Chapter 111

"Back then, my brother said, 'If you get bullied, use this coupon.'"

Bocchi was surprised to see the note in Hibiki's hand. She also took out a note to check if it was the same one as Hibiki's.

"Later, a masked monster came and beat up the guy I used to fight with. After that, I asked him for a note asking my parents to make up. When I grew up, I realized that it was all done by my stupid older brother. And I don't know when, he started calling himself a pervert."

Hibiki gradually came to her senses, but when she saw the note in Bocchi's hand, she recognized the pattern on it immediately and knew it was made by Ishikawa Hayato.

Her expression changed.

"You! How could you have that?"

Bocchi was startled. She quickly put the note away and said, pressing her hand to her pocket.

"This... is what Hayabusa told me about for summoning him..."

Ryo, Nijika, Kita were unaware that Bocchi possessed this item, and they glanced at her curiously for a moment. However, seeing Bocchi growing increasingly nervous, as if afraid of being robbed, they withdrew their gaze.

"But..."

Hibiki looked at Ryo and Kita with surprise, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke.

"When my brother and I agreed not to give it to anyone else, he said he had to give one to his girlfriend."

Upon hearing this, Bocchi beamed with delight.

Hibiki looked at her with some confusion; it seemed to her that Kita and Ryo were closer to her older brother.

But that was her brother's choice, and she couldn't control it.

She cared about something else.

Her hero is no longer just her hero...

Suddenly, the door was opened, and Ishikawa Hayato rushed in, making a commotion.

"Bocchi, what are you and my sister doing in the room?"

He only noticed Ryo, Kita, Nijika after he finished speaking. All five of them stared at him, but he wasn't embarrassed at all.

He cheered happily instead.

"Oh~ my harem."

Nijika replied emotionlessly, "Yes, yes, Hayato-kun, why did you suddenly come back?"

Ishikawa Hayato entered the room, sat down at the square table, and squeezed between Nijika and Bocchi, who were closest to the door.

"I had almost finished what I was doing when I felt someone calling me, so I came back."

After he finished speaking, he saw that the others were looking at him with astonishment, as if he were an alien, but he didn't explain.

Upon discovering the photo album on the table, he changed the subject with a nostalgic expression.

"Are you watching Hibiki's childhood? Hibiki was quite mischievous back then, always getting into fights, and no boy dared to mess with her."

As he spoke, he reached for the photo album on the table.

Hibiki hadn't expected Ishikawa Hayato to appear, and stared at him blankly until he reached for the photo album, at which point she snatched it away.

She clutched the photo album and screamed nervously.

"Brother, get out!"

Ishikawa Hayato was stunned.

"Um?"

"Go out!"

In a fit of anger, she grabbed the photo album and slapped it at him; the album's heavy cover looked extremely aggressive.

"Wait, what's going on? Is this a rebellious phase? Did I do something wrong?"

Ishikawa Hayato shielded himself in front of him, and asked the four people uncertainly. The four of them obviously could not give him an answer, and could only watch as Hibiki drove him out.

Then Xiang slammed the door shut and hurriedly began tidying up.

She took off her slippers and quietly tiptoed to put the photo album into the wardrobe, gently covering it layer by layer, then slowly closed the box and placed it under the covers.

The four looked at her, puzzled.

After Xiang finished doing everything, seeing the expressions on the four people's faces, she realized that they didn't fully understand the extent of her brother's perversion.

She pointed outside, then gestured with her hand to show people walking around, and finally pointed to her ear.

This implies that Ishikawa Hayato's hearing is so good that he can hear what she's saying even through a wall.

Kita glanced at it and suddenly it dawned on him.

Was Ishikawa Hayato eavesdropping outside?

She was about to go over and scare him, but when she opened the door, she found him leaning against the opposite wall, typing something on his phone.

He turned back and looked at Xiang, puzzled.

He pressed his forehead weakly.

After welcoming Ishikawa Hayato Nijika in, Ishikawa Hayato asked him a question.

"Falcon, is everything done over there?"

"Fully revived, sir! Ishikawa Hayato requests to rejoin the team!" Ishikawa Hayato said, standing at attention and saluting.

96. Rain

That evening, Ishikawa Hayato returned to STARRY, which he hadn't visited for two days, and was extremely excited.

He walked down the stairs and saw Seika sitting at the bar. Under Nijika's sighing gaze, he excitedly called out in a coquettish voice.

"Sister Seika ~"

He said he was about to give her a hug, opening his arms and stepping forward.

But Seika turned her head and stared at him expressionlessly. With her left hand, she deftly pulled out a bottle of pepper spray, pointing the small nozzle directly at him.

Ishikawa Hayato chickened out. His face darkened, and he turned around, keeping his upper body still, and walked toward PA-san sitting at the table next to him.

"PA-san ~"

PA-san had been watching Ishikawa Hayato ever since he entered the store. When she saw him approaching, she happily held her phone in one hand and said...

"Are you going to attack me, your older sister?"

Ishikawa Hayato was stunned for a moment, then turned around and walked back to his harem in despair, sobbing on Nijika's shoulder.

"Nijika,... nobody welcomes me."

Yes, yes.

Nijika gave a perfunctory reply. She wondered if she had been too kind. She didn't even feel annoyed by Ishikawa Hayato's teasing every day.

After a long four-hour workday, the five of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward the rehearsal room.

Despite the physical exhaustion from working, Ishikawa Hayato noticed that the four girls were still full of energy.

Even Ryo, who often yawns while working, now had a serious expression as if the main event of the night was just beginning.

It seems everyone is looking forward to the performance in a few days.

What he didn't know was that things weren't like that the previous two days.

Bocchi clearly saw that when Ishikawa Hayato wasn't around, everyone's interactions became less engaging, and their enthusiasm waned considerably.

The central figure who could be silly and funny, while also generating buzz and engaging the audience, is missing.

It doesn't feel as fun as it used to.

Adding to that, the worry that he wouldn't come back made those two days truly agonizing.

At that moment, feeling the joy emanating from everyone, Bocchi couldn't help but smile as well.

She is now beginning to understand what Ishikawa Hayato meant by "a once-in-a-lifetime memory."

It's wonderful to feel a sense of satisfaction and joy when everyone is happily gathered together, even though nothing has actually happened.

I wish things could stay like this forever.

As she was thinking, Nijika walked ahead.

Nijika felt that everyone was becoming more and more proficient at their jobs, and they were not only able to handle their own tasks, but also help out others in other positions.

However, she increasingly felt that one of them was slacking off excessively.

She turned to look at her friends and said earnestly.

"It seems like Ryo and Hayato-kun are really lazy when they're together. I should think about separating you two and changing your roles."

"That can't be true!" Liang exclaimed in surprise.

"I! I... please let me go with Ryo-senpai!"

Kita's idol filter for Ryo has been shattered, but her admiration for him remains undiminished.

She eagerly raised her hand.

Seeing Kita's excitement, Ishikawa Hayato stroked his chin and pondered his future job position. He then said...

"Does that mean I'm going to be in charge of the on-site operations?"

"Um..."

Nijika imagined what it would be like after the three of them took over their new positions.

Kita shone brightly at the front desk, blinding the guests and making Ryo completely irrelevant. Ishikawa Hayato, like Spider-Man, danced wildly around the room.

The moment that desperate image flashed through her mind, she shuddered and hurriedly waved her hands and cried out.

"What I said before doesn't count! It doesn't count!"

While joking around, Nijika pushed open the door to the rehearsal room. She suddenly remembered the things that had finally arrived a couple of days ago.

She hadn't told everyone back then because Ishikawa Hayato wasn't there, but now that everyone was here, she straightened her triangular ahoge (antenna-shaped hair sticking up) and couldn't wait to speak.

"Oh, right, I have something to tell everyone, please wait a moment."

After she finished speaking, amidst the puzzled looks on the four faces, she pulled out the tallest and most slender woman among them, the one most suitable to be a clothes hanger.

"What are you doing?" Liang complained, as if he didn't want to move.

"That's it!" Nijika didn't want to shatter the surprise so quickly, so she said cryptically.

"Oh," Liang replied simply.

The three looked at the closed door with a puzzled expression.

While Bocchi and Kita looked on with confusion, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly cried out.

"I understand!"

Kita startled by his voice and jumped on the spot, her little red ponytail swaying.

"Wow! That scared me!"

Feeling tricked, she glared resentfully at Ishikawa Hayato, looking sullen as if she wouldn't let the matter rest until he gave her a proper explanation.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced around and furtively beckoned the two over.

Bocchi and Kita were used to being teased by him, but they still couldn't help but play along.

"Didn't Nijika just say that Liang was being lazy?"

The two blinked curiously, continuing to listen to his ramblings.

"Besides, Ryo doesn't have any other positions to go for, and then there's Nijika's comment that only 'that' is left..."

Bocchi and Kita were swayed by his serious expression, and their gazes gradually became earnest.

Ishikawa Hayato clenched his fist tightly and said seriously.

"Then there's only one answer! A man's romance: fusion, fusion! Super-sized mecha transformation!"