Afterwards, Chisato asked Seika, who responded with a calm expression:
"Fifty tickets isn't too many. There are five of you, so that's ten tickets per person. It shouldn't be too difficult. Your song is so great; it would be a pity not to invite more friends to listen."
Seika's suggestion about what a socially anxious person like Hitori could offer seemed unlikely to be helpful.
Chisato felt that the manager, who was approaching thirty next year, must have had some personal grudge in setting such an unreasonable target.
However, as Chisato mentioned, dividing the fifty tickets among five people, ten tickets per person, didn't seem too high of a bar.
But at a thousand yen per ticket, it wasn't exactly a small change for students.
If it came down to it, they might have to resort to selling tickets on the street.
It's troublesome when the band lacks fame—no fans, no support groups, and the expenses before becoming famous are high.
Unlike those big idols whose fans keep growing and money keeps flowing in, they had to start from scratch.
But everyone goes through this step by step; it's a necessary process that can't be avoided.
To advance to a higher social class and live a better life, there's no choice but to complain less and work harder.
After finishing his evening shift, Chisato said goodbye to Hitori at the train station.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take Hitori home, but her house was far outside the city.
If he took her home and came back, it would probably take over an hour.
Hitori had chosen a school far from home to escape her previous social network and hoped to make new friends in a fresh environment. The result was...
Her first year of high school had been just as lonely as before, but it wasn't too bad.
At least she had met Chisato and, with his help, had joined the harmonious and friendly Kessoku Band. She was content.
"Send me a text when you get home, and remember, you can contact me directly on LINE anytime. Don't overthink it, okay?"
Understanding Hitori's personality, Chisato made this particular request.
"Okay."
This made Hitori even happier and further confirmed that her relationship with Chisato had indeed changed in some way.
After watching her board the train, Chisato turned to catch another train and returned home.
Today, the crow had once again been left outside to fly all day, but it's underlings had collected quite a bit.
Coins and paper bills scattered by the window added up to over five thousand yen.
Chisato has grown more fond of crows lately.
He took chicken breast from the fridge, chopped it into small pieces, and mixed it with crushed toast in a container as a thank-you for the wealth-bringing crows.
After taking a shower, he found the container had been emptied. He washed it clean and sat at his desk, looking forward to tomorrow.
He realized that the "Basic English" from Hitori's task was more useful than he had imagined.
He could now complete English exercises accurately and efficiently and browse English websites with ease.
He also tried speaking and reading aloud.
At a normal speed, it was almost like speaking his native language, with pronunciation much improved and no stuttering, though speeding up made it somewhat challenging.
Even so, daily use was perfectly fine.
This meant he could focus on other subjects rather than English lessons.
"Next month's test, let's aim for the top of the grade."
He stretched lazily and then bent over his desk again.
…
In a residence of about two hundred square meters, with a black-and-white exterior.
The nameplate at the door showed the rare surname "Isshiki."
In the living room sat a girl with short flaxen hair, lounging on the sofa and playing with her phone, occasionally sipping from a mug of vegetable juice made by her mother.
Skipping dinner and using this as a substitute for nutritional intake was a weight-loss method promoted by fitness bloggers on YTB.
It tasted unpleasant, but summer was coming, and with lighter clothing and more exposed skin, she didn't want to show any extra weight to others.
This was a concern for Iroha recently.
"Even on a Saturday, you can't be so relaxed. You're in high school now; you need to be serious. Have you spent the whole day at home, doing nothing and avoiding your homework?"
Mrs. Isshiki, after finishing cleaning the kitchen, approached her lazily lounging daughter with dissatisfaction.
Iroha realized she was in trouble, quickly finishing the vegetable juice and saying, "I'm going to take a shower," before hurrying away.
Her mother was fine overall, but recently, she had been increasingly preachy towards her and her father.
Although her intentions were good, it became quite annoying after a while.
After her shower, Iroha returned to her room. It wasn't too late, but her gaze wavered between her desk and bed.
Ultimately, she couldn't resist the bed's temptation and lazily lay down.
Even though she had only studied for a short while in the morning and had done nothing else, she felt she deserved some rest.
Homework could be tackled more diligently tomorrow.
With this thought, Iroha lay on her bed and continued browsing her phone until sleepiness gradually overcame her.
After plugging in her phone to charge and turning off the lights, she hugged a plushie and slowly closed her eyes.
In a moment, Iroha fell into a deep sleep, her consciousness slipping into a dream. It felt as if some invisible presence guided her to the familiar living room.
As her consciousness gradually took control, she noticed something unfamiliar in her well-known environment.
On the coffee table lay a CD with a cover featuring a photo of her and an unfamiliar boy, the two of them close and intimate.
A dream? This was the first time she'd had such a clear and strange dream.
Curious, Iroha opened the CD packaging, placed it in the player next to the TV, and picked up the remote to turn on the TV.
[His and Her Story], Episode 1, began to play.
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"This is such a bad development! Why so much chapters for a heroine who won't retain her memories!"
This is why my friend, if someone fools you once, they can fool you twice. Be careful.
But the system technically wasn't fooling anyone tho, its just playing within what it said.
She won't retain/remember her life in the simulation, but she will know about it.
What a clever system.
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20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta
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