After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

With her fingers interlaced in front of her, Metis lowered her eyes, her posture resembling that of a young girl making a wish.

But the words that came out of his mouth made Nagasaki Sase feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Compared to Toyokawa Shoko's previous unwillingness to communicate, Metis's approach of gradually explaining his attitude made her even more uneasy.

No... please don't continue...

Not long ago, Nagasaki Sase had been extremely eager to see Wakaba Mutsu, but at this moment, the thought of running away arose in his mind.

However, his legs seemed to be rooted to the spot, and he could not take a step no matter what he did. He could only stand there and listen to what the person in front of him, whom Toyokawa Yuu called "Metis," would say next.

"Whether it's caring about Xiao Mu now or wanting to fully utilize CRYCHIC before, it's clearly just Soyo's own desire to care and reorganize, without ever asking for anyone else's opinion."

At this point, Metis's face also fell, and an emotion of annoyance spread across the girl's face.

Even Yuu Toyokawa, who was right next to Metis and had spent the whole day with her, couldn't tell whether this was the girl's performance or her true feelings.

But that emotion lasted only a moment, vanishing without a trace the next second, as if that less-than-elegant expression had never appeared on that delicate face at all.

She did it on purpose. So-called social skills, besides being able to easily sense what topics others like and make people feel comfortable, also naturally include understanding what topics others least want to talk about.

"You harassed Xiaomu day after day, and even though she refused time and time again, you still didn't get tired of it. Every time, you put her in a dilemma between Xiangzi's wishes and her friend's requests. This is what you've been doing since last year until recently, trying to find that time when everyone was happy."

Even though she still misses the band she used to be in, and has told her former bandmates that she will probably never forget that time, Nagasaki Sase knows what it means to avoid suspicion.

After MyGO!!!!! was officially formed, she never mentioned the band's name again, intending to let time slowly bury it.

But at this moment, Metis's smiling words were like a sharp shovel, digging those words out of his memory, along with those less-than-ideal actions.

Nagasaki Sase wasn't the only one stunned in place; Shiina Tatsuki, who had been planning to come over to stop the situation, also stopped in his tracks as he saw that things seemed to be getting worse.

For a moment, she didn't know whether she should step forward to stop "Wakaba Mutsu" from continuing.

But she might hesitate; Metis, on the other hand, wouldn't.

An indescribable pain began to surge through his brain, and Metis could feel his body gradually weakening, as if Wakaba Mutsu was trying to regain control of his body.

Clearly, in her eyes, Metis's words had gone too far.

Metis could not stop this process; he could only try to slow it down so he could finish speaking.

After all, she felt she had done nothing wrong.

Metis knew very well how Nagasaki Sosei had been relentlessly pursuing Wakaba Mutsumi over the past year, and this was the only way to keep her from bothering Toyokawa Yuu for the foreseeable future.

Suppressing the pain in his head, Metis spoke the next words.

"Soyo, think about it carefully. What's the difference between what you're doing now and what you did back then? If you really want Xiaomu to be happier, then don't bother me for a while... Of course, I've already thrown away the phone and contact information that originally belonged to Xiaomu. Even if you want to find us, you won't be able to."

After leaving those words, Metis turned and left.

It wasn't that she was deliberately trying to be cool and heartless; rather, she was on the verge of completely losing control of her body.

But at the very least, we can't switch Xiao Mu back in front of Soyo, because that would rekindle her hope.

That will cause trouble for both her and Mr. Youyu.

Metis, what you said went too far. You need to apologize to Soyo...

"No, that would ruin the entire performance. Soyo would harass Mr. Yuu like she did last year..."

"But Soyo looked very sad just now..."

"I said no. I can apologize to her later after things are resolved. I can't cause Mr. Youyu any more trouble now..."

"But......"

Metis's lips moved, and the communication in her mind gradually turned into soft murmurs, flowing from the corners of the girl's mouth.

Fortunately, no one heard her low mutterings. Nagasaki Sase remained rooted to the spot, questioning her existence, while Hachiman Kairin and Shiina Tatsuki stood in the lobby of [RING], looking at each other in bewilderment.

Only Toyokawa Yuu gazed thoughtfully at Metis's increasingly familiar back.

Chapter 98 Nagasaki Sase will never give up (6k)

"How could this happen? I just wanted to..."

When "Wakaba Mutsumi" completely disappeared from his sight, Nagasaki Sase felt that he had regained some of his ability to move.

Metis's tone was far less harsh than the rejection and forceful demands that Toyokawa Shoko had made on the two previous occasions at Asukayama.

But it was precisely that smiling tone, tinged with a hint of annoyance, that hurt Nagasaki Sase even more.

She suddenly realized that she seemed to have been treating Wakaba Mutsuki with a similar attitude over the past year.

She seemed to have a gentle smile, but she was subtly probing with ulterior motives.

It's not uncommon for someone to suddenly change their expression while laughing, revealing their true thoughts and attitudes.

Was I really that annoying before?

Nagasaki Sase's azure eyes were somewhat blank. She knew that she had done many wrong things in the past, and had taken advantage of almost everyone in her current band.

However, since everyone ultimately chose to forgive her, Nagasaki Saseya never had a clear understanding of how her past actions were perceived by others.

All she knew was that some of the things she did were excessive, but everyone still kindly forgave her.

A gentle tolerance and lack of calculative attitude can sometimes lead to a lack of self-awareness in certain behaviors.

Everyone chose to remain silent about the unpleasant things that happened in the past, as if none of it had ever occurred.

Until Nagasaki Sase, who believed that he did not need to apologize to "Wakaba Mutsumi," ruthlessly exposed this fact.

"Mr. Youyu..."

The sound of footsteps turning around jolted Nagasaki Sase out of her unbelievable self-reproach. The brown-haired girl looked up at the boy's back as he silently left, seemingly intending to follow "Wakaba Mutsumi," and parted her lips slightly.

A few drops of water glistened in her eyes, making Nagasaki Sosei's already somewhat aloof temperament even more profound, making her look like a disappointed young woman who had just been rejected and abandoned.

Nagasaki Sase stared intently at Toyokawa Yuu, his gaze both stubborn and inquisitive.

My friends are all very gentle people. Even if they have opinions about me, they will probably remind me in a more tactful way.

However, if it were Toyokawa Yuu, he might be able to provide a relatively objective answer.

Although I wasn't close to him, I had definitely caused him a lot of trouble.

Whether it was the concert tickets back then, or arranging to meet up with Shoko Toyokawa later, or even just now...

"Am I... really that kind of selfish and extremely annoying person?"

Hearing Nagasaki Sase's question from behind, Toyokawa Yuu stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the girl with a strange expression.

Oh no...

Noticing the change in Toyokawa Yuu's eyes, Shiina Tatsuki, who had been somewhat stunned and unsure how to join the conversation, immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to block Nagasaki Sousei.

Not being very good at interacting with people, she couldn't understand Toyokawa Yuu's complicated expression at all, and could only tell that what was flashing in the other person's eyes was definitely not a positive emotion.

This guy might say something even more offensive than what "Wakaba Mutsu" just said.

However, Toyokawa Yuu's gaze did not fall on Shiina Tatsuki. His complicated gaze passed through the gap left by the girl in front of and behind him and landed on Nagasaki Sase.

A moment later, Toyokawa Yuu withdrew her gaze and turned back around.

“Miss Nagasaki Sasuke, I think there is still hope for us to build a more friendly relationship, so please don’t make me say anything unpleasant.”

The tone was relatively tactful, but it was enough to express Toyokawa Yuu's attitude.

However, Toyokawa Yuu didn't care what Nagasaki Sase would think after hearing his answer; he had to hurry and find Metis.

If he lingered any longer, her figure would disappear from his sight.

The girl was at risk of being taken away at any moment, and Toyokawa Yuu couldn't let her out of her sight.

"Hailin, let's go. I need your help to arrange the celebration banquet tonight."

After placing the guitar that Metis had given her on the bar, which was considered returning the instrument she had rented for a while, Toyokawa Yuu walked towards the door of [RING].

"I understand."

Seeing that Toyokawa Yuu was willing to entrust her with some work again, Hachiman Kairin's lips curled into a smile.

Finally, still somewhat worried, she glanced at Shiina Tatsuki's gloomy expression before turning and following Toyokawa Yuu's departing steps.

School has just let out, and it's not yet the peak time for LiveHouse operations. Plus, everything that just happened didn't take much time, so there are still no new customers coming in, and the other staff are still working in other areas.

In the huge hall, only Nagasaki Sase and Shiina Tatsuki remained standing in place.

The hall of 【RING】 fell completely silent, so quiet that you could hear your own breathing clearly.

Having worked at this LiveHouse for a while now, Shiina Tatsuki has witnessed its most bustling moments, when the cheers from the guests for the live performances of popular bands were so loud that she couldn't even hear the order notifications coming from the vending machine.

She also experienced the desolation of the store late at night when it closed, with nothing but the faint sounds of employees tidying up their things.

But at this moment, Shiina Tatsuki realized that this LiveHouse could be so quiet that even her heartbeat had to be carefully controlled.

"Lixi...should I go apologize?"

After an unknown amount of time, Nagasaki Sosei's voice finally broke the silence in the hall, but the question he asked left Shiina Tatsuki somewhat speechless.

Apologize?

What apologies?

Does that mean that caring about the health of friends and classmates is a sin?

Sometimes, Shiina Tatsuki does feel that Nagasaki Sose's somewhat persistent personality is a bit inappropriate, but at least in today's situation, she feels that her team members did the right thing.

Even though the other party didn't seem to want her to express this kind of concern.

but......

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you even consider yourself Xiao Mu's friend?"

Seeing that Nagasaki Sase seemed to have begun to doubt himself, Shiina Tatsuki frowned, and his tone suddenly became harsher, carrying a hint of reprimand.

"She just said herself that she's not [Xiao Mu] anymore, are you sure you want to take that seriously? Giving up so easily, where did the Nagasaki Sase who used to spend a year planning how to be incredibly Crychic go?"

Shiina Tatsuki is not good at comforting people; instead, she is more accustomed to finding fault with others' flaws and weaknesses, so she is often regarded as a stress monster.

After all, that's how harsh she is on herself.

Shiina Tatsuki didn't know how to comfort the somewhat distraught Nagasaki Sōse, but she did know the fallacies in what Wakaba Mutsumi, who called himself "Metis," had said.

Most fundamentally, she is not even the "Wakaba Mutsu" she knows, but rather a product of Mutsu's mental problems.

The more organized her words are, the more it proves that Xiao Mu needs care and help, right?

However, Shiina Tatsuki also knew that Nagasaki Sase was not to blame for having such thoughts, since she was the one who was most severely impacted by those words.

If she were in her shoes, Shiina Tatsuki wouldn't be able to guarantee that she could think of these thoughts so clearly and logically.

But it seems that these words at least had a decent effect on Nagasaki Sase.

After all, this was someone who had previously argued with him to the point of exhaustion over the issues of MyGO!!!!! and CRYCHIC, so Shiina Tatsuki was certain that the other person's heart wasn't that fragile.

She simply needed some reprimand to ease her guilt, and then some encouragement to get back on her feet.

"...I understand. I won't give up so easily. Thank you, Lixi."

There was another moment of silence, until Shiina Riki was about to return to the bar to continue her work, when Nagasaki Sase's voice came from behind her.

"Also, I'm sorry about what happened before."

"Well, I... I didn't really take it to heart."

......................................................

Right outside the LiveHouse called [RING], a girl with long, light green hair stood obediently and quietly by the roadside, silently waiting for the boy to catch up.

Having regained control of her body, Wakaba Mutsu didn't go far. Strictly speaking, she hadn't even left the [RING] building area. She simply stopped where Nagasaki Sose couldn't see her.

She still remembered Toyokawa Yuu's words to her: don't stray too far from him, and don't leave his sight, otherwise you might be taken away by someone.

However, Metis's actions just now went against Youyu's wishes, so will he be angry?

Such worries couldn't help but arise in her mind, causing Wakaba Mutsu to feel a little resentful towards Metis's behavior.

They had said before that I could leave everything to her without worry, but she's made things like this... It's too much.

[It was clearly Mumu who made those unreasonable demands. You know Soyo's personality; it's impossible to get her to give up so easily. And you couldn't find any other way, could you?]

Metis's dissatisfied voice also rang in Ruoye Mutsu's mind, but this time, the supportive personality that had always supported the main personality did not tell the truth.

There are indeed gentler ways to refuse Nagasaki Sase's help.

But doing that wouldn't make the girl who had been relentlessly harassing Wakaba Mutsu for a year give up.