How can my simulation be a real love?

I hope this fever isn't just a simple fever, and that I'll get a substitute after I wake up.

"Did I overestimate myself after all?"

Kazami Mei dared to act so recklessly because she had previously obtained the 'Health Enhancement' and 'Endurance LV4' skills in the simulation.

I thought that with so many skill bonuses, I wouldn't necessarily become immune to all poisons, but at least I wouldn't catch a cold or fever from the slightest chill. Turns out I overestimated myself.

Somewhat skeptical, Kazami Naruto slowly opened the emulator panel.

[Royal Romance Simulator]

[Host: Kazami Naruto]

[Skills: 'Legendary Painting Skill LV5', 'Piano LV3', 'Music Theory LV4', 'Endurance LV4'...]

The series of skills looked impressive, but none of them were useful at this moment.

It would be great if there was a skill like 'Battle Continuation' at this point.

"This is troublesome, we still have to train today."

Thinking about this, his headache, which was caused by the fever, seemed to get even worse.

Today was supposed to be a rehearsal for a duet with the members of Mygo.

But now that Kazami Naruto has such a high fever, let alone going out to practice with everyone, he'd be lucky if he could even manage to eat lunch and dinner on his own and not starve to death at home.

hum...

The phone on the bedside table had already vibrated. Kazami picked it up with some difficulty, and the glaring light made him involuntarily squint his dark eyes.

That was a message on Line.

[Simple (Note): Where are you? Did you forget your practice today?]

The person Kazami Mei has labeled 'simple' is naturally his most reliable and good brother, Riki.

Kazami Mei was a little surprised that it was the most irritable Riki who sent him the message first. However, even through the glass of the phone screen, he could almost see that Shiina Riki on the other end was definitely impatient.

To prepare for their live practice during the summer vacation, Shiina Tatsuki took on part-time jobs to increase the band's revenue, which enabled him to rent RiNG's practice room for half a month.

This also shows just how much she values ​​this live performance.

He, the keyboardist, didn't attend the important practice session, and Li Xi's reluctance to immediately criticize him shows that he has a good mindset.

……

On the other side, RiNG—

"Mingming is acting strangely. She hasn't replied to any messages yet..."

Chihaya Aine, who was already in the practice room, seemed a little puzzled. She hadn't seen Kazami Mei yet, which made her a little worried. So she quickly picked up her phone to call him.

"Let me make a call and see what's going on."

Just as she was about to take out her phone, Nagasaki Motoyo, who was standing next to her, started dialing Kazami Naru's number.

Chihaya Aine was taken aback by how quickly she acted, but upon closer reflection, she realized that she was the one who had given away the phone number in the other person's hand, and she immediately felt a bit frustrated and regretful.

Chihaya Aine looked at Nagasaki Motoyo's gentle face with a bit more vigilance. Even though the other party hadn't done anything in the dream, she still had to be wary of Naruto's charm.

"Kazami has a cold and can't come today."

A cool, indifferent voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Eh? What's going on?"

Chihaya Aine, who was standing on the left, was immediately drawn to the camera and looked at Shiina Tatsuki, who was sitting in front of the drum set, in surprise.

She coldly displayed the chat history on her phone, which showed a message from Kazami Mei requesting leave due to a cold. The girls were all shocked when they saw this.

"How did you suddenly catch a cold?"

Nagasaki Motoyo frowned slightly, her right hand unconsciously playing with the end of her sideburns.

I saw Kazami Mei just two days ago and she seemed to be in good spirits. How could she have caught a cold and been lying at home after only one day? This is too sudden!

"...Ming, are you alright?"

Holding the microphone, Gao Songdeng frowned, her amber eyes, tinged with a golden light, filled with apprehension and worry.

She slowly lowered her head, her panicked eyes searching through Kazami Naruto's Line, and sent several concerned messages in a row, trying to get some comfort from his reply.

But there was no immediate response, and fine beads of sweat began to appear on the girl's smooth forehead.

"Ming..."

Just hearing the word "sick" from Kazami Mei makes Takamatsu Akari unable to think straight. It's as if an invisible fog has enveloped her entire body, and she feels an uncontrollable fear even when she's standing still.

In the 'dream,' Ming also suddenly fell ill and died.

This scene, so similar to one in his dream, made Takamatsu Takamori feel extremely uneasy.

"It's just a cold, I should be fine after a few days of rest." Shiina Tatsuki simply shook her head gently.

She did not choose to suspend everyone's training because of Kazami's absence. After all, they only had less than a month left for their live performance, and the band's current condition was obviously not good enough to perform on stage.

There are rehearsals before the official performance; if you can't even pass the rehearsal, there's no point in talking about what happens afterward.

"..."

The one who suddenly spoke was the guitarist, Neko, who was standing to the side. Perhaps because Kazami Mei couldn't come to practice today, she was feeling a little bored and had started to put away her guitar.

Sensing that this guy was trying to run away, Shiina Tatsuki frowned slightly. Holding two slender drumsticks, she let out a long sigh, her sharp eyes slowly sweeping over the faces of the group before she spoke—

"The rest of us will continue practicing."

"Huh? But Mingming is still..."

Chihaya Aine doesn't seem quite right.

The fact that a band is missing an important member but continues to practice is obviously not good for Kazami Mei, but Shiina Tatsuki, who is already a little provoked, just keeps frowning deeply.

She said in a matter-of-fact tone, "We still have to keep practicing even if Kazami isn't here. The live performance is about to start."

"Your skills are completely inadequate. What will you do when you go on stage?"

The atmosphere in the practice room suddenly seemed to become somewhat tense.

Chihaya Aine, who was very clear about her own level, was speechless upon hearing Shiina Tatsuki's words.

Seeing this, Nagasaki Motoyo sensed something was wrong and immediately tried to smooth things over with a smile: "Tachiki-chan, calm down a bit. We still have plenty of time, don't we?"

"...There's not enough time yet; the second piece hasn't even been finished composing."

Shiina Tatsuki shook his head again.

With the addition of her suggestions and revisions, the first song produced by Kazami Mei is now almost finished. However, a live performance cannot rely solely on one song.

They were performing as substitutes for other bands, and their performance lasted about fifteen minutes. They needed to have at least two songs, or even prepare a third, to be able to perform.

You can't really go on stage and play "Spring Shadows," can you?

"But Mingming can't continue composing now, right? She has a fever and a cold, so she needs to rest for at least three days..." Chihaya Aine pouted slightly, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Shiina Tatsuki frowned deeply.

If we exclude the time for practicing ensemble pieces and other preparations, the workload for composing the remaining two pieces would be substantial, and the time allotted for composition would be somewhat tight.

Kazami Mei was preparing to finish arranging and training for the band not long ago. In addition, he also had to work part-time to support himself. Perhaps it was the long-term fatigue that led to his current illness.

Shiina Tatsuki believes that his workload cannot be increased any further.

"He really needs to rest for a few days, but we can't stop during this time."

"If the arrangement process is delayed for a few more days, the subsequent training time will be postponed again."

Shiina Tatsuki felt increasingly anxious.

It seems we have about a month left to prepare.

But just writing the three original songs for the band will take a lot of time, not to mention that everyone will have to integrate the three songs and practice them until they can work together.

Not to mention that the rehearsal is even earlier than the actual live performance, and the band hasn't even decided on a name yet.

"It can't be delayed any longer."

Neither practice nor arrangement can be delayed any longer.

Shiina Tatsuki usually only takes care of some suggestions for improving the songs, but these are just some assistance after the composition is finished. She herself has never directly participated in the entire composition process.

The composition of the score still requires the help of Kazami Mei.

But it was precisely because of this that she felt extremely resentful.

Growing up in the shadow of her older sister's genius, Shiina Ritsuki, as the younger sister, was inevitably compared to others around her. No matter how hard she tried, she could never compare to her older sister.

At most, one could only say, "She truly is worthy of being her sister."

Ultimately, Shiina Tatsuki was just a supporting character.

No one expected her, as the younger sister, to be more outstanding than her genius older sister; everything seemed so natural.

Shiina Riki gripped the drumsticks tightly with both hands, a resolute glint flashing in her violet-like, dazzling, and indifferent eyes.

"...I'll arrange the music."

"what?"

Miss Ai opened her mouth wide, revealing her sharp little tiger teeth that gleamed with a cold light.

How did things develop like this out of nowhere?

“I said I would take over Kazami’s job until he recovers.”

Shiina Tatsuki's words were clearly not just casual remarks; she had actually been trying to learn music composition on her own for a long time.

Especially after reuniting with Takamatsu Akari in a band, in order to prevent Kazami Mei, who seemed unreliable as an 'arranger,' from causing problems, she was actually prepared to take over the mess from Kazami Mei.

Not to mention that during this time, in order to help out, she has also been learning Kazami Naru's musical style.

"I'll help Kazami with the entire process of composing music, and I also have a partially completed intro to his piece—"

“I’ll arrange the rest of the verses and choruses; at least for now, the band can’t afford to stagnate.”

Seeing Shiina Tatsuki's incredibly serious expression, Chihaya Aine beside her was practically stunned.

If the song creation process were completely blank, it wouldn't be so bad. However, Kazami Naru has already written half of the song. If Shiina Tatsuki were to continue arranging it at this point, the difficulty of arranging it would be unimaginable.

"But Riki-chan, what about Naru-san...?"

Nagasaki Motoyo nervously fiddled with her right index finger, her tone still tinged with worry.

"I'll talk to Kazami about it."

……

The streets in the afternoon.

Because Shiina Tatsuki had to rush back to prepare for the arrangement, the group only practiced for an hour or two before disbanding.

"What?! Rikki is exaggerating too much."

Chihaya Aine carried her guitar on her back, walking at a leisurely pace on the asphalt road of the street. Her beautiful cherry blossom hair slid gently over her shoulders as she walked, and there was a hint of dissatisfaction in the girl's light gray eyes.

Suddenly she said she would replace Mingming in composing the music; even she knew that would be very difficult.

Composing music is much more difficult than playing musical instruments.

Instruments like guitars and basses only require a lot of practice, but Aine, who studied music theory with Kazami Mei for a while, naturally knew very well how difficult composing music was.

Not to mention that the music was composed halfway through.

"Lixi-chan... she was probably thinking of the band and everyone else."

Hearing Xiao Bideng's somewhat low and gentle voice, Chihaya Aine raised her head helplessly.

"Of course I know that."

After all, there was less than a month left until the official live performance. They hadn't practiced much and weren't able to coordinate well, and their guitar skills might not be stable.

After watching the band's amazing performance, everyone felt a little anxious and nervous.

Not to mention that Kazami Mei, one of the core members of the band, was sick and bedridden at this time.

"I wonder how Mingming is doing now... Rikki said she only took leave because of a cold, but we still don't know the specifics!"

“I’m worried about Ming…” Gao Songdeng tucked both of her small hands into her sleeves, her worry on her face seemingly solidified.