[Your married life with Ryo is happy, but you can sense that, without music, something vital in her spirit has faded.]
[The once inseparable bandmates have scattered, forced to give up on their shared dream for the sake of survival.]
[Gotoh Hitori mustered the courage to find a job, but her overwhelming social anxiety made it hard for her to do well. Kita Ikuyo, on the other hand, became a popular travel blogger, busy every day with "Try Not to Laugh" challenges.]
[Ijichi Nijika took over her sister's livehouse "Starry." Whenever she saw young bands take the stage, she couldn't help but think back to their time together, sometimes dreaming of a world where Kessoku Band made it to Budokan.]
[You realized that it's only after losing something that its beauty becomes truly clear.]
[Perhaps to fill the void left by music, Ryo began seeking fulfillment elsewhere. Your energy waned, and even the local convenience store owner made you a loyalty card just for your frequent visits.]
[Yamada Ryo became pregnant.]
"…Didn't we just get married?"
Kazami Haru couldn't help picturing Ryo's cool, beautiful face. Usually indifferent to everything except bass, she lost interest in most things in minutes.
For her to suddenly go this far after marriage? Talk about letting loose…
PIC[1]:
[This important event made you drop everything to care for your wife full-time.]
[She, however, remained utterly unbothered, telling bad bass puns and joking that they should name the baby "Frieza" if it was a boy, with zero signs of maternal instinct.]
[One year later, you and Ryo welcomed your daughter into the world.]
That fast?
Even though it was just text in a simulation, the idea of becoming a father so suddenly left Haru reeling.
No downtime or maintenance whatsoever?
Was this his problem… or Ryo's?
[You named her Kazami Kanade—"Kanade" meaning to play a heavenly melody, a name that carried the weight of your unfulfilled dreams.]
[Kanade was bright, gentle, and full of energy. Unlike her emotionless mother, she always wore a big, warm smile.]
[Compared to her overly clingy mother, she seemed to take after you more.]
[Her birth brought the scattered members of Kessoku Band back together, and your home, once quiet, became unexpectedly lively.]
[Gotoh Hitori volunteered to handle meals. Kita Ikuyo paused her influencer career to help care for Ryo during her postpartum recovery. Nijika took over full responsibility for baby Kanade as her "godmother."]
[You couldn't help but notice Nijika's gaze toward Kanade carried a hint of longing.]
Wait, does Nijika really… like him?
Haru had half-jokingly suspected she had a crush before, but now… maybe he'd been right all along.
It seemed the once-straightforward pure love route had taken a complicated turn.
Wasn't this supposed to be a standard romance simulator?
How had it become a love triangle?
Could it be… that his charm was simply too overpowering. Even Nijika, an angel in human form, couldn't resist?
Even if the text didn't fully convey her feelings, Kazami Haru could sense Nijika's emotions.
Still, he'd already decided, he'd follow through with Ryo's pure love route to the very end.
If he went chasing after Nijika now, he'd be no better than a two-timing dirtbag.
[Kanade's growth amazed you. At a very young age, she already demonstrated extraordinary musical sense, able to identify pitch even without reference tones.]
[She truly was Ryo's spiritual successor.]
[But perhaps due to Ryo's hands-off parenting, Kanade didn't show much affection toward her birth mother. She was far more attached to you and her godmother Nijika.]
[She even chose drums over your piano or Ryo's bass. Despite Nijika's insistence she never taught her, Kanade mastered the instrument at a shockingly young age.]
[You couldn't help but laugh and cry at once.]
"I'm going to marry Papa when I grow up."
Little Kazami Kanade declared this with total seriousness, her golden eyes, so much like her mother's shining with conviction, her porcelain face knotted in concentration.
Nijika, still single, had blossomed into a cheerful and irresistibly cute woman.
She smiled warmly and patted Kanade's head. These innocent declarations from children always made her smile.
But what came next made her hand freeze.
"I want to be the legal wife. And I'll have Godmother marry Papa too."
"Awawawa?! K-Kanade! That's not funny at all!"
Nijika flailed her hands, her cheeks flushing scarlet, nervously twisting her fingers through her golden bangs.
Once she calmed down, she realized she was being far too flustered—in front of a child, no less.
"What did Papa say?"
"He said no. Told me to stop dreaming."
Just as Kanade turned her hopeful eyes to Kazami Haru, a chill sliced through the room.
A voice like frost, crisp enough to freeze the air, rang out from behind him.
Yamada Ryo, expressionless in a long dress, stepped forward and looked her daughter dead in the eye.
Her gaze was fierce, as if channeling Frieza from Dragon Ball, staring down Krillin with the power to crush him with a single finger.
Kanade glared right back, undaunted by her mother's icy authority.
"Ryo… seriously? You're going to fight your daughter over this?"
Nijika let out a deep sigh, shooting her lifelong friend a weary look.
Even as a mother, Ryo was still just a big, unrepentant child.
"Kanade, watch carefully."
Ignoring Nijika, a sharp glint flashed in Ryo's golden eyes.
She grabbed Kazami Haru and pinned him to the couch, planting a deep, unapologetic French kiss on him, right in front of their daughter.
Their silhouettes stayed merged for a long time.
"Haru belongs to me. And Nijika, too, is my sidechick."
With a defiant laugh, Ryo wrapped her arm around a blushing, stammering Nijika and pulled her into an embrace, boldly posing with her man and her rival in her arms like a smug queen.
"Now do you understand who's the boss?"
Seeing her beloved father and favorite godmother both being "coerced" in such a shameless and underhanded way, Kazami Kanade cried out loud for the first time since becoming old enough to understand.
[1] https://imgur.com/pteqeZh