After adding Tachibana Kanade's contact information,
Toru began setting aside time to chat with her.
In his memory, this caged bird's condition would improve a month later, after which she would transfer to Shuka High School.
However, that was how things developed in the simulated world. Reality did not necessarily follow the same path.
After all, in the last simulation, there had been a special world setting. Although he barely got to experience it, and despite constantly thinking about searching for dragon veins, finding burial sites, and looting ancient tombs, none of that ever happened. The first experience with a special world setting ended up being extremely boring, and in the end, he only gained one more paper-thin wife.
And by sheer coincidence, this one had inherited memories from the simulation.
From their very first meeting, Toru could tell from her eyes that the affection she held was difficult to conceal.
But whose fault was that, really?
Toru was not wrong. He had only made the mistake that every man makes.
Tachibana Kanade was not wrong. She had only made the mistake that every woman makes.
Kita Ikuyo was not wrong.
Kessoku Band was not wrong.
So who was wrong?
Well, it was all the life simulator's fault. At least in Toru's eyes, the simulator needed to take the blame. He truly had no idea who had developed such a damned thing, turning him from a pure-hearted champion of pure love into a harem king.
"Toru-kun, why do you look unhappy when we're out having fun?"
Kita Ikuyo noticed the gloomy expression on Toru's face, as if he were thinking about something important.
"No… K-san, are you done singing?"
"Not yet. You said you'd come with me to karaoke to practice singing, but the moment we got in here, you started spacing out."
Kita Ikuyo put down the microphone and puffed out her cheeks, putting on a sulky expression.
She had finally managed to secretly ask Toru-kun out from among all her love rivals. She had been looking forward to this for so long last night, and now she was disappointed, extremely disappointed.
In an empty private room, no, a private room with only the two of them, an enclosed space where anything could happen, and he did not have a single strange thought?
"This karaoke place actually has Kessoku Band's songs. That's pretty rare."
Toru casually changed the subject.
Going out with a companion and thinking about other women really was not very appropriate.
"We've been doing pretty well lately. Our account followers have already passed thirty thousand."
"And yet Hitori's Guitar Hero account has four hundred thousand followers. Truly impressive," Toru thought to himself. If popularity were calculated purely by follower count, Bocchi-chan alone could take on ten Kessoku Bands.
Having too many fans was not necessarily a good thing.
In fact, the downsides were often greater.
He still remembered how, in the simulation, after Kessoku Band became popular, fans split into many different types. Solo stans, group fans, toxic solo fans, constant comparisons and rumors.
Some said that aside from Gotoh Hitori, the rest of the band were just career vampires leeching off her.
Others suspected that Toru had improper relationships with the members, boyfriend fans who were convinced of it.
Of course, they were not wrong.
Toru had indeed turned Kessoku Band into a harem band.
"Bocchi-chan has been building her fanbase for years. Of course we can't compare with a small account that's only been around for a few months," Kita Ikuyo cleared her throat, preparing to sing.
"That's true."
The main purpose of coming today was not flirting or anything lewd, but practicing singing. After all, there was a chance they would be performing on stage next month, and Kita Ikuyo lacked confidence.
She had never received professional vocal training.
Being able to sing at this level relied entirely on her natural talent and a decent vocal tone.
Toru did teach her some basic vocal knowledge in private, but the progress was slow and could not produce immediate results.
Coming to karaoke today would not have much effect either, at best serving as psychological comfort.
Song after song, after practicing for a while,
Toru took the microphone, preparing to give some on-the-spot instruction. He had some confidence in his singing ability, but Kessoku Band's songs were more suited to female vocals. After all, they were written by Yamada Ryo specifically for Kita-chan, tailored to her strengths at every turn. This was Ryo's gentle consideration.
"Wait a moment, Toru-kun. Do you hear that? There's a girl singing next door," Kita Ikuyo suddenly interrupted the lesson.
She quietly opened the private room door a crack and leaned over to listen to the singing from next door.
It sounded really good.
And for some reason, the voice felt very familiar.
Kita Ikuyo stroked her chin, thinking hard about who it could be.
Toru leaned over as well, listening together with her.
As he listened,
His expression gradually became strange.
"I think… I know who's singing."
"Who?"
Instead of answering, Toru directly took Kita Ikuyo to the private room next door and knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
"Who is it?"
The singing inside gradually stopped.
A twin-tailed, tea-haired girl opened the door.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko had only heard a familiar voice and did not think much of it. The moment she opened the door, she regretted it.
Coming to karaoke alone on a Saturday and being discovered by Toru, this troublemaker.
What should she do, what should she do?
Ohtsuki Yoyoko really wanted to close the door, but felt that would be impolite.
Some time ago, Toru had taken care of Hiroi Kikuri for a long time. Hiroi was a senior Yoyoko respected. Rounding things up, Toru had done her quite a big favor?
With her thoughts in a mess, Ohtsuki Yoyoko did not know what to say.
"Why are you here?"
"We heard you singing, so we thought we'd come take a look," the corner of Toru's mouth slowly curled into a mischievous smile.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko felt that this person had impure intentions.
She pursed her lips and crossed her arms in displeasure. "What? I'm not allowed to sing by myself?"
"No, just thought that coming out alone for fun on the weekend is kind of… well, cute."
"Cute?" Kita Ikuyo tugged on his clothes, her tone dripping with jealousy.
Praising another girl as cute right in front of her, was he serious?
"…You're cute too. Everyone's cute."
Toru almost forgot that he was not alone today.
Teasing Ohtsuki Yoyoko had practically become muscle memory. He could not help himself.
Kita Ikuyo let out a soft huff to express her dissatisfaction.
"Toru, did you come all this way just to interrupt my singing and show off your affection in front of me? Aren't you two bored?"
Ohtsuki Yoyoko rolled her pretty eyes. "If you like flirting so much, you might as well just start dating."
Being lonely and singing alone today was already miserable enough, and now she had to be force-fed dog food by these two idiots.
Could this world get any worse?
Hearing her say that, Kita Ikuyo's mood instantly improved.
She said we're a couple.
"No, we just wanted to ask you to sing with us. Practicing with only two people is pretty boring," Toru was actually thinking of having Yoyoko teach Ikuyo a bit. As the lead singer of a popular band, her skills were far above Kita Ikuyo's.
Ohtsuki Yoyoko was a little tempted.
But she still put on a tsundere act. "Since you say it like that, fine, I'll join you. But let me say this first, I'm actually pretty happy singing alone."
"Sure, sure."
"Are you treating me like an idiot?"
"How could I? Ohtsuki Yoyoko is the smartest in the world."
This silly kid, Toru could trick her into bed ten times a day… turning her into a cream puff.