No one could have imagined it.
The one who stabbed him in the back turned out to be PA-san!
Toru began thinking about how to answer this question.
Generally speaking, when faced with a multiple choice question like "Who do you like," a normal person would be vague and evasive, eliminating the possibility of answering it altogether.
Just like the trolley problem.
A high speed train is approaching a switchable track. The choice to change tracks is in your hands. If you change it, five people die. If you do not, two people die. Do you switch?
There is no perfect solution to this kind of question.
If forced to choose.
Toru would choose to run over the person who asked the question, solving it at the root. Since the train is going to run someone over sooner or later, it might as well be you.
But when it comes to the question of "Who do you like," being vague was not reliable.
Putting aside whether the girls would be satisfied, even Toru himself would not be satisfied.
Everyone, please read the question carefully.
PA-san's question was: [Among friends, who do you like the most?]
The scope was limited to the word [friends].
That meant there was only one answer left!
"I…"
Just as Toru was about to answer, he saw a twin-tailed girl sneak in furtively from the doorway.
Alright, it is decided. You it is!
My good partner!
"I like Ohtsuki Yoyoko the most!!"
The three members of Kessoku Band: "?"
The Bocchi-chan in Toru's arms: "?"
Why was her boyfriend confessing to another woman?
Hitori, who had just regained consciousness, was completely stunned.
Not only them. Ohtsuki Yoyoko herself, who had just come in and had not even rested for a few seconds, was equally dumbfounded.
No way. I just came by to visit, and suddenly I get a confession from this dude?
What does he mean?
Is he serious? Realzies? It's not April Fools' Day yet, though it is getting close.
"Ugh, what should I do…"
Yoyoko did not know what had happened, but she definitely heard Toru's confession.
Then should she give an answer?
This was the first time in her life she had ever been confessed to. To be honest, she was a little nervous.
The more Ohtsuki Yoyoko thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. Her face turned red as she said shyly, "Idiot Kitahara, y-you suddenly say things like that? I have always seen you as a friend…"
Ugh, this is so hard to deal with, right?
Should she accept?
Reject?
If it is Kitahara, dating him is actually… not bad. Aside from occasionally teasing her, he is a pretty decent guy.
M-maybe they should date.
After finishing her thoughts, Ohtsuki Yoyoko took a deep breath.
"I accept."
Let us date.
The kids can be named Nanami, Yoshino, or Maki.
For the first child, wait until after graduating from college. The second can come earlier, so the sisters will not have too big an age gap.
"Ohtsuki-senpai…"
Ijichi Nijika never expected things to turn out like this. Blushing, she hurriedly explained, "Um, we, what we were talking about was not…"
They had originally just wanted to tease Toru-kun a little. Why did it turn into this?
If the final winner of this love war was an outsider, Nijika would really cry herself to death.
…
Five minutes later.
Everything was explained clearly.
"…So what you were talking about was liking someone as a friend?"
Yoyoko struggled to suppress the shame in her heart.
She had already planned the wedding venue, the honeymoon trip to Hawaii, and even decided to have three children.
And now you are telling her this confession was fake?!
Ohtsuki Yoyoko covered her face, wanting to find a hole to crawl into.
Idiot Kitahara, go die already.
"Ahahaha, sorry about that, Ohtsuki-senpai. We caused such a misunderstanding."
Ijichi Nijika laughed awkwardly, inwardly praising herself for her last minute damage control.
There were already enough rivals. They really could not afford to add another one.
"Ohtsuki-san… just now, you agreed to the confession. Wh-why was that?"
At this moment, Hitori suddenly gathered her courage and spoke in a slightly halting voice.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko turned her head calmly, flicked her twin tails, and said lightly, "I have dated over a hundred boys. As a love expert, I just pitied him and played along with idiot Kitahara for a bit. That is all."
"So amazing."
Kita Ikuyo said in a shocked voice, "If we start counting from the first year of middle school, Ohtsuki-senpai would be changing boyfriends every month. Twelve a year would take eight years. If I had to use one word to describe it, that would be someone with no sense of chastity, an unfaithful dumpster slu…"
Before the final "t" could come out, Ijichi Nijika covered her mouth.
Little Kita, what you just said is very dangerous.
"…Pfft."
Yamada Ryo covered her mouth and snickered a few times.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko's acting was terrible, full of holes.
If she were really a veteran of the dating battlefield, her reaction just now would have been a complete failure.
"Now you know how amazing I am, right?"
Yoyoko brushed her ponytail back with her hand and lifted her chin.
"Yeah, yeah, look how proud you are."
Toru let go of the fully conscious Hitori and finally escaped this catastrophe.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko, you will always be my good partner.
"Your eyes are so rude, like you are looking at a little dog." Yoyoko rolled her eyes at him.
Whatever. A grown up does not hold grudges against a kid.
A prime minister's belly can hold a boat. I will spare you today.
"By the way, Ohtsuki-senpai, what did you come here for this time?" Ijichi Nijika asked, a little puzzled.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko usually stayed around Shinjuku, sometimes Shibuya.
It was really rare to see her in Shimokitazawa.
"Did you not receive it? The demo review results for the [Undecided Riot] music festival. Our band already got it." Ohtsuki Yoyoko had come today to personally confirm it.
Because Kessoku Band was their strong rival, fully capable of taking first place and stepping onto the festival stage.
"Today?" Nijika really did not know.
She only knew that the demo review ended in February, online voting would start in March, and selection lives would be held in April. The top two bands based on live scores would enter the music festival.
"Just a reminder, today is February 25. Valentine's Day was already 11 days ago. It is the end of the month. No matter how slow the organizers are, they should have announced the results by now." Ohtsuki Yoyoko wondered if something had gone wrong.
If Kessoku Band fell at the demo review stage, the competition would be far too dark.
It would be hard not to suspect the organizers of suppressing them.
"It's over."
Bocchi-chan showed the "の?の" expression again and fainted once more.
"Eh, could it be that we did not pass?"
Kita Ikuyo looked toward the calm Yamada Ryo.
Ryo-san was worried as well, she just did not show it.
For a moment, everyone in the band fell into self doubt.
The drama that had lasted half an hour vanished into thin air just like that.
In the end, it was only in the evening that Kessoku Band received the notification that their demo had passed.
The band would enter online voting next month.