They all have hidden attributes!

"I was just joking. I think bassists are all good at making fun of themselves."

"is it?"

His voice was filled with doubt.

"You were originally the bassist in your band. Didn't you like telling bass jokes?" Makoto Takahashi asked.

"She never said it."

"That's her problem. Never mind, never mind. Anyway, I have no problem with her becoming a bassist."

Seeing his serious expression and tone, Uesugi Maya nodded with some skepticism, then asked:

"Then why didn't you buy a bass?"

"I made an appointment with Hina and Kashima-senpai to go buy musical instruments together on Saturday morning. She's an experienced person."

When Kashima Reiko was mentioned again, Uesugi Maya's expression instantly turned cold, and her tone became impatient: "I already told you at noon that you should try to avoid contact with her."

"But you didn't explain why. I think my senior has a good personality." Takahashi Makoto spread his hands and shrugged.

The 15 yen he received likely did not include the cost of restricting his interpersonal relationships, and Makoto Takahashi did not intend to sell his freedom for money.

Seeing Takahashi Makoto's calm expression, Uesugi Maya coldly said, "Buy it as soon as possible," and opened her laptop again, seemingly too lazy to care whether he lived or died.

Makoto Takahashi lowered his head and continued working on his problems, but unfortunately, he didn't trigger any friendship training even after the club activity ended today.

Before leaving, Maya Uesugi instructed, "Have Haruna Nekoya come to the club office for a meeting tomorrow night."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Since Nekoya Hina wasn't home tonight, Takahashi Makoto decided not to go to the archery club and went straight home.

On Friday, June 26, he didn't receive a love letter, nor did he go to the Light Music Club at noon. Instead, he ate lunch at the student cafeteria with Haruna Nekoya, where two girls from Group D came to share a table.

The last class in the morning was Math A. I successfully triggered Nekoya Hina's Friendship Training and gained Charm +5 through the [Lone Wolf] skill.

After school, Makoto Takahashi called Haruna Nekoya and they went to the light music club together.

As they walked through the elevated walkway, the two chatted about their weekend plans.

"So it doesn't rain all the time during the plum rain season."

Nekoya Hina, walking beside me, turned her head to look at the wet scenery outside the window. The rain had clearly subsided compared to the morning:

"The weather forecast says tomorrow morning will be sunny, with thunderstorms only expected in the afternoon."

She comes from Hokkaido, a place without a rainy season.

"I only came to Tokyo this year, but during the rainy season in Yamanashi Prefecture, it's mostly sunny in the morning and rainy in the afternoon," Takahashi Makoto casually replied.

Sensing the perfunctory attitude in his tone, Hina Nekoya leaned forward slightly and turned her head to look at him:

"Acheng, you've been a bit distracted since yesterday afternoon."

As she said this, her clear brown eyes were filled with concern.

Makoto Takahashi did not deny it. After thinking it over, he arrived at the special building and stepped onto the stairs: "I'm wondering, if Kashima-senpai is someone's subordinate, who could that person be?"

“Of course it’s the angel.” Nekoya Hina answered without hesitation.

Angel, Student Council President, Tachimi Yuki.

Recalling the information she had shared, Makoto Takahashi once again pieced together the information he already knew.

Let's assume that Maya Uesugi, Reiko Kashima, and Yuki Tatsumi formed a band together, broke up after a falling out, and then Maya Uesugi came to him to form a band.

So, was her goal to get revenge on the other two? Or perhaps to prove her beliefs?

If the student council president is the one suffering from the problem of shooting arrows too quickly, then Kashima Reiko's excuse of finding fault with herself can indeed be explained.

Forget it, I don't want to think about these things. Their relationship is just too complicated.

The four major worries at this age are: love, interpersonal relationships, schoolwork, and clubs.

Makoto Takahashi detests complicated relationships between girls, believing that getting involved only brings misfortune and that avoiding them is the best option.

Let's think about this month's performance review first.

Just as I was thinking this, I heard Nekoya Hina gossiping in my ear.

"So Makoto really likes Kashima-senpai, huh?" She put her hands behind her back, nudged Makoto with her shoulder, and stared straight at him with her brown eyes.

"Have you made plans to buy musical instruments tomorrow? I think it's better not to ask Kashima-senpai to go with me."

Makoto Takahashi shook his head in denial, intending to abandon the plan to trigger three assistance cards through [Play], as it would involve complicated relationships and would definitely be more troublesome than making friends with Maya Uesugi.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I've already made plans with Kashima-senpai to meet in front of the academy gate tomorrow morning."

Is it too late to cancel now?

"That's very rude of me, I don't really want to cancel."

Let's discuss it later.

Makoto Takahashi decided to test Maya Uesugi's attitude before making a decision.

Besides that, the only thing that needs to be decided as soon as possible is the [performance evaluation].

He summoned the system, his gaze falling on the skill bar of his personal panel. It seemed that only [Lv.2 Painting] was eligible to participate in the competition.

After acquiring the skill, he didn't feel anything special. Makoto Takahashi had never been involved in the field of painting before, and he had no knowledge of art.

Does the skill only take effect after touching the paintbrush?

However, it's hard to win a drawing competition. I can ask Uesugi Maya later if there are any kendo competitions this month. [Lv.1 Nervous Blade] might come in handy.

As for archery, archery is usually located outdoors, and competitions are generally not held during the rainy season.

Through the system panel, the old door of the Light Music Club appeared before him. Makoto Takahashi snapped out of his daze, shut down the system, and pushed the door open to enter the club office.

Maya Uesugi wasn't there; her laptop was on the desk. Makoto Takahashi pulled out a chair, sat down, and started working on his problems, while Hina Nekoya was looking around the clubroom with great interest.

She blinked, her face full of curiosity, like a freshman visiting the Light Music Club for the first time, rather than a member.

"So many books!"

Standing in front of the entire wall of bookshelves, Hina Nekoya said with a drawn-out admiration, "As expected of a top student, let alone reading, I'm already doing my best to stay awake in class."

To be honest, the current Light Music Club doesn't resemble a Light Music Club at all; it's more like an Arts Club.

The wall in front of her was a bookshelf that reached the ceiling, crammed full of books without any gaps, all of them hardcover editions and quite expensive.

"Speaking of which, your results in the last national mock exam didn't seem to be very good?" Takahashi asked.

"It's alright, I'm ranked 153rd in my grade."

There are probably fewer than 170 students in the first grade.

"But my national ranking isn't low; it's Tsurumi Sawa's average deviation value that's too high."

Hina Nekoya turned to face him, nodded firmly, and emphasized to herself, "It's just that I failed math, it's okay."

Makoto Takahashi glanced at her with some concern, then lowered his head and continued working on his practice problems.

Even after the rain outside the window completely stopped, Uesugi Maya still did not appear.

Hina Nekoya, sitting beside him, leaned back in her chair, listlessly looking up at the ceiling, her hands hanging limply at her sides, her posture lazy.

Having failed to trigger the friendship training, Takahashi Seiya was getting a little annoyed. He put down his pen and took out his phone to check the time displayed on the screen.

There are only 19 minutes left until the club activity ends at 17 PM.

Will Uesugi Maya stand me up?

With that thought in mind, Makoto Takahashi found her number in his contacts and dialed it.

Although Maya Uesugi said she wouldn't answer, hearing the phone should remind her that there were two people in the office waiting for her to have a meeting.

The phone rang twice and then hung up.

Makoto Takahashi opened his browser and searched for painting and kendo competitions held in June, but only found various news reports.

It's likely that someone like Maya Uesugi, a daughter of a powerful family, would know more about matters concerning the arts.

"Yin Cai, is it too late for me to sign up for a badminton tournament?" he asked casually.

"Is Acheng interested in badminton?"

Hina Nekoya suddenly sat up straight, raised her hand and placed it on Makoto Takahashi's shoulder, bringing it close to his head:

“We can play mixed doubles together, but it’s definitely too late this year, all the national tournament qualifications have already been awarded.”

Seeing the look of surprise on her face, and her tone quickening unconsciously, Takahashi Makoto did not directly refuse: "You can try if you have the chance."

At that moment, I received a text message from Maya Uesugi.

What gift should I prepare to apologize to her?

Looking at these plain words, Makoto Takahashi suddenly remembered what Hina Nekoya had said last night: that he might be able to become friends with Maya Uesugi.

To be honest, she is different from the young lady in Makoto Takahashi's mind, completely breaking the stereotype.

Neither mean nor arrogant, the two of them had been in a relatively equal relationship over the past two days.

Aside from the night they first met, even after accepting the friend's fee, Uesugi Maya never adopted a condescending attitude.

I do want to be friends with this beautiful girl. She's ridiculously pretty, and besides, she's not entirely without merit.

After careful consideration, Makoto Takahashi sent a reply to Maya Uesugi.

Hina likes to eat all sorts of snacks or dishes she's never tried before.

I received a reply immediately.

[Meeting at 6 PM]

Makoto Takahashi put away his phone, closed the workbook and placed it in the desk drawer, then turned to look out the window to relax his eyes.

What triggered Maya Uesugi's sudden admission of wrongdoing? Even though she hadn't received the love letter yet.

Well, in any case, it's a good thing that this matter has a perfect ending for all three of them.

He protected his friend, Hina Nekoya received food, and Maya Uesugi was willing to apologize; she must have gained something in return.

"Hina, I want to try to be friends with Hell Girl."

"Huh?" Nekoya Hina tilted her head and looked over, her face full of confusion.