The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

"We need to find a way to quickly resolve the problem and prevent it from recurring."

As Hachiman spoke, his thoughts began to take shape. Intimidation was just a backup plan, since people like him, who had no background but were fearless, were bound to be a bit stubborn.

"Then, leave this matter to me."

Shinji Tokita smiled and asked, "Tokita-senpai, do you have a solution?" Everyone was taken aback by his confident demeanor.

“I’ve encountered something like that before,” Shinji Tokita said. “After all, Azusa and Nanaka are rare beauties.”

"Was your sister also harassed?" Chisa, who had been listening quietly, asked.

"Yes, I was harassed by someone when I was traveling with someone, it happened many years ago."

Shinji Tokita recalled that it was around his freshman year of college. He had just formed "Pab" and, after winning the prize money for Mr. Club Men, he took everyone on a trip to Yokohama.

As it turned out, there, he encountered a thug trying to pick him up. In the short time it took to buy a bottle of wine, he came back to find the two girls that the club had finally managed to recruit surrounded by a group of punks.

How could they tolerate this? They rushed forward on the spot.

"And then? Did you guys beat them up?" Iori asked.

“No, that’s not true. After all, fighting will land you in jail.” Shinji Tokita held up one finger. “When they saw us running over, they thought we were gang members, so they ran away without looking back.”

...That's true. The senior students' image is very imposing no matter where they are. They are probably only slightly less imposing than the principal of a kindergarten.

So, it really is about deterrence. Might makes right, it's like that saying goes: reading is so you can have a calm conversation with idiots, and working out is so idiots can have a calm conversation with me.

"So, are you guys planning to intimidate them?"

"Oh, no."

"Eh?"

Shinji Tokita scratched his head: "Actually, I do know a yakuza... and we're pretty close."

"Deterrence is still the best approach!"

It doesn't have to be that brutal!

Seriously, you've been hiding your true abilities far too well!

Just as everyone was shocked, the four girls of the "Band of Bonds" took to the stage. They stood under the spotlight and began to play their first song.

【……foot りないfoot りないWho にも気づかれない,

The sound of the book is called んだよ,

「ありのまま」なんてWho に见せるんだ,

Red deer なわたしは歌 うだけ,

ぶちまけちゃおうか星に,】

Cheers erupted one after another. On stage, Goto Ichiri stared intently at the guitar in her hands, the pick gliding rapidly across the strings. Her heart was still filled with unease. So many things had gone wrong during the afternoon's rehearsal. Although everything was normal now, if something went wrong, their band's Izu tour would suffer a disastrous Waterloo.

Don't worry, Goto Ichiri, you'll be fine.

She tried to calm herself down, but she was still very nervous. She had performed so many times before, so why was she like this this time?

Oops, I missed a sound.

"Goto-kun, are you a little nervous?"

Now that he had no more worries, Hachiman turned his attention to the highlight of the evening's journey. Just like in the video, the girls were all quite strong, but...

Goto looks a little strange...

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Good Strategy

The band's guitarist was out of sorts, which is a terrible thing for a performance, especially since this was Goto's first stop in Izu to make her "Bond Band" famous. If this performance ended in failure, the girls' confidence would be severely damaged.

As Hachiman Hikigaya gazed at the pink-haired girl on stage, he had felt a pang of worry for Goto when Ijichi-san talked about this trouble in the "Complaint Room." He knew that if the performance failed because of his poor condition, this reserved girl would put a lot of psychological pressure on him.

Why did Goto, who has performed flawlessly so many times, suddenly falter this time? Was he nervous? Perhaps a little, but definitely not the main reason.

Hachiman's eyes narrowed slightly, like a dried-out salted fish. Of course, he didn't believe Ijichi's reason that Goto had been bewitched by him; it was clearly a wrong answer.

It wasn't that he had low expectations of himself or thought he wouldn't attract girls; the main problem was that Goto didn't even glance at him once during the performance. Even if you're worried about embarrassing yourself in front of your friends, you should at least look at him first.

Moreover, the girl's face was faintly pale, and her hand movements were rather stiff while playing. In addition, the girl unconsciously kept her legs together. Hachiman felt that he had guessed the answer.

Goto-kun, could it be that you have an upset stomach?

"That girl's expression is so stiff."

Chisa stood beside him, looking with him toward Goto Ichiri at the edge of the stage. As a girl, she knew what was going on after just a few glances.

"Hmm, maybe my stomach is upset."

Hachiman replied that at a time like this, there was nothing else to do but pray that Goto could hold on.

Qian Sha glanced at him: "That's not entirely wrong."

There is something in this.

Hachiman lowered his stance and humbly inquired, "May I ask, Master Chisa, what is the real reason?"

"My stomach isn't feeling well, didn't you say so?"

Is your stomach really upset?

Chisa ignored his questioning gaze and said to herself, "Judging from her appearance, she probably ate something cold."

Something cold? Does he mean the popsicle he bought this afternoon? He checked the expiration date and it wasn't expired. Hachiman was a little puzzled. Are all girls' stomachs so delicate? Komachi had the same experience before; she ate a popsicle and felt like she was about to die.

However, after a while, he became energetic again and could eat two a day without any problems.

...For a period of time, it was vulnerable.

Does this mean that your period has started?

Hachiman's face instantly froze like a stone. If that was the case, then wasn't he the culprit?

Why is your face twitching?

"I bought that ice stuff."

Heaven knows, he genuinely knew nothing about this! Why did Goto, who knew the truth, accept it? Was he really going to force himself to be unwell just to maintain friendship? Hajime! He's not that petty!

-

As expected, I shouldn't have eaten anything cold at that time. Feeling the spasms in my abdominal organs, Ichiri Goto bit her lower lip and tried her best to play the harmony along with the music.

She is physically weak and always feels very uncomfortable during this period, but she can usually get through it with her willpower. However, today there was an unexpected situation that caused her hand tendons to almost cramp from the pain.

Goto Ichiri had tears in her eyes. On one hand, there was the invitation from a friend that she had finally received, and on the other hand, there was the performance that held great significance for her. She couldn't bear to give up either of them.

And that ice cream was really delicious. I've often had that thought before, like fighting poison with poison, but I've never tried it. Whenever relatives come over, my mom locks the refrigerator to prevent her from eating things she shouldn't.

But the things we're forbidden to do are the things we want to do the most.

I'm sorry > person < Mom, if I had known it would be this painful, I should have listened to you.

Her unease was transmitted to the person beside her. Yamada Ryo glanced at Goto Ichiri, who was already in tears in another dimension and seemed to be burning out, and then indifferently looked down at the audience, searching for someone's figure.

After making eye contact with him, they surprisingly locked eyes.

[stare……]

The moment Hachiman understood the meaning in her eyes, he was utterly speechless.

[This word can actually be expressed through actions.]

[It works.] Yamada Ryo nodded, his hand resting on the strings, smoothly plucking out a low note. [Idea.]

[What idea?]

[You did this, didn't you? Little Pochi was with you this afternoon, and then this happened.]

She conveyed her message with her eyes, her expression blank. Actually, she still harbored a little resentment about this. When Hongxia noticed that Xiaoboqi was not in a good mood, she asked him a few questions and ended up asking that taboo topic. As a result, she had to return all the extra few hundred yen she had received before she could even enjoy it. She could have waited until the end of the month and eaten grass for a few less days.

[Unassailable.]

That's the truth, and Hachiman has no reason to refute it.

It's just an idea...

If he had to come up with a plan, the best idea would be to stage a farce and temporarily stop the performance. For example, he could suddenly shout something or mock their band's performance as terrible. In such a confrontational situation, everyone's attention would be diverted, and the performance would definitely be unable to continue.

However, he will definitely be kicked out. It wouldn't matter if he were alone, but he has Chisa and the others with him, so he has to consider their thoughts.

It's true, the saying that people become cowardly once they have something to worry about is absolutely true. Like that time he confessed in the bamboo forest, he went for it without any worries, only to be beaten down by Yukinoshita and Yui-hama with a series of punches that almost made him doubt his life.

So, the key is to maintain the feelings of both sides without making things too awkward.

He walked over to Iori and the other two and found Kohei.

"Kouhei, you know how to do that..."

He paused here, wondering what that gesture of waving glow sticks was called again.

"Do you know how to masturbate?" Hachiman patted his shoulder with a serious expression, speaking in hushed tones.

"Even if I haven't gotten a girlfriend yet, I at least have some savings." Kohei looked at him in shock. What was this guy suddenly talking about? Was this a topic that could be discussed in public?

"So, you went to **?" Iori asked calmly.

“You two are both so vulgar. I have a kind of mental fastidiousness. Although it doesn’t happen occasionally, I’m still very innocent in this matter.”

"What are you two talking about? I'm talking about that dance that otaku use to support their idols, the one where they wave glow sticks around."

Hachiman felt that if he didn't stop their conversation, this chapter might be shut down.

"Glow sticks? Otaku art?" Kohei rubbed his nose, quite proudly. "Then you've come to the right person."

-

I'm almost at my breaking point...

Goto Ichiri's expression collapsed, and his unintentionally open mouth resembled a pool of broken egg liquid, with what appeared to be white eggshells protruding from it.

"Goto-san!"

This is... Hikigaya's voice.

Yes, he'll be watching the show tonight too.

Goto Ichiri strained to lift his eyes toward the source of the sound, and when he saw it, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

A group of people were seen waving a hastily made banner that read "Band of Bonds is the Best." The three men in front were spinning glow sticks, and the one in the front was spinning them with such skill that it was almost like a magic trick.

Huh? What are you doing?

Could it be that they're cheering for someone?!

"Is this method effective?" Iori asked while twirling the glow stick.

"I don't know, but people always forget other emotions when they're particularly speechless."

Hachiman replied that he had an 80% chance of success in this matter. Look, Goto on the stage was so shocked that he could subconsciously keep up with the pace of the others.

This is the best solution.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tennis Practice

The performance that night continued under the shocked gazes of the crowd. Despite being labeled an otaku, everything was still considered perfect overall.

After returning to the Izu Peninsula by train, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Sen-gen and the band members before being forcibly taken away by Iori and Kohei as if they were escorting a prisoner.

As for Yoshida Saki, her emotions were still a bit unstable after the incident, but fortunately, with Nanaka's gentle comfort, her mood returned to normal.

After thanking everyone sincerely again, she made a phone call to have someone pick her up, and her mother arrived shortly afterward.

The woman's eyes held a hint of weariness and vicissitude. She gently grasped her daughter's shoulder, looked her up and down to make sure she was unharmed, thanked everyone, and then left.

As Hachiman watched their figures gradually disappear into the distance, a thought suddenly occurred to him: perhaps one day in the near future, they would meet again.

This thought was especially strong when Yoshida Saki glanced back at Kohei on her way out, but it dissipated when she remembered that Kohei had said he didn't like unsophisticated girls.

The day after the pickup incident, I heard that my seniors went to Ito City again, and they even brought along members of the rugby club they were on good terms with. It seems they were going to deal with the thugs who had made those threats earlier.

The next afternoon, his seniors returned and told him that there was no need to worry about it anymore. Seeing their cheerful faces, Hachiman knew that the process was much easier than he had imagined, but he still felt a little uneasy.

Perhaps due to his good education from a young age, he developed a strong distrust of these poisonous insects, believing that any words he uttered from them were likely lies.