At the meeting point.
Four beautiful girls of completely different styles all looked toward the handsome boy not far away.
Toru admitted that he panicked a little.
This was not how the plot was supposed to go.
Last night, he had thought that since all four girls from Kessoku Band messaged him, they must have discussed it internally.
After all, they were bandmates and close friends. There was no reason to stab each other in the back.
And yet…
The way they were looking at him felt off.
It gave him the strong impression of, "So the scumbag finally showed up, you'd better give us an explanation."
Toru had never faced a scene like this before.
As a pure love warrior, every route he had taken in the simulator was a pure love route. He had barely experienced any harem drama.
For a moment, he had no idea how to resolve the situation.
"Good morning. The weather is really nice today, huh."
Toru played the weather card, using awkward small talk to open the conversation.
Anyway, let's try to muddle through first.
"Toru-kun, can you explain why you agreed to invitations from four girls at the same time?"
Nijika asked with a smile.
After marrying twice in the simulation, Toru could easily read the thoughts of his former wife.
She was clearly jealous.
Let's find an excuse first.
"I wanted to gather ideas from everyone and work together to help Manager Seika have a perfect birthday…"
There was a long silence.
Just as a few beads of cold sweat were about to form on Toru's forehead—
"I see… fine, you pass. But don't let it happen again."
Nijika had no intention of pursuing it further.
She took a small step back, giving the stage to the other girls.
To little angel Nijika, it did not matter if Ryo and the others tried to sneak ahead.
But...
Toru agreeing to dates with four people at the same time was too much. He had to explain himself to every single one of them.
"Pay for my gift today, and I'll forgive you."
Miss Ryo had no intention of tormenting him either.
"Deal."
Toru let out a sigh of relief.
That's great.
Everyone is such gentle girls.
"Um… I want a one on one date next time, uh…"
Before Kita could finish, she was glared at by both Ryo and Nijika, and immediately backed down.
It seemed everyone would not allow her to sneak ahead in that way.
Fine then.
"I'll be satisfied just spending today shopping with Toru-kun."
Kita was forced to forgive him.
Finally, only Hitori remained.
She looked up at Toru, whom she had secretly liked for a long time.
For a moment, she did not know what to ask for.
Could she just… c-confess, or something? No, she did not dare.
"Kitahara-kun, Futari, she she said she misses you."
After thinking for a long time, Hitori decided to once again use her little sister as a weapon to lure Toru.
Sorry, Futari.
For your sister's happiness, sacrificing you again and again should be fine, right?
Toru nodded. "No problem."
"Mm."
Hitori's lips curved up slightly.
But before she could be happy for more than a few seconds—
"Well, um…"
Kita spoke up. "Bocchi-chan, can I come along too? I haven't seen Futari-chan in a long time, I kind of miss her."
Last time, she had promised to play pop songs for Futari on the guitar, but had not gotten the chance yet.
…Damn it.
Kita-san, I advise you not to ruin my good thing.
I finally found an opportunity…
I waited painfully in front of the Buddha for thousands of years just to get this one promise.
It hurts. It hurts too much.
Hitori complained inwardly, but could only mutter out loud, "I'll tell Futari when I get home."
A socially anxious person does not dare to reject others, especially a friend's request.
"Yay, I like Bocchi-chan the most."
Kita directly pulled Hitori into her arms and rubbed her head.
Bocchi-chan is so small, so nice smelling…
After the two of them stuck together for a while.
Nijika changed the topic.
"Everyone, it's getting late. Let's go buy the gifts together."
Everyone nodded.
Then.
The girls gathered around Toru, forming a circle with him at the center.
Ryo and Nijika were on the left.
Hitori and Kita were on the right.
Passersby in the mall all turned their heads to look.
Thinking what kind of big celebrity this was, surrounded by so many girls. Then they saw Toru's face…
Never mind.
Being handsome really lets you do whatever you want.
When you are young, you curse scumbags. When you grow up, you understand scumbags. When you mature, you become a scumbag.
If you have the capital to be one, who would still want to be a pure love warrior?
As the center of the crowd's gossip.
Toru showed no reaction at all.
He had lived for hundreds of years in the simulated world.
When he was a doctor, he had stood under the gaze of the entire world, with Nobel Prizes almost within arm's reach.
Naturally, he did not care about the stares of ordinary passersby.
…
On the way.
"Um… everyone, is there anything I should pay attention to when giving gifts?"
Hitori asked softly. She did not have much experience buying gifts.
She still had some money left from her part time job recently.
As long as the gift was not too expensive, she could afford it.
"Generally speaking, as long as the recipient does not dislike the gift, it's fine."
Nijika rested a finger against her chin and thought. "Besides that, it's best to give something that can be used."
"As for other gift giving landmines, let me think…"
At this moment.
Toru added, "If the relationship is not close enough, you should not give intimate items. It will seem like you are crossing a line."
If it were Christmas and an unfamiliar woman gave him bedding, underwear, soap, or similar items.
Toru could only give one evaluation.
Creepy woman, absolutely disgusting.
…
Accompanying four girls on a date was indeed troublesome.
Especially when they were competing and getting jealous over him.
He really envied the male leads of harem stories, whose harems were harmonious and never had to fear a shura field.
Toru lowered his head and browsed through accessories.
Thinking about what kind of birthday gift would be suitable for Ijichi Seika.
Besides that, Christmas gifts also needed to be considered.
Trying to keep things balanced made Christmas gifts especially hard to choose.
A gift for Hiroi Kikuri was easy, just a bottle of high end sake.
As for Ohtsuki Yoyoko, a tsundere like her was easy to deal with. She would be happy no matter what she received.
After all, she was a pitiful girl who spent Christmas alone at home every year.
So beautiful, yet somehow no boys liked her.
He could not figure it out no matter how much he thought about it.
As for the members of Kessoku Band…
Hitori was socially anxious. No matter what he gave her, it would not feel right. Clothes, accessories, cosmetics would probably just gather dust.
…Could it be that he should just wrap himself up and give himself to her as a gift?
Nijika was the most normal among the four. He could consider giving her an apron, or perfume, or other daily necessities.
As for Ryo-chan, just give her money directly. She could buy whatever she liked.
Miss Ryo did not care much about appearances and was a pragmatist.
Kita, he remembered that last time she mentioned wanting to go to karaoke to practice singing and improve her vocal skills.
In that case, should he look for some vocal training classes for her?
"This hairpin is so cute."
"Yeah, it really suits Gotoh-san," Kita nodded enthusiastically.
"Hehe… is it really that nice?"
Bocchi-chan touched the back of her head, slipping into a smug mood.
Toru really wanted to say one thing.
Hitori cannot lose her original square hairclip, just like the 3D world cannot lose Jerusalem.
But these girls, already caught up in shopping frenzy, probably would not care about his opinion anyway.