[In your second year of university.]
[Kessoku Band's reputation was soaring.]
[Various performances, TV programs, live music events, all arranged by Toru. You only needed to focus on showing your talent, without worrying about anything else.]
[Thanks to the impact of the last online flame war, your ability to withstand pressure improved significantly.]
[This year, you turned twenty.]
[That same year, your third album sold extremely well.]
[Toru founded a talent agency, a technology company, and a pharmaceutical enterprise. He was highly skilled in company management and product development, quickly building several promising emerging businesses.]
[At times, you wondered whether Toru carried the experience of more than a dozen reincarnations. Otherwise, how could he be good at everything?]
...Reincarnated more than a dozen times?
Prompted by the simulator's hint, Gotoh Hitori suddenly began to suspect that Toru might retain his memories in every simulation.
She was not actually stupid.
In the first simulation, Toru's dream was photography, right?
In later simulations, he kept an impressive level of photographic skill.
In the second simulation, he learned bass and played it brilliantly, unfortunately dying young because of Yamada Ryo, that scumbag woman.
After the simulation ended, Gotoh Hitori happened to hear his impromptu street performance.
That further confirmed her suspicion.
In the third simulation, in order to save his daughter, Toru developed a "panacea". This medicine appeared more than once in later simulations.
The fourth simulation.
Violin...
The fifth, the sixth, all the way until now.
Every skill Toru learned, without exception, was carried over.
"If that's true, then my current situation..."
Gotoh Hitori's slow little brain suddenly became clear.
Toru could not possibly know that she had a simulator!
The enemy was in the light, she was in the dark.
The next plan was very simple——
A long distance assault, win everything in a single decisive strike!
Win, win big, win completely.
In this real world where only Kitahara-san and I have simulators, who could possibly defeat me?
Bocchi-chan blinked her big eyes and clenched her small fists.
Then the question came...
How should she capture him?
"Ah... no, wait."
Bocchi-chan opened her small mouth and suddenly remembered——
I almost forgot, I'm socially anxious...
Eh...
Could it be that the plan was dead before it even began?
Gotoh Hitori collapsed back into her closet, eyes vacant.
She did not dare to take the initiative at all. The last plan to reach first base had been ruined by her little sister.
After spending a few minutes pulling herself together,
Bocchi-chan, carrying a heavy heart, continued reading the simulation messages.
[In your third year.]
[You are about to step onto the stage of the Budokan. Everyone in the band is extremely happy.]
[At this moment, something happens that makes you a little worried——]
[Toru's company seems to have touched someone's business, and he was rammed while walking down the street.]
Huh?
"Wait, what does that mean?"
[It was very simply a large truck, the kind often used to cross into another world, crashing into Toru with a loud bang and sending him flying several thousand meters.]
[Don't worry, Toru is a physical education student and is completely unharmed.]
???
What kind of strange creature is a PE student? Getting hit by a truck and being fine?
[The above lines were just a joke.]
Gotoh Hitori noticed that the simulator always liked to mess around in the strangest places.
Was it having fun?
[Toru did not encounter anything at all. Japan is a very peaceful country. At least on the surface, there will not be things like assassinations.]
Right.
Japan is very peaceful.
Bocchi-chan felt quite proud of her country.
Unlike Korea, Japan's prime minister is very safe...
Gun assassinations.
Bomb attacks.
You basically never see those in the news.
[Before the Budokan live, you gathered together to discuss your future path.]
[This small venue that can hold 14,471 people would definitely not be the endpoint of Kessoku Band's dreams.]
[Inside an izakaya.]
[Toru sipped sake in small mouthfuls, wearing a gentle expression as he listened to your plans.]
[Everyone was still young, with endless time to squander. Even if your ventures failed halfway, you still had Toru as a shield.]
[Sitting in the corner.]
[You quietly drank juice.]
[Even though you were already past the age where you could drink, you had no desire to taste alcohol.]
[Perhaps you were still that socially anxious girl from before. Under Toru's protection, you did not need to force yourself to grow.]
[Not only you, but everyone in the band had not grown much either. You all still maintained the carefree mindset you had in high school.]
[Toru protected you too well.]
[If this continued.]
[Ten years.]
[Twenty years.]
[If nothing unexpected happened, it might even last forever.]
[Halfway through your thoughts, you suddenly noticed that Toru was looking at you.]
["Hitori, want to give it a try?"]
[He smiled and gently shook the wine glass in his hand...]
[You answer——]
[1. "M-my alcohol tolerance must be really bad, I'll pass."]
[2. "I want to take a sip and try it."]
[3. "I want to drink heavily like the older sisters, fill it up for me."]
Gotoh Hitori stared at the options.
She thought for a long time.
"...Drink or not drink?"
Normally speaking, not drinking would be more reasonable.
But getting drunk might trigger a special story CG. That is how novels and manga usually go.
Hmm...
Choose 2.
[You took his glass and lightly sipped it. The next second, a slightly burning sensation spread across your tongue.]
["It tastes bad." You shook your head hard.]
[Your face quickly flushed with an alluring redness.]
[Toru looked at your cute appearance and laughed out loud.]
[After taking the glass back from your hand, Toru continued drinking on his own. His alcohol tolerance was very good, and he did not get drunk from beginning to end.]
[Yet you, just from that single sip, already felt slightly tipsy.]
[Taking advantage of the moment, you lay down on Toru's lap.]
[Seeing this, your companions said nothing.]
[Everyone's relationship with Toru had long surpassed the bounds of friendship. Basically, aside from the final step, you had already done everything that should be done.]
[You shared a tacit understanding...]
[Before your dreams were realized, no one was allowed to take Toru away. The true contest of victory would be postponed for several years.]
[Toru seemed to understand your thoughts.]
[He stayed by your side, maintaining a slow pace.]
[Perhaps Toru himself also found it difficult to choose among you——]
[He liked every girl.]
[Precisely because of that.]
[At certain times, Toru would deliberately keep some distance from you, to prevent damaging the band's friendship.]
[It was just unknown...]
[Whether this balance would be broken by someone.]