"Sorry, Isshiki, today's meeting has to be cut short."
Chisato had noticed the pedestrian light outside turning green.
The four members of Kesshoku Band were now walking towards them amidst the crowd.
Although Hitori was panicking, desperately tugging at her companions' arms and sleeves, she couldn't stop them from moving forward.
They were determined to demand an explanation for their friend.
Chisato watched them approach, already strategizing how to handle the situation.
As for Hitori, he understood her personality—she probably didn't mind all that much.
The only real concern was that she had now seen Iroha in real life, the very person she had been deceiving in her dreams.
She might not be able to process this immediately, possibly feeling fear and anxiety.
But that was a minor issue. Unlike him, Hitori had a hidden identity in the dream world. As long as she played dumb, nothing unexpected should happen.
He could explain things to her properly later, and she would likely calm down.
The real problem was the other three members of Kesshoku band.
From the way they had been glaring at him, there was no doubt in his mind that they had labeled him as a womanizing scumbag.
Well… technically, they weren't wrong.
But if possible, he didn't want them to find out the full truth about his private life.
He still had to interact with them frequently in the future—if their resentment grew too much, it would only make things difficult.
"You should head home for today."
Chisato suddenly spoke to Iroha.
"If you take your bag and leave through the other exit now, you should still be able to avoid running into them."
"Huh? But wouldn't it be better if I stayed to explain that this is all a misunderstanding?"
"I appreciate the thought, but… look at how angry they are. Who knows what they might do? You know how wild rock musicians can be."
"And their tempers… well, let's just say they're not great. If they see you, they might just lash out without listening to reason."
Chisato half-coaxed and half-intimidated her, making Iroha visibly uneasy.
That was exactly what he wanted—he had no intention of letting Hitori and Iroha meet under these circumstances.
"But if I leave, won't that just make you look even more guilty?"
"That's still better than having you stay and risk a bloodbath, don't you think?"
The more he spoke, the more fearful Iroha became.
She glanced outside again, and under the influence of her imagination, the four girls now seemed to be radiating pure murderous intent.
"Don't worry about me—I can handle this alone. If you stay, things might spiral out of control. So, go."
Chisato urged her, shoving her bag into her hands.
"But… if we still can't clear up the misunderstanding later…"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I'll call you later."
Chisato pushed Iroha towards the other exit, making sure she left.
Shortly after he returned to his seat, the four members of Kesshoku band were standing in front of him.
Ikuyo, as expected, stepped forward with an angry expression.
"Gotcha this time… huh? Where's that girl?"
"She left."
Chisato's response made Hitori, who had been hiding behind the others, breathe a huge sigh of relief.
When he smiled at her and patted the seat beside him, she hesitated for only a moment before shyly sitting down.
Her lips pursed as she blushed, especially when he took her hand.
Ryo couldn't take it anymore.
"Bochi-chan! Have you already forgotten what this man just did? Come over here! Don't be so spineless! Not until he gives us an explanation that actually makes sense—"
Chisato silently pushed forward the untouched cake and fruit salad he had ordered earlier.
"We haven't touched these yet. Judging by how they look, they should taste pretty good."
"Gulp…"
Ryo swallowed hard.
Without another word, she sat down across from him, picked up a spoon, muttered "Itadakimasu," and started eating with single-minded focus.
The speed at which she changed sides was astonishing.
Ikuyo and Nijika were both completely dumbfounded.
"Ryo, Ryo-chan! Don't let him distract you!"
Seeing one ally fall, Nijika immediately stepped up.
"You can't just go behind Bochi-chan's back and get all cozy with other girls! Do you have any idea how heartbroken she was when she saw that?!"
Chisato silently glanced at Hitori.
Hitori immediately shook her head in protest. Then, she nervously looked at Nijika and carefully spoke,
"Um… Nijika-chan… actually, I wasn't heartbroken."
"YOU—!"
The betrayal hit hard.
Nijika was at a loss for words but still tried to continue,
"I know you're just scared, but—"
"Putting that aside, why are you guys even here?"
Chisato suddenly changed the subject.
Nijika was momentarily thrown off but reflexively answered,
"We're here to—"
"Sit down and tell me."
"Oh… okay."
Nijika obediently took a seat next to Ryo, unknowingly falling into Chisato's pace.
"We came here to buy a backup guitar for Ikuyo-chan."
"You specifically came to Akihabara for that?"
"Uh… yeah."
"Aren't there plenty of instrument shops near Shimokitazawa?"
Chisato's sharp gaze landed on Ikuyo, who immediately looked away, guilty.
The confidence she had when confronting him earlier completely vanished as she slowly sat down next to Nijika.
"Buying a backup guitar was just an excuse, wasn't it? You guys just wanted to go out and have fun."
"But have you considered that the Shibuya Music Festival is coming up soon?
"The songs I gave you—don't you need to practice?
"Time is running out.
"If you keep slacking off like this, how do you expect to achieve a good result?"
"..."
A heavy silence filled the air, broken only by the sound of Ryo eagerly devouring her cake.
"S…sorry…"
Nijika and Ikuyo exchanged glances before slowly lowering their heads in apology.
"But aren't we supposed to be questioning him about cheating on Bochi-chan?"
Ryo, now finished with her cake, finally spoke up.
Oh, right!!!
Nijika and Ikuyo suddenly snapped back to their original purpose!
"..."
Chisato calmly pulled the fruit salad back from Ryo's reach.
Alright, this one's off-limits for you now.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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