The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

In the previous day and night of non-stop fighting with Asuka Ma, she had already exhausted her mental and physical strength. If she had not been supported by the desire to see Ping Xin, she might have collapsed in some unknown corner.

Meeting Hirayobu, going to the festival with him, chatting with him, being carried to the hotel by him for a luxurious meal, a hot bath, and the same tatami and futons as in the old days. Plus, with her beloved by her side, if that didn't make her fall asleep, then what else could?

"...Azuna, are you still awake?"

"..."

“…I can’t stand it.”

Ping Xin wanted to pick them up but was pulled back. In the end, he could only lie down with them, waiting for the moment when the night would be pierced by the light.

"The fireworks... have started."

Outside the house, there is splendor and inside the house, there is harmony.

"...Do you have the confidence to put on a maid outfit for me, Master Hirashin?"

Chapter 4000: Intermission: Their Summer Festival ()

"Oh, sorry..."

"Pya~!"

"..."

A young passerby, who was infected by the atmosphere of the festival, carelessly knocked down Fukumaru Koito. However, as soon as he apologized, he was stared at by her "mother" Higuchi Enka with cold but a hint of anger in her eyes, so he had to run away in shame. As for whether he would awaken some XP in the alphabet circle after this, that was another matter.

"Really? Every single one of them. Has everyone's brain been fried because of the festival?"

"No...you can't say that, Enka-chan!"

Even if this bully girl wanted to correct her childhood sweetheart's words, because of her child-like figure, cute twin tails, small tiger teeth, and the lingering aura of an excellent student and a good girl, no matter how hard she tried, Higuchi Enka could only feel the word "cute".

Seeing that Koito didn't care about what happened just now, Enka carefully helped her brush off the dust. Even though Fukumaru Koito and the other three were separated because of school in junior high school, their relationship did not become unfamiliar. Today, Enka still stood up to protect this shy and introverted child.

*Even though the other party has no ill intentions at all

"Here we are... Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"Too slow, Asakura."

Higuchi Enka looked coldly at her carefree childhood friend, but she just laughed it off.

"Sorry... (because) I changed clothes today."

"Ahh~? Toru-senpai looks so beautiful in her yukata!"

The innocent girl with a bun hairstyle, Hina Ichikawa, is following behind Toru Asakura at this moment. Normally, she might be late for various personal reasons, but today she would never be late even just to see this.

It was a joyous occasion for the four of them to reunite today, but Enka noticed that Tohru was somewhat distracted. Even though she was usually so relaxed and carefree that she seemed almost clueless, it was unbelievable that she would be so clumsy as to bump into someone. As someone who knew her best, Enka instantly deduced the reason.

"Asakura, are you looking for something? Or... are you looking for someone? For now, it's best to focus on the festival itself... After all, there are so many people on the last day, it's going to be very difficult to run into someone by chance."

"It's okay, he's easy to find."

"That's not necessarily true..."

He spoke as if he had seen that person in person, which immediately made Asakura Toru concerned. After all, when it comes to fate, Ichikawa Hina is probably the only one who is slightly inferior to him.

"What's wrong with you four? Could it be that... you got separated from your friends?"

With her hip-length golden hair and azure eyes, the girl in front of her, dressed in a smart black suit and followed by two maids, exuded an overwhelming presence, as if this place was her home.

"No, it's nothing."

Even Higuchi Enka, who looked the coldest and coolest among the four, was outshined. In fact, the other three came today wearing yukatas that their parents helped them pick out, but she was the only one wearing a strange T-shirt. Maybe it was because of the strange T-shirt that she was outshined by the black suit.

"If nothing's wrong, that's better than anything else. After all, these three are idol trainees from our company. If anything happens to them, it would be terrible... But if nothing's wrong, I hope everyone won't keep blocking the middle of the road. With traffic nearing its limit today, such behavior is undoubtedly very dangerous."

“Ouch, ouch, idol?!”

Only one of the four was completely unaware of this: Fukumaru Koito. Born into a very strict family, she had been separated from the other three in junior high due to her parents' expectations. She had thought this would be a chance to gradually reconnect with their former closeness, but now it seemed she had been left behind, once again.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't expect that you all seemed so close, but this lady knew nothing about your affairs. But this may also be an opportunity. If you are interested, please contact me, my lovely lady." Asuka Mashiki left her business card, just like her brother often did, and then relied on the advanced surveillance in the venue and the reports from the shadows backstage to go to the next destination of the day.

Seeing the business card in her hand that only had Asuka Matoki's name and a phone number written on it, Fukumaru Koito was in a painful decision. She knew that her parents would not let her become an idol trainee at such an important time as going to school, but if she missed this opportunity, she would gradually drift away from the other three.

When Toru Asakura saw the business card, a hint of surprise appeared on her usually calm face. Although she and Heishin often communicated and shared each other's lives, she didn't know that he had a younger sister. However, this was also because a guy with severe persecution complex did a good job of keeping personal information that had nothing to do with him confidential.

Higuchi Enka, who was secretly gathering intelligence, was far more perceptive than the overly concerned Toru. She had a vague feeling that Asuka Matoki might be targeting them. However, she couldn't figure out a corresponding motive. Furthermore, the information Xiaoshi had just given her and Koito's current tearful expression were too shocking, and Enka herself was in a state of confusion.

This is exactly what Asuka Matobu expected to see, because when you encounter difficulties, you should turn to Pingxin, which is common sense in the "circle".

Hina Ichikawa, who had been out of the situation, found that things were not simple. After a slight smile, she took note of this interesting person. Don't underestimate the initiative of the super free genius girl. Maybe in the end it will be her who breaks the situation.

......

...

..

"ソイヤ! ソイヤ!"

On the final day of the summer festival, Udagawa Tomoe's temporary taiko drum troupe naturally put on a spectacular performance. With red hair and green eyes, she possessed a masculine, outgoing personality, yet possessed a mature, yet unsophisticated air of a mature woman. With her tall stature, powerful movements, and passionate performance, she became the center of attention.

At this moment, her four childhood friends who formed a band with her were cheering for her from the audience.

"come on!"

"Come on, Tomoe, you're so handsome!"

Fei Mali was like a fangirl, and in fact she had indeed had the idea of ​​pursuing someone.

"Come on~ come on~"

"Mocha, stop eating the bread and come on!"

"Ran-chan is so strict~ Little Mocha was really exhausted from helping to sell things just now~"

Aoba Mocha leaned on Mizukari's shoulder. Considering that she had helped just now, the rebellious red-haired lady endured it and even touched her head, which inexplicably gave people the feeling of touching a big cat.

"What do you think? Ako's sister is awesome and cool, right?"

"..."

Shirogane Rinko wanted to agree, but she couldn't utter a single word. Nodding was the fruit of her efforts. A bustling festival packed with people like this was too early for a socially anxious shut-in like her. After all, she couldn't manually block people like Hirayuma. Honestly, just sitting here was exhausting. If Hirayuma hadn't given her a ticket with a VIP seat, she'd probably have run out of energy by now.

"...Minato-kun, what do you think?"

"Yeah... maybe this can be incorporated into our future new songs."

Hikawa Sayo and Minato Yukina were whispering to each other, though it was hard to hear them unless you got closer. But thinking about the band in such a lively atmosphere...it was clear that these two were no ordinary people.

Looking at the two now, the expression in her eyes was like a mother seeing her children overly obsessed with studying. Lisa Imai laughed and said, "Hahaha, Yuki, just relax today. Heishin also said before that you should rest well in the next few days. A balance between work and rest will produce better results, right?"

"That's right, sister, come and watch Lu's performance!"

The so-called "lu" is the adjective most commonly used by Hikawa Hina. The specific meaning is unclear, but it probably means that she thinks she is very powerful?

"That's true... This time it's the same as what Ping Xin said. It turns out that there are many inspirations in daily life."

"I agree too."

Because Ping Xin heard that the quality of rest would affect the absorption efficiency of the medicine, in order to make the Yan Country secret medicine that strengthens the fingers exert its full effect, even the guitar fanatic Hikawa Sayo has become accustomed to relaxing, even though this is not the case at all.

The members of Afterglow and Roselia, on either side of the VIP seats, were distinct yet harmoniously connected, a reflection of their current relationship. Although misunderstandings remained unresolved and they were still locked in competition, their mutual understanding deepened during the competition, ultimately leading to a mutual recognition of each other's strengths.

"Speaking of which, where's Hirayuma? Yazi seems to have not seen him in the past few days."

"Who knows... He probably insisted on not showing up so as not to disturb our rest. He likes to skimp on details like these. Besides—he must have other work besides us, so he's probably swamped right now, right?"

Of the people present, the one with whom Hirayukobu had the closest relationship and the most daily interactions was, of course, Mizukari, who frequently stayed at his house. Therefore, this statement was universally agreed with. As for the reason for their close relationship... she herself said it was because she had some difficulty communicating with her father (a common tsundere trait), and that spending more than half her time away from home was a bit... Since neither the person involved nor Mizukari's parents objected, we'd just leave it at that.

Little did they know that the man they were talking about was taking other women out for fun, and they didn't know that the man's sister was watching a show with other women.

......

...

..

"Wow, this is amazing! Hanarin, Hanarin, look, look!"

"..."

When faced with Ichinose Asuna who suddenly hugged her as usual when she was excited, Kakudate Karin just hugged her with her backhand and looked at Asuka with a suspicious look.

Although she's not very social due to her past experiences, she's also very sensitive to others' ill intentions. In her previous life, while she didn't harbor any ill will towards them, she always felt a slight sense of distance. Aside from being able to get along well with Meganelle (in physics), she didn't have a particularly close relationship with the other three. However, for some reason, today, she suddenly approached Asuna, who was watching the festival performance, and she was dragged along.

"Is there a problem, Karin-senpai?"

"No, nothing..."

Facing Shi's expressionless face, Karin responded with an equally expressionless one. ...although most of it was nervous.

"In that case, I do have a question - how long do you two plan to hide from my brother?"

"Cough cough cough... cough cough... um..."

Surprisingly, the person who reacted most to Xiaoshi's sudden questioning wasn't Karin, the person being questioned, but Asuna, who was sipping soda nearby. It was a rare sight, seeing Asuna, who usually laughed heartily no matter what, look so embarrassed. Remember, she'd previously burst into laughter when a truck practically brushed past her on the highway, and now, to such a casual remark, she'd become like this.

Looking at Asuna Karin, who turned away for some reason, perhaps because her face was red from choking, she felt a sense of mission.

Usually, Asuna is like the sun, guiding her, lighting the way forward, and staying by her side. Now in this "special period", it is up to her to lead Asuna!

Even though she knows nothing about love and has zero experience...

"I...I want to wait until this child knows what love is before making a decision—"

"Leave it to my brother Pingxin to make the decision?"

"Um......"

It was obviously the woman who was noticed by his brother first, but she was so timid. Even though he knew that she had experienced unpleasant things and lacked confidence in herself, Asuka Matobu still felt it was a waste.

Yes, waste!!!

"You're quite generous, then, Karin-senpai... Love is war, and the only winner is—"

"Wouldn't it be nice if we were all together?"

"Asuna???"

"..."

Initially somewhat shy, Asuna had unknowingly moved behind Xiaoshi and buried her between her plump breasts. How many people in this world would dream of bearing such a burden? However, Xiaoshi, beneath her, clearly wasn't very appreciative. Firstly, as an expert, she felt embarrassed to be touched so quietly from behind, and secondly... be damned, the wealth gap!!!

However, Xiaoshi was a little surprised that he would be able to get the answer he wanted without any guidance.

"As expected of Asuna-senpai, you easily say things that others dare not even think about."

"Hirashin, me, Karin, Akane, Nero-senpai—we'll all be happy together!"

"Wait, what about other people's opinions? Seniors Zhu Yin and Nilu will definitely not agree to such a ridiculous thing!" In the field, only Hua Lin, a normal person, still insisted on complaining.

She is still outputting!

"I've already 'contacted' Nero-senpai a couple of days ago, and I also spoke with Akane-senpai just before coming here. Are they all okay?"

"It actually works..."

Karin, who had already prepared herself to be Asuna's stepping stone and loser, just felt ridiculous. Although there was a ray of hope after all, it was still very irrational!

"No, what about Ping Xin's opinion? He has always been a traditional and conservative person, he would definitely not accept such a thing!"

If Heishin knew that Karin had such a high opinion of him, he might be moved to tears, but it's a pity that he is busy dating another woman now.

"What are you talking about, Karin-senpai? Men think with their lower body, and every one of them has definitely fantasized about having a harem. That's common sense, right?"

Common sense!

...Hara Rin wanted to complain loudly, but what Shi Xiao said made so much sense.

"Great, then we can all be together for the rest of our lives! We can eat together, take a bath together, go out together, and so on..."

Asuna suddenly started to blush and feel shy halfway through her speech. Such an expression would never be seen on her face, which was pure and innocent in the past (she had zero knowledge of physical health care).

And all the "credit" should be attributed to Karin's "tutoring". It seems that she has also inherited the guidance level of her own Sensei (teacher) Hiranobu——

Although I went looking for a time machine a few days ago because my private collection of "Animal Video" was discovered by a close friend.

I'm so glad I managed to hold on until today, Hanarin-chan~

Chapter 81: Interlude: Everything happens for a reason