The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

"Um...I can accept the thought and snacks, but as for the money——"

"Haha... Actually, this is just a small amount for me. I'd rather say that just talking for a few minutes earned me more than that~"

"Really? Wow, that's incredible, so amazing~"

“The bathroom at home is also amazing~~”

This guy might be pretty straightforward, but he must have gotten a lot of beatings, right? If his face wasn't as pretty, he'd probably be like that. Sometimes it really feels like the universe is so unfair...

Wait, bathroom? ...What bathroom!?

"By the way, Miss Eliza, I've also prepared a gift for you... This is a selection of black tea that the British are said to particularly love. I bought a lot of it when it was on sale, but I don't usually drink it, so it's perfect as a gift."

"Wow, thank you~"

"And... this, I heard you like this character very much. This is the character drawn by the animation director himself, and in addition to his signature, the voice actor's was also added."

"Oh, big surprise, I love you~!"

Wow, she's a foreigner, so enthusiastic, and has a great figure...

But even if Kikuri develops a second time...she still can't catch up. No hope, no hope.

"Actually, in addition to delivering the musical instrument, I have another favor to ask of you two today... Although a drunk Kikuri often causes trouble, she's also very entertaining, so you two have been acquiescing all along—"

But with all due respect, her current physical condition is not optimistic."

There is one thing to say, indeed.

He has an irregular work and rest schedule year-round, always drinking, sometimes even staying up all night. Forget balanced nutrition; he often doesn't even eat properly. While it's less common in the winter due to strict patrols, in the summer, it's common for him to fall asleep outside after drinking.

They say you should drink alcohol when you're hot and thirsty, but won't you feel even thirstier after drinking?!

Iwashita Shima glanced at Hiroi Kikuri, who didn't object. Perhaps she herself had sensed this. Sometimes she worried that her longtime friend might suddenly pass away, but she'd always gotten away with it, and over time, she'd come to regard it as a "normal" occurrence. But when she thought about it, she realized she was wrong.

"So next I will strictly control her drinking, and start a comprehensive transformation of her diet, exercise, and sleep schedule, striving to restore her body to a healthy state..."

"A conservative estimate is that after treatment, I can probably live at least ten to twenty years longer. If I don't drink as much as before, I will definitely live longer than the average person!"

"Wait, I haven't heard of this~~~~"

"Now that you've heard—"

Ping Xin used his brain-shattering technique on her. After all, judging by her drunken, tearful appearance, this guy, like himself, had a sense of responsibility and insight that didn't match his abilities. After realizing the cruelty of the world, he was powerless to do anything about it, so he could only indulge in depravity and not even care about his own body.

But that was absolutely wrong, she was capable of more than that.

If it was in the past, he would not care, because he would only save those who wanted to be saved. But now he is different, now he wants to be the freest and most willful man in the world.

"So I'll be in charge of the supervision at home, and I'll be asking you two to lend a hand during the band activities... I'm counting on you."

"...I know. Actually, I have wanted her to quit drinking for a long time. She is actually a very serious person by nature, but after drinking, she becomes a little...like that--" Shima covered her face. If she was not a bandmate and old friend, she would never want to stay with such a person for a long time. It would really shorten her life.

"I'll help too~" Eliza also replied.

"Then I'll leave it to you two—...What's wrong, Kikuri?"

When she found that someone was pulling her sleeves, Hiroi Kikuri's expression was no longer the drunken and silly one before. Instead, it became a little cold and handsome, and she seemed to be plagued by some negative emotions, and her eyes looked a little dead.

"...But when I'm sober, I'm super boring because I'm too serious, right? Shima, you should know that best."

"Hiroi..."

"Do you remember? When I wasn't drinking, we tried hard to perform—"

At that moment, Iwashita Shima recalled the time when he was still young.

Back then, their performance costumes were still yukatas and geta. Not only did they wear strange masks on their faces during every performance, but even their MC appearances were incredibly awkward, with them even shouting out their band name like it was some kind of commercial...

"Stop it! Uwaaaaaa... Hiroi, I almost forgot about it!" Even Iwashita Shima, who usually gives people a refreshing and handsome impression, was completely stunned. The so-called black history is just like this. The boomerang from who knows how many years ago often causes an unsolvable combo of true damage + critical hit.

*Although in fact it has not been a few years

"So shameful! I want to die!!!"

"Why not just kill me? Ahhh...Wine, I want wine!!!"

Wow~ It's like the wailing of hell. The more serious people are in adulthood, the more difficult it is to face the dark history of their youth. But from the perspective of a "pure passerby" like me...

fun!

"No."

Although he is serious by nature, he is actually quite clever, but he still can't fish in troubled waters.

"Oh, what on earth are you doing...?"

Eliza didn't feel shy at all. Could it be that this person's spirit was really so strong?

No, that’s because during that youthful period, she didn’t even join the team!!!

"Really? I think it's quite interesting."

"Eh—..Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, it was quite troublesome to find the video, but I ended up buying it from someone. Although everyone was still very young back then, it was a completely different feeling from now, which was quite nice."

"So Asuka-kun is the type of person who, after thinking this anime is great, goes on to watch other works in the same series?...Oh, I want to see what everyone was like back then too!"

"Yeah, that's how it feels... Then let's watch it together next time when we have time~"

Although you can watch it from the network disk now, but these two people... hehe, this is also very interesting.

"I'll give you this million. Please be kind."

Wow, does it have to be this far?

"Personally speaking... although it's embarrassing to watch it now, if you watch it when you're older, like when you're an old woman, you'll definitely be able to gain something from it. That's what I think~"

Besides, 100 million is not enough for such an interesting thing, and 1 million is not enough either——

"Hey, by the way, Asuka-kun is our fan, right? But why is Hiroi's bass in your hands? What's your relationship?"

Regarding this question, Iwashita Shima, who accepted the 100 million yen with tears in her eyes, also wanted to know.

"Well... maybe it's because we woke up in the same bed this morning." After a little thought, Ping Xin quickly gave an answer.

"Oh, so that's the kind of relationship. But for a college student, she looks really young..."

"Could it be a freshman~?"

After all, they are all adults, and falling in love is a very common thing. It is better to say that if Hiroi Kikuri missed the right match, she would definitely drink herself to death before she died of loneliness, right?

"Haha...actually, I'm not a freshman, I'm a freshman in high school. It's normal to look younger."

Ordinary conversation, unusual silence——

"You innocent young man... commit seppuku, Hiroi Kikuri."

"Haha, don't waste your blood on me~...Ah, if I commit seppuku, can I take a picture to document it~?"

"Shima!? Eliza!?"

Haha, everyone is really interesting~

*I will explain it clearly later

Chapter 19 You are the light that shines into my life

"I'm back—...Okay, okay, don't be so depressed. It's just that your teammates scolded you and you have to stop drinking for a while. It's not like you can't drink at all. There's no need to cry like this, right?"

"Wow...I want to eat omurice~~"

Just like a little kid... Originally, he was an introvert and serious person, and in his drunkard form he was super "socially anxious". Now he has an additional good boy mode. If you had more personalities, I'm afraid you would have to fight a war of unification.

"Okay, then I'll share the beef stew we made before we leave. We still have a little time left, so why don't you play with Asuna and the others for a while—"

"Okay~~"

...Wait, who is Asuna?

While pondering this question, Hiroi Kikuri changed her shoes and walked from the entrance to the living room. It was so noisy! Were the maids watching TV? Thinking carefully, if the rules were relaxed, maids in wealthy families might live more comfortably than the average white-collar worker. At least, their living conditions would be much better than hers.

"Ah, Kikuri-chan, welcome back. Do you want to play games together?"

Eh, a game?

I haven't played for a long time. The only entertainment at home is playing bass and drinking. It's all about drinking. After all, there is no TV at home. But in this day and age, a mobile phone is enough.

"Okay, come on~"

...No, who are you!?

Seeing a few people sitting on a blanket in the living room playing video games, Kikuri was startled.

So young, so beautiful, and so big!!!

The maids I've seen before were all properly dressed in maid outfits, so they shouldn't be maids. So who are they? Why are they here?

And this brown-skinned girl has been staring at me for some reason, her golden eyes are incredible. I feel like she and I are not of the same style——

"Can I ask you about the bass next time?" Hua Lin, who was originally looking at the screen, suddenly turned around and asked.

"Oh, okay, no problem..." For some reason, Kikuri suddenly felt a little guilty.

No matter how hard I try, I can't compare...

"Hey, Kikuri, how about joining me? Kikuri was so funny and awesome last night. Can you really be that awesome just by getting drunk?"

"Asuina...we are students, drinking is prohibited."

"Hey——Why is this happening~~~~"

Although your skin is smooth and tender and you look full of energy, apart from that, what else do you look like a student? Then what am I, an elementary school student?

"It doesn't matter who my opponent is, just come and die!"

"Ah, elementary school student."

She really appeared, probably an elementary school student with light orange hair, but her eyes were so sharp and her sitting posture was very unruly. Could it be that there are bad girls in elementary schools now?

"...ha--?"

“Red bean paste private Masai (I’m so sorry)!”

Ah, I bowed my head to an elementary school student, and before that, I bowed my head to a high school student. But it doesn't matter now. I've apologized countless times today anyway. I just suddenly want to drink -

"Fufu... Although Nelue-senpai looks the cutest, she's the oldest among us~"

*According to the official birthdays, Asuna and Nel are supposed to be the same age, and Oka Rin, Akane, and Koko are in the same age group. The order of their names here is the order of their ages, but in this world, for some reason, Asuna is in the same age group as Karin and Akane, while Koko is a year younger than them (and Nobuhiro).

*The reason for Asuna has already been mentioned, the reason for her childhood...because a younger sister should be smaller, right?

"Hey, is this true? Have today's elementary school students reached this level?!" Kikuri asked in surprise.

Could it be that today's primary school students have already reached this level of exercise? But if they eat this standard diet every day...it doesn't seem impossible, right?

It seems that although Hiroi Kikuri's body is recovering, her brain also needs a good rest.

"You just said 'elementary school students', right... Watch me crush you! (In the game)"

"Ah, Red Bean Paste Private Marseille!!!"

I've never played this game before, so what should I do? I just have to start playing without thinking!

Then he was killed by the explosion——

......

...

..

"Fried rice, a hamburger, and a whole block of Brie cheese... and finally this, a special egg wrapper. What's the point of an omurice without this?"

After cutting the still steaming special egg skin with a sharp knife, the semi-liquid core inside gushed out with a hot aroma and special visual impact, and then slowly stabilized itself, but this was not yet the finished state!

He took out the pre-prepared tomato gravy and poured it in. Unlike the cheap ketchup you often see in anime, this one was darker in color but glossier, more liquid and more fluid overall. Small, spherical pieces of meat could be seen in it, and a little bit of sweet salad dressing was added for seasoning.

"Finally...cut it open again."

As they cut the egg skin again, the visual impact and aroma were even stronger than the first time they saw it, stimulating their taste buds and nerves. They couldn't wait to eat it up. They saw that the cheese that was originally piled under the egg skin had already melted under the temperature of the egg skin and the hamburger itself.

The semi-melted Brie cheese covers the entire hamburger patty, with a beauty that dyes black silk white... ahem, a rich and pure aroma hits you in the face. If you cut it with a knife and fork, you can find that the cheese and the hamburger patty are indistinguishable from each other. If you cut a small piece and fork it, you can watch the white cheese flowing on it.

This second layer of "egg skin" not only enriches the texture and flavor, but also provides ample calories, giving the human body the most basic and fulfilling enjoyment. The tremor that comes from deep within our genes makes us unable to stop and eat it bite by bite.