The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

However, I felt a profound sense of powerlessness and sadness.

Later, Junya Furuhashi was entangled by a strange creature in the water on her way home. The ending was different; she awakened the beast in the shadows, which bit the water monster to death.

Jun Furuhashi thus became the protector of this place.

Unlike Shiori Hachiya, who doesn't need to worry about money, she'll do anything to get paid, whether it's working as a security guard in a shopping mall, being a thug for someone else, or fighting in underground boxing matches.

As a result, he quickly became financially secure. Most of the money he earned was given to the director to maintain the facility's operation and to cover the director's own treatment. Eventually, he also paid off all of the facility's debts.

Later, it was discovered by the Tower of Civilization, which was in the preparatory stage, and recruited into it.

I receive a large subsidy every month, although it's not as much as taking on odd jobs, but it's still much easier.

It was after that that Asagami Shinku's standard of living gradually improved.

However, even now, she cannot forget her childhood vulnerability.

Despite being almost twice the height of what he was before, and possessing abilities that ordinary people couldn't have, after Jun Furuhashi received the hero's allowance, he was able to eat well, get proper nutrition, and also study diligently...

...but these hands still couldn't change anything.

She still felt that same helplessness and sadness from back then.

Asagami Shinku felt as if she were suffocating, as if she were being plunged into the deep sea; she was surrounded by this endless despair.

On the screen, the message from the Tower of Civilization, asking her to conceal her attendance at Jun Furuhashi's funeral in two days from the Dean's mother, completely banished Asagami Shinku's sleepiness.

She just bit her lower lip hard, her shoulders trembling, suppressing the sobs escaping her throat, silently reading the information on the screen, her gaze almost poking a hole through the cheap screen of the secondhand phone.

Tears blurred her vision, her mind went blank, and she was unable to think.

Jun Furuhashi's...funeral?

Is this a popular joke lately? Or did I just misread it?

It's only been a short time since we last met, how could Sister Furuhashi possibly...

That kind of idiot wouldn't even catch a cold, so how could he suddenly die?

She felt dizzy and instinctively held her breath. Then, not wanting to be discovered by Tachibana Hibiki, she tried to breathe slowly and as quietly as possible.

Only a fool would try to be a hero. You can't even handle your own problems, yet you want to help others? Why not just let them fend for themselves? Why take responsibility for others? Do you have that much free time?

On the afternoon that Jun Furuhashi made that decision, Shinku Asagami couldn't understand it and started yelling at him, and they've been in a cold war ever since.

She feels that way now too.

Now, they've lost their lives.

It's ridiculous.

Despite finding it laughable, Asagami Shinku couldn't manage a smile.

101. Hibiki Tachibana's singing

A day in Edmonton begins with sleeping in.

No matter which world she was in, or what form she took, she was unable to get out of bed on her own.

Rather, when Starlight was still going strong and she had a goal, Karen Aijo could still get up on her own. But once she lost her goal, it was as if all her strength had been drained away, and all she thought about every day was being lazy.

Nana Ohba finally saw a glimpse of the "Karen Aijo" from her memories in this person.

As a stage girl, even within the Silver Garden, she should persevere in her daily practice. Nana Ohba has become accustomed to waking up earlier than others every morning to stretch and practice.

I thought that with the arrival of Aicheng Hualian, I would at least have a partner to help me stretch, but she is still so lazy.

It's already this late, and I still haven't gotten up.

Nana Ohba had no choice but to knock on Karen Aijo's door, but after a long time she only heard a muffled, sleepy response.

She sighed, disregarding all etiquette, and pushed open the door: "Karen-chan, it's time to get up."

All I could see was a messy room. The clothes I had taken off before going to bed the night before were tossed aside, and the owner of these scattered clothes was curled up in a ball under the covers, wriggling slightly.

As expected, this is exactly what Hua Lian is like without anyone supervising her.

The impression she had of the other person overlapped more with that of Aijo Karen from her memory, and although Nana Ohba felt helpless, she also felt a little lighter.

"..." Nana Ohba smiled slightly, looking troubled, and silently approached, gently calling for Karen Aijo, who was curled up in the blankets, to get up, "Karen-chan? Time to get up."

Nana Oba isn't actually good at waking people up, after all, her former roommate was an iron man who was much more disciplined than her.

Sometimes, before the alarm clock even rings, her roommate has already finished washing up and turns around to wake her up.

She really had no experience waking up someone who was a professional sleeper.

As a result of her lack of experience, Karen Aijo stubbornly stayed in bed, muttering, "Mahiru-chan... let me sleep a little longer."

It seems she mistook herself for her former roommate.

Nana Ohba sighed helplessly, unsure how to deal with this pro at sleeping in. Looking around, she simply reached out and pulled at Karen Aijo's blanket: "No way, Karen-chan. Even if Mahiru-chan and the others aren't around, you should still try your best, right?"

What's going on? It's so heavy! I can't even lift it?

Nana Ohba sensed something was wrong and was quite exhausted.

With mixed feelings, she thought: Mahiru-chan (Karen Aijo's former roommate), you've really had a tough time...

Upon hearing what Nana Oba said, Karen Aijo, whose throat had been pierced, immediately stopped her whining and pouting.

She became a little more awake, poked her messy, reddish-brown head out from under the covers, and stared at Nana Oba for a while.

She looked somewhat bewildered, and after realizing what had happened, she appeared even more disappointed.

Realizing that she wasn't actually in the Starlight Pavilion, Ai Cheng Hua Lian's habit of sleeping in became a little less pronounced. She listlessly agreed and then obediently got out of bed.

Her pigtails look a little wilted.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat tense, but fortunately, they had once shared some affection, so they didn't dislike each other now.

At most, I just felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

However, for Karen Aijo, Nana Oba hasn't changed much from before. Although she can be intimidating with her cold expression at times, she can also be very gentle and accepting of being pampered.

As long as you don't step on the other party's landmines.

Actually, the previous banners were like this too, but the banners here show a cold expression more often.

They are similar yet different beings in each other's memories.

When Karen Aijo first wakes up, because the feeling of confusion and bewilderment from the last moment of her memory is so intense, she subconsciously shows her vulnerable and melancholic side to the only familiar person, Nana Ohba.

But since the other party would be disgusted by that appearance, she should revert to her original form, Aijo Karen.

What does her true self look like?

She herself didn't know.

After Starlight ended, she was already the emptier person in the world. The Aijo Karen who appeared here was nothing more than an empty shell, a few ashes remaining.

So she didn't know, but subconsciously "reverted" to her previous Aicheng Hualian.

During her daily stretching, she took Nana Oba's outstretched hand and stretched her body with the other's help. Then, she suddenly remembered something.

She was quite confused: "Hibiki...hasn't she come back yet?"

"She'll be staying out overnight and probably won't be back until after lunch?" Nana Oba was also a little unsure, but she was more curious about Karen Aijo's attention to Hibiki Tachibana. "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Banana, have you ever heard Hibiki sing?" Karen Aijo just smiled foolishly and threw out a question that Nana Ohba hadn't expected.

Nana Oba was taken aback.

If we don't count the songs she sings while wearing Gear, Nana Ohba has never actually heard Hibiki Tachibana sing in her daily life.

Despite the fact that her gear was meant to be driven by her singing, Hibiki Tachibana has never sung in front of others.

Karen-chan...why does she seem to understand Hibiki better than I do?

However, Nana Ohba was simply puzzled by this question.

She is clearly the character card who has the most contact with Tachibana Hibiki.

As the first character card to be awakened, Nana Ohba and Hibiki Tachibana naturally acted together for a period of time.

However, she still didn't know enough about Tachibana Hibiki's singing ability.

Karen-chan is even more observant than I am...

Nana Oba's feelings were complicated.

Aicheng Hualian just blinked: "Actually, I overheard it."

She was just having trouble sleeping at night and was wandering around the Starlight Museum when she happened to hear Hibiki Tachibana's slightly awkward but still quite pleasant singing voice.

Furthermore, according to basic information, Hibiki Tachibana also attended a music school in her previous world.

"I really want to ask her for advice..." Ai Cheng Hua Ren said.

She really liked Hibiki Tachibana's singing.

The song was suffocating with intense despair, yet also filled with a faint glimmer of hope.

------------

"Sing it again! Sing it again!"

After waking up early, in the childcare facility, Tachibana Hibiki was pestered by the little devils who wanted her to sing the song she had just sung again.

That was the school song of Lydian Music Academy, the private school where Tachibana Hibiki studied. She would practice it occasionally because it was included in the final exam, and she and Kohinata Mirai had even crammed for it before the exam.

When she's in a slightly better mood, she'll unconsciously hum a tune, which is then overheard by the group of little kids.

Disturbed like this, she blushed, but not wanting to yell at the children, she hurriedly dodged their tugging: "There's nothing nice to hear... don't come any closer!"

102. The Director's New Toy

"【Look up and see the sun, love and learn from the sun"

(Let us look up at the sun and let our hearts be filled with love.)

[Morning and evening, high-pitched voice, high-pitched tone, total strength, rawness, and strength]

(No matter the time of day, the music is loud and clear, and we learn to be strong together with the melody.)