Why play in a band if not for life?

Incidentally, Ryo was the third to last to arrive at the Beach House because she slept in late. She even specifically requested a bowl of fried rice.

Kita and Ichiri arrived together; they were the last and second to last to walk into the Beach House.

"Ichiri, your clothes..." Shiko's face turned red the moment she saw their state.

Ichiri then realized her attire was somewhat disheveled. She trembled all over and shrunk behind Kita, using her body as a shield. Only then did she manage to avoid completely falling apart.

"Haha, Ichiri has really nice breasts," Shiko cradled her cheeks, looking entranced.

At this point, no one could hold back any longer. Ichiri lost consciousness and collapsed onto Kita's back. Kita's face was flushed crimson, but she couldn't think of anything to say. Nijika was relatively composed but almost spilled the plate of curry she was holding. Ryo let out a loud, unrestrained laugh. Beside her, Lisa, who was eating, directly spat a mouthful of water onto Yukina's face. Yukina, however, seemed not to notice, merely stirring her plate aimlessly with her spoon. Sayo was forcefully chewing on her french fries to maintain her composure. Ako blushed slightly, but her eyes involuntarily drifted to Rinko beside her. Rinko felt uncomfortable and tried to arch her back to contain her chest, but it didn't seem to be very successful.

"Y-y-you, what are you talking about... Wu-san..." Kita was stuttering a bit too much today.

"What do you mean? It's just breasts," Shiko's voice was calm.

"That's it! Please stop saying that! If you're role-playing someone, please find someone else to role-play!"

"Mmph! Then, like this!" Shiko immediately swapped the plushie in her hand for a teddy bear, her voice turning cute and natural.

Kita breathed a sigh of relief. "This Beach House is..."

"It's something Nijika, Ako, Rinko, and I built together!" Shiko looked proud.

"Ah, I see." Kita's tone unconsciously shifted into "talking to a child" mode. "Actually, I came to ask Wu-san for help. I've already designed Gotou-san's swimsuit!"

"Is that so?" Shiko looked at the design sketch Kita handed over. As expected, there were no measurements, only patterns.

"Mmph! I have a question!" She raised her right hand, lifting her index finger and thumb, pointing at Kita. "Why is there so little fabric?"

This innocent question shifted the atmosphere of the Beach House. Kita felt everyone's gaze turn contemptuous.

Shiko herself, who had caused this situation, merely looked at her with innocent eyes. She felt a hint of amusement in that gaze.

Fortunately, Gotou-san was still asleep. Gotou-san, unconscious on her back, became Kita's only salvation.

Finally, the awakened Ichiri put on the swimsuit that Ichiri had given her, which was not particularly cute but at least modest. The others changed into their own as well. Of course, Shiko provided the swimsuits, while Ryo and Rinko handled the designs. Although Shiko, who had reverted to her normal self, adamantly refused to wear one, she eventually put on a swimsuit under everyone's strong insistence—it was a school swimsuit. She even threw on a jacket over it. "It's cute, isn't it? Why are you all so disappointed?" she said.

After eating, some people went to the beach. The others sat in the Beach House for a while before leaving to do their own things. Soon, only Shiko, Nijika, and Ichiri were left in the Beach House. Shiko was washing dishes. Although it was unnecessary, she did it diligently, humming a melody as she washed.

"Why are you washing them?" Nijika asked while helping.

Shiko stopped humming and glanced at the three plushies placed beside her.

"It's just... I want to experience their life in Shizuku's route."

"Ah, little Shiko mentioned that this Beach House is like the one in that game," Nijika recalled her earlier words.

"Mhm," Shiko said, taking the next plate Ichiri handed her. "In Shizuku's route, Hiyori, Tsumugi, and Shizuku provide free curry at the Beach House every day."

With Nijika and Ichiri's help, washing the dishes and cleaning were quickly completed.

"Wow, they're playing beach volleyball," Nijika looked outside. "Want to join?" she invited the two. The two shut-ins naturally shook their heads.

"Then I'll go ahead," Nijika said goodbye to them and joined the others playing.

Now, only Ichiri and Shiko were left in the Beach House. Shiko sat by the door, looking out at the distant ocean, listening to the sound of the waves.

Ichiri sat down beside her.

"Aren't you going?" Shiko asked a pointless question.

Ichiri seemed to be trembling. "If I leave here, I feel like Kita-san will immediately notice me."

Shiko gave a dry chuckle. As expected, being too enthusiastic still scared Ichiri.

"Then let's just stay here," she leaned comfortably against the wooden wall and fell silent. Ichiri imitated her, leaning against the wall.

The sound of the wind.

The sound of the waves.

The sound of revelry.

The two remained silent.

Chapter 30: Beach House in Full Swing

Ichiri and Shiko sat side-by-side, like two statues.

It wasn't because they were both shut-ins. Shiko had gradually gotten used to interacting with familiar people, but she was currently focused on thinking about how to solve her own problems, barely noticing anything external. As for Ichiri—she truly wouldn't speak up unless absolutely necessary. Moreover, she was already very happy just to be alone with Shiko. Not to mention, neither of them felt awkward in such a quiet atmosphere.

In short, until Yukina returned with paper and a pen, they didn't make a sound, except for occasionally shifting their positions.

"..." Yukina watched them from afar. She wasn't sure if she should disturb their atmosphere at that moment. If she just found a place to sit and do her own thing, it would feel impolite.

Thus, another statue appeared outside the Beach House.

Ryo had just escaped from the sea. She still felt a lingering fear as she looked at the shark fins on the surface of the water. She was swimming peacefully when one suddenly appeared, nearly scaring her into becoming Bocchi. However, now that she was on shore, her confidence returned. A low-frequency sound wave instantly parted the waves, and the form beneath the fin was fully revealed.

"..." Beneath the fin was just a strange fish only an arm's length long. The sound wave had just split it in two, and by the time the seawater gathered again, it had already been stirred into the surf as sediment.

Regardless, she should get some shaved ice to calm her nerves.

Blue Hawaii flavor.

However, as she approached the Beach House, she saw Bocchi and Shiko sitting together, and Yukina silently observing the bizarre scene. Her first reaction was to check behind her. Finding no one following her, she tidied her hair and walked towards Yukina.

"What are you doing?"

"It's Yamada-san," Yukina turned her head. "It's just that the atmosphere over there doesn't make it easy for me to intrude."

Ryo glanced at Ichiri and Shiko's table, then gracefully walked over.

"Yo," she greeted.

Shiko stood up and began doing her job as a shopkeeper. Everything seemed normal. Yukina watched them, starting to wonder if she was overthinking things. Fortunately, Ryo broke the ice first, allowing Yukina to follow suit, order a glass of water, and sit down at a table.

Shiko also made herself a bowl of shaved ice, Blue Hawaii, on the side.

"Ichiri, do you want one?" she called from the kitchen.

Ichiri snapped awake. "Huh? Oh... honey flavor is fine."

"One million yen," Shiko instinctively replied.

"Eh?" Ichiri blinked in surprise.

Ryo muttered to herself, "Are you playing Shizuku or Ao...?"

Shiko handed the shaved ice to Ryo. "Thank you for your patronage!"

"You're mixing up your roles..."

Ryo left soon after, and the shop quieted down again. Ichiri and Shiko sat back by the entrance, eating their shaved ice. Besides the clinking of spoons against bowls, there was the rustling sound of Yukina writing. She said she was organizing information about the characteristics of sea monsters and thinking about her next course of action.

With one more person, even though she was also silent, Ichiri felt a change in the atmosphere. She gradually became too embarrassed to continue zoning out and staying silent. Although Shiko still looked spaced out, Ichiri felt she had to find a topic...

She held it in for a long time.

"Ahaha, the ocean is so beautiful." Sorry, that's all I could think of.

"Yeah," Shiko replied, sounding like an automatic response.

"..."

Silence fell again.

Ichiri was panicking now. If only I were like Kita-san, I'd know what to do in this situation. But she wasn't Kita-san, nor did she have Shiko's ability to casually role-play. I'm sorry, even after spending so much time with Kita-san, I haven't learned a single thing from her. I'm such a weakling, a...

A movement beside her drew the attention of Shiko and Yukina. They both looked at Ichiri with surprise as she suddenly began to wilt like autumn leaves.

What's happening? Yukina asked Shiko with her eyes. Shiko thought for a moment and quickly gave up. But she knew what to do. She started to water Ichiri.

It worked. Ichiri came back to life, her skin even gaining a translucent quality.

She'd watered her too much.

Shiko put down the watering can and continued the conversation based on Ichiri's previous remark. "Tokyo is by the sea, isn't it? You should have more opportunities to see the ocean, right?"

Ichiri said softly, "I've only been with my family when I was little."

"That makes sense. I've only been when I was little too," Shiko nodded.

As Ichiri relaxed a little, her words became more natural. "Ah, I remember your family lived by the river, in Hang..." She suddenly covered her mouth.

"Eh?" Shiko felt a chill run down her spine. She had never mentioned which city she lived in during her past life. How did Ichiri know?

Ichiri seemed to give up on hiding it. Her face suddenly turned bright red. "It's just... it's just... before I transmigrated, the dishes in your bento were usually quite light, but only Dongpo Pork was strongly flavored, so I just... looked it up online... Combined with you recently saying you lived by the river and mentioned the high tide, and the tide height that you were familiar with, I thought I probably wasn't wrong..."

Shiko's face stiffened. How should I put this? Gravity is amazing... Even though Ichiri's gravity in the original work wasn't this strong... No, maybe it was?

However, she couldn't really say anything, and it wouldn't be good to make Ichiri wallow in self-pity.

"Ah... that's right, I did live there. Wow, it actually makes me a bit nostalgic~" She began to describe the scenery of her hometown. Although she was a shut-in, she didn't know much about her hometown's attractions.

"...Although West Lake Vinegar Fish is famous, I've actually never eaten it, so I don't know if it's good or not, but I heard it's pretty bad and just a way to trick tourists..." As she spoke, she gradually became immersed in memories of her hometown. She didn't realize it when she was still there, but only after leaving did she understand how precious the familiar plants and trees of her hometown were. Even when walking in a strange place, if she were in that city, she would feel more relaxed than anywhere else. After all, on those streets, the systems of traffic lights and crosswalks were familiar.

Ichiri noticed Shiko's nostalgic expression.

"So, have you ever thought about... going back?" Shiko asked when she had finished speaking.

"Hmm?"

"Going back to... the way things were before." She seemed a little scared by her own question, her voice growing softer.

Shiko chuckled as if she had heard something amusing.

"Whether I miss my hometown and whether I want to go back to the past are two completely different things."

She put her hands behind her back. "I don't think I've told you about my past, have I?"

"Are you going to tell me now?" Ichiri looked worriedly behind her. Yukina was still doing her own thing. She still didn't know about Shiko's two past lives.

"I can leave if you need me to," Yukina said, without turning around, but she seemed to have overheard their conversation.

"It's fine," Shiko said. "How should I put it... If I miss my hometown, I can just go back for a visit after returning to reality. But other than that, I don't miss anything at all."

Chapter 31: Regarding the Tides of the Past

"Child, you truly have talent," her piano teacher had said in her past life. "It would be a shame if you didn't pursue music... If you want to enter competitions, I'll sign you up."

I was very happy. It was the first time I realized I was good at something. So I went home and told my parents, "Please let me continue studying piano."

"How many times do we have to tell you? You're starting junior high school, you don't have time to study anymore." They were very impatient.

"But, I have talent..."

My mom scoffed, "Of course your teacher would say that! He gets paid more if you keep studying, so of course he'd say that!" Their words were like divine decree.

I was very angry. My teacher was very good to me, and the books said teachers were great. I would never want anyone to slander my own teacher, not even my parents. So, my parents and I argued when I was young.

Of course, it was fruitless. How could a sixth grader resist their parents? The piano at home was given away, sent to relatives. I heard their child didn't play it much, and a few years later, it was sent somewhere else unknown. I only found that out later. I had to study. I got a spot in a key junior high school, which was incredible luck, so I had to cherish this opportunity, get into a key high school, and finally a key university. In the end, like my brother who is ten years older than me, I would enter a big company and earn a million a year.

The path was already laid out, before I even knew what the future was.

"It's all for your own good."

I know my parents' educational paths were full of "what ifs."

One of them graduated from a technical secondary school, decades ago. The other graduated from a university that was good then but is now completely a joke.

"The cutoff score was originally enough back then..." Dad would often lament at the dinner table about the 985 university he missed out on. That was the university he always expected me to get into.

In junior high, I discovered I was better at humanities. Compared to a bunch of incomprehensible formulas and symbols, long passages of text suited me better. My grade in chemistry, a core subject, was only average, but in social studies and geography, which were electives, I was always among the top few in the class.

But overall, I wasn't good at solving problems. In my third year of junior high, my grades were just barely enough to get into a key high school, and I was only considered upper-middle in the school. I had only gotten in by lottery, after all. Half the class got into this school on their own merit, including many geniuses who could rank at the top without even trying. The most despairing thing isn't that some people are born in Rome, but that they start at the same time as you, compete fairly, yet are naturally faster.

So, I'll work hard. Looking back, I don't know why I worked so hard, but the constant propaganda and teachings around me told me to study diligently and get into a good university. Thus, I felt from the bottom of my heart that I had to work hard. However, there was one sincere reason I wanted to do well.

Some people in my class, like me, got in by lottery. They were uneducated and had poor character. Since I had no friends, they often bullied me. If I could get into a good school, I should be able to get away from people like that.

The state I was in back then, looking back now, amazes even me. Although it seemed like I was living a normal life, my mind was focused on studying 24 hours a day, and I wouldn't waste any mental energy on anything else. Every day, I'd do an English and a math practice test and ask the teacher about it. I memorized the standard answers for reading comprehension passages and tried to find a pattern. It was the same for physics and chemistry. I no longer turned my face towards the window. My phone... I got a hand-me-down from my parents in my third year of junior high, but I barely touched it.

In the last few mock exams, my total score increased by more than ten points each time, which translated to dozens of places in the rankings.

It was like a miracle.

The results of the high school entrance exam were announced.

"Ha! Ha!" Even I, who never showed my emotions, couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was a score I had never dared to imagine, a score belonging to those top-ranking academic gods.

Ultimately, I entered a prestigious school ranked third in the city, known as "The Top Three," with over 120 years of history and 53 academicians. My parents excitedly showed off to other parents. I don't know who exactly they were showing off to, but they were probably the parents of my classmates. And I had basically forgotten the names of those classmates after a summer break, and they probably felt the same about me.

In high school, the proportion of humanities subjects increased. I was still as bad at chemistry as ever. Humanities were naturally no problem, and biology was close to humanities, so it was okay. The strangest thing was physics. Although I didn't understand the problems at all and just randomly plugged in a few formulas, my grades were surprisingly good. It was probably because everyone else didn't understand them either.