They are really too low!

"Ahem, let me try." Hoshino took the guitar, recalling the scene from earlier, and tried strumming a few notes, imitating the sound as she played a short piece.

Before the performance was finished, Hoshino couldn't bear to listen anymore.

"I'm sorry." Wakaba Mutsu pursed her lips. "I don't know how to teach people."

“This has nothing to do with the teacher,” Hoshino could only comfort the girl. “Don’t worry, I have a great learning ability and I’ll learn it right away.”

If Ye Mu was not entirely convinced, she took her guitar and played a short piece for Hoshino Mi.

Hoshino immediately imitated her, which surprised Wakaba Mutsu, because Hoshino imitated her very well, except that she made a few mistakes in the syllables and her fingering was not very good.

As Momoba began to get excited, she continued playing the guitar, and Hoshino watched intently as she played along.

One dares to teach like this, and the other dares to learn like this.

Hoshino Mii imitated Wakaba Mutsu's movements entirely through her memory. At first, she would make some mistakes, but with the effects of [Intelligence] and "Music Theory LV1", she could quickly keep up with Wakaba Mutsu's rhythm after repeating it a few times.

After playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Wakaba Mutsu held her guitar and stood motionless, because Hoshino Mikoto had really learned the song.

Although it was just a very simple piece of music, Hoshino's learning ability left her, as his teacher, unsure whether to be happy or worried.

"Is that all?" Hoshino asked, seemingly still wanting more.

Wakaba Mutsu shook his head and said, "You haven't learned anything; you're just imitating."

"Huh?" Hoshino was deeply shocked. "This won't work either?"

"Hmm, no." Seeing his sullen expression, Wakaba Muku revealed a barely perceptible smile.

"I thought that playing exactly the same melody as you meant I had learned it." Hoshino was completely puzzled. Wouldn't it be enough to just play the same melody?

“That won’t do.” Wakaba Mutsu lowered his head. True music should be sung by the guitar.

Hoshino waited for a long time but didn't hear her explanation. He couldn't help but sigh. He started to doubt his decision. This teacher was cute, but she was too taciturn.

Asking her to teach guitar might mean touching on her blind spots.

Oh well, we're already here.

Hoshino, holding her guitar, began to recall the fingering technique she had just used.

"Will we be practicing here from now on?" Hoshino asked.

If Ye Mu hesitated for a moment, then she heard Hoshino Mi say as if to herself, "I don't mind practicing here, but it's the teacher's house after all, and it's too inconvenient to keep practicing here. If possible, I would like to go somewhere with more sunshine."

Ruo Ye Mu looked at him with confusion, "Where the sunlight is better?"

"A true guitarist has to be dazzling, especially a lovely girl like the teacher. It's a waste for her to stay in the basement all the time."

Hoshino was talking nonsense with a straight face, as if he knew a lot about the stage presence of guitarists.

Ruoye Mutsu looked at the boy and silently hugged her guitar.

After a moment, the girl finally turned her pretty face and retorted softly.

"Don't... keep calling me teacher."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Strange Girl (Revised)

After Hoshino left with her guitar, Wakaba Mutsu took out her phone.

"Toyokawa Shoko: How is he?"

Hoshino Mi was unaware that she had greatly underestimated the feelings between these childhood friends; their relationship was more like that of half-sex partners.

Even if the band breaks up, their relationship will not change.

"Wakaba Mutsumi: Very gentle."

Toyokawa Shoko: Hmm, how good is he? Can he learn to play the guitar?

"Wakaba Mutsumi: That's amazing."

"Toyokawa Shoko: What level is 'very good'?"

"Wakaba Mutsumi: He can imitate me."

Toyokawa Shoko: Imitation?

Toyokawa Shoko: Never mind, I won't pry too much. If you feel comfortable getting along with him, then I'll be at ease.

"Wakaba Mutsu: Hmm."

After putting away her phone, Ruo Yemu returned to her basement, picked up her familiar guitar, and gently stroked the body of the instrument, her fingers producing a few notes on the strings.

She rarely interacts with strangers, let alone offers them a guitar.

It's a bit incredible.

Just like when she handed the umbrella to Hoshino last time, Wakaba Mutsu inexplicably felt a sense of trust in this boy.

Especially when he thought about how he had been spending all these days with Toyokawa Shoko, Wakaba Mutsu felt a deep sense of envy.

Even though she knew that Toyokawa Shoko was in great pain and suffering, she couldn't say anything. She even had to ask a stranger to deliver her umbrella to Toyokawa Shoko.

However, she finally learned the stranger's name.

Ruoye Mu looked down at her small hands, as if she could still feel the lingering touch.

It was strange; her heart was beating so fast.

……

Hoshino, carrying her guitar, looked suspiciously at the pop-up window that suddenly appeared in front of her.

[After spending time with you today, Ruoye Mutsu felt a sense of envy towards you.]

If Ye Mu's intimacy level with you increases, you can choose one of the following options.

[One: Charm +1]

[Part 2: The black over-the-knee socks worn by Wakaba Mutsumi]

【Part 3: Cucumbers grown by Wakaba Mutsumi herself】

You didn't show up in the basement earlier, so you're only showing up now?

Putting aside the black over-the-knee socks for now, what kind of reward is this cucumber?

At this moment, Hoshino felt speechless.

Since the cucumbers were grown by the beautiful girl herself, does that count as a reward?

Hoshino ignored this option; cucumbers could be bought anywhere in the supermarket, and he didn't need one.

Used stockings are obviously not an option, because he already has Kasugano Sora's white stockings at home.

Hoshino chose to allocate points to [Charm].

As the pop-up disappeared, Hoshino was unsure if he had changed. He couldn't sense any changes in his [Charm], though he was curious about what would happen if he maxed out his points.

After dealing with this matter, Hoshino decided to take a detour to the convenience store, since she owed Kasugano Sora a pudding from yesterday.

If he forgets about it, Kasugano Sora will probably be even angrier.

The weather was lovely today. Hoshino saw many early cherry blossoms quietly blooming by the roadside. A spring breeze blew, and a flurry of crimson cherry blossoms fell, filling the entire street with a delicate fragrance.

Hoshino took out her phone, snapped a few photos, and then opened Toyokawa Shoko's chat interface.

"Hoshino Mi: I've already received the guitar."

Toyokawa Shoko: Congratulations, you've completed the first step.

Hoshino: I saw cherry blossoms on the way.

"Shoko Toyokawa: I saw cherry blossoms when I went back. I guess they will gradually bloom throughout Tokyo next week."

"Hoshino Mi: Photo.jpg"

After sending the photos, Hoshino put away her phone. After all, she had gone to Wakaba Mutsumi's house and picked up the guitar, so she needed to properly report to Toyokawa Shoko.

Of course, you can also share the cherry blossoms you see on the way with Toyokawa Shoko; friendship is something that needs to be maintained regularly.

As Hoshino walked to the foot of the overpass, she quickly noticed a strange girl standing on it.

She stood on tiptoe, stretching out her small hand to try and grab the petals in front of her, her body almost hanging over the railing.

She caught nothing; the petal drifted away right before her eyes.

Because her movements were so large, the things in her pockets even accidentally fell out.

dong dong——

Hoshino watched as the things she dropped rolled all the way to her feet, her mind going blank for a moment.

What is that? A few small stones fell from the sky?

No, what is she going to do with the stone?

Hoshino looked at the small stones on the ground, then looked up at the girl on the overpass. The girl's expression was also blank; she probably hadn't expected that the object thrown from the sky wouldn't hit anyone.

Soon, the girl's face suddenly turned mostly red.

She immediately crouched down, so that if she couldn't see her, Hoshino wouldn't be able to see her either.

Hoshino silently picked up the small stone from the ground, examined it, and found that it was just an ordinary stone with nothing special about it.

Never mind, I'll just go straight up and settle the score with the person involved.

Hoshino sneered. When he walked onto the overpass with the evidence, the girl was still squatting there, secretly looking up at the commotion below. When she realized that Hoshino was gone, she looked puzzled.

"Stop looking, I'm here."

The girl was startled. When she saw Hoshino standing behind her, she instinctively tried to get up and run away, but this action caused more small stones to fall out of her pocket and scatter all over the ground.

Hoshino fell silent for a moment, the girl staring at the stone on the ground, motionless.

The girl squatted down again and silently picked up her pebbles. She had only picked up half of them when a hand suddenly reached out from the side to help her pick up the pebbles.

She glanced at Hoshino Mi secretly, as if trying to figure out what Hoshino Mi's intentions were.

After perhaps thinking for a moment, the girl took out a band-aid from her other pocket and handed it to Hoshino with both hands.

"What does this mean?" Hoshino looked at the penguin band-aid. "Is it as an apology?"

The girl lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

“I’m not hurt. If it had been any later, you might have hit me squarely.” Hoshino took her penguin band-aid. “It’s okay if you hit me, but if you hit my guitar, you’re finished. As compensation for your emotional distress, I’ll take this.”

Upon hearing the word "guitar," the girl seemed to finally notice the guitar bag on his back, her eyes showing surprise.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered.

"What's the use of 'sorry'? What's your name? Which school do you go to?" Hoshino asked seriously, his system needing to know the other person's name to begin his strategy.

Such a strange girl might actually be a target for romance.

Chapter Thirty Your Name

As she picked up stones, Hoshino carefully observed the girl.

The girl was not tall, probably less than 1.6 meters. Her hair was very short, just enough to cover her ears. She was wearing a light blue jacket. Because she was squatting on the ground, this posture did not reveal anything, but it made her small, plump breasts look a little soft and squishy.

Hoshino looked away, but his gaze fell on the girl's thighs. She was wearing light-colored denim shorts, which exposed a large area of ​​fair and delicate skin. Her legs looked slender, as if one hand could lift both of them together.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen a beautiful girl, but the girl in front of him wasn't exactly stunningly pretty; instead, she had an exceptionally cute quality that made him want to get closer.

"My name is Hoshino Mi, and I'm a student at Toyonosaki." Hoshino Mi noticed that the girl hadn't responded for a while, so she took the initiative to introduce herself.

The girl looked up blankly, as if she couldn't understand what Hoshino was saying.

Hoshino didn't mind. Introducing oneself isn't about forcing the other person to repeat their name, but about letting them know who you are.

"Okay, I've picked them all up for you." Hoshino placed all the stones in her hands. "Next time you go out, take a reusable bag instead of always keeping them in your pocket. It would be terrible if you accidentally knocked over your favorite thing."

The girl squatted on the ground, holding a pile of small stones, looking at Hoshino Mi with a bewildered expression.

"Thank...Thank you."

"You're welcome." Hoshino noticed her staring at his guitar and tentatively asked, "Would you like to hear me play a little?"

The girl paused, wanting to shake her head, but remembering what had happened before, her gaze remained fixed on Hoshino Mi's guitar.