Free Web NovelChapter 492: BCL Chapter 487 Nijika: Today, I will become famous.
"Since Kita said so..."
Kitahara said leisurely:
"After the performance, will Kita-sama and I go goldfish scooping together?"
"Eh?!"
Hearing about goldfish scooping, memories of the fireworks festival evening immediately flooded her mind. Kita’s fair, doll-like face quickly flushed, and she stammered, looking away guiltily:
"No, I don’t have time to go goldfish scooping... Hitori, give me another ice-cold beer."
"Ah... okay."
Hitori quickly poured a glass of ice-cold beer and placed it on Kita’s tray.
(How strange... It’s just goldfish scooping, why would Kita blush?) freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
(It must be related to Kitahara-kun, right?)
(I really want to know what happened during goldfish scooping...)
Kitahara smiled and said:
"Who was it just now who said to let Hitori go and come at you?"
"Kitahara-kun, go away, don’t talk to me~"
Kita snorted softly, glared at Kitahara in embarrassment, and then slipped away:
"I still have to work!"
Sorry, Hitori, you can only fend for yourself.
As Kita fled, Kitahara looked back at Hitori and said, "Hitori, do you really want to know what goldfish scooping means?"
"N-No..."
Hitori quickly lowered her head to look at her toes, denying it guiltily.
Kitahara whispered:
"It means exactly what it says. A few days ago, I went to the fireworks festival with Kita and played goldfish scooping at a stall, and then... the rest of it was put under a gag order by Kita. I promised to keep it a secret, so I can’t tell Hitori."
"Oh..."
Hitori replied softly.
(It’s reasonable for Kitahara-kun to keep a secret and not tell me...)
Despite that, for some reason, Hitori inexplicably felt a dullness in her chest and suddenly wanted to hide in a cardboard box again.
However, the next second.
Kitahara lowered his voice and said, "But if Hitori really wants to know, it doesn’t matter...."
"Eh?"
Hitori looked up in confusion.
Kitahara smiled and said, "Kita doesn’t want me to tell anyone, so I won’t. I can just show Hitori with actions.... There’s one last week before summer vacation ends. When we go to the fireworks festival, I’ll show Hitori what happened with my actions. By the way, Hitori, have you decided which day to go to the fireworks festival?"
"...Meow?"
Hitori looked up blankly, her eyes filled with confusion.
Kitahara said speechlessly, "Hitori, did you forget?"
"S-Sorry..."
Hitori quickly lowered her head and apologized.
"When we went to the recording studio to record the song that day, we took a bath at the [Onsen Village]. At that time, I mentioned to Hitori that I wanted to go to the fireworks festival together before summer vacation...."
Kitahara sighed, "Hitori, you really forgot, didn’t you?"
Hitori: "..."
Sorry! I completely forgot!
At that time, her brain was already overloaded with embarrassment, and she couldn’t remember many things. Now, hearing Kitahara mention it, Hitori finally remembered that Kitahara had indeed invited her to see the fireworks festival together.
"It seems I still have to make the decision..." Kitahara murmured softly, "The driving school lessons will all be finished in two more days. After the lessons, we’ll take the exam directly, get the small motorcycle license, and then just ride the small motorcycle to the fireworks festival?"
Hitori’s eyes immediately lit up, clearly a little tempted:
"But won’t it be dangerous to ride a bike on the road right after getting the license?"
"As long as you follow traffic rules, there won’t be a problem," Kitahara said decisively, "Besides, Hitori will be riding a small motorcycle to school in the future, so consider this a practice run."
The Gotō home is very far from school, with a one-way trip taking about two hours. The reason for choosing such a distant school was to find a new environment where no former classmates knew her, and then become a dazzling normie. Unfortunately, Hitori not only failed to achieve her wish but also frequently had to endure hellish trials.
Hitori usually takes the train to school. Although she wakes up early every day, she still encounters the morning rush hour.
For a super social phobic person, a crowded train car is like hell, which is why Kitahara suggested getting a small motorcycle license during the summer vacation. Hitori only mustered the courage to agree to it, so she could ride to school in the future.
Kitahara made the final decision:
"Since Hitori has no objections, it’s decided."
"Ah..."
Hitori suddenly remembered something and looked up hesitantly:
"B-But small motorcycles are very expensive, aren’t they?"
Kitahara pondered for two seconds:
"After taking the driving school test, first go to the store to check the price of the small motorcycle, then Hitori can go back and ask her uncle and aunt... Guitar Hero is not a dirt-eating girl."
Although he could completely buy a small motorcycle for Hitori, Hitori’s personality would definitely not accept it, so Kitahara naturally didn’t say more.
"...Meow?"
Seeing a customer coming to order, Kitahara ended the small talk, ordered a ginger ale, and then left the bar.
In a blink of an eye, it was 7:30 PM.
Restroom.
Nijika, Ryo, Kita, and Hitori, all four girls were in the restroom, making their final preparations.
"Do you want to add the [Morale Boost] team buff?"
Kitahara asked.
"Hmm... Or maybe not?" Nijika looked hesitant, "After last night’s dream training, our coordination is already very skilled."
"I object."
Kita, on the other hand, held an opposing view, her voice clear, and with her hands on her hips, she said:
"Team buffs aren’t harmful things. They can make the performance even more spectacular. There’s no reason to refuse, is there? Many people even rack their brains for performance effects... Ryo-senpai, Hitori, what do you say?"
"I, I’m fine with anything..."
Hitori, as always, had no opinion.
"Well." Ryo said indifferently, her voice light, "I support Kita’s opinion. There’s no reason to refuse if it can lead to a better performance... Nijika must be worried about us developing a dependency, right?"
Ryo’s gaze shifted, glancing at Kitahara, and she said casually:
"Unless Kitahara abandons us, there’s no need to worry about that."
"Stare—"
The girls all looked at Kitahara in unison.
Kitahara moved the corner of his mouth slightly, raised his right hand, and said seriously:
"Even if it’s the end of the world, I will stay with everyone, never to be separated."
"Hmph~"
Nijika let out a small breath and agreed:
"Then let’s add the team buff."
"Kitahara-kun~" Kita’s voice was bright and clear, "Hurry up and start the game."
"Coming."
Kitahara opened his backpack, took out the game disc, and entered the game space with the girls.
By now, with the girls’ continuous challenges, they could consistently clear the first stage of the game, but they were still some distance from clearing it without taking damage.
One minute later in the real world.
Kitahara and the four girls opened their eyes together, successfully clearing the first stage.
"Hmm..."
Hitori’s face was flushed, and she nervously raised her arms, shyly covering her chest.
When facing the Boss slime just now, except for Kitahara, all the other girls were hit by acid missiles... However, after so many times, except for Hitori who would still blush with embarrassment, Ryo and Nijika were already looking normal, and even Kita didn’t mind anymore.
"We got the team buff."
Kitahara stretched and said, "Who’s first?"
"I’ll go."
"Do I kiss Ryo-senpai, or does Ryo-senpai kiss me?"
"Given how hard you’ve worked, I’ll give Kitahara a reward today..."
Ryo lightly stood on her tiptoes and leaned in for a kiss.
As an 18+ game, the method of adding buffs was inevitably a bit suggestive.
Lips met.
Team buff added successfully.
"Eh, eh, eh, what is Ryo-senpai doing?!"
Kita’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but exclaim:
"Before, when adding buffs, it was only a kiss on the forehead, right?!"
"Ah, sorry..."
Ryo took half a step back, gently wiped her lips with her right hand, and said normally:
"My foot slipped just now, so I accidentally kissed crookedly, eheh~"
A lie!
It was clearly a lie!
You didn’t slip at all just now! You clearly wanted to kiss in front of everyone!
"Ugh..."
Kita’s cheeks puffed out slightly, feeling a little jealous.
"Nijika, it’s your turn."
Ryo tilted her head and looked over.
Nijika looked at Ryo with alert.
In Kita’s opinion, Ryo’s behavior just now was just an impulse, but Nijika, with her experience in group play, couldn’t help but overthink.
(Ryo wouldn’t still want to call Kita and Hitori to play in a group, would she?)
(All five of us...)
Nijika felt super embarrassed just thinking about it.
(Impossible!)
(I will absolutely not agree to that!)
Kitahara said softly:
"Nijika-senpai, hurry up. Do I kiss you or do you kiss me?"
Nijika looked at him warningly:
"Only on the forehead!"
"..."
Except for Ryo, who had no taboos, Nijika, Kita, and Hitori all only allowed kisses on the forehead.
Looking at the four girls with normal expressions, Kitahara couldn’t help but exclaim:
"This is the power of growth."
"Eh?"
Nijika looked over in confusion:
"What is Kitahara talking about?"
Kitahara said with a melancholic tone:
"Do you remember the first time I added a team buff for everyone? Except for Ryo-senpai, all of you were completely red-faced... It’s a pity that now, except for Hitori, I can no longer see Nijika and Kita blush."
Kita: "..."
Nijika: "..."
In a blink of an eye, it was performance time.
Kitahara left the restroom first and went to the performance hall.
Before long, Kessoku Band officially took the stage.
Kitahara stood below the stage, enjoying the performance while recording a video on his phone.
"Kessoku Band?"
"A new band I’ve never heard of."
"I did see one performance; I thought it was pretty good."
"Among today’s setlist, there’s a song called ’rats’ song’... Does a song really have a name like that?"
"The name is indeed strange. I hope it doesn’t make people uncomfortable."
"..."
Although Kessoku Band had performed several times, they were still an unknown band. The audience below the stage was either playing on their phones or chatting idly, clearly not having much expectation.
Only Kitahara was full of confidence.
Nijika and the others had practiced exceptionally hard in their dreams last night, and the team’s synergy was getting higher and higher. Coupled with the newly added team buff, they would definitely not be weaker than other bands.
The performance officially began very quickly.
The harmonious and beautiful melody quickly resounded throughout the stage. Fewer and fewer people were on their phones, and the idle chatter quietly died down.
By the time Kita began to sing the last song, song about mice, a melody without technique, filled with sincere emotion, quickly resonated with most people, finally igniting the atmosphere completely. Cheers and applause thundered.
Even Seika, sitting behind the bar, straightened up, a hint of appreciation flashing in her eyes:
"Not bad."
"..."
The performance ended.
Nijika and the others, having achieved great success, happily returned to the lounge. Kitahara did not follow them this time but turned to go to the bathroom.
At the same time.
In a dim corner.
"...Win it back! I must win it back!"
A young man wearing glasses was hiding in a corner, staring nervously at his phone. The screen clearly displayed an online gambling application.
As time passed, the man’s expression grew increasingly distorted and frenzied. After a while, the last glimmer of light in his eyes suddenly extinguished, as if his life force had been drained, and his head dropped directly.
Clatter.
The phone fell from the man’s hand to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
A companion nearby heard the commotion and looked over curiously.
"Ho... ho ho..."
The man’s head was lowered, and a strange, eerie, low sound came from his throat.
His companion bent down to look:
"Why aren’t you picking up your phone after it fell..."
Before he could finish speaking, the bespectacled man suddenly lunged, tackling his approaching companion to the ground.
"Hey, what are you doing..."
The man who was tackled was still a bit dazed. When he looked up, he instantly felt a chill run through his body, as if plunged into an ice cellar.
What met his eyes was an exceptionally grotesque and terrifying face: blood-red, violent eyes, with raised veins on his face, twisting like crawling earthworms, exactly like a certain type of abnormal existence described in official reports.
Clearly, the bespectacled man’s despair had attracted negative energy, ultimately transforming him into a Mind Demon, which had caused numerous tragedies.
"K-Kaidan...!"
The man who was tackled screamed in panic.
The next second.
The bespectacled man, now a Mind Demon, suddenly opened his mouth and bit his companion’s neck. Then, he violently distorted his head and tore, and blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.
"Ahhhhhh...!!"
A piercing scream suddenly rang out.
Although the sound of the performance on stage was deafening, the scream still attracted the attention of those around.
Upon seeing the gushing blood, some people quickly realized what had happened.
"K-Killing!"
"Someone has turned into an abnormal existence from the official announcement!"
"Run, run!"
Although the official government had acknowledged the existence of abnormalities, most ordinary people had never witnessed one. Now, as the Mind Demon tackled another person, everyone finally reacted as if waking from a dream, then frantically began to flee.
When faced with danger, fleeing is a human instinct, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The problem was that the exhibition hall was underground, and the passage was quite narrow. When one person stumbled and fell, it directly blocked the door. Everyone desperately squeezed together, but no one could escape.
"Someone dares to cause trouble here?!"
Seika suddenly stood up, clenching her fists, eager for a fight.
