After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

After all, what he wanted to do to Hachiman Kairin was essentially to delay Ave Mujica's activities and buy himself time to find Wakaba Mutsumi.

And they tried to get some information about Wakaba Mutsu and the inside of Ave Mujica from Hachiman Kairin.

But now, Ruoye Mu is standing right in front of him.

The plan failed in its very first step, but the objective was achieved without any further steps.

Nagasaki Sase, who had originally prepared to continue playing that detestable role, suddenly felt an absurd sense of disappointment.

However, these petty emotions are not important right now; what truly matters is...

"Xiao Mu, why are you here?"

Ignoring Yuu Toyokawa who was standing to the side, and even ignoring Kairin Hachiman who had been invited by him, Sosei Nagasaki quickly walked up to the golden-eyed girl.

I wanted to send a caring greeting, but due to my anxiety, my tone unconsciously became impatient and aggressive.

Fortunately, Nagasaki Sase remembered that this was a public place, and her tone quickly returned to its usual gentleness, as if she could soak people in a honey pot.

Reaching out to take "Wakaba Mutsumi's" hand, Nagasaki Sōse's azure eyes softened again, as if the aggressive aura that had just appeared for a moment was merely a fleeting illusion.

"I heard you were sick and took leave from work. You didn't reply to my messages. I'm really worried about you."

The caring voice was like a gentle breeze in early spring, capable of melting even the ice and snow that had endured the entire winter.

"I'm relieved to see you're alright. I thought the situation was really as serious as the teacher said."

However, in the face of Nagasaki Sase's concern, "Wakaba Mutsumi" simply stood there without making any response.

It neither struggled nor responded, and seemed somewhat at a loss.

With Metis's social skills, dealing with Nagasaki Sose's concern would be no problem at all.

But this was, after all, a friend of Wakaba Mutsu, and she hesitated, wondering if it was inappropriate for her to make the decision on her own.

No matter how much fun he had today, there was one undeniable fact that Metis always kept in mind.

He couldn't control this body. The reason he was able to stay outside for so long today was simply because Toyokawa Yuu wanted to fulfill the wish he had made last night, and the obedient girl currently in his mind was deliberately accommodating him.

Whether or not Metis can continue to meet with Toyokawa Yuu in the future is completely irrelevant to Metis's own thoughts.

Therefore, Metis didn't want to anger Ruoye Mu, as that would reduce his chances of going out and having fun in the future.

So, it would be better to return the body to Xiao Mu now, but I haven't even had a chance to play with the dolls that were already returned home, and besides...

Subconsciously turning his head to look at Toyokawa Yuu beside him, Metis's eyes showed some reluctance.

However, she also knew that now was not the time to continue being willful.

All my wishes from last night have come true, so this ending is quite a perfect conclusion.

【Xiao Mu, I'll give your body back to you. You can talk to him.】

Silently communicating with Wakaba in his mind, Metis did not break free from Nagasaki Sase's grasp.

Over the past year, she had witnessed Nagasaki Sase and Wakaba Mutsumi's interactions in front of the cucumber trellis at school, and Metis did not believe that Mutsumi would treat Nagasaki Sase that way.

With his eyes slightly lowered, Metis was ready to return the body.

But Ye Mu's response was beyond her expectations.

No, Metis, please turn down Soyo's advances for me.

A somewhat panicked voice echoed in Metis's mind. The other party did not take back the body as she had expected, and the voice even carried a hint of determination.

We're already putting Yuyu in a lot of trouble right now. If Soyo finds out about what's going on between us, she'll worry and, like when she tried to revive Crychic before, might do something that makes everyone unhappy.

The voice that echoed in Ruoye Mu's mind was somewhat conflicted, but in the end she still made a difficult decision.

[If Soyo really does something outrageous, it will only cause more trouble for Youyu. Please help me reject her... I'll only mess things up if I open my mouth.]

In her mental space, Ruoye Mu watched the images transmitted back from the television, her tone somewhat forlorn.

However, the girl, who had learned to obey others long ago, now knew very well what was the right thing to do.

Hiding at Toyokawa Yuu's house has already caused him a lot of trouble.

If Nagasaki Sase were to be dragged into this, it might cause her unnecessary trouble, and it would also force Toyokawa Yuu, who was already not getting enough rest, to devote even more energy to dealing with Nagasaki Sase.

In any case, Ruoye Mu didn't want anyone to be troubled because of her anymore.

Please don't cause any more trouble for everyone because of me.

I understand... Leave it to me.

After a moment of silence, Metis, also somewhat preoccupied, agreed.

However, compared to the "everyone" that Wakaba Mutsu was thinking about, Metis was more concerned about Toyokawa Yuu.

He silently made up his mind.

She had only this one friend. Her eyelids lifted slightly, and her golden eyes became clear again.

Although I chatted with Wakaba Mutsu for a while, only a short time actually passed.

Nagasaki Sase still held Metis's hand, his eyes filled with worry.

However, the girl in front of her, who had been worrying her all day, did not accept her kindness and silently withdrew her hand.

Under Nagasaki Sose's astonished gaze, Metis spoke softly.

"Thank you, Soyo, but the teacher is right, I won't be going to school for a while."

Taking two steps back, Metis created some distance between himself and Nagasaki Sose.

The polite yet distant voice reached Nagasaki Sase's ears, making her wonder if the girl standing in front of her was really the same Wakaba Mutsumi she knew.

That girl who likes to grow cucumbers and is sensitive should be quieter and more well-behaved.

"What's wrong? Why is this happening? Why are you suddenly not coming to school?"

Sensing that the situation might be more complicated than he had anticipated, Nagasaki Sase immediately asked a follow-up question.

She completely forgot that if the person standing in front of her was really Wakaba Mutsu, he would most likely only respond to her question with silence or a brief statement.

After all, this was how Nagasaki Sosei had responded whenever he tried to get information about Toyokawa Shoko from Wakaba Mutsu in various ways over the past year.

“You said you were fine when we contacted each other last night, but suddenly you’re not coming to school. It’s really strange no matter how you look at it… Xiao Mu, I’m really worried about you.”

"If you ask why... it's because I'm not Mutsu."

Seeing Nagasaki Sōse's face filled with disbelief, Metis smiled and said something that surprised everyone present, including Toyokawa Yūu and the Wakaba Mutsu in her mind.

What on earth is going on...?

Standing behind the bar, Shiina Tatsuki wiped the cups in her hands while frowning as she looked at the smiling "Wakaba Mutsumi" and the stunned Nagasaki Sosei.

But in the end, her gaze shifted to Yuu Toyokawa.

On the face of the young man in the suit, besides astonishment, there was also obvious helplessness.

Clearly, he knew everything, but he didn't expect the golden-eyed girl beside him to say it outright.

And then there is...

Having vaguely confirmed Toyokawa Yuu's attitude, Shiina Tatsuki turned her gaze to Hachiman Kairin, who had already stood up from her seat, but whose astonishment upon hearing "Wakaba Mutsumi's" words was no less than that of Nagasaki Sosei.

Isn't Xiao Mu her teammate now? Why does she act like she just found out? Does she really keep up with her band members?

"Mr. Youyu, what exactly is going on?"

Unlike Shiina Riki, whose identity makes her difficult to intervene in, she is merely thinking behind the bar and hasn't yet decided whether to get involved.

As a member of Ave Mujica, Yawata Kairin had no such concerns.

Silently approaching Yuu Toyokawa from behind, Kairin Hachiman lowered her voice and asked the boy her question.

I initially thought that Toyokawa Yuu's request for a psychologist's contact information was just a precaution or for publicity purposes.

After all, he canceled the trip himself yesterday. If Ruoye Mu's mental state is indeed problematic and not to be underestimated, then Toyokawa Yuu, who is always reliable, should not be so irresponsible.

But what was happening before her eyes made Hachiman Kairin begin to doubt her original thoughts.

"Hailin, don't ask so many questions here. I'll explain tonight."

Seeing that Hachiman Kairin was also unaware of the situation, Toyokawa Yuu responded softly, without directly answering her question.

He really didn't intend to hide anything from the members of Ave Mujica about Ruoye Mu and Metis.

He was serious about his decision not to let Ruoye Mutsu leave his home for the time being. This kind of thing would affect the normal operation of the band, and he couldn't hide it from the team. He definitely had to explain it clearly to the team to avoid panic.

But to Toyokawa Yuu's surprise, before he could explain the situation to his teammates, Metis had already self-destructed in front of Nagasaki Sase, an outsider.

After calming down Hachiman Kairin, who was hesitant to speak, Toyokawa Yuu stepped forward, intending to directly interrupt the conversation between the two girls.

This isn't a stage where everyone is in the spotlight; there's no reason to grit your teeth and keep performing even if you're making a mistake.

Rather, if the situation is allowed to develop and is filmed and posted online by someone with ulterior motives, wouldn't all the efforts to guide public opinion by paying out of their own pockets and taking a cut be in vain?

Thinking of this, Toyokawa Yuu couldn't help but feel fortunate that it wasn't peak time for the LiveHouse, and there was no one else in the lobby besides them.

Nagasaki Sasuke is a troublesome guy in every sense of the word. It seems like he made the right decision to build a good relationship with Aine and have her act as his informant.

Watching Yuu Toyokawa's retreating figure, Kairin Hachiman opened her mouth but ultimately remained silent, though she followed closely behind to show her stance.

"You're not Xiaomu... What are you talking about, Xiaomu? Joking about things like this is upsetting."

After being briefly stunned by Metis's words, Nagasaki Sase's smile became increasingly forced.

She said she didn't understand the meaning of Metis's words, but her expression showed that she actually knew what he was talking about, but she just didn't want to accept it.

"I was serious."

Metis, who had been smiling, suddenly became serious.

Her expressionless face did resemble that of the usual Mutsumi Wakaba, but in Sase Nagasaki's eyes, this was definitely not the well-behaved girl she knew.

“Metis, that’s enough. This topic ends here… Miss Nagasaki Sase, if you keep pressing this issue, it will involve Ave Mujica’s trade secrets. Please don’t make things difficult to resolve.”

Yuu Toyokawa's voice cut into their conversation at just the right moment.

However, the same tactics that Yuu Toyokawa used to protect Shoko in Asukayama Park failed to silence Sase Nagasaki this time.

With his deep blue eyes fixed on the boy before him, Nagasaki Sase's eyes were full of questioning.

Due to the impact of her parents' divorce when she was young, Nagasaki Sase has always been accustomed to accommodating others and trying her best to maintain a harmonious atmosphere, even if she is sometimes carried away by habit to do things that she doesn't want to do.

She is caring and knows how to make everyone look presentable, but even so, she understands priorities.

Previously at Asukayama, the only issue he and Toyokawa Shoko had argued about was her attitude and actions towards Wakaba Mutsu.

But at this moment, the issue facing her is her mental health; how can such a thing be generalized?

“Mr. Youyu, now that things have come to this, are you still going to use this excuse to fob me off? Xiaomu has already become like this.”

With wide eyes, Nagasaki Sase asked sharply.

"The teacher said her mother got her a month's sick leave, but you took her around everywhere, and yesterday you even encouraged her to skip class. Don't you really think your behavior went too far?"

If it weren't for the fact that she wasn't very familiar with Toyokawa Yuu, she might have subconsciously omitted even the honorifics.

However, to her surprise, before Toyokawa Yuu could even refute her, someone had already stood in front of him.

“Nagasaki, please don’t get so agitated. Mr. Yuu’s concern for the band members is no less than your concern for your friends.”

Originally, she was just standing silently behind Toyokawa Yuu, but Hachiman Kairin suddenly stepped in front of the boy, blocking most of the blaming and questioning gazes from Nagasaki Sase.

She didn't know what Toyokawa Yuu's plans were, but as a member of Ave Mujica, she chose to support her manager.

Even though Hachiman Kairin didn't expect that someone's attitude was even more resolute than hers.

“Mr. Youyu, I’m really sorry. As a friend, you’ve always been accommodating to my wishes, but this time I’m afraid I can’t listen to you.”

First, he cast an apologetic glance at Yuu Toyokawa, then handed the guitar in his arms to the boy who had taken him out to play all day, before turning to look at Sosei Nagasaki, whose eyes were trembling slightly.

Looking at Metis, who had suddenly become very opinionated and even went against her own arrangements, Toyokawa Yuu was slightly taken aback.

That expressive face gradually overlapped with the Metis he knew ten years later.

The hallucination that appeared before her eyes caused Toyokawa Yuu to fall into a brief daze, while Metis continued with his next words.

"After all, if we don't talk things out with Soyo properly, she'll definitely act on her own again and cause trouble for everyone."

As Metis finished speaking, a heavy atmosphere, like thick clouds, pressed down on Nagasaki Sase's heart.

"You're only thinking about yourself... Xiao Mu, what are you talking about? I'm clearly worried about you."

"Is that really the case? Sometimes I really wish that Soyo could be a little more aware of her own mindset when she says these things."