Chapter 93: Gotoh Hitori, Cute, Marriage! (Patreon)

The practice room fell silent. Inside the box, Hitori Gotoh trembled at the exchange.

So this was the world of bands? It was even crazier than the internet said.

Could she still slip away while nobody was looking?

They weren't going to sell her off for cash too, were they? Waaah... Mom, Futari, I might not make it home.

Nijika opened her mouth, her ahoge curling into a question mark. Then she stomped over in a huff, snatched the money out of Ryo Yamada's pocket, and handed it back to Daniel.

"Um, Ryo's just like that. She's not a bad person. Here's your money back, and I can give you her contact info..."

"No way!"

Before Nijika could finish, Seika Ijichi spread her arms like a mother hen and blocked her little sister.

"Sis?"

Seeing her sister's puzzled face, Seika Ijichi took the money, shoved it into Daniel's hands, and said sternly, "No contact info. And don't you dare set your sights on Nijika, brat."

"Hold on, Seika-san, that's my money."

Ryo Yamada leaned in to get it back, but Nijika, still not understanding the situation, grabbed her around the waist to stop her.

"You can't toy with people's feelings like that, Ryo!"

"Gwah! Let go, Nijika! I'm so broke I'm about to start eating grass!"

Daniel watched the whole room descend into a muddle and couldn't hold back his laughter.

It felt like he'd wandered into an episode of an anime, and it was genuinely fun.

He walked around Seika Ijichi and returned the money to Ryo Yamada himself.

"Take it. Even without contact info, it's fine. You're my girlfriend now, Ryo. I can't exactly let you go chew on the shrubbery."

"Boyfriend-kun!" Ryo Yamada looked at him, deeply moved, now that the money was in her hands.

"Wait, Ryo, weren't you toying with his feelings?"

Nijika let go of Ryo Yamada and asked in surprise.

"I'm not that tacky of a woman. Nijika, you've disappointed me, misunderstanding me like that."

Ryo Yamada acted as if she'd been dealt a heavy blow.

Nijika felt awkward, but something still seemed off. Things had moved way too fast. Ryo had only just met this guy, hadn't she?

Then again, this Daniel guy really was pretty handsome.

"Sorry, I just thought you two got together a bit rashly. Also, what kind of person asks for contact info on behalf of her own boyfriend?"

"Heh heh, you just don't get it. That's the understanding between us. Only a man like this is worthy of Ryo Yamada!"

Ryo Yamada declared proudly.

"..."

Beside them, Seika Ijichi was utterly speechless. Had her sister fallen in with the wrong crowd?

"Anyway, stay away from my sister."

Seika Ijichi didn't forget to warn Daniel once more.

Daniel neither agreed nor refused. He wasn't only after Nijika. He had no intention of letting the older sister off the hook either.

On the surface, though, he kept it reasonable.

"I just followed Ryo here to meet her bandmates."

"Like I said down in the audience, I actually like this band quite a bit."

"Really?" Nijika couldn't quite believe it. He wasn't being sarcastic with them?

"Can't get any more real than this. At the very least, you've got plenty of room to improve. Find a vocalist, work on your chemistry, and performing at a livehouse like this will be no problem."

"And why am I so sure? Well..."

Daniel walked over to the box, picked it up, and tossed it aside, exposing Hitori Gotoh underneath.

"The famous guitarhero from the internet is right here. Add the two of you, who aren't weak to begin with, and the future looks bright."

"A guitarhero who bombed on stage and got recognized by her fans? Noooo, not that, please!!!"

"Gya~"

With her secret identity blown, Hitori Gotoh rattled off a high-speed stream of gibberish, then collapsed to the floor and twitched as if struck by cyber-psychosis, her face cycling through colors.

"Gotoh, are you okay?!"

Nijika was so startled by the sight that she pulled out her phone to call an ambulance.

"Don't worry, she's just socially anxious."

"This is because of social anxiety too?"

Nijika stared in horror at the pink creature that looked ready to melt.

Daniel hadn't expected the anime's antics to carry over to real life either. He blinked for a moment before speaking.

"It's fine, watch this. I know how to bring her back."

"Hitori-chan, you wouldn't want it getting out that the guitarhero ruined a show today, would you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Hitori Gotoh shot up from the floor.

She pulled a piggy bank out of who-knows-where, held it out, and begged Daniel in a full dogeza.

"S-sumimasen! Please don't tell anyone! I'll do anything! This is the money I saved up for my wedding, please take it!"

"Done."

Daniel took Hitori Gotoh's piggy bank and winked at the others.

"Oh~ I've seen this plot in a late-night anime. So that's the type Bocchi-chan is?"

"Bocchi-chan?"

"Oh, that's the nickname I gave Gotoh," Ryo Yamada explained to Nijika.

Was that really the part worth focusing on, though? Shouldn't they be asking which late-night anime Ryo Yamada was watching?

"Ryo, you can't just give people nicknames!"

"But Bocchi-chan seems to like it."

Nijika was about to apologize to Hitori Gotoh on Ryo Yamada's behalf, only to see Hitori Gotoh rubbing the back of her head with a very bashful smile.

"Heh heh... Bocchi... Bocchi-chan is my nickname."

Seika Ijichi's eye twitched. What was wrong with young people these days?

Watching all this, Daniel couldn't resist teasing her a little more.

He crouched down in front of Hitori Gotoh, holding the piggy bank. "By the way, Hitori-chan, you just handed me your saved-up dowry. Does that mean you plan to marry me?"

"...?" Hitori Gotoh went rigid, her pupils quaking as she stared at Daniel, stunned into place by his words.

Was she dreaming? Marrying a handsome guy who looked like a total normie?

"M-muri, muri! Someone like me doesn't deserve to marry anyone. He'd be disgusted for sure."

"Who says? I'm not disgusted."

Daniel pressed his advantage and leaned in. "Hmm, now that I look closer, Hitori-chan, you've still got plenty of charm."

"Want to be my eighteenth girlfriend? You'd be right behind Ryo."

Hitori Gotoh's brain turned to mush, and steam started rising from the top of her head.

Should she say yes? If she said no, would she get dumped in Tokyo Bay?

But if she said yes, would he reveal his true face and say he'd only been messing with her?

"Aba aba aba."

Robbed of the ability to speak, Hitori Gotoh devolved into gibberish.

Daniel kept his smile in check and gave the piggy bank back to her. Any more teasing and the owner of STARRY would throw him out.

"Alright, no more joking around. I'll come to your shows often, you know. Oh, and I'm taking Ryo with me."

"See you later, Hitori-chan. You too, Nijika, and Boss Seika."

Daniel quit while he was ahead. With Ryo Yamada around, he could pick them off one by one later, so there was no need to provoke the dutiful big sister further.

After watching the show with them, he also planned to sample Ryo's pair of dark chocolate bars.

Ryo Yamada's legs wrapped in black stockings were seriously tempting. Only Horikita Suzune could compare.

Their styles were different, though. A short-haired girl was a fresh experience too.