"It's Mutsumi-chan. She really is a super cute girl!"
Kita carefully chose her words, afraid of hurting Kamijou Mutsuki.
For some reason, it felt like the girl in front of him had suddenly become a bit cautious. Was that just his imagination?
At this moment, the shop assistant had finished ringing up the purchase.
"Oh right, senpai — want to exchange LINE?"
After taking the guitar, the girl suddenly pulled out her phone and said this to Kamijou Mutsuki.
"Could this be Kita-chan's true objective? Your pickup techniques are frighteningly polished."
Looking at Kita, who had taken the initiative to exchange LINE — even though he had been thinking the same thing — Kamijou Mutsuki shamelessly turned the accusation around on her.
"Pickup? Th-that's not it at all!"
As expected, her cheeks flushed bright red after hearing his words.
"Senpai is way too narcissistic, okay?"
"I'm just… repaying you! That's right!"
"Just helping a little and getting a cute girl's LINE in return — senpai's the one who profited."
Oh no. She seems to know she's cute!
"You're the one calling yourself a cute girl. The narcissistic one is you, Kita-chan, right?"
"Senpai has no right to say that!"
"So, are we exchanging or not?"
"We are!"
Kita LINE get!
"Then senpai, I'll head off first~"
After exchanging LINE, Kita smiled and waved at Kamijou Mutsuki before carrying her guitar and leaving.
"Oh, right—"
But halfway out, the girl suddenly turned around.
"Senpai, that nickname 'Ms. Kaerimichi' is seriously super awful, you know~"
"If you call me that again, I'm ignoring you, you mean-spirited senpai~"
This time, Kita really did leave.
Is it really that bad?
He thought it was pretty cute.
Still, now that she had bought a real guitar, Kita probably wouldn't reenact the classic "runaway guitarist" storyline again, right?
Probably?
Alright. Since the side episode was over, it was time to complete the main quest.
This time, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't hesitate.
So-called decision paralysis was all caused by insufficient budget.
Therefore—
"I'll take one of each of these models!"
Kamijou Mutsuki picked several well-known brands and bought one of each.
A few guitars weren't worth much anyway. No need to waste brain cells deciding. Buying them to collect wasn't bad either.
"Are you sure it's these ones?"
The young female shop owner's expression instantly became enthusiastic. It seemed she had encountered a big client this time.
"That's right. Send them all to this address!"
After having the shop owner deliver the guitars to the mansion that originally belonged to Sakiko, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't stay any longer and left.
However, running into Kita had given him some other ideas.
Come to think of it, these days he had been constantly surrounded by heavy girls from BanG Dream!, to the point that he felt like he was getting heavy himself.
It was about time to interact with characters from another series.
Moreover, Kamijou Mutsuki had a premonition that the anime he would create in the future would definitely include Bocchi the Rock!.
So should he just go to STARRY in advance to scout things out and line up voice actors first?
But today wasn't the weekend. Even if he went to STARRY, he probably wouldn't see Nijika and the others.
Right — since it wasn't the weekend, why wasn't Kita at school?
Forget it. A good kid like Kita definitely wouldn't skip school. There must be some reason he didn't know about.
After thinking for a while, Kamijou Mutsuki still decided to go take a look at STARRY. He was free anyway.
However, there was one problem.
Where exactly was STARRY again?
According to his memory, it seemed to be somewhere near Shimokitazawa. It shouldn't be hard to find, right?
That was what Kamijou Mutsuki thought.
And so, a little over ten minutes later, he took out his phone and decided to just check the navigation app after all.
But just as he unlocked the screen, a blue figure entered his field of vision.
Seriously, was it that coincidental today?
Or did they have some kind of special setting where once one appeared, the others would follow one after another?
Kamijou Mutsuki put his phone away, rubbed his temples, and walked over to the girl's side.
The girl was dressed in black from head to toe — a top and long pants with a distinctly boyish style. Her appearance was also very androgynous. Not a tomboy, but the type that could charm both men and women alike.
Combined with the tear mole at the corner of her eye, she looked cool and alluring — an androgynous beauty who could easily farm "beautiful girl coins" with just her face.
What attracted Kamijou Mutsuki the most were her golden eyes — the same color as Mutsumi's.
Yamada Ryō. That was the name of the girl Kita had admired earlier.
And what was this beautiful girl doing right now?
Pulling weeds in the grass nearby.
If one only read the description, one might think she was doing some kind of volunteer work.
But if one saw her occasionally stuffing the entire uprooted weed straight into her mouth, they probably wouldn't think that anymore.
Wait, you're actually eating it?
"There's only enough here for one person."
Seemingly sensing someone beside her, the girl spoke without turning her head.
"If you want to eat, go find somewhere else!"
"Objectively speaking, isn't this public property? And can this stuff really be eaten?"
Kamijou Mutsuki knew a lot of things, but this clearly touched on one of his knowledge blind spots.
"…"
Hearing that, the girl stopped what she was doing and stood up.
Only then did Kamijou Mutsuki finally see her face clearly.
She was truly beautiful — and the kind more likely to attract the same sex than the opposite.
"I'm proficient in plant classification. I can identify most edible grasses. Are you questioning my professionalism?"
Is there really any need to be proficient in such strange knowledge?
"Want to try?"
The girl picked out a smaller blade from the bunch in her hand and held it out to Kamijou Mutsuki.
Is she really that kind?
Still, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't refuse. He was genuinely curious what it tasted like.
As for the result…
It could only be described as a rather unique experience.
"1,000,000 yen, please."
Seeing that Kamijou Mutsuki had finished eating the grass, the girl revealed a smile of triumph.
"Payment, please!"
Apparently having sensed the aura of a rich guy on him, she directly named an outrageous price.
Oh, so this is where she was waiting for him?
"That expensive? Is the grass made of gold, or are the roots made of gold?"
"I'm made of gold."
"…"
"You can bargain."
The girl kindly reminded him. She hadn't actually intended to ask for that much.
But after eating her grass, did he think he could just walk away without dropping some coins?
"Then… 1 yen?"
Bargaining like that?
Are you deliberately picking a fight?
Oh, she started it first?
Then never mind.
"How about I perform a magic trick for you, and we'll count that as payment?"
"…Alright."
It was the first time the girl had met someone who could keep up with — or even break — her rhythm. She wanted to see what kind of trick the boy in front of her could pull.
"Then give me the grass in your hand first."
"…Here."
After hesitating for a moment, the girl handed over what had been her half-day's worth of food to Kamijou Mutsuki.
.......................