Chapter 535

"... The world has such a deep misunderstanding of me."

Shiina Rikki looked up, glaring at him resentfully. "What are we going to do?! Akari and the others are still at other schools, how are they going to find the time to come over?!"

"Why not just ask for leave early?"

"... I hate your self-righteousness in treating others as your own."

"Believe me, you'll definitely be like that in the future."

He bit off a thin thread, tied a knot, and trimmed the ends with hand scissors. "Honestly," he said, "Is playing in a band more important than attending class? If you were performing on stage with Afterglow tomorrow, would you still be able to concentrate on class?"

"..."

Which bands will be performing tomorrow?

Miyako Shizuka asked curiously.

"Poppin'Party, Hello, Happy World, Pastel*Palettes, and us."

"It must have been tough working with so many senior bands."

Hachiman Kairin looked at Shiina Rikki and expressed her pity to her expressionlessly.

"..."

Shiina Rikki rubbed his hair in frustration. "Ugh, so annoying! You're coming to RiNG after school! I have to start practicing right away!"

"That won't do."

"Why?!"

She felt like she was about to break down.

"I need to help the Student Council seniors with the pre-event preparations and persuade the teachers to agree. You guys go practice first, I'll be there later."

"... If you don't come, I'll kill you tomorrow!"

"Don't look at me like that, I was forced into this too... If you want to blame someone, blame Tsurumaki Kokoro- senpai from Class 3-E!"

"Hehe."

After working for a while longer, he got up and walked to the back. "I'm going to borrow the sewing machine."

Although few people know how to use a sewing machine, quite a few people still gather here out of curiosity.

Of course, this was no problem for him. With his popularity, he easily borrowed the thread in exchange for quick stitching.

He rushed as fast as he could, and just a little while before the deadline, he finally finished his work.

"Alright~ Time's up, everyone start packing up."

The bespectacled, red-haired housekeeping teacher announced the end of the session. She had bangs, long hair that reached her hips, and a gentle, approachable older sister vibe.

Ogura Asahi returned to his seat and tossed a small item to each of the three. "Here, these are for you."

"This is..."

The three looked at the small objects in their hands: Miyako Shizuka's was a microphone, Hachiman Kairin's was Bass, Shiina Rikki's was a drum (single).

In any case, it's too difficult to make a complete Drum Kit in such a tight timeframe.

"..."

X 3.

The three of them remained silent and quietly put away their artwork.

During the break between lessons five and six, he went to the principal's office and explained their grand and joyful plans for the future.

The principal was dumbfounded; in all his years of teaching, this was the first time he had ever heard of such an event.

It's not a school festival or sports meet, is this okay? What if it causes trouble for other students? Especially some of the rich girls in the second and third years and their entourages.

As soon as the other party showed any sign of difficulty, he made it clear that the person in charge of this operation was Tsurumaki Kokoro, and appointed him as his deputy.

And then... that was it. The other party readily took on the task of notifying all the teachers.

He said that our Rowing Boat teachers are all very easy to talk to, and there's nothing difficult about it at all!

Just as I left the principal's office, the school bell rang at the opportune moment; it was time for the sixth lesson.

In the quiet campus, instead of returning to his class, he skipped class and vanished from Hanasakigawa's campus.

Before heading off to the Student Council after class, there was one more thing he needed to do.

Chapter 484 Is there a problem with the world's orientation?

He spent three minutes changing his clothes back at his apartment before moving to a location near his destination.

He walked down the open-air staircase below, past the shoe cabinet and the entrance reception room, and wound his way up the stairs, floor by floor... When he arrived, the other person was already waiting for him.

Why do you always like to meet on the rooftop?

Hearing footsteps, a graceful JK (high school girl) in a brown top and gray-blue skirt, her long, slender legs outlined tightly in pantyhose, turned around from the direction of the sea and asked him with a puzzled look.

"Because there are fewer people, and you can see the sea up close?"

As she answered, Himemiya Chihaya walked to her side and leaned against the railing to stand beside her.

The sea breeze blowing from afar gently lifted the two women's hair and skirts, easing the tension in the air that had been inflated by the sun.

"Do you rarely see the sea?"

Sakurajima Mai looked at him.

"No, it's still quite common over long distances."

So you mean you live very high up?

"Clever!"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he got down to business. "How have you been these past few days?"

Mentioning this, Sakurajima Mai lowered her head even further. "It's still the same as before."

"Have you signed a contract with the agency? I haven't received any news."

"That only works if the other party can see me."

"..."

Himemiya Chihaya stared at her beautiful profile for half a minute before finally nodding. "I see, it was my oversight... What if I were standing next to her?"

Last time I told her that the reason for her current situation might not be her fault, so the two of us decided to observe for a while.

Because she wanted to make a change, face her true self, and prepare for a comeback, he had informed her in advance.

However, even though she was given the agent's contact information, expecting an invisible person to sign contracts was simply a pipe dream.

Unlike Kato Megumi, who has a low profile but can be seen and heard, she is truly invisible—she can assassinate anyone she can't see!

With the help of the world's forces, this is the true Grand Assassin!

Sakurajima Mai shook her head, her expression as calm as ever. "It probably still won't work. Didn't it not work before?"

Even at this point, she didn't show the slightest sign of panic. To be fair, in this respect, she truly deserves to be called a mature high school girl who has been working since childhood.

Her voice and facial expressions have remained unchanged for the past two years, a situation that may become even more apparent at school.

Well, people wear different masks depending on their environment, which is not surprising.

"So, you can't even make a voluntary comeback until the problem is solved? What should you do then...? Have you found any new clues at the school?"

"If I had found it, I wouldn't have called you over because we were running out of food."

That's right, he didn't come here today because he wanted to; he was just summoned by someone and had to come and help her replenish her "cat food."

"Could it be that they're sharing new clues with me?"

"It's really good news for me that you can still think so positively at a time like this."

"You mean... you feel very safe with me and want to confess your feelings?"

"Um!"

Sakurajima Mai tightened her grip slightly. "What did you say?"

"It's nothing, Desu... I'm so sorry for being so arrogant, Desu..."

"Why didn't you do this sooner..."

She quietly withdrew the curved arch of her foot from his.

Himemiya Chihaya looked away, her mind drifting unintentionally.

Well... how should I put it? Because I was wearing indoor shoes, not hard-soled leather shoes, it didn't hurt that much... It has absolutely nothing to do with whether he's a masochist or not!

But thinking about it further, it's really troublesome, something as simple as changing shoes.

If you run, you'll need to switch between dress shoes, athletic shoes, and indoor shoes at least every day, which is a hassle to carry around and clean...

"I'm sorry to have made you come all this way."

After easing the tension, Sakurajima Mai sincerely apologized.

"It's alright, it's not that far, it only takes two hours by tram."

"That means it took four hours round trip, plus shopping time, so I've taken up at least half a day of your time, right?"

"I have a friend who lives in Yokohama, but he has to take a two-hour train ride to Tokyo to go to school every day."

"Really? Your friend isn't sick, is he? I'm talking about the brain."

"Well, it's not entirely accurate to say there are no problems..."

Broadly speaking, could Social Anxiety Disorder be considered a mental illness?

So here's the question: if Bocchi is like that, then is Gaozu's "social phobia," which is the complete opposite of hers, considered an illness?

"..."

This is a problem.

"Chihaya, what do you think I should do next?"

Sakurajima Mai frowned. "According to the information you provided, Adolescence Syndrome should all be caused by the individual's unstable mental state, right?"

That's roughly it.

"Isn't the reason I'm like this because I intentionally avoid talking to my mother?"

"If it's just about avoiding dialogue, will it have such a wide-ranging impact on everyone? And you made your decision several days ago, so there's still no change, isn't there?"

"..."

Seeing Sakurajima Mai sighing and helpless, he pondered how to help her break the deadlock.

We can't really let him run down the playground right now and shout his love to her, can we? That wouldn't be appropriate.

Even if you're going to do it, you need a reason, right?

If he could, he would prefer to invest money directly to promote her comeback, which would naturally increase her fame.

But it was no use. The reason was that no matter how much she made a big fuss outside the school, after a while, everyone would still forget about her.

While gazing at the sea in thought, he casually asked to pass the time, "Miss Mai, you've been at this school for over two years. How much do you know about it?"

Huh?

She looked up at him, puzzled, and after a moment's thought, asked, "Do you mean the place or the person?"

"Where is the place?"

"The basic utilities and blocks are still familiar."

Where are they?

"I still remember the names of the teachers who taught me each year, as well as the names of my classmates."

"As a student, this answer... really doesn't include a single familiar classmate?"

"Let's say... there's one."

"To be able to achieve this level, it has to be said, is quite an achievement... What did you say?!"

He turned around abruptly, his eyes fixed on her in shock.