How can my simulation be a real love?

Kazami Mei slowly closed her eyes.

"As expected, any band that can perform live in a venue like this... they're all amazing! We need to do our best in our upcoming performances, and we can't let them lose to us on stage!"

Ichi Niji Natsumi, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped. Her canvas shoes seemed to dance as she turned around, and her gentle eyes, along with her encouraging words full of sunshine, attracted the attention of everyone present.

She originally wanted to say something inspiring and relatable to help everyone regain their confidence.

But when she spoke, she suddenly realized that she had already said what she wanted to say. The girls present were no longer the greenhorns they once were; they had all grown up to where they were today.

For them now, these words seem unnecessary.

“Senior Nijika is absolutely right! Hmm… I definitely won’t lose to that lead singer either!” Kita Yuyo clenched her little fist, her star-like eyes and sunny smile seemingly radiating a dazzling brilliance.

During the 【Summer Festival】Live, they were just a new band that had debuted and hadn't even performed many live shows, yet they were still able to fearlessly compete on stage with the popular band SIDEROS.

They are now far stronger than they were back then.

Now that things have come to this, how could I possibly back down because of something so trivial!

"For this live performance, we also need to showcase Ming's new composition, so we must give it our best!"

"Yes! I will do my best!"

Ichi Nijika is like the anchor of the band; she instantly transforms the atmosphere into a positive and uplifting one. Even Ryo, who is usually silent and only pretending to be an expert, can't help but smile with a smug grin.

"Ah! Before that, we need to solidify our foundation for the performance. Let's start practicing as soon as we get back to the hotel!"

"That's true, let's go back to the hotel now!"

Seeing the two girls so engrossed in their activities, Kazami Naru couldn't help but smile. Then, she coughed lightly to interrupt them, saying, "You two don't need to be in such a hurry. Have you already forgotten that there's a rehearsal later?"

"Okay, it seems I forgot..."

"We still have quite a bit of free time before the rehearsal starts. Since we're already here, why don't we take a stroll around the nearby shrine?"

"You have plenty of time to practice tonight, there's no need to rush right now."

Kazami Mei's sarcastic remark brought the girls back to their senses. Kita-san, who would immediately put her thoughts into action, had her eyes light up. She seemed particularly interested in this kind of sightseeing activity, and at this moment, she seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

"A shrine?! I've heard that fortune-telling at Lake Suwa is very accurate, I want to go, I want to go!"

Seeing this, Ichiji Nijika also became interested and immediately announced energetically, "Alright! Let's do as Naruto said... Before the rehearsal starts, let's all go for a walk around the nearby shrine~"

"ohhhhhh!"

As soon as the 'team leader' Miss Angel gave the order, Kita Ikuyo responded energetically. Seeing that their competitive spirit seemed to have been fully ignited, Kazami Mei smiled with relief.

see?

He has absolutely nothing to worry about.

The End Band is no longer what it used to be. Instead of worrying that they will be too nervous about the upcoming performance, we should worry about when Belial will come to attack Earth.

It's getting cold, so I'm going to give the invincible Miss Hongxia a yellow robe.

Waving a small flag, Ijichi Nijika, like a cute little tour guide, led everyone towards the shrine. Just as Kazami Mei was about to follow, a soft voice suddenly reached her ears—

"Ming, did you know this would happen?"

Goto Ichiri had somehow moved closer to him, her azure eyes gradually rising as she gazed intently at him.

"of course."

He answered the question without hesitation, then raised his eyebrows slightly and explained, "You guys are an even more amazing band than you look! Besides, with Hongxia as everyone's anchor, this level of performance won't have any impact on you at all."

Kazami Mei was quite confident about this, and even her eyes curved into slits with laughter.

"..."

Upon hearing this answer, Goto Ichiri was slightly taken aback. The girl's long bangs covered most of her extremely beautiful face. She seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and gently pursed her cherry lips to reveal a beautiful, faint smile.

So, did Ming always think that everyone's "reassurance" was Hongxia?

But in reality, everyone in the band, including Ijichi Nijika herself, agreed that the real "stabilizing force" at the center of everyone's heart was actually the black-haired boy standing at the very back.

It was precisely because Kazami Mei was always standing behind them, watching their backs, that they were able to muster 100% confidence and strength; because each of them knew very well that it didn't matter if the performance failed.

No matter what happens, he will always be there to support everyone.

"Miss Pochi, what are you laughing about so secretly?"

"No, no! I was just thinking about something happy!"

"What's the happy thing?"

"The piece that Ming and I composed together will soon be presented to everyone."

The girl in the pink and white tracksuit had a silly smile on her face, which was completely opposite to the handsome and dignified 'guitar hero' on the stage.

This startled Kazami Mei slightly, and then she raised her eyebrows slightly.

The piece he composed for Pochi in the simulation, "The Pure White Flower That Never Fades," is finally going to appear in this 'reality,' and it is quite different from the one in the simulation.

This time, it's a new song with completely new lyrics and melody, created by Goto Ichiri and Kazami Naruto together.

Kazami Mei paused slightly, recalling the 'memory fragments' from the simulation, and his gaze towards the pink-haired girl softened somewhat, yet he still smiled nonchalantly as he spoke—

"Then, Miss Guitar Hero, the live performances on stage from now on will depend on you."

"The music we worked so hard to create deserves cheers from the entire audience."

"……Um!"

Goto Ichiri nodded earnestly. Seeing her adorable and confident demeanor, Kazami-san, whose heart was itching with curiosity, couldn't help but reach out and lift her long bangs under the girl's questioning gaze.

In an instant, the girl's stunningly beautiful face was revealed before them.

Her neck, streaked with strands of cherry-colored hair, was as white as snow. Her slightly panicked expression, with her head bowed in surprise after her bangs were lifted, was also quite adorable. Her delicate, fair face was free of makeup, and the blush that gradually spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears grew even deeper.

It's all pure numerical data; I feel like one set could kill me.

Oh no, my spider senses have activated.

No matter how many times he looked at Kazami Mei, he couldn't help but be amazed by her beauty, and his gaze towards the girl became more cunning.

"Ming?"

Miss Pochi spoke nervously, her trembling eyes suggesting she dared not look directly at him.

Kazami Mei merely gave a mischievous grin, then slowly closed his eyes and leaned close to the girl's cheek, kissing her fair forehead under her shy gaze, instantly causing wisps of white smoke to rise from Miss Pochi's head.

Then, under Kazami Mei's astonished gaze, she fainted from embarrassment.

"Pochi?!"

No, it was just a kiss on the forehead, right?

Even though it wasn't their first time kissing, which was much more intimate, how could she faint over something like this?!

As Kazami Mei kept complaining in his heart, a subtle look flashed in his eyes. He just sighed inwardly and casually picked up Miss Pochi in a princess carry. She was still looking at the sky with a flushed face.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s been doing this kind of thing too much, but recently his arms have started to show muscle definition.

……

The most famous shrine in Suwa City is Moriya Shrine, located near LiveHouse Moriya.

This street has been specially decorated because of the shrine. Pairs of guardian beast sculptures appear on both sides of the approach or in front of the worship hall, followed by rings of stone lanterns, and torii gates stretch endlessly down the mountain into the depths.

It's as if by simply passing under these layers of torii gates, one can reach some indescribable 'secluded world'.

In fact, Kazami Mei doesn't really believe in this kind of thing, after all, he is a staunch materialist... Although he has something that is not very scientific, it does not prevent him from being a staunch materialist.

“It seems like the shady spot here is pretty good, so I’ll let Pochi rest here for a bit… Nijika, you guys go explore the shrine area first, I’ll stay here and look after Pochi.”

"Wait a minute, I'll take care of Pochi!"

Miss Hongxia, who had volunteered, suddenly came up to him. Her pretty golden ponytail drew a bright arc in the air as she moved forward, and her petite body immediately came close to him.

Her sudden 'interception' left Kazami Mei, who was holding Miss Pochi, somewhat puzzled.

Ichika Nijika seemed to realize that her actions were a bit too sudden, her cheeks flushed slightly as if she were drunk. Quickly recovering, she hurriedly started to patch things up—

"Actually, I was also feeling a bit tired. I originally wanted to find a place to rest for a while, and this opportunity just happened to come along."

"Ning, go play with Kita and Ryo, I can handle Pochi-chan!"

The great angel gently patted her flat chest, and she also secretly gave Yamada Ryo a look, which made Ryo, who had been silent since the beginning, raise her eyebrows slightly.

They've been friends for so long, how could she not understand Hongxia's meaning?

At this moment, Kita Ikuyo also realized what was going on and quickly chimed in, "Since... since Nijika-senpai said she wants to rest for a bit, why don't the three of us just go for a stroll? We can also buy some snacks along the way to bring back later."

Completely different from Ijichi Nijika's naturally changing tone, Kita-san, who is not good at lying, sounded slightly nervous, and even her delicate body had a mechanical stiffness.

It looked exactly like a Namekian pretending to be an Earthling, but in reality, it was so obvious that anyone could see right through it at a glance, causing Kazami Mei's lips to twitch inwardly.

Ms. Yudai, your lying skills seem to need improvement.

Let alone Mr. Kazami, who is familiar with her little tricks, even Ms. Aine would probably notice something was wrong.

Seeing Kita Ikuyo's tense expression, with her eyes wide open, Kazami-san, who was secretly criticizing her, didn't directly call her out. Since even Iji Tomoka had volunteered to do this, it probably wasn't a bad idea.

Besides, he didn't have any objections.

Unless Ms. Ryo is planning to trick him into believing in KFC Crazy Thursday, then Mr. Kazami would really have something to say about it.

"In that case, I'll leave Pochi to you for now."

"It's okay, leave it to me!"

Only when Kazami Mei finally gave in did the incredibly nervous Angel finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was her first time doing something like this, and she was really not used to it, but fortunately, she managed to get away with it.

As for why she did this, it was naturally due to what was discussed at the girls' 'pajama party' yesterday.

"call--"

Sitting on the bench, Ichiji Nijika watched Kazami Mei leave. She only breathed a sigh of relief when his figure had completely disappeared. Just then, the pink-haired girl lying on her lap trembled slightly.

After a long while, Goto Ichiri slowly opened his eyes.

"Eh?"

"Where is this place?"

Miss Pochi, who was in a coma and on her deathbed, suddenly sat up. It seemed that her brain had just crashed. When she regained her ability to think, her body had inexplicably moved to this place.

An unfamiliar ceiling... no, it should be a sky that's not entirely unfamiliar?

The place where she was lying seemed to be a bench under the shade of a tree?

Before Miss Pochi, whose mind was still a little dazed, could even think, she immediately heard Ichiji Nijika's voice calling out, "Ah! Pochi, you're finally awake?"

"She suddenly fainted on the way here, it almost scared us to death!"

Ichiji Nijika patted her flat chest with lingering fear, which made Miss Pochi, who was recalling the scene just now, tremble and stammer, not knowing how to explain for a moment.

She couldn't possibly say that she was kissed unconscious, could she?

She was clearly one of the first girls to become Ming's girlfriend after the band ended, and she should have been the one to do more intimate things first, but she was so embarrassed by being kissed on the forehead that she fainted.

Too shameful!

She should be able to finish even the most important tasks properly!

"Little Pochi? Hey—Little Pochi, wake up!"

Ichika Niji stretched out her fair little hand and waved it in front of her eyes, which suddenly brought the girl, who was immersed in her own world, back to her senses. Goto Ichiri couldn't help but look around, and a few doubts flashed in her eyes.

"Hongxia? Where are Ming and the others...?"

"This is a rest area near the shrine. Naruto is probably out with Ryo and Kita at the shrine right now. I used taking care of you as an excuse... and I managed to get them away for now."

Upon hearing this explanation, Miss Pochi paused for two seconds, then a look of realization flashed in her eyes before she immediately replied, "Is now Ryo-senpai's 'alone' time?"

A blush crept across Ichiji Nijika's cheeks, and she scratched her cheeks somewhat awkwardly.

"According to the original plan... this time we should have given you, Pochi, some time alone, but you just happened to faint, so this opportunity to be alone with Naruto will be given to Ryo first."

This is what those girls talked about yesterday at their 'pajama party'.

Last night, Ms. Kita left the hot spring pool first, but she secretly went to "run away". This was caught red-handed by Ms. Ryo, who had noticed something was wrong early on, and she was arrested without any hesitation.

After being dragged back to her room, Kita-san started crying and apologizing.

However, no one really cared about this. After all, everyone has run away before. As girls who also like Naruto, they could understand Kita Ikuyo's thoughts, and no one was angry about it.

However, it is still somewhat unfair.