Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

"Since it's in the past, let it be. I can understand. After all, Hayasaka didn't actually betray me, did she? We came out of the dungeon together, after all."

As she said this, Kaguya Shinomiya gently embraced Ai Hayasaka, finally freeing her from the last lingering knot in her heart.

"But resigning is absolutely out of the question! You're the only personal maid I trust, Hayasaka, and the troubles at the manor have doubled since you left. You can't leave no matter what! And to leave at this busiest and most troublesome time of crisis is clearly targeting me! No way! Absolutely not!!!"

Then, Kaguya, who was furious about the troublesome work of the past two days, successfully persuaded Hayasaka Ai, who was planning to resign, to stay. Well, at least for now, she was kept there, since it was indeed inconvenient for her to leave at this point. But Takami could see from Ai's eyes that sooner or later she would resign and run away; the Shinomiya family mansion could no longer contain her increasingly unbridled soul.

However, in any case, it can be considered as solving a problem for the team.

If we let Hayasaka Ai continue like this, I really don't know what will happen later. Takami felt quite fortunate that everyone was able to communicate smoothly before the crisis occurred.

With Hayasaka Ai returning to the mansion to help Kaguya, Takami's date came to a temporary end. Before she could even savor Hayasaka Ai's departure, her next date was already on her way.

Hmm, this time the situation seems a little different. This time the other party arrived at the location in advance and then sent Gao Hai the location so he could go there.

The location was quite familiar; it was the livehouse called "Starlight," run by the Ijichi Nijika family, a music venue located in the basement of a street in the Shimokitazawa area. Before successfully rescuing Kita but not yet managing to recreate her body, Takami had actually checked it out once. It's just a shame she didn't stay there for very long then, and didn't get to properly attend a band performance.

However, although he had the opportunity to make up for his regrets this time, Gao Hai was still more surprised than anything else.

After all, it was Goto Ichiri who invited him to the band's performance.

As Gao Hai's sixth date, this pink-haired girl, who had traveled through the Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance with Gao Hai for decades and was finally able to let down her social anxiety a little in front of him, chose this performance venue at Hongxia's house as the venue for what could be considered their first date.

Why choose this particular place?

Does this mean she's finally planning to face Nijika and Ryo? Now that Kita's back, is she finally going to try and mend their past relationship?

Thinking this, Gao Hai made his way towards Fanxing under the setting sun. Soon he saw Goto Ichiri wandering around there, wearing a hat, a loose hood that covered his hair, black sunglasses and a large black mask, with "I am suspicious" written all over his face.

Judging from the eyes of the passersby who came to watch the band's performance, Little Boqi has probably successfully attracted the attention of the vast majority of people.

Interlude 4-39: Pochi-chan's Date and the End of the Band Members

The disguise I prepared in advance... Hmm, it's okay, no problem.

With this outfit, plus a borrowed Twilight-level obsession item that can disrupt the perception of ordinary people, it's basically enough to ensure that Hongxia and Liang won't recognize her.

Great, that solves everything. We can go in and take a look now. It's been so long since I've seen Starry Night; I wonder if it's still the same inside. I wonder what kind of band we'll hear tonight, and whether those two... have found new band members yet.

Goto Ichiri felt a little sad.

The reason she chose this place as a date location was probably partly because she wanted to come back and visit. Of course, another reason was that, as a very socially awkward person, Ichiri couldn't think of any normal places for a date. Bringing Takami to listen to a band play was the only solution she could come up with after burning through countless brain cells.

no problem.

It should be fine.

Hongxia and Liang can't be here every day. They're in their final year of high school now, and they're probably busy with things like college entrance exams.

Yes, yes, that's right, no problem, there definitely won't be any problem. Believe in yourself, you have to believe in yourself. I'm a Red Moon level player, after all. With thorough preparation, there's absolutely no way an ordinary person could see through my disguise!

Goto Ichiri kept telling himself this in his heart.

If she could think of any other suitable date location, she probably wouldn't have come here. But before this, Ichiri had already researched the dating methods of the girls ahead of her. Whether it was amusement parks or movie theaters, she had basically covered all sorts of date locations that could be found online. The blonde maid ahead of her even went so far as to meet the parents. Under these circumstances, Ichiri really couldn't find a suitable date location, and in the end, she had no choice but to choose Nijika's livehouse.

No, wait a minute, even if I were to choose a music performance venue, I wouldn't necessarily have to choose Hongxia's venue. For example, FOLT would also work. Why did I subconsciously choose Hongxia's venue?

Sure enough, forget it.

After finally mustering up the courage to cheer myself up, I was successfully swayed by my negative thoughts in less than three minutes and started to have the idea of ​​running away.

Of course, before Ichiri could put her ideas into action, Gao Hai's large hand had already landed on her shoulder.

"Since we're already here, let's just go in. Don't linger at the entrance. Besides, your outfit is a bit too strange. There's no need for you to dress like this."

With these complaints, Gao Hai held Yi Li's small hand and led the still somewhat bewildered girl towards the stars.

As a small, privately-run livehouse, Fanxing is located in the basement of Ijichi Nijika's house, accessible directly via a staircase extending underground from the street. Despite its small size, the venue is fully equipped, featuring a stage with various performance equipment, a bar with a variety of drinks, seating for the audience, and even a recording studio for band practice.

It was already past 7 PM, and the store was already quite crowded with customers. As Gao Hai led Yi Li down the stairs and into the store, they immediately saw a petite girl with long blonde hair, red eyes, and a long side ponytail standing at the bar.

Without a doubt, that is Ichiji Nijika, the legendary Archangel Shimokitazawa, a well-known character among the petite mother group who infused this place, which was originally occupied by the stench of Beast Senpai, with the charm of a cute anime girl.

Today, Hongxia is obviously helping her older sister, Ijichi Hoshika, run the shop. Right now, she is smiling at every customer who buys a drink and skillfully taking money and giving change.

Soon, Gao Hai spotted another girl next to the energetic Nijika. She was about 1.6 meters tall, with a beauty mark near her left eye, and blue hair and yellow eyes. She was silently and expressionlessly serving drinks to customers. Yes, that was clearly Yamada Ryo.

If Kita Ikuyo were here, then ending the band would mean having all the members together.

Gao Hai couldn't help but think this to himself.

However, due to the previous "Campus Ghost Stories" instance, the End Band is now truly over. Even Nijika and Ryo have lost their memories of Kita. Ichiri left the band because she couldn't bear the pain of her friends being forgotten. Sigh, she wonders if, now that Kita is back, there's any chance they'll be able to recall those memories. If possible, Takami actually hopes these four girls can reunite and move forward together as a band again. After all, they've built a genuine friendship, and it would be too cruel for them to be separated forever due to external forces.

Well, it's not really the right time to bring this up, since Yili is clearly close to his limit right now.

“Nijika…and Ryo…why are you both here? Waaah, this…this…if we get recognized…no, no, no, Mr. Kai, I…we should leave first, shouldn’t we go to another shop…”

Even without turning to look at Ichiri's expression, Takahashi could imagine the girl's flustered state at that moment.

"Now that we've come this far, let's not back down. Don't worry, they won't recognize you. Aren't you wearing a special item to conceal your identity?"

Gao Hai held onto Ichiri's hand tightly, preventing her from escaping. In Ichiri's miserable state, Gao Hai dragged her to the bar. After seeing the sign next to the bar that customers had to buy a juice to stay and listen to the concert, Gao Hai ordered two juices. Ichiri kept her head down the whole time and didn't dare to say a word.

"Okay, two glasses of juice, please come inside, guests."

With a gentle smile, Hongxia spoke to Gaohai and Yili, while Liang, standing to the side, expressionlessly handed out two glasses of juice.

The two of them seem to be in pretty good shape.

At least for Takahashi, who was meeting Nijigasaki face-to-face for the first time and had his last conversation with her after the band ended, he didn't feel anything from this initial encounter. If he had to say, he was only reminded of the apron-wearing Nijigasaki that Bloodflower had given him when he saw her. To be honest, Takahashi still felt a bit resentful about this, since Kita had started to suspect that Takahashi had some kind of special hobby because of it, which really annoyed him.

Yili's expression darkened considerably. Although she didn't look up at her two former friends, her enhanced perception and spiritual power after the blessing allowed her to clearly sense the low spirits of the two people behind the bar.

It was Nijika's dream to end the band... but I ended up...

For a moment, Ichiri wanted to pull back her hood and remove the disguise she held onto. But this thought was quickly suppressed by the girl. After all, even if they recognized each other again and came back, what could change? She had chosen to leave the band when Kita disappeared, choosing to hurt Nijika and Ryo. Now, even if she went back, could she really pretend nothing had happened? Besides, Kita had no intention of coming back. Even if there was the reason for her to investigate Nanami-senpai's whereabouts, Kita hadn't even gone home to see her parents in the past few days. She clearly intended to completely sever all ties with her former friends. If I chose to return to the band now, it would only embarrass Kita.

"Why think so much? You're not here today to reminisce about your youth."

Then Gao Hai delivered a chop to Ichiri's head, causing Ichiri, who was almost degenerating into a Shimokitazawa Tsuchiguchi, to let out a cute, mournful cry.

"Don't rush into getting back together with the band members. I'll figure something out. Right now, all you need to do is go on a date with me. Nothing else matters, understand?"

Then, as Gao Hai showed a tough attitude, Yi Li quickly lost her ability to think and could only follow behind Gao Hai in a daze, being led by him to the vicinity of the stage.

A date... oh yeah, I'm on a date with Mr. Hai right now. It's a boyfriend-girlfriend date, right? If that's the case, then next we'll kiss, and then go to a hotel tonight, and then...and then...

The girl's mind was quickly filled with all sorts of discordant scenes. Thanks to Goto Ichiri's extraordinary thinking ability, the scenes she imagined were more and more fantastical, all of which were absolutely unacceptable to the public.

"That couple from earlier seemed somewhat familiar."

However, after Gao Hai and Yi Li left, Yamada Ryo, who had been keeping a cold face, suddenly turned to look in the direction they left, frowned and spoke.

"Familiar? Is it someone I know?"

Hongxia, whose cheeks were a little sore from smiling for so long, blinked, not quite understanding what her friend was talking about.

"It shouldn't be, but there's a subtle sense of familiarity, as if I've met someone I can lend money to at will."

Yamada Ryo leaned against the bar and pondered for a long time before finally giving this answer.

"You should really plan your spending a little better. You have way more pocket money than me, so stop eating grass and borrowing money from others all the time."

Hearing this, Hongxia couldn't help but sigh deeply. Then, as the lights in the store turned off and the music started playing, Hongxia subconsciously looked up towards the stage. Her expression gradually softened, finally turning into a sigh that only she could hear.

Yamada Ryo, who was standing to the side, did not say anything either. The two of them stood silently in front of the bar, quietly watching the figures on the stage.

It was only at this point that Gao Hai understood what Yi Li had brought him to hear.

"You cannot kill me! I am Omega!!!"

The band's lead singer knelt on the stage and let out a heart-wrenching roar at that moment.

"You cannot kill me! I am subhuman!!!"

The band's guitarist, bassist, and drummer also went crazy together, playing the music with an extremely explosive death metal effect.

Gao Hai had to admit that this thing sounded pretty cool, so cool that he thought he had wandered onto the set of Devil May Cry, and that he could turn around and see that man stand up from the plastic chair at the food stall and stab himself through the chest.

The person next to him, Yili, had bright, piercing eyes, clearly appreciating the music intently.

Speaking of which, this girl is indeed a guitar virtuoso; I really didn't know she liked this style of music. Wait, if I remember correctly, there was a scene in the original manga where Ichiri, in an attempt to get along with her classmates, requested death metal on the school radio.

As for Gao Hai himself, although he couldn't say he really liked this kind of song, since he was already there, he had no choice but to stand there and continue listening.

"Ahhhhhhh-"

The roars on stage trembled with the tearing music.

Gao Hai closed his eyes and found that he seemed to be gradually able to appreciate this kind of music.

This feeling didn't seem to originate from him personally, but rather from the music theory skills granted by the blessing power, stemming from a portion of Eriko Asamoto's own aesthetic preferences. The girl who had been saved by Takami and now lived a normal life seemed to have originally been a guitarist, and her aesthetic sense seemed to have influenced Takami to some extent, causing him to begin appreciating this style of music.

Wait, why is it that I clearly felt this power at this very moment?

Realizing a crucial point, Takahashi focused his attention and quickly discovered that the band's guitarist was actually Eriko Asamoto herself. However, she was wearing a wig and glasses, and deliberately dressed in outlandish clothing that was a size too large for her, so Takahashi didn't initially recognize her.

After escaping the nightmare of Yelushan Middle School and being given a new lease on life, did you choose to join a band to pursue your dreams?

Slightly, Gao Hai felt a sense of relief spreading through his heart, as if some existence that had vanished and was now only a remnant was conveying a little warmth at this moment.

An hour later, after listening to several bands play, Gao Hai and Yi Li, along with the other guests, turned and left, hand in hand, as they went up the stairs back onto the street.

The thing Ichiri had been worried about for so long—being discovered by Nijika and Ryo—did not happen. The power of the obsession object was an insurmountable force for ordinary people. Even though Yamada Ryo seemed to have some kind of peculiar intuition, under the influence of the obsession object's power, she still couldn't realize Goto Ichiri's true identity.

There's nothing that can be done about it. After all, even high-level players have to be careful with things like obsession objects, let alone two ordinary people with no special abilities. How could they possibly fight against such a power?

Wait, it seems we can't draw a conclusion on this yet. After all, both Hongxia and Liang received the blessing of the Blood Flower because of their relationship with Yili. Although the main manifestation of this blessing is longevity, it has indeed given them true extraordinary power, making it possible for them to transcend ordinary people. Under such circumstances, if there really is some kind of mysterious spiritual intuition, perhaps they really can sense something?

At the same moment Gao Hai realized this possibility, a presence was already approaching from behind.

From the other person's hesitant steps, Gao Hai could tell that the other person was still unsure and struggling with whether or not to actually come forward.

If she had chosen not to turn back and continued walking forward at that moment, the footsteps would probably have given up and wouldn't have actually followed. However, the woman who noticed the footsteps a little slower than Gao Hai stopped abruptly, her whole body stiffening and revealing a bewildered expression. Her dramatic reaction undoubtedly gave the person behind her ample information, and Gao Hai immediately heard the footsteps approaching to within five meters of him.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry, but this lady looks vaguely familiar..."

Because of what Ryo had said not long ago, Hongxia had started to pay attention to Takami and Ichiri, and gradually realized that something was wrong. She called out to Takami and Ichiri as she slowly walked towards them.