Chapter 69: Harem (Part 1)

The next day, when she arrived at STARRY, she heard Ishikawa Hayato's voice.

"STARRY, your emperor has returned!"

Although it was another strange remark like that, her tense expression relaxed slightly, but quickly tightened again.

She took a sign out of a cloth bag, hung it around her neck, and resolutely walked in...

After entering STARRY, Hitori ran down the stairs as if fleeing, and without hesitation, in front of her surprised friends, she prostrated herself on the ground.

In a dogeza, she earnestly expressed her sincerity, raising her voice to mask her fear.

"Please... please forgive me."

The shop, which had been lively due to Ishikawa Hayato, was suddenly swept by an inexplicable, strange wind.

The four stared blankly at Hitori.

"Gotou-san?" Kita exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh, what, what, what's wrong?" Nijika was so flustered she didn't know what to do.

Sensing that the atmosphere was not quite what she had imagined, Hitori looked up, her clear blue eyes filled with unease and confusion as she looked at them.

Her voice was timid but she spoke extremely quickly.

"Aren't you going to call me out and set me on fire for getting carried away and being completely unable to write lyrics?"

"We wouldn't do something so devilish!"

Nijika couldn't help but exclaim.

Understanding the situation, Ishikawa Hayato stepped forward, extending his hand to Hitori, and he smiled.

"Bocchi's wild ideas are truly very amusing."

"Mm."

Ryo, sitting at the table, looked at Hitori and responded softly.

Kita suddenly felt something, and her gaze swept over Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo.

On the other side, Hitori took Ishikawa Hayato's hand and stood up. After she stood up, she looked at Ishikawa Hayato for a while, as if with anticipation and happiness.

As Ishikawa Hayato was being watched by her, he thought for a moment, observing her changed attire today, especially her exposed, fair and round legs, and said,

"You didn't specially wear a skirt for the immolation, did you?"

Feeling Ishikawa Hayato's gaze fixed on her exposed legs, Hitori's face quickly flushed. She nervously shuffled her feet slightly.

"Mm..."

She responded softly.

Nijika, beside her, noticed Hitori's reaction and tugged on Ishikawa Hayato's arm.

"Hayato-kun, that gaze is rude!"

Ishikawa Hayato heard her words, and instead of being ashamed, he turned back proudly, his smile bright.

"You haven't forgotten what I am, have you?"

Nijika instantly froze.

At this moment, in this chaotic scene where everyone acted on their own, Kita, following her own thoughts, urged Nijika.

"Ijiichi-senpai, what is today's meeting for?"

Nijika came back to her senses, gave Ishikawa Hayato a reproachful look, and then replied,

"Everyone, please sit down first."

After she finished speaking, she walked to the corner and pulled over a whiteboard.

Stopping the whiteboard next to the table, Nijika looked at the four people who were sitting obediently, waiting for today's topic, nodded with satisfaction, and tapped the whiteboard, saying,

"Today, we need to think about what we, as a band, are still lacking."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ishikawa Hayato immediately responded mischievously,

"Performances, right?"

And these words turned into an invisible gun, instantly piercing Kita's chest opposite her. She even had a bewildered and expectant expression before being impaled.

Then she slumped weakly onto the chair.

Nijika looked at Kita's devastated state and called out anxiously,

"It's something else!"

As if to quickly prove it, she reached behind the whiteboard and fiddled with something.

Her voice trailed off, with a smile that anticipated their reactions.

"For example..."

After fiddling for a while, she smiled happily and raised her hand, which was tied with a hair tie.

"I've already made the band's merchandise!"

After showing it to the four, she smiled and returned to her seat with various colored hair ties, sitting down, her bright red eyes looking at them expectantly.

Seeing the hair ties on the table, Ishikawa Hayato reached out and took a black one, casually comparing it to his hair color.

At the same time, he didn't forget to tease Nijika.

"Watching Nijika go from opposition, to tacit approval, and finally accepting it so happily, I really feel so sad."

"Don't say such strange things! And Hayato-kun, didn't you also agree to this band name!"

Beside him, Ryo, like Ishikawa Hayato, took out a blue one and tried it on her hand.

Kita, seeing Ryo's actions, came back to her senses, took out two or three from the bag, kept a blue one in her hand, looked at it, and asked Nijika uncertainly,

"Can this be made into band merchandise?"

"Isn't it very cute? This is enough."

Nijika's voice was sweet as she charmingly brushed it off.

Ryo, looking at the hair tie in her hand, stated calmly,

"Sell one for 500 yen. Sell one with a signature for 650 yen." (Note: 100 hair ties cost about 100 yen)

She said, trying to write her signature on the hair tie.

Kita, who had just been wondering if it could be made into band merchandise, heard Ryo's words, her attitude changed, and she excitedly pulled out money, exclaiming,

"So cheap, I'll buy it!"

Ishikawa Hayato, sitting next to Ryo, watched Hitori looking around but not saying a word, took the bag of hair ties from the front, and pushed it towards Hitori.

Hitori blinked, tried to reach out her hand, and took two, one black and one pink.

Nijika looked at them playing with the hair ties, raised her fair small hand happily, and asked,

"Does anyone else have any ideas? Please speak."

Kita eagerly raised her hand.

"How about starting a fan club!"

After she finished speaking, she immediately looked at Ryo opposite her, her eyes burning, almost screaming, 'I want to be Ryo-senpai's number one fan.'

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Hitori, who was startled by Kita's reminder, then looked at Ryo, who was silently playing with the hair tie in her hand, and said to Kita,

"Kita, wipe your drool."

"Eh!"

Kita frantically wiped her mouth, but there was no moisture on her hand at all. She immediately knew she had been tricked again.

And it was in front of Ryo-senpai, making her so embarrassed.

"Ishikawa-kun, your personality is terrible."

She clutched the hair tie in her hand, staring at Ishikawa Hayato, speaking with a suppressed, angry smile.

Ishikawa Hayato felt his neck tighten a bit, and he covered his mouth with a smile, indicating that he would behave.

Nijika looked admiringly at Kita's desperate counterattack against Ishikawa Hayato.

After things quieted down, Ryo took off the hair tie and waved it.

As if she had everything arranged, she said methodically,

"The club's annual fee is ten thousand yen."

"Club member benefits include handshake events and a once-a-year opportunity to hold a takoyaki party with the Band members."

"Bring your own ingredients."

It's mainly about the takoyaki party, isn't it?

Ishikawa Hayato looked at Ryo beside him, staring at her mouth.

But for a long time, he didn't see any drool flowing out.

Kita, making an encore, immediately pulled out money, and without blinking, exclaimed,

"So cheap, I want to join!"

Nijika reminded her with some helplessness,

"Kita-chan, you're already a band member."

Kita calmed down, sat back down, and noticed Hitori, who had been silent since the beginning.

Thinking that they might have been exchanging too quickly, leaving her no chance to speak.

So she asked Hitori,

"Gotou-san, do you have any ideas?"

Hitori was startled, her expression blank. She thought for a moment, just about to reply to Kita, "I have no ideas."

Her gaze met Kita's, and she froze, stammering,

"This... that..."

"Speaking of which, there should be one more thing to do today, right?"

Ishikawa Hayato spoke at this moment, drawing everyone's attention.

"That is..." Ishikawa Hayato took out a pair of glasses emitting a dazzling white light from his pocket and put them on.

"Nijika, I've already seen the camera and stand in the corner."

Nijika cooperatively showed an awkward smile.

"Haha... Yes, as Hayato-kun says."

She stood up, seriously, as if this was the main purpose of the meeting, and suggested,

"Let's take artist photos."

Kita inexplicably felt a chill in her heart.

She looked in the direction the alarms ringing in her head was telling her to look, and saw Ishikawa Hayato was holding his face in both hands, grinning at her.

This Pervert didn't even need to speak to attract everyone's attention.

Then the gazes of the other three shifted from Ishikawa Hayato to Kita, whom he was staring at.

Kita's expression froze, and she lowered her head, apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry!"

Hitori tilted her head slightly, clearly not understanding the situation.

Ishikawa Hayato explained to her,

"Because Kita ran away immediately after taking the artist photos."

Hitori blinked admiringly.

She was considerate of Kita's feelings and said nothing, only muttering to herself inwardly.

'As expected of a social butterfly, she ran away without hesitation.'

...

"Well then, the weather is also nice today..."

Nijika told Kita not to worry, then smiled and stood up, just about to suggest going outside to take photos when...

Ishikawa Hayato extended his hand.

"Wait!"

"Hayato-kun, what is it again...?" Nijika sighed slightly.

"Last time the photos were too ordinary. This time, let's add some impact!"

"I refuse!"

Nijika rejected his suggestion without a second thought.

Kita also objected.

"Weren't Ishikawa-kun's impromptu photos from last time unusable anyway?"

She wasn't saying this because Ishikawa Hayato had just played a trick on her.

Kita's current understanding of Ishikawa Hayato was that when the band faced an obstacle, Ishikawa Hayato would step up.

But when the band had no obstacles, Ishikawa Hayato was the biggest obstacle.

"Impromptu photos?" Hitori repeated in a surprised whisper.

"Do you want to see them?"

Noticing her expression, Ryo-senpai unhurriedly tapped her phone a few times and showed it to Hitori.

Hitori looked at the phone Ryo-senpai displayed, saw Ishikawa Hayato hanging upside down in the picture, and her eyes widened in surprise.

'So cool!'

'How was it taken!?'

'I really want to save a copy!'

But Ryo-senpai, as if oblivious, took her phone back after showing it to her.

Unlike the peaceful atmosphere on this side, the other side had already reached the climax of their battle.

"Nijika~"

Ishikawa Hayato dragged out his plea, "Please."

Nijika looked at him with a headache, feeling like the activity couldn't continue. She looked at the others, seeking their opinions.

She first looked at Ryo-senpai.

Ryo-senpai propped her chin with her hand and said nonchalantly,

"One or two photos are fine, as long as it makes Hayato-kun settle down."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ishikawa Hayato immediately raised his hand and swore,

"I promise, I'll cooperate obediently with the photos afterward!"

Kita and Nijika's ominous premonitions grew stronger.

Kita looked at Ryo-senpai, then at Ishikawa Hayato, and said hesitantly,

"If Ryo-senpai says so..."

Seeing that both of them agreed, Nijika then asked Hitori, who had been looking around at them and hadn't spoken.

"What about Bocchi-chan?"

"I... I'm fine."

"Alright!" Ishikawa Hayato slapped the table and stood up, his momentum soaring to the sky.

"Everyone, wait for me."

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the performance preparation room under their gaze.

Nijika looked at Ishikawa Hayato's disappearing figure in confusion. What was he planning to do?

Soon, Ishikawa Hayato emerged from the performance preparation room with a European-style chair. It had intricate patterns, was upholstered in genuine leather, and looked quite expensive.

Nijika was startled.

Where did he get that from!?

Afterward, Ishikawa Hayato quickly placed the chair in front of the stage, confirmed its position, then went to Nijika to get the camera and tripod, setting them up in front of the chair.

He carefully checked the lens and distance.

Once everything was ready, he walked over and pulled Nijika and Ryo-senpai.

"Nijika and Ryo-senpai, come and stand here."

"Wait..."

Nijika called out, concerned, while Ryo-senpai seemed to sense something, her expression becoming more serious.

But they didn't resist being directed by him, despite being older than Ishikawa Hayato, and followed him over.

After arranging Nijika and Ryo-senpai behind the chair, Ishikawa Hayato went back to pull Kita and Hitori.

"Then Bocchi and Kita, lean against the chair legs diagonally."

The two walked over. Although Hitori's face showed some unease about being photographed, she obediently complied.

And Kita, after hesitating and looking at the other three, also obediently sat on the ground and leaned against the chair's leg.

Ishikawa Hayato quickly set up the camera before they could react.

Then he scurried back.

He sat on the chair, crossed his legs, rested his hand on the armrest, propping up his cheek.

With a smile that was three parts arrogant, three parts dashing, three parts uninhibited, and one part imperious, he reminded them,

"3."

"2."

"1."

Although the girls all felt that something was off, they didn't want to be photographed looking strange, so they said nothing.

Click.

Nijika quickly walked over, took the camera, and looked at the results.

In the photo, the four of them surrounded Ishikawa Hayato, who sat on the chair like stars orbiting the moon, and he was beaming with pride, looking extremely smug.

Anyone looking at it would feel it was a photo of a harem king with his harem.

"Excellent! It would be even better if everyone could change into gowns," Ishikawa Hayato exclaimed.

Nijika glanced at him, holding the camera, her eyes blank. Her finger moved lightly, and she calmly tapped delete.

Ishikawa Hayato was savoring the beauty of the photo when he suddenly saw a "delete confirmation" pop up on the screen, and then Nijika, seemingly slowly but actually quickly, tapped delete.

Ishikawa Hayato froze. The next moment, he tragically fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming,

"NO!!!"

"Alright, let's go outside for photos now."

Nijika smiled, as if she had forgotten everything that had just happened, and suggested.

Kita, too, as if having lost all memory of the recent events, raised her hand with a sunny smile and chimed in,

"Oh~"

Only Hitori looked worriedly at Ishikawa Hayato, who was sprawled on the ground, but she didn't dare say anything and also weakly raised her hand with Kita.

"Oh..."