Why, why does Nijika-chan know about me dating Kitahara-kun?
The very first second Hitori regained consciousness, that was the question that came to her mind.
This is not right, is it?
Who leaked it?
Other than herself and Kitahara-kun, only Jimi Hen, Mom, and Futari should know!
Even Dad was kept completely in the dark. She had never told him.
"Could it be that Nijika-chan installed a bug on me?" Bocchi-chan's mind descended into total chaos.
Nijika naturally had no idea how wildly off Bocchi-chan's imagination had gone. Startled by her friend suddenly collapsing, she hurriedly pulled Bocchi-chan into her arms and forcefully helped her up.
Years of striking the drum kit every day had given angel Nijika strength comparable to an adult man's.
Otherwise, there really would have been no way for her to support the well-endowed Hitori.
"So soft… her waist and butt…" Nijika subconsciously thought to herself.
No wonder Toru-kun liked bullying Bocchi-chan so much in the simulations. Turns out this kid's body was just too tempting.
"N-Nijika-chan, w-what are you saying, I-I don't know anything at all." Bocchi-chan snapped back to her senses and started playing dumb. Her wandering eyes could not hide anything at all. Everything was completely exposed, obvious at a glance.
"Moooh~ just listening to you, I can tell you're lying…"
Nijika circled around her once and let out a sigh of relief after confirming that this silly kid had not gotten hurt from the fall.
If Hitori got injured because of her.
The little angel would blame herself for a very, very long time.
"Nijika-chan…"
Hitori lowered her head and spoke worriedly, "Where did you find out about it?"
"Of course it was from Toru-kun. Who else would tell me? Ryo, or Kita-chan?" Nijika said irritably.
"I-I'm sorry."
"I didn't call you out today to blame you."
Nijika took Hitori's hand and prepared to lead her to the Starbucks not far away.
In the end, the two found a corner seat, ordered two Frappuccinos, and began speaking in hushed voices.
On the way there, Hitori's fear had not eased at all.
Why did Nijika want to see her?
Why was she not angry after finding out she had raided the house?
In Bocchi-chan's heart, Nijika had always sat in the position of the empress. At most, she herself was just a favored concubine. This time, usurping the throne was not exactly legitimate.
"Bocchi-chan, what I'm about to say might sound a bit strange."
"Mm… mm!" Bocchi-chan snapped out of it and nodded hard.
Strange?
There was no way it could be stranger than her usual behavior, right?
Taking small sips of the slush through the straw, Hitori waited for the 'explosive news' Nijika was about to reveal.
"I actually have a secret that I can't tell other people."
"Mm…?"
"Starting last year, I obtained an ability to predict the future."
Hearing such explosive news.
Hitori froze with a blank expression for a few seconds, then could not help but take a strong gulp of her Frappuccino, immediately followed by violent coughing—
"Cough cough cough!"
What the heck?
A simulator?
Seeing Hitori react like this, Nijika had a clear answer in her heart.
"As I thought, Bocchi-chan, you also have a simulator…"
"N-Nijika-chan, you too? I-Is it also a love simulator?"
Hitori had calmed down a little, but she still had not fully accepted this earth-shattering revelation.
The fact that both she and Toru had simulators was something Bocchi-chan understood perfectly.
But suddenly telling her that there was another girl in the band connected into this multiplayer session, that kind of ending was not something Bocchi-chan could easily accept.
What happened to the classic boy meets girl storyline?
How did it evolve into a love triangle?
"Mine is a mom simulator… the content should be different from yours." Nijika confessed directly.
Anyway, the simulator had no detailed rules about this kind of thing.
Hitori: "..."
This is not right, is it?
If Nijika-chan has a mom simulator, then why is my love simulator always losing in the simulated world?
She had lost nearly ten times in a row.
And she kept getting cuckolded every time.
"Also, I suspect that Ryo and Kita-chan might have simulators like us." Nijika immediately voiced another guess.
At first, she had not thought in this direction, only had vague suspicions.
But after Hitori exposed herself, Nijika arrived at a further line of thought.
Countless clues in her mind connected into a single line.
For example…
What is a sub-machine?
It probably refers to her own and Bocchi-chan's simulators.
Then what is the main machine?
Without surprises, it was Toru-kun's simulator.
Where did all these simulators come from?
Nijika did not know. Maybe even Toru did not know.
"Ryo-san and Kita-chan?"
Hitori suddenly felt that losing so many times in the simulations was not unjust after all.
If it was a five-player multiplayer game, then it was normal that she could not win. It would be strange if she stood out every single time.
"Don't you think the two of them gained affection toward Toru-kun way too fast? …Just like me, whoosh whoosh, like riding a rocket."
Starting from herself, Nijika inferred Yamada Ryo and Kita Ikuyo's mental states.
She had participated in Kita Ikuyo's simulation, so she knew the reason—
Toru had developed pancreatic cancer, untreatable, and in the end left Kita Ikuyo with lifelong regret.
But why did Ryo fall in love with Toru?
That part, Nijika truly did not know.
"…So that's how it is."
As the first girl to obtain a simulator, Hitori recalled Yamada Ryo's simulation, her own actions, and how she had been carried at the start, only for Ryo-san to lose everything in the end.
She understood instantly.
Lifelong regret… this was far more devastating than the lingering impact of regret from that first simulation.
In regret, the woman could not make amends, but at least the man had not died.
With lifelong regret, the man had definitely died. And he had even been killed by Ryo-san's own hands. The destructive power of that could not be underestimated.
"After the music festival is over, let's talk to them together. For now, let's leave it. It wouldn't be good to ruin the festival because of something like this."
Nijika made the suggestion.
Hitori nodded.
"Bocchi-chan…"
"What is it?"
Did Nijika-chan still want to say something?
"Don't you think it's really excessive that every time Toru-kun runs a simulation, he marries a different girl he likes?"
"I-It really is a bit excessive." Hitori nodded hard.
"A bad guy like that, should we… maybe, get a little revenge on him?"
"…Mm."
Hitori hesitated.
As Toru's loyal little bootlicker, she really was not able to do something like backstabbing him.
But the aura of a darkened little angel was truly terrifying. As a social anxiety sufferer, Bocchi-chan did not dare to refuse at all.
————
Minato Ward, Tokyo.
On the living room sofa.
While watching TV, Toru suddenly felt a chill run through him.
So startled that he hurriedly shifted into a more comfortable position.