With the lucky addition of Awa Subaru as their drummer, Rinto felt even more confident about assembling the next-generation Momoka Band (?).
Momoka herself played guitar and handled vocals, and her skill was top-tier.
Awa Subaru played drums, and she was even willing to train at any time—a very convenient, always-available bandmate.
In theory, all they needed now was a bassist to form a basic band. And if they could get a keyboardist too, that would be even better.
Rinto was already practicing bass himself.
Even if he wasn't planning to officially debut alongside Momoka, joining the girls for some practice wouldn't be a problem.
And as for the keyboardist… well, wasn't that just the perfect coincidence?
Rinto just so happened to have gotten very close with a cute younger keyboardist.
They'd even reached the point where he'd made her cry, then coaxed her back into smiling!
Everything was falling perfectly into place, filling Rinto with hope for the future.
Still, even though he was excited, Rinto couldn't help but ask Subaru again:
"Subaru, are you really sure about this? You have your performing arts school, plus commercial shoots, gigs, and part-time jobs, right?"
"If you're too busy, you really don't have to push yourself. Momoka and I both appreciate you, so there's no need—mmph?!"
Before Rinto could finish, Subaru suddenly pressed both her warm, soft hands to his face, smiling cutely with an expression like (〃°ω°〃).
Subaru's body temperature was quite high—her hands were warm and fluffy, unlike most girls whose fingers were usually cold.
Flashing two rows of neat, white teeth in a mischievous grin, she teased him:
"Rin-rin~, this right here is your problem."
"When a girl says she's fine, you shouldn't ruin the moment with gloomy questions! A real man just accepts a girl's kindness straightforwardly. If I really didn't have time, I wouldn't have volunteered, so you can trust my scheduling skills completely!"
"...Oh. That's good then. Thanks, Subaru."
Rinto felt his cheeks heat slightly as this girl—same age as him, yet somehow feeling older than even Momoka—gently squeezed his face.
She truly was a rising idol star; her radiant smile was dangerously charming, enough to make any guy who saw it assume she was interested in him.
Rather than worrying about her time-management skills, Rinto was now more concerned about her interpersonal relationships.
Subaru wouldn't end up bullied at school by girls jealous of her popularity with guys...right? Probably not, right?
Having seen plenty of similar cases, Rinto couldn't help but worry. He decided to pay more attention to Subaru's private life between all her school and work obligations.
But before he could inquire further, a distinct sour, vinegary voice floated over from behind him:
"You two… What are you doing..."
Momoka stood there with a betrayed expression, looking back and forth between them in wounded disbelief.
Wait, no—! Rinto quickly opened his mouth to explain.
But Subaru, still gripping Rinto's face, was one step ahead. She quickly moved her hands to cover his mouth!
The idol girl giggled playfully:
"Rinto was just bragging to me about how happy he is dating you, Momoka-nee~! He was asking me for dating advice—where to take you on dates, what gifts to buy, stuff like that. He's practically radiating virgin energy."
Who the heck are you calling a virgin?! Rinto immediately glared daggers at Subaru!
He desperately wanted to clarify that he wasn't just no virgin—he was, in fact, a top-tier scumbag currently dating three girls at once!
But seeing Subaru's playful tongue-out expression of disgust, Momoka, cheeks flushed, couldn't suppress a delighted smile:
"Aiya! Rinto, what are you doing! I wanted to keep it secret from Subaru-chan a bit longer, but you just had to go and brag! Dummy, I'm not some trophy girlfriend to show off, okay~?"
Rinto: "...Um, sorry."
Finally freed from Subaru's hands, Rinto could only put on a helpless smile.
This useless 20-year-old onee-san was the one genuinely bragging—her smug, Versailles-like grin was unmistakable.
She probably still hadn't realized everyone around her knew about her private social media account, silently watching all her outrageous posts every day.
After that, Rinto quickly became irrelevant to the conversation.
Momoka and Subaru instantly switched to besties mode, chattering away intimately about guys, entirely absorbed in their bonding.
For some reason, whenever girls got boyfriends, they always loved to complain to each other as a form of bragging—and their girlfriends would always enthusiastically echo them.
Subaru clearly anticipated this and matched Momoka perfectly.
It continued all the way until the three of them got off work.
Then Subaru seized an opportunity, pulling Rinto's arm to make him bend down closer.
Standing on tiptoe, she leaned toward Rinto's ear, whispering softly with a teasing breath:
"You want to surprise Momoka-nee, right? Then don't reveal anything about the band yet."
"It's our little secret, so get ready to give her a nice surprise later~♡. Until then, just take her out more often—I'll teach you exactly how to keep her happy."
"All right, you're the boss."
Rinto obediently nodded, deciding to rely on this strategist for all romance-related issues from now on.
Subaru smiled in satisfaction, waving goodbye to Rinto and Momoka before quickly disappearing into the distance.
She must truly be a master with tons of romantic experience… Rinto's heart was filled with respect for this black-haired, straight-banged Love Goddess.
The next morning, Rinto prepared breakfast and packed lunch as usual before heading to school.
As it was the second week of the new term, most subjects had started giving diagnostic quizzes to gauge each student's academic level.
Sitting right in front of Rinto, Takamaki Ann furiously scribbled through English class without issue, yet struggled through every other subject, scratching her head endlessly.
Watching this from behind, Rinto couldn't help but find it amusing. Humans really were fascinating creatures.
Even Morgana, tucked away in his desk, softly whispered:
"If you need my help, just let me know. I can always sneak a peek at someone else's answers for you, you know~?"
"Thanks, but I'm good."
Rinto reached in and gently scratched Morgana's chin with two fingers, prompting delighted purrs.
Not to brag, but Rinto had already maxed out his five personal attributes several times over during the past three years.
When he'd had nothing better to do, he'd ventured into the Metaverse, hunted down Shadows who represented teachers or professors, brutally defeated them, politely "asked" them to teach him their knowledge, and then mercilessly crushed them.
And perhaps due to spending so much time adapting to the Metaverse…
Studying there had been incredibly efficient for him, allowing him to easily retain most information after just one reading.
He'd already self-taught the entire high-school curriculum, making second-year coursework effortless for him right now. His perfect image as a model student was rock-solid.
Once lunchtime came, Takamaki Ann immediately spun around after being freed from four back-to-back quizzes and slumped her whole body onto Rinto's desk:
"I can't take this anymore~! I hate exam-focused education! Why do high school students have to take such strict exams?!"
"I mean, since university exists after high school, why not just ease up on high school a bit and let students compete when they get into college instead? Wouldn't it be better if only students who genuinely excelled could graduate from university~?"
Rinto: "Complaining about this to me won't help... Besides, if too many people failed to graduate from university, wouldn't that mean wasting several years? Maybe that's why they make us fight over college admissions in high school instead?"
Rinto looked at Ann with amusement.
Her chin lay flat on his desk, squashing even her strikingly attractive features, distinctively foreign-looking as they were.
This girl really didn't care about keeping up appearances—perhaps this was confidence from natural beauty.
Rinto felt no reservations either, casually playing with her long twin-tails:
"Don't you wanna eat lunch? Still need to go call Shiho, right?"
"Mmm, just a bit longer… let me rest a little more… hm?"
Ann was still mumbling cutely, letting her good bro toy around with her hair.
Suddenly, the class atmosphere shifted, and Ann turned her head toward the door along with everyone else.
A third-year senpai stood at the classroom entrance, quickly striding toward them.
Every student knew her: it was none other than the famous student council president, Niijima Makoto.
Makoto paused a moment longer than usual at the intimate scene between Rinto and Ann, but ultimately said nothing about it.
She brushed her hair neatly behind her ear and addressed Rinto directly:
"Asakura-kun, could you come with me to the student council room for a bit? It won't take long."
"At your command, Kaichou-senpai."
Rinto gave an exaggerated salute, causing Makoto to fall into awkward silence.
He first handed his lunchbox over to Ann, telling her to go ahead and eat with Shiho, then followed his handsome senpai to the student council room—for the second day in a row.
Once inside that secluded space, Makoto immediately let out a heavy, deflated sigh:
"Sorry for drawing so much attention to you. But there's something I needed to confirm as soon as possible… I feel terrible for interrupting your time with your girlfriend."
"No worries, no worries," Rinto waved dismissively. "Ann's just a close bro, not my girlfriend. Besides, if you hadn't come looking for me, I would've gone to find you anyway."
"You probably wanted to talk about your sister, Prosecutor Niijima, right?"
Makoto hesitated slightly. Seeing Rinto being so upfront, she dropped her reserved facade as well.
She leaned back against the desk, hugging one arm slightly defensively, and sighed softly:
"Last night, my sister—the prosecutor Niijima you mentioned—came home and asked me specifically to look after you at school."
"I heard you're related to a justice at the Supreme Court, and you were arranged to assist my sister's investigation into the Phantom Thieves. Honestly, ever since the Kamoshida incident, my sister has tasked me with keeping an eye on suspicious students at school. That's why I tested you like that yesterday... Sorry."
Makoto bowed deeply with clasped hands, sincerely apologizing.
Seeing her genuine remorse, Rinto actually felt a bit sorry for her.
That judge-uncle of his was trying to clear a path for him, using Niijima Sae as an excuse to take care of him.
Sae herself accepted the arrangement, only to delegate part of that responsibility to her high-schooler little sister, asking Makoto to keep an eye on him too.
Layers upon layers of connections—honestly, Rinto felt like some spoiled young master benefiting from nepotism.
So, he gently reached out, helping Makoto stand upright, deliberately sighing with mock annoyance:
"These connections from higher-ups sure are troublesome, right? Senpai, I completely understand your situation. If I were in your shoes, I'd be irritated too. Having a prosecutor for an older sister must be really tough."
"But honestly, your sister may be intimidating, but she's also extremely attractive. Having such a talented older sister is actually pretty nice—I'm seriously jealous."
"...Haha~ Yeah, she's the sister I'm very proud of."
Makoto's eyes lit up immediately, and she laughed cheerfully in agreement.
Seeing her like this was far better than the overly-serious facade she usually wore. Despite being the student council president, she was still just a kid at heart.
Now that they had cleared the air, Makoto felt much less burdened.
She appreciated how straightforward and honest Rinto was, so she decided to speak plainly:
"Since you're involved now, Asakura-kun, you must have heard about the Phantom Thieves, right? According to information my sister received from the SIU, they believe the Phantom Thieves likely have an informant at our school. Honestly, I think so too."
"Especially considering that online 'Phantom Thief Request Channel'—the information it gathers about the Phantom Thieves incidents surpasses even what the SIU can find. And because it's an illegal website, the authorities have tried shutting it down multiple times. But each time, it resurfaces, and they can never capture the site's creators."
This was exactly what the judge-uncle had mentioned:
"The Phantom Thieves must have powerful capabilities in hacking and intelligence-gathering."
And since the Phantom Thief Request Channel primarily spread among young people, the higher-ups naturally suspected that the Phantom Thieves deliberately targeted youths who were easily influenced, either to boost their fame or to recruit informants.
Makoto's tone grew even more serious:
"Even without concrete proof, I suspect someone at our school is directly feeding information to the Phantom Thieves. That's why Kamoshida's repentance developed so quickly. Right after the school term started, he disappeared for a week, and then suddenly confessed, didn't he?"
"Perhaps the Phantom Thieves continuously threatened Kamoshida during that period, eventually breaking through his psychological defenses. Incitement, coercion, intimidation… The Phantom Thieves are exceptionally skilled. Making Kamoshida confess so swiftly, without leaking any clues—it's a criminal act so perfect it truly suits a Phantom Thief."
"Senpai, do you support the Phantom Thieves' methods?" Rinto suddenly asked.
Makoto flinched slightly. "Why do you ask that?"
Rinto shrugged. "Because it sounded like you admire them, Senpai."
Ah, this... Makoto pursed her lips in embarrassment.
Although she was a proper, handsome student council president, she clearly wasn't good at hiding her real feelings—truly a straightforward person.
She nervously played with a strand of hair, desperately trying to explain herself:
"It's not that I support them. How do I say this…? I've been at Shujin for two years already, and this is my third."
"But even though I was here the whole time, I never noticed the things Kamoshida was doing… Those abuses happened right under my nose, but as student council president, I failed to do anything for those students who suffered… It makes me feel deeply ashamed."
Her sense of responsibility was truly immense.
Even though she was just a student herself, this council president wasn't just focused on impressing teachers—she genuinely wanted to take responsibility for other students.
Having such thoughts alone was already rare. She continued speaking earnestly:
"The Phantom Thieves accomplished what I couldn't, so part of me genuinely feels grateful to them… Ah, of course, what they did was unquestionably criminal."
"But sometimes I wonder—if we had just pushed ourselves harder, maybe we could have stopped people like Kamoshida before the Phantom Thieves needed to intervene… I wonder if they're just filling in for our incompetence and failures—I've had thoughts like that…"
What am I even saying… Makoto finally realized, blushing faintly.