They entered the luxurious villa.
On both sides were spacious courtyards with some green plants.
Nijika led the way down the straight stone path paved with small pebbles.
Gotou Hitori, who had never been to such a place, looked left and right, admiring the surroundings.
She was like a child who had never seen the world.
Tsuchigumo Hotaru also curiously surveyed the surroundings; it wasn't that he couldn't afford a villa.
It was just that, for someone alone, a villa was too big.
It would not only feel lonely but also be troublesome to clean.
Just then, Tsuchigumo Hotaru's pupils contracted, as if he had seen something incredible.
Tsuchigumo Hotaru subconsciously stopped in his tracks.
Gotou Hitori accidentally bumped into Tsuchigumo Hotaru's back and also stopped.
Gotou Hitori was terrified and was about to kneel down to apologize.
Nijika turned back and asked in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Maybe we don't need to go any further."
Tsuchigumo Hotaru pointed his finger towards a large tree on the left.
Under the shade of the tree was a tent, and a figure lay in front of it.
Although he couldn't see her face, his intuition told Tsuchigumo Hotaru that the person was most likely Yamada Ryo.
Nijika seemed to think the same.
"Let's go take a look."
They arrived in front of the tent.
The three of them looked at each other, their expressions a bit subtle.
On the ground was a long, worm-like object that occasionally wriggled once or twice.
It was actually a person wrapped in a sleeping bag.
Why would she be sleeping here?
The three of them looked peculiar.
There was also a light novel covering her face, shielding her from the light.
Through the exposed blue hair, Ijichi Nijika confirmed that this person was undoubtedly Yamada Ryo.
Nijika squatted down and picked up the book.
"Ah!"
Nijika was startled.
This cry made Tsuchigumo Hotaru and Gotou Hitori's hearts skip a beat, and they also backed away in fright.
It turned out that after Nijika moved the book, she saw Yamada Ryo's wide-open eyes.
"Oh, Nijika, you're here."
Yamada Ryo said calmly.
But Tsuchigumo Hotaru always felt she was a little smug.
After the book covering her face was removed, Yamada Ryo revealed her cool, short, dark blue hair.
And the tear mole under her left eye added a lot of charm to her.
"Ryo, don't deliberately scare people! Also, what are you doing here?"
Nijika touched her flat chest, looking still terrified.
"I was planning to travel to a far-off place, but as I was preparing... I suddenly felt that going far was too troublesome, so I changed my mind and decided to camp in the courtyard."
"You, don't underestimate camping!"
Nijika clenched her fist and complained.
Yamada Ryo's lips curved into a smile.
Tsuchigumo Hotaru's mouth twitched uncontrollably because he saw the packaging of finished takeout next to Yamada Ryo's tent.
How much does this guy enjoy herself!
"Oh, by the way, these are the two new friends I told you about. This is Tsuchigumo-jun, and this is Gotou Hitori."
"Hitori is the temporary guitarist I found."
Nijika introduced them enthusiastically.
"This is the bassist Yamada Ryo I mentioned; just call her Ryo!"
"Hmm, just call me Ryo. Yamada is too unoriginal."
Tsuchigumo Hotaru actually thought this made a lot of sense; in Japan, Yamada is indeed a very common surname.
Tsuchigumo Hotaru: "Hello, Ryo."
Yamada Ryo shifted her gaze to Tsuchigumo Hotaru.
She paused on Tsuchigumo Hotaru for a few seconds.
"Have we met somewhere before?"
Tsuchigumo Hotaru was stunned. "Probably... no?"
No way, how could he have met Yamada Ryo without knowing it?
"Hmm, an original name, I like it."
Yamada Ryo praised him.
"Tsuchigumo-jun is from China."
Ijichi Nijika covered her face as she explained.
Yamada Ryo didn't dwell on it and had already turned her gaze to Gotou Hitori, who was hiding behind Tsuchigumo Hotaru.
Gotou Hitori's expression was terrified.
Go home, she wanted to go home... So scary, she felt like she was being stared at.
"I, I'm Gotou Hitori, I'm very sorry for offending you!"
Gotou Hitori bowed with her guitar on her back.
"Hitori, don't be afraid. Ryo just doesn't show much emotion. If you call her weird, she'll be very happy too."
"I won't be happy."
Yamada Ryo twisted her body as she replied, but the corners of her mouth couldn't stop curving upwards.
She didn't look unhappy at all... the other three thought so.
Immediately after, Yamada Ryo struggled to get out of the sleeping bag.
"Ugh..."
Yamada Ryo fell heavily back to the ground.
"Nijika, help me..."
Ijichi Nijika handed the book to Tsuchigumo Hotaru, who was standing nearby.
"Honestly, I've been so worried about you. You haven't come to school since the semester started. If you don't come soon, you'll be expelled... You haven't come to your part-time job at the store in a long time either..."
Although she said this, Nijika's hands were not at all hesitant; she had already started to fuss with the sleeping bag on Yamada Ryo.
Yamada Ryo: "Expulsion would be great; I've always wanted to become a working adult."
Tsuchigumo Hotaru took the book from Nijika's hand, his expression surprised.
Isn't this the light novel he wrote!
"That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime," one of the works he plagiarized.
As the name suggests, it tells the story of the protagonist, Satoru Mikami, who, after being stabbed to death, transmigrates to another world and becomes a cute blue slime.
Then he begins to establish a monster kingdom, become a Demon Lord, and conquer the other world.
Although only a few volumes had been updated, it had received a good response in the market.
He didn't expect Yamada Ryo to be reading the light novel he wrote.
In that case, it's fine. Tsuchigumo Hotaru smiled.
He was still very confident in his work.
It seemed Yamada Ryo had good taste, and no wonder she had fallen into such a state because of it.
Oh, no... it was that she had emerged from the gloom of the band's disbandment.
And Yamada Ryo had already been rescued from the sleeping bag with Nijika's help.
Yamada Ryo stood up.
Today, Ryo was dressed all in black.
A black long dress, a black unisex short-sleeved shirt, and black ice sleeves on her arms for sun protection.
"How can someone dress like this and lie in a sleeping bag!"
Ijichi Nijika was a bit speechless.
Yamada Ryo, however, gave a thumbs-up.
"Speaking of which, Ryo, I came to find you today because I wanted you to help play the bass," Nijika said.
"Is that so..."
Yamada Ryo first sighed lightly.
"Sorry, Nijika, my musical soul has died."
Nijika's eyes darkened, and she pursed her lips.
"It's buried in here."
"Eh!" × 3
The three of them were utterly confused.
And Ryo had already lifted the tent flap and said, "Come in."
Nijika followed closely behind.
Just as Tsuchigumo Hotaru was about to follow, his right eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
As the saying goes, a twitching left eye brings good fortune, and a twitching right eye brings disaster.
This made an ominous premonition rise in his heart.
"What's wrong?"
Hitori, behind him, asked, as Tsuchigumo Hotaru was blocking the way forward.
"Nothing."
Tsuchigumo Hotaru shook his head and stepped inside.
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