most of her videos focused on makeup products and beauty tutorials aimed at women.
Recently, however, she had begun experimenting with other types of content.
Lately, Enoshima had become incredibly popular.
Nyamu had come here to gather material...
And to ride the wave of its popularity.
Mostly to ride the wave.
After finishing the opening greeting for her video...
She finally lowered her camera and looked around.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
"Now, let's see what we've got here."
She murmured.
Her finger pointed in one direction, and the phone's camera followed.
Four girls.
One boy.
All carrying musical instruments.
Who else could it be but Bai Qiu and his group?
Nyamu immediately resumed recording.
"Everyone, look over there."
"Those people must be in a band, right?"
"They all look really young. They're probably still students."
"Actually, Nyamu is still pretty young too—oh, whoops, getting off topic."
"But..."
She suddenly changed her tone, deliberately putting on a mischievous smile.
"One guy with four girls."
"That's a pretty strange band lineup, isn't it?"
"Could it be..."
She paused dramatically before grinning at the camera.
"Is this what rock is all about?"
At that very moment...
She had already thought of the title for this episode.
Four girls, each with a completely different style.
One handsome boy.
A band that practically screamed "hot topic."
Perfect clickbait.
This video was guaranteed to attract tons of viewers.
A massive boost in traffic!
Coming back to herself, Nyamu leaned toward the camera as if sharing a secret.
"Let me tell everyone something."
"Nyamu is planning to enter the music scene soon, too!"
"Surprised? Bet you didn't expect that!"
"Hehe, why don't you guess what instrument I'll choose?"
After saving that clip, she muttered to herself,
"Oh, right. I should do a giveaway too."
"I'll pick a few people who guess correctly and give away some lipstick or something."
For a popular content creator, hosting giveaways with likes and shares was practically essential.
It also made it easier to land sponsorships and promotional deals.
Although most participants had almost no chance of winning...
People still eagerly joined every time.
Just as Nyamu was happily imagining her follower count—and her bank balance—rising higher and higher under her brilliant management...
She suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
Her brows knitted together.
She turned around, ready to see who had interrupted her plans to gain more fans.
Then...
She met Bai Qiu's scrutinizing gaze.
It was Bai Qiu.
After leaving the four girls from Kessoku Band staring after him in confusion and curiosity...
He had quietly walked up behind Nyamu.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment...
A trace of surprise and embarrassment flashed across Nyamu's face.
But she quickly hid it.
Nothing she couldn't handle.
Bai Qiu was a little surprised as well.
If it weren't for the obvious differences in height and hair color...
He would have thought he'd run into Takamatsu Tomori.
Their facial features were just too similar.
Seeing Bai Qiu momentarily distracted, Nyamu struck first.
"What's the matter, mister?"
"You were just filming—"
"Wait! Let me guess!"
She interrupted him.
"Hehe... don't tell me you were so stunned by my beauty that you couldn't look away?"
"But sorry, I'm not interested in dating right now."
She sighed dramatically, pretending to sound regretful.
"Sorry."
"Not even a little."
Bai Qiu answered calmly.
"Really? Not even a tiny bit?"
"Aren't you being a little too modest?"
"You're seriously underestimating Nyamu. I happen to be—"
She looked ready to reveal her identity.
"Please don't interrupt."
Bai Qiu rolled his eyes.
"If I'm not mistaken, your video just now included us, didn't it?"
"Th-That must be your imagination."
"No."
"My companions saw it too."
Bai Qiu pointed toward the four girls from Kessoku Band.
The blonde and the redhead even waved in their direction.
"And your selfie stick is still pointed toward where we came from."
"Ahaha... was it?"
Nyamu laughed awkwardly before casually lowering the selfie stick.
"So."
"I'll need you to delete the footage that includes us."
"Well..."
Nyamu looked away and laughed awkwardly again.
"You don't have any objections, do you?"
"I do... have objections!"
"Oh?"
Bai Qiu let out a soft hum.
You actually dare object?
"Do you need me to recite Tokyo's Public Security Administrative Penalty Act and the Citizen Privacy Protection Act for you?"
"Huh?"
Nyamu blinked.
This guy... isn't easy to deal with.
So she switched to a negotiating tone.
"I'll blur your faces."
"Would that be okay?"
That had been her original plan anyway.
Even if she intended to use them to attract traffic...
She still had standards.
"No."
Bai Qiu shook his head without hesitation.
"Why did you reject that so quickly?!"
Nyamu protested unwillingly.
"Because I don't really trust you."
"What happened to trust between people?"
"Who knows what kind of weird title you'll end up using?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
Nyamu stared at him in surprise.
"I knew it."
Bai Qiu sniffed lightly.
"I could smell it."
"Smell?"
Nyamu looked confused.
Tilting her head, she lifted her arm and sniffed herself twice.
"There isn't any strange smell."
She was wearing the expensive perfume she usually promoted in her sponsored videos.
"It's the smell of decaying money."
Bai Qiu replied with a smile.
"Hah?!"
"So hand it over."
He held out his hand.
Reluctantly...
Nyamu passed him her phone.
After deleting the footage that included Kessoku Band...
Bai Qiu tossed the phone back to her.
"Hey! Be careful!"
Nyamu complained.
She had been about to question Bai Qiu for taking a jab at her...
But by then...
All she could see was his retreating figure.
…
Back with Kessoku Band...
Bai Qiu was greeted by four very different expressions.
Amusement.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
Nervousness.
"What?"
Bai Qiu asked, though he already had a good idea what they were thinking.
Nijika smiled and finally broke the silence.
"So... it turns out, Qiu-kun is the type who boldly approaches girls he likes."
Huh? They thought I was hitting on her?
Bai Qiu immediately denied it.
"No. Nothing like that."
Nijika and Kita exchanged a glance.
Neither looked convinced.
Yamada Ryo, quietly eating her sea salt ice cream, suddenly spoke.
"How awful."
"You abandoned four cute girls just to flirt with some woman outside."
Nijika's face instantly turned red.
"W-Wait, Ryo, you can't put it like that!"
Bai Qiu sighed with a faint smile.
"She was filming a video and accidentally recorded us. She was planning to use the footage."
Hitori Gotoh nodded as well.
"I saw it too."
As someone with severe social anxiety, Bocchi was especially sensitive to strangers' gazes.
Once Bai Qiu explained everything...
The four girls finally understood.
"Oh, so that's what happened."
Kita looked curiously toward Nyamu, who had already resumed filming.
"She seems to be a content creator I follow pretty often."
"Maybe spend more time following Guitar Hero instead."
Bai Qiu replied casually.
Hitori Gotoh trembled slightly.
Please don't follow me... Please don't follow me...
"I already follow both."
Kita answered with a smile.