The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

Her voice trembled, and her whole being seemed to melt away, her sharp edges softening like a boiled egg.

"It's easy to recognize, isn't it? Whether it's the shape of the hand or the movement when playing the instrument."

Although he was still a complete novice when it came to guitar, he had played it before, but her technique was not as skillful or smooth as Goto's.

"You're really amazing," Hachiman praised.

"...Hehe, hehe."

Goto Ichiri smiled blankly, looking like a silly child who wasn't very bright.

Under his praise, her figure gradually returned to a humanoid shape, and Hachiman even saw a smile appear on the hair clip on the right side of her head.

What is that? A mood display?

While he was wondering, the girl beside him was already lost in a sweet fantasy, like cotton candy.

Sure enough, I am very popular and amazing. I have fans even though I have come to such a faraway university, and they are freshmen in the same year as me. Hehe, hehehehe, maybe I am really famous.

Rock and roll is the best.

He really is a good person!

"Hey, hiccup, Hachiman, wanna have a drink together? Hiccup."

The two drunken seniors lay half-naked under the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, raising their sake bottles and asking Hachiman a question.

Who is that?

Goto Ichiri stared at the pectoral muscles that seemed bigger than her head, then quietly took a step back and hid behind Hachiman.

She can't be found out, or her allowance will disappear.

"No way! By the way, aren't you guys going back to the store for lunch?" Hachiman refused, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Has it already come to this?"

Shinji Tokita touched the right side of his thigh.

What about cell phones?

He glanced at the clothes not far away, then took out his phone to check the time.

"We'll be going now, we have a meeting tonight."

"understood."

After they left, Hachiman calmly continued walking forward.

As he walked, he stopped and looked back at Goto Ichiri, who had somehow disappeared into the box.

"Goto-san?"

The other party did not reply, but silently offered the Fukuzawa Yukichi card again with both hands.

Hachiman remained silent, then suddenly realized what was happening after some thought.

Dumbfounding.

Did he evolve from a petty thug collecting protection money into a gangster?

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Naive Girl

"Does Goto really like rock music?"

Sitting on a bench in the central park, Hachiman was biting into a pineapple bun. He was too late; there wasn't a single yakisoba bread, sandwich, or rice ball left.

"……Um."

"Stop sipping the strawberry milk," Goto Ichiri replied, her cheeks slightly flushed, her heart involuntarily quickening as the nearly withered cherry blossoms fell.

This sense of déjà vu is like a scene that only appears in a romance comic.

During a leisurely lunch break, a boy and a girl sat together under a cherry blossom tree. Just ten minutes earlier, they had not known each other, but had gathered together with the same thoughts, listening to the gentle breeze caressing their ears and silently appreciating the scene of petals falling.

No, no, no!

Goto Ichiri pounded her chest under Hachiman's puzzled look. "Stay calm! Mom said boys are all good at lying. Maybe he's only talking to her to trick her out of Fukuzawa Yukichi's pocket!"

Perhaps in his mind, if he can easily produce one, he can produce many.

[Goto-kun, it's time to pay your friend fee this week!]

Hmm, I'm having some kind of hallucination with Ryo-senpai.

"This is a gift for our friendship today, please accept it."

"I already said I don't want money. By the way, what's this 'friends' fee'? Is 10,000 yen a day really that expensive?"

He returned the money the other person offered, still unable to understand this person's thought process. Did he look poor?

Hachiman looked himself up and down. Underneath his thin outer garment was a slightly frayed white shirt, and his underwear was a high-end item that cost 500 yen for three. His trousers were a fashionable item that he had carefully selected and bought at a 3% discount, but they didn't fit him quite well. He was currently eating a 150 yen deluxe pineapple sandwich.

Well, it seems that all my assets combined are not even worth a fraction of the Fukuzawa Yukichi note in the other party's hand.

Well, there's nothing I can do about it. After all, he doesn't have much pocket money. If he spends a little more in a certain month, he'll have to borrow some money from Komachi to make ends meet.

Now that Komachi is no longer around, and he has angered his parents, his already meager allowance has become even more meager, so he can only try to save as much as possible.

Ah, I miss Komachi so much, even though she's coming next week.

Before that, we must persuade those people not to cause any trouble at the appointed time.

He no longer expected them to change their ways; he only hoped to present a good image to Komachi on that day, so that she would feel at ease knowing that she could live alone without any problems.

"Sigh." The road ahead is long and arduous.

"This is……"

"It's enough."

Hachiman glanced at Goto Ichiri, who was slightly pursing his lower lip, and softened his tone.

"I'm not sighing because of you, Goto-kun, so there's nothing to worry about."

He had met many girls—some aloof, some gentle, some clever, some passionate—but he had rarely encountered an introverted one like her.

Perhaps it's because he also has this attribute.

Speaking of Shan Yan, it seems like that's also true. I haven't seen her lately, and I wonder if she's made any friends.

Tsk, he sounds like an old man when he says that.

What is Goto-kun's name?

"...Goto Ichiri".

"My name is Hachiman Hikigaya. It's nice to meet you."

In short, let's start by exchanging names; he's very familiar with this line.

"Nice to meet you... It's a pleasure to get to know you."

Her words were broken and intermittent, and halfway through, she seemed to bite her tongue, making a sharp hissing sound.

This is similar to Shan Yan. Is it true that people with similar personalities tend to do similar things?

He suddenly had a wicked idea: if he locked the two of them in the same room, would they both become fluent in sign language after a while?

This was a truly absurd idea, but he actually thought it was quite feasible, provided that there were no sharp objects in the room and the windows were locked.

"Does Goto have any friends?"

Goto Ichiri nodded.

"How many are there? Also, non-humans don't count."

"That's underestimating me. I have three very good friends."

Oh no, my voice suddenly got too loud. This will melt me. Goto Ichiri was a little tired, feeling like he had exhausted his voice from the past few days.

"Three?"

The exact number, not too many, not too few, and exactly the same as the number of band members.

"Excuse me, did the three of them know each other before they met you?"

"……Yes."

Ryo-senpai and Nijika seem to have known each other since middle school, and Yuyo also knew them before she joined "Starry Sky," although she later ran away.

"Oh, I see."

A knowing look appeared in Hachiman's eyes.

"By the way, among the four of you, isn't at least one, or two, people with very good personalities?"

"……Yes."

"Did you get to know each other because one of you spoke to you first?"

"..."

Okay, he already knows without me having to answer.

This person clearly found a stray cat by accident, thought it was cute, and then took it home to raise.

"Hmm, that's great, having so many friends."

Hachiman spoke up, glancing at Goto Ichiri, who seemed to be foaming at the mouth, and quickly comforted him.

From the conversation just now, he was quite certain that the three people were the other members of the band, and that they had now separated.

After all, if they were in the same university, it's impossible for her to eat lunch alone; her friends and parents would definitely worry.

But could it be that she's already working? Otherwise, why would she choose to come to this school alone?

Have your three friends all gone home from school?

He tentatively opened his mouth.

Goto Ichiri shook his head.

"They are all at Qinghai Women's University next door."

"Then why are you here all alone?" Hachiman couldn't help but ask.

Goto Ichiri's eyes darted away. Would she tell anyone that she had accidentally filled out the wrong college application? Ha, how could she?

"I accidentally filled in the wrong college application."

quiet……

Hachiman silently looked at Goto Ichiri, and her straightforward gaze, which said nothing, made her shrink back in fear.

"Could you give me back the money I just received? I feel like I need some money for mental health treatment."

He thought she had encountered some kind of bullying incident or had some conflict with her friends, so he kindly kept her company. But it turned out there was nothing wrong. He was just overthinking things. Was the real culprit just a small mistake?

"Give."

"...You really are quite naive."

Chapter Twenty-Six: Happy Times

After a tiring day, Hachiman, Iori, Kohei, and Chisa walked home. He held the Max coffee he had bought from the vending machine, taking sips now and then and making contented noises.

This is the taste! This sweet, cloying flavor that seems to melt your tongue is his favorite, even though he has always treasured sugar!

"You're so pretentious."

"That's called enjoying yourself!"

With his dead fish eyes wide open, Hachiman retorted to Iori, who had just opened her mouth.

"Your mouth has been eroded by the alcohol, so you can't understand how I feel right now. This feeling, like after work, with no one to restrain you, holding your favorite drink and gazing at the sunset in the distance, is the most precious time of the day."

Hachiman held his coffee, feeling quite pleased with himself.

He hadn't tasted this for so long; it was like rain, a welcome relief after a long drought! Supreme! Absolute!

"I can understand it quite well."

Chisa said softly, "This feeling is just like when I'm diving."