How can my simulation be a real love?

"I suddenly remembered that Komachi-chan asked me to go out and play, so I'll head out first, big brother!"

After a brief farewell to Kazami Naruto, she turned and ran away without hesitation, leaving behind only a completely silent atmosphere and Kazami Naruto standing there, head down, deep in thought about what to do next.

What can I say?

It has to be said that the scene he just witnessed was incredibly impactful. No… he meant the impact was just too great!

Although he had long known that Pochi's sportswear concealed astonishing strength, Kazami Naru had never directly experienced it. Only after witnessing the dragon's direct combat power firsthand did he finally admit defeat.

If other girls can apply hard crowd control to him through their mechanics, then at this moment, Pochi can simply overpower him with sheer numbers.

"Pochi, may I come in now?"

After a long while, there was no response from inside the room.

Sensing something amiss, Kazami Mei hesitated for a moment before pulling open the paper sliding door again.

At this moment, the 'Guitar Hero' was lying face down on the tatami with her right hand up. Her body, now dressed in sportswear again, was completely stiff as stone, like a stone sculpture weathered by years of wind and rain.

Kazami Mei couldn't help but step forward and pat her cheek, and even heard a series of muffled 'thump thump' sounds in her ears.

"She completely fainted; she's really in a bad state now."

……

"Yeah!"

Pochi, who was in the closet, suddenly opened his eyes.

She sat up in shock from her dying dream, staring wide-eyed at her surroundings. Only after confirming that she was in the most 'safe' closet did she slowly breathe a sigh of relief, and the tension and surprise in her eyes gradually faded as she relaxed.

Was that just a dream?

It seems that the door suddenly opened while she was changing clothes, and then she and Mingsang made eye contact. After that, her memory seemed to completely cut off.

But it seems that I've just been staying up too late lately, which has caused me to have a slight hallucination?

"That's true... How could Ming Sang possibly be in my house?"

As Pochi gradually relaxed, he smiled with relief and slowly opened the closet door.

As soon as she opened the door, her gaze met that of Kazami Naruto sitting at the table. In that instant, her surging blood and qi began to churn violently, almost causing her to faint again.

Is Kazami Mei really at her house?!

Doesn't this mean that when I was changing clothes just now, it wasn't a dream at all, but that I was actually seen completely naked by the other person?!

Just thinking about this possibility made Goto Ichiri tremble all over, and her delicate face, hidden under her long bangs, flushed with a bright red like the rising sun.

The overwhelming sense of shame that surged into his head made Pochi roll and scramble out of the closet without a word, then quickly assume a perfect, smooth dogeza (vertical bow) while shouting loudly—

"Hugs, I'm so sorry...! I made you see something bad!"

"Stop! I didn't see anything!"

The two spoke almost simultaneously, and were also stunned by what the other said at the same time.

Kazami Mei stared at the girl in the tracksuit in front of him with a subtle look in his eyes. The words he was about to say to comfort Pochi were swallowed back the moment she uttered those words.

After all, he really didn't expect that the 'victim' who had been seen naked would rush over to apologize to him without hesitation.

"Ming, did Ming-san really not see anything?"

Miss Pochi couldn't help but raise her azure eyes and secretly observe Kazami Naru's face.

Just thinking about that shameful scene made her feel like she was suffocating; her heart was still pounding and showed no signs of slowing down.

"I didn't see it; the door was closed immediately."

This is a lie.

Although it was just Erli who caused the trouble, Kazami Mei, with her superb eyesight, still managed to take in all the beautiful scenery in front of her the moment she closed the door!

"Is this like this..."

For some reason, Goto Ichiri suddenly felt a little lost, but she immediately became nervous because of her 'absurd' thoughts, fearing that Kazami Mei on the other side would see through her momentary emotional expression.

Kazami Mei was the only one whom Goto Ichiri didn't want to leave a bad impression on.

"Speaking of which... why did Ming suddenly come to my house?"

The girl lowered her head timidly, but couldn't help but raise her eyes to steal a glance at his expression.

“I heard from Erli that you’ve been hiding in the closet lately and won’t come out.”

"Two miles?"

Goto Ichiri was also somewhat surprised when he heard this. He didn't know how to explain it to the other person for a moment, and just sat there hesitantly, wanting to say something but not quite.

Seeing her like this, Kazami Mei simply sighed softly, then spoke in a somewhat subtle tone—

"Pochi, are you worried about the fireworks festival live afterwards?"

"Well!"

Goto Ichiri suddenly raised her head, her clear, blue eyes filled with shock.

Was it discovered?

She was so worried about the live performance at the fireworks festival after the band ended that she locked herself in the closet to practice during that time.

Pochi wanted to train hard to bring out more of her skills, but no matter how much she practiced guitar and ensemble, it did nothing to alleviate her anxiety. Instead, it made her fear grow deeper.

That's why she was even more reluctant to come out of the 'safe' closet.

"Why, why..."

But even though she didn't say anything, why was Ming Sang able to see through her thoughts at a glance?

Could it be that Kazami Mei is actually a superhuman with the ability to read minds?

"I can't read minds."

"I just think Pochi is too easy to guess; your thoughts are practically written all over your face."

Kazami Naru rested her chin on her hand and couldn't help but complain, feeling that it would be easy to find out what Pochi was secretly thinking.

If you consider her social anxiety and take a look at her expression, combined with her recent experiences, you can quickly guess the reason. After all, Boqi is usually the one who cares most about the end of the band, so her sudden abnormal behavior is probably related to the band.

If I had to think about any recent changes, the only one would be the fireworks festival live performance.

"Ming-sang...aren't you worried?"

Sitting upright, Goto Ichiri had a slight hunchback, which made her already petite body appear even more timid and hesitant.

Seeing her like this, Kazami Naruto couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. At that moment, his long, deep black eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone, which was usually frivolous, became somewhat serious as he spoke—

"Pochi, straighten your back."

"It's a [voice crack]!"

The previously gloomy Pochi was startled by these words and instantly straightened his back. His weak and pitiful appearance with teary eyes made people feel sorry for him, but Kazami Mei didn't care about any of that at this moment.

"You're such a cool 'guitar hero'."

"Have a little more confidence; always slouching isn't cool."

Kazami Mei slightly furrowed her brows and spoke slowly.

There was no falsehood in his words. You see, when it comes to the 'guitar,' Pochi has an unparalleled talent that no one else can match. If others had her level of skill, their noses would be higher than their eyes.

"Handsome, handsome? Are you talking about me...?"

Upon hearing the praise, Boqi's eyes lit up slightly. She couldn't help but bend over slightly, lower her head, and reveal a silly smile, occasionally letting out sounds like "guhehe" that were difficult to decipher.

At this moment, Pochi felt as if several angels were surrounding her. Enjoying the moment of 'bliss', she clasped her hands together, like a devout person full of faith, and thanked Kazami in her heart.

The great god Kazami praised me for committing the sin of sloth; this is God's mercy.

Naruto—

"Pochi."

The meaningful call was like a death knell, instantly bringing Pochi, who was still immersed in a beautiful dream, back to reality.

"Hug, sorry!"

Goto Ichiri reverted to her stiff, upright posture from the beginning, trying to straighten her back but hesitant to raise her head. After a moment's hesitation, Kazami Mei slowly spoke.

"It would be impossible for me to say I'm not worried."

Even though Kazami Mei's keyboard skills surpass those of over 90% of amateur bands, and he also possesses high-quality original compositions, he would still be worried in this situation.

"But right now, I'm more concerned about where to have a celebration party after the performance than worrying about that."

Kazami Mei narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke with a hint of amusement in her voice.

It's clear that Boqi really values ​​this live performance, which is why he's so worried about it.

Kazami Mei was quite able to understand her thoughts.

Because this was truly different from their usual performances at 'STARRY', it was a real public and formal occasion!

Although 'STARRY,' owned by Nijika's family, is a relatively popular livehouse in Shimokitazawa, this is only in comparison to ordinary bands. Compared to truly popular bands, 'STARRY's' customer traffic is rather insufficient.

Perhaps it's because STARRY hasn't done much real advertising; at most, they rely on people acting as shop assistants to hand out flyers, which only attracts a limited number of customers.

This means that most of the bands performing here are not particularly high-caliber.

As for the Fireworks Festival Live, it's completely different.

The summer festivals held there naturally attract a huge crowd. Performing there can easily draw a large audience. It's not impossible for ordinary bands to use this platform as a springboard to debut as 'professional bands'!

High traffic naturally attracts popular bands.

The band's level of performance was barely acceptable even at the STARRY concert. If they were to suddenly compete with popular bands at a large-scale fireworks festival live, they would naturally worry that their performance would be far behind.

Even if Pochi is able to fully unleash her 'Guitar Hero' abilities, it's hard to say what the final result will be, not to mention that she can't fully demonstrate her abilities when performing in front of others.

"Actually, you don't need to be so stiff, just relax naturally."

"Ah, yes..."

Upon hearing Kazami Mei's words, Ichiri Tou seemed to relax a little, but in reality, he remained stiff all over. Seeing Pochi's appearance, he knew that the conversation probably wouldn't be able to proceed in a relaxed manner.

After a moment of contemplation, Kazami Mei slowly asked—

"Bochi, when are you most relaxed?"

Upon hearing this, Miss Pochi paused slightly, then, as if recalling something, asked uncertainly, "Perhaps, when in the closet?"

"In that case, let's go talk inside the closet now!"

“Hey…Hey!”

Pochi, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly looked up at Kazami Naruto as if he had heard some shocking news. Kazami Naruto stood up and headed straight for the closet, which made Pochi, who was sitting in place, also stand up in a panic.

No, are you really going?

12

Chapter Twelve: Speak Up!

To be honest, I didn't expect it to be so comfortable inside before I came in.

The closet in Pochi's room was less than the size of a tatami mat, but it was small yet fully functional. Even in such a small space, she could fit her guitar and laptop inside. There were even hooks on the wall to hold her headphones, and you could even see band posters pasted on the wall when you turned your head...

Compared to Pochi's original room, the narrow space of the closet felt more like her home.

"This is surprisingly impressive..."

Kazami Mei, sitting on the inside, couldn't help but complain that the closet was small but still crammed full.

Oh no, he's starting to feel safe too.

However, letting Poch talk in the closet was clearly the right choice he made.

The moment the closet door closed, a relaxed expression appeared on the girl's face. Dressed in loose sportswear, she obediently huddled next to the guitar, her contented yet silly expression making people feel a little amused.

"I'm so sorry, Ming-san! The closet is only so big, so I'll have to ask you to squeeze in with me."

A hint of apology appeared on Goto Ichiri's fair and delicate face.

She carefully reached into the corner of the closet, skillfully took out a fist-sized nightlight, and lit it. In an instant, the bulb emitted bursts of pure white light, illuminating the narrow closet.

Kazami Mei simply waved her hand casually: "These are no problem, but Pochi, do you usually practice guitar in the closet?"