After Hoshino Miru left with her guitar, Wakaba Mutsuki took out her phone.
"Toyokawa Sakiko: How is he?"
Hoshino Miru had no idea he had vastly underestimated the relationship between these childhood friends - they had a bond of being each other's other half.
Even if the band disbanded, their relationship wouldn't change.
"Wakaba Mutsuki: Very gentle."
"Toyokawa Sakiko: Mm-hmm, what's his skill level? Can he learn guitar?"
"Wakaba Mutsuki: Very impressive."
"Toyokawa Sakiko: What level is "very impressive"?"
"Wakaba Mutsuki: He can mimic me."
"Toyokawa Sakiko: Mimic?"
"Toyokawa Sakiko: Never mind, I won't ask too much. If you feel you can get along with him, I'm relieved."
"Wakaba Mutsuki: Mm."
Wakaba Mutsuki put away her phone and returned to her basement, picking up her familiar guitar and gently caressing the body, her fingers producing a few string sounds.
She rarely had contact with strangers, much less actively gifted guitars.
It was somewhat incredible.
Like when she entrusted the umbrella to Hoshino Miru, Wakaba Mutsuki inexplicably felt an unwarranted sense of trust toward this boy.
Especially thinking about how he'd been with Toyokawa Sakiko these past days made Wakaba Mutsuki deeply envious.
She clearly knew Toyokawa Sakiko was suffering and in pain, yet she couldn't say anything, having to entrust even an umbrella to a stranger to deliver to Toyokawa Sakiko.
However, she finally knew this stranger's name.
Wakaba Mutsuki looked down at her small hand, as if still able to feel the lingering sensation.
How strange - her heart had been beating so fast then.
...
Hoshino Miru carried the guitar on his back, looking suspiciously at the popup window that had suddenly appeared.
[From today's interaction, Wakaba Mutsuki has developed feelings of envy toward you.]
[Wakaba Mutsuki's intimacy toward you has increased. You may choose one from the following options.]
[One: Charm +1] [Two: Black over-knee socks worn by Wakaba Mutsuki] [Three: Cucumber personally grown by Wakaba Mutsuki]
It didn't appear in the basement earlier but chose to show up now?
Never mind the black over-knee socks - what kind of reward was a cucumber?
At this moment, Hoshino Miru only felt speechless.
Because it was a cucumber personally grown by a beautiful girl, it counted as a reward?
Hoshino Miru ignored this option. Cucumbers could be bought anywhere at the supermarket - he didn't lack one cucumber.
As for worn stockings and such, he naturally couldn't choose that either, because Kasugano Sora's white stockings were at home.
Hoshino Miru chose to add points to [Charm].
As the popup disappeared, Hoshino Miru wasn't sure if he had changed. He couldn't feel changes in [Charm] himself, though he was curious what would happen if he maxed it out in the future.
Having dealt with this matter, Hoshino Miru planned to take a detour to the convenience store - after all, he owed Kasugano Sora pudding from yesterday.
If he forgot about this, Kasugano Sora would probably be even angrier.
The weather was nice today. On the roadside, Hoshino Miru saw many early cherry blossoms quietly blooming. The spring breeze blew, crimson petals falling one after another, light floral fragrance filling the entire street.
Hoshino Miru took out his phone, snapped some photos, then opened Toyokawa Sakiko's chat interface.
"Hoshino Miru: I've already gotten the guitar."
"Toyokawa Sakiko: Congratulations, first step complete."
"Hoshino Miru: I saw cherry blossoms on the road."
"Toyokawa Sakiko: I saw cherry blossoms when I went back too. They'll probably slowly bloom throughout Tokyo next week."
"Hoshino Miru: Photo.jpg"
After sending the photo, Hoshino Miru put away his phone. After all, having gone to Wakaba Mutsuki's house, he should properly report to Toyokawa Sakiko after getting the guitar.
Of course, seeing cherry blossoms on the road could also be shared with Toyokawa Sakiko. Friendship was something that needed frequent maintenance.
Just as Hoshino Miru walked under a footbridge, he quickly noticed a strange girl standing on the bridge.
He saw her standing on tiptoe, stretching her small hand with effort, trying to catch petals ahead, half her body almost extending beyond the railing.
She didn't catch anything - the petals floated away before her eyes.
Because her movements were too large, something from her pocket accidentally fell down.
Thud thud—
Hoshino Miru watched what fell from her roll right to his feet, his brain briefly freezing.
What was this - small stones falling from the sky?
Wait, why was she carrying stones?
Hoshino Miru looked at the small stones on the ground, then up at the girl on the bridge. Her expression was equally blank - perhaps she hadn't expected her dropped objects wouldn't hit anyone.
Soon, the girl's face suddenly flushed bright red.
She immediately crouched down. As long as she couldn't see, Hoshino Miru couldn't see her either.
Hoshino Miru silently picked up the small stones from the ground and examined them, finding they were just ordinary stones with nothing special about them.
But whatever - he'd go up and confront the person responsible.
Hoshino Miru sneered coldly. By the time he walked up the bridge with evidence, the girl was still crouched in place, sneakily peeking at the activity below. Finding Hoshino Miru gone, she looked completely confused.
"Stop looking, I'm right here."
The girl was suddenly startled. Seeing Hoshino Miru standing behind her, she instinctively wanted to get up and run, but this movement caused even more small stones to fall from her pocket, scattering across the ground with a clatter.
Hoshino Miru fell silent for a moment. The girl looked at the stones on the ground, motionless.
The girl crouched down again, silently picking up her small stones. She had just picked up half when a hand suddenly reached out beside her to help gather them.
She sneakily glanced at Hoshino Miru, as if judging his intentions.
Perhaps after thinking for a while, the girl took out a band-aid from her other pocket and presented it to Hoshino Miru with both hands.
"What does this mean?" Hoshino Miru looked at the penguin band-aid. "As an apology?"
The girl kept her head down, not daring to look at him.
"I'm not injured. If I'd been a bit later, you might have hit me squarely." Hoshino Miru took her penguin band-aid. "Hitting me doesn't matter, but if you'd hit my guitar, you'd be in trouble. As mental compensation, I'll accept this."
Hearing the word "guitar," the girl seemed to finally notice the guitar bag on his back, her eyes showing surprise.
"I-I'm sorry." The girl said quietly.
"What good is sorry? What's your name? Which school are you from?" Hoshino Miru kept a serious straight face. His system needed to know the other person's name to initiate conquest.
Such a strange girl might also be a conquest target.
Chapter 30: Your Name
While she picked up stones, Hoshino Miru carefully observed this girl.
She wasn't tall - probably under 160cm. Her hair was very short, just barely covering her ears. She wore a light blue jacket. Though crouching on the ground in a position that wouldn't expose anything, it did make her budding small chest somewhat softly squish together.
Just as Hoshino Miru looked away, his gaze caught the girl's thighs - wearing only light-colored denim shorts, exposing large areas of fair, delicate leg skin that looked somewhat slender, as if one hand could lift both her legs together.
This wasn't his first time seeing a beautiful girl, though the girl before him couldn't be called particularly pretty - rather, she gave off an extraordinarily cute feeling that made one want to get closer.
"I'm Hoshino Miru, a student at Toyogasaki." Finding the girl had no reaction for a long time, Hoshino Miru took the initiative to introduce himself.
The girl looked up blankly, as if unable to understand what Hoshino Miru was saying.
Hoshino Miru didn't mind. Self-introduction wasn't about forcing the other person to also state their name, but letting them know who you were.
"Alright, I've helped you pick them all up." Hoshino Miru placed all the stones in her hands. "Next time before going out, you could take a reusable bag. Don't always put things in your pocket - it would be terrible if you accidentally lost your favorite thing."
Crouching on the ground holding a pile of small stones, the girl looked at Hoshino Miru at a loss.
"Th...thank you."
"You're welcome." Hoshino Miru noticed she was staring at his guitar and tested: "Want to hear me play?"
The girl was stunned. She had wanted to shake her head, but thinking of the earlier incident, her gaze never left Hoshino Miru's guitar.
"You can't." Hoshino Miru said seriously. "Because I don't know how to play."
"Eh?" The girl thought she'd misheard. Going out carrying a guitar but saying you don't know how to play - too strange, right?
"There's no rule that guitarists must know how to play guitar, right?" Hoshino Miru spread his hands. "Even if I'm carrying a guitar, what if I'm actually a bassist?"
"What's the difference between guitar and bass?" The girl didn't quite understand - to her they seemed about the same.
"They're different. A band can do without bass, but must have guitar, so I carry a guitar." Hoshino Miru began spouting nonsense.
Seemed to make sense. The girl nodded as if understanding.
"Are you a bassist?"
"No."
"..."
The girl fell silent. She could tell she was being played with.
"Today was my first guitar lesson." Hoshino Miru smiled. "I can only play 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' right now. You can listen if you want."
The girl shook her head. She didn't want to listen - it sounded so unreliable.
However, she noticed Hoshino Miru's earlier phrasing.
"Do you have your own band too?"
Seeing Hoshino Miru deny it, the girl showed a complex expression.
Hoshino Miru was somewhat concerned about her expression, but considering she wouldn't even give her name, he switched topics.
"Were you trying to catch petals earlier?"
"Mm, many cherry blossoms died today." The girl nodded, her gaze turning toward the petals scattering in the wind, showing some dimness. "So brilliant, yet existing only for an instant."
Hoshino Miru blinked. So there was such a poetic way to describe blooming flowers?
The girl didn't notice Hoshino Miru's expression. She silently put the stones back in her pocket, planning to say goodbye.
"Cherry blossom season is indeed very brief, but though so many died today, they'll bloom again next year. If you want, you can see this instant for a lifetime."
Hoshino Miru had already stood up. He looked at the surrounding cherry trees and gently extended his hand. A petal quietly landed in his palm.
"This is for you." Hoshino Miru placed the cherry blossom on the girl's head, feeling quite satisfied. "Next time you can catch something simpler. Not all petals will fly away."
The girl stared at him blankly. Hoshino Miru just smiled slightly, then turned and left.
By the time the girl finally reacted and removed the petal from her head, Hoshino Miru's figure had disappeared, leaving only lingering floral fragrance on her fingers.
Hoshino Miru, a Toyogasaki student?
The girl bit her lip. She seemed to have forgotten to tell Hoshino Miru her name.
...
Hoshino Miru crouched under the footbridge.
Damn it, why didn't she call him back?
He'd delivered such a poetic line - shouldn't she have been deeply moved, then called out to stop him and emotionally told him her name?
Why did she just watch him leave from beginning to end?
Hoshino Miru felt somewhat dejected and could only pretend not to care. Even if she was a conquest target, he didn't lack for conquest targets.
Things being what they were, Hoshino Miru continued his detour to the convenience store, bought the promised pudding, and brought back plenty of Kasugano Sora's favorite snacks.
Returning to his familiar home, Hoshino Miru saw his little sister lying on the sofa, her pair of white, tender legs propped on the sofa's armrest, shoes off, bare jade feet swaying from time to time as she played games.
"I'm back." Hoshino Miru announced his presence.
"Mm, you're back." Kasugano Sora's voice was flat, her eyes fixed on the game screen.
"Got your pudding and snacks." Hoshino Miru deliberately shook the bag.
Kasugano Sora finally shifted her attention to him, first noticing the bag full of snacks. Though she said nothing, she lightly hummed, barely willing to accept his apology.
However, she soon noticed the guitar bag on Hoshino Miru's back and immediately showed suspicious eyes.
"What did you bring back?" Kasugano Sora immediately sat up straight. She was wearing a dress today, the hem pressed against her knees, her two slender legs so white and tender one couldn't look away. The girl's just-developing body always carried a kind of delicate, moving softness.
"A guitar, gift from a friend." Hoshino Miru said quietly. He didn't know what he felt guilty about, but he felt guilty anyway.
"Who gave it?" Kasugano Sora raised her voice slightly, as if indifferently curling her lip. "Whatever, I can't control it anyway. It's always like this."
This sister was sulking. From long ago, she'd been the queen of jealousy.
Hoshino Miru placed the snacks on the nearby table, walked in front of Kasugano Sora, and gently held her in his arms, stroking her head.
"Are you angry?" Hoshino Miru embraced the girl's slender waist - light waist, soft and sweet little rabbit. She'd clearly grown into such a cute girl, yet she got angry and jealous over her brother's every move.
Kasugano Sora pressed against his chest without speaking, letting out a muffled hum through her nose expressing dissatisfaction. Of course she was angry. With such a cute sister, he still went out every day attracting girls.
She didn't need Hoshino Miru going out to find her a sister-in-law. If he needed one, she could fulfill that requirement herself!