Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

"I'm starting to believe that you really did take this as a reference."

"really?"

Surprised and happy, Narose Ritsu looked at Chihaya Aine, but what he got was the same look she gave him that night when she found out that Takamatsu Touma had cheated on him.

With her life hanging by a thread, Ritsu Narose turns to Suyo Nagasaki again.

However, his action of putting Nagasaki Suyo in the last place seemed to make the person concerned quite dissatisfied. Miss Nagasaki, who was temporarily forced to leave her "tenant" status, also looked at him coldly.

Well, who can save him from this quagmire at this moment?

lamp?

Or a cat?

While hesitating, Ritsu Narose saw a dark figure appear at the door of the cafe.

Leave Request (Happy New Year ver.)

I have a headache and a fever, so I asked for leave.

Happy New Year everyone

zsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbd

I can’t finish the code today, I’ll make it up tomorrow

I have already coded 2000, and I can’t write the rest.

My whole body aches. I think I haven't recovered from the flu yet.

Thinking about going to bed early (even though it’s not too early now)

Because I have to take full attendance this month, the missing updates will be made up tomorrow (probably...)

zsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbdzsbd

47. I loaded the favorability system (three in one)

"Am I disturbing you?"

"No, it's better to say that you came at the perfect time."

Outside the café, Naruse Ritsu and Hachiman Kairin stood by the railing in the second-floor hallway. With the potted plants providing shelter, they didn't have to worry about their every move being closely monitored by the café's inhabitants.

Without any intention of exchanging pleasantries, Hachiman Kailing thought she would be able to handle this outrageous thing that happened to her calmly, but when she was ready to face it, she found that it was not easy to say certain things frankly.

The draft she had been thinking about for half a day was torn into pieces by her. Now, she just took out the wooden ornament and held it in her hand.

"Do you have anything to say about this?"

"Uh..." Looking at the hairpin in front of him that he had installed a tracking device on, Naruse Ritsu's face was filled with embarrassment. "Do you believe me when I say this is for safety?"

"I understand." After putting away the locator, Hachiman Kailing's face remained calm. "It seems you have something to hide, too."

"It's not really a secret... but if I just state the conclusion now, it might be seen as some chuunibyou fantasy. If I recount the whole process from beginning to end, it would be too long."

"Then tell me when it's convenient for you."

Confused by her action of raising it high and then gently putting it down, Ritsu Naruse couldn't help but suspect that Hachiman Kailing was retreating to advance and deliberately luring him to tell the truth.

However, what he didn't expect was that Hachiman Kailing seemed to assume that he was telling the truth, and she didn't actually ask him about it in a roundabout way afterwards.

But she didn't leave, and instead started talking about the band.

"Toyokawa-san was able to pull Sankaku Hatsuka in—when I heard the news, I thought she was joking." Her expression became a little subtle, and Hachiman Kairin didn't show the slightest joy of having private contact with a popular idol. "And now, even the daughter of a celebrity like Wakaba Mutsuki is here..."

"Troublesome?"

"I understand the saying 'fame brings trouble,'" Hachiman Kailing said calmly, her hands resting on the railing. "I'm just curious how long a band like this can last..."

"Since you're worried about this, why doesn't Hai Ling try to intervene proactively? Or even more radically, try to become the band's captain?"

"Someone like me can't be a leader." Hachiman Kailing rejected Naruse Ritsu's idea without hesitation.

In her opinion, an excellent leader should not only be able to identify people, but also pay attention to the status of every team member and be able to put the right people in the right positions at all times. Beyond these basic requirements, the most important thing is extraordinary enthusiasm and drive.

Yawata Kairin didn't have that talent—or rather, she didn't meet the requirements for that position. Not liking to express her emotions easily, she was destined to be unsuitable for leading a group.

"Compared to that position, it's more suitable for me to stand in the back and watch silently."

"He frowned and retreated behind everyone?"

Hearing Naruse Ritsu's joke, Hachiman Kailing actually began to think seriously. After a moment, she nodded and said, "Surprisingly accurate."

"I don't have the courage to shoulder the future of others. Rather than being a standard-bearer leading others forward, I prefer to offer a flower of remembrance in the future."

"Besides, Toyokawa-san isn't someone who's willing to give up power."

As if feeling her statement was biased, she added, "From the arrangements to the script—though I don't understand why the band has a script, but currently, aside from handing the lyrics off to the experienced Triangle students, she's handling almost everything in the planning process herself... She's like a tireless machine."

"Even though you have such reliable teammates, you're still not optimistic about the band's future?"

"Yes, I don't think highly of them." Hachiman Kailing obviously didn't realize that she habitually excluded herself when she said this.

"While it's unclear how she was able to recruit those two popular figures into the team, both Sankaku-san and Wakaba-san seem to follow Toyokawa-san's lead."

"A team with only one voice will normally demonstrate stronger execution capabilities. However, if something happens to that one voice and the remaining people have their own ideas, the team will eventually fall apart."

Hearing Hachiman Kairin's doubtful words, Naruse Ritsu subconsciously asked, "But you've never thought of actively intervening?"

"No." When answering this question, Hachiman Kailing's attitude was particularly straightforward. "Not to mention that I don't have such plans, Fengchuan-san obviously doesn't like to see others dictating his plans."

Recalling Toyokawa Shoko's experiences during this period, Naruse Ritsu stroked his chin and replied, "People are selfish. I can understand the reasons that prompted her to do this."

"People are all selfish—everyone knows this, but they can never understand each other," Hachiman Kailing glanced at him, "Only strange people like you can tolerate the selfishness of others."

"is it?"

"Yes," Hachiman Kailing answered decisively, "If I'm not mistaken, you also played a role in causing Toyokawa-san to do this."

"Me?" Pointing at himself, Ritsu Narose asked in surprise.

"Is it weird? It's normal for a girl to do this if she wants your approval and validation, right?"

"I'm not a girl, how can I possibly know what she's thinking..."

"Excuse me, I thought a harem king like you would understand women's psychology very well." Hachiman Kailing looked serious and didn't seem to be joking at all.

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or joking..." With a sigh, Naruse Ritsu said in a rather casual tone, "Rather than delving into the psychological details, I think it's easier and more convenient to just accept their thoughts."

"So you like being passive?"

"Hai Ling clearly knows this, right?"

"But you didn't refuse in the end, did you?"

The two people who were arguing with each other looked directly into each other's eyes, and finally looked away at the same time.

"I'll take my leave now," Hachiman Kailing picked up the violin case on the ground and suddenly turned to look at Naruse Ritsu, "By the way, I have another question."

"what?"

"Is your relationship with Ruoye-san the same as ours?"

"We've only met a few times." Although he didn't understand why she suddenly mentioned Wakaba Mutsu, Naruse Ritsu still expressed his opinion carefully. "We were more than strangers, but less than friends."

"Then I suggest you pay a little more attention."

Leaving behind this incoherent sentence, Hachiman Kailin gradually walked away in the confused gaze of Naruse Ritsu.

Wondering what the meaning of her last words was, as soon as Ritsu Narose returned to the cafe, she was unsurprisingly stared at by everyone.

"Just chatting about the band—"

Before he could finish his words, Chihaya Aine asked in surprise, "You have a new band behind our backs!?"

"That's a bit too weird, isn't it?" Naruse Ritsu couldn't help but complain, "She's planning on developing into a commercial band. We can't be on the same page at all."

As he spoke, he saw some draft papers on the table and asked, "Have you thought of a band name?"

"Of course—"

Not paying any attention to Naruse Ritsu's attempt to change the subject, Chihaya Aine suddenly straightened up, her long pink hair reflecting a lovely color in the sunlight streaming in through the glass window. "How about calling us 'Marshmallow Alien'? By the way, I've already designed the band logo!"

Excitedly opening her notebook, she showed everyone her drawing. "Pink clouds paired with a lightning bolt are so cute and super impactful! Isn't that great?"

"We are a band, not some high school girl idol group." Hearing Chihaya Aine still repeating these misleading words, Shiina Riki frowned slightly under her bangs.

"But it's cute!"

"Pink... cute..." With a frown, Ritsu Narose suddenly opened his laptop and started searching.

After a few seconds, he suddenly realized: "Isn't this Pastel*Palettes?"

"Huh?" Blinking, Chihaya Aine repeated blankly, "Pastel...Palettes?"

"That's it," Naruse Ritsu introduced, turning the laptop screen towards the crowd. "Maruyama Aya—the lead singer of the band Pastel*Palettes, and the pink one in the group."

Seeing someone's mouth gradually drop open, he offered a friendly reminder: "If it's according to Aine's idea, the other members of the band are fine, but Aine, your position seems to overlap with this idol."

The air suddenly became quiet. Chihaya Aine took out her phone and quickly searched. A moment later, the tips of her ears tinged suspiciously with pink.

Nagasaki Suyo silently raised the teacup and blocked her face; Shiina Riki next to her covered her face with her hands, and only her shoulders could be seen trembling slightly.

Putting down her phone, Chihaya Aine finally noticed the attitudes of the people around her.

Feeling ashamed and angry, she was so overwhelmed by shame and anger that she decided to divert her anger by fighting an external war.

However, the person she chose to fight was Shiina Riki.

——Chihaya Aine launched an attack

——Chihaya Aine is resisting fiercely

——Chihaya Aine typed GG

"Really... isn't it just that Rikki isn't suitable for wearing those kira☆kira clothes?" Chihaya Aine muttered softly, pouting as she lay on the table. "Why are you so angry... and making such a scary expression?"

"Let's be honest," Naruse Ritsu nodded decisively in agreement, "Riki is really scary when he's angry."

With his eyes slightly narrowed, Shiina Riki, who had just suppressed Chihaya Aine, said in a bad tone: "Huh? You want to argue with me..."

“Of course, there are many lovely things.”

"..."

"Ah, Li Xi is silent." A pink-haired person kept adding fuel to the fire.

"Shut up."

"Why are you being so mean to me..." Seeing that she turned around and fired at her again, Chihaya Aine puffed up her cheeks like an angry hamster: "It's obviously Rikki who is not frank. With a personality like yours, you would be a loser in a comic."

"Are you provoking me?"

"I'm just being honest~" Chihaya Aine spread her hands, acting like a dead pig that's not afraid of boiling water. "Based on my experience reading comics, if there weren't magical items like glasses that can see favorability, spirit rings that can travel back to past lives, and the red thread of the God of Marriage, the fate of a tsundere character would be very tragic."

Unable to bear her imagination, Nagasaki Suyo sighed, "You've read too many comics. Stop talking about vague things like 'favorability glasses' all the time..."

"Actually, we have this." Ritsu Narose said casually while handing the lava matcha daifuku on the table to Rakuna.

After feeding the big blessing into the cat's mouth which was concentrating on strumming the strings, he looked up and found that the people around him were all looking at him with sharp eyes.

"……What's wrong?"

"Narushe-kun...are you kidding me?"

"No," Narushe Ritsu said, pushing the blue-light blocking glasses on his nose, a little puzzled. "You've seen stranger things. This little prop shouldn't be that unusual, right?"

Compared to the flying pig-like Moogles, the demon hunters who can transform into demons, and the leopard-headed elves who almost controlled the ancient tree forest and caused a dramatic ecological change... a pair of glasses that can see the degree of favorability probably only gives people the feeling of "Ah~ so there is such a thing."

"That sounds strange, Naruse-kun, you haven't used it for anything strange, right?"

"It's just used to test the results after brainwashing and body modification."

Seeing that the air had become quiet again, Gao Songdeng looked around at them and decided to break the deadlock himself.

"Um, what do 'brainwashing' and 'body transformation' mean?" She raised her hand and asked in a low voice.

"Is it about captivity and breeding? Shrimp 3 Ling pull another Ni dirty -"