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Chapter 260. Evening 'Conversation' with Gotoh-san
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 10:08:40 +0000 UTCThere was no denying it.
Every skill granted by the system was extremely effective.
But to have someone experience them all in one sitting—only Satou Matsuzaka, the girl before him, had done that.
And after letting her fully feel the spectrum of human emotion—
Minami could clearly sense it.
Compared to before, Satou now had at least a partial understanding of emotions.
That delicate, lovely face still held confusion—
As expected. Even after personally experiencing those overwhelming feelings, her heart remained lost and unsure.
But…
No rush.
Minami sipped his miso soup, then took another bite of the meal Satou had prepared.
That's right.
No rush.
The version of himself from the simulation had never managed to solve this puzzle—not in an entire lifetime.
But now? He finally had a breakthrough.
After all, the simulated version had already done the trial and error for him.
With a plan in mind, he didn't say anything more and calmly returned to his meal.
He had to admit—Satou Matsuzaka did have a talent for cooking.
In terms of flavor alone—
Her dishes could rival Akane's skills.
Better than Chisato Nishikigi's, just slightly behind Takina Inoue's level.
He was genuinely enjoying himself.
Meanwhile, Satou Matsuzaka hesitated before speaking softly.
"…I'm sorry, Minami-senpai, for making you eat this kind of thing."
"Huh?"
Minami looked up, confused by her words. "Why would you say that? It's really good."
"Uh…"
Though he meant it sincerely, Satou's lips parted, unsure how to respond.
If anyone else had complimented her cooking, she might've smiled and accepted it.
But hearing it from Minami Shouji—
For some reason, it made her feel… awkward.
Just earlier, she'd had that warm, comforting soup Minami had prepared just for her.
A simple bowl, made with basic seasonings and ingredients she'd already prepped—
But the flavor—so rich and well-balanced—still lingered in her mind.
She couldn't stop thinking about it and honestly wanted another bowl.
It was painfully clear to her—
When it came to ingredients, flavor, and control—
Minami was on another level.
So when Minami casually said, "Isn't it pretty good?", Satou felt like she'd just been praised by a celebrity chef from TV or the news.
No sense of accomplishment—just awkwardness.
She didn't continue the conversation. Instead, she quietly ate the meal in front of her, occasionally sneaking glances at Minami.
This silence lingered for several minutes.
Then—
"By the way, Minami-senpai, what was that Kessoku Band you mentioned earlier?"
She tossed the question out casually, like it didn't matter.
Minami's brow twitched.
Here it comes.
He knew Satou Matsuzaka wouldn't be able to resist asking about Kessoku Band.
After all, in the simulation, she'd even followed him all the way to the STARRY venue just to watch.
A girl with that much curiosity about him—
There was no way she'd hear the name Kessoku Band and not react.
So—
His answer had already been decided.
"Didn't I mention it earlier? Kessoku Band is the rock band I joined outside of Shuka High."
He replied nonchalantly, "We even performed at the Shuka Festival. Don't you remember?"
Just like in the simulation, Minami had no intention of hiding anything.
And the reason was the same—
Even if he tried to hide it, Satou Matsuzaka would definitely dig up everything about Kessoku Band anyway.
So why bother?
He gave his answer while observing her reaction.
Satou blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected Minami to be so upfront.
All she'd done was ask, and he'd openly told her everything.
However, as for the Kessoku Band performance at the school festival—
She honestly had no idea.
Since she wasn't interested in music or performances, she had stayed in her classroom that whole day.
But since this was about me…
She couldn't stop herself from wanting to know more.
Tilting her head, she shifted closer, her pink hair framing her delicate face.
"I was in the classroom then, so I don't remember the performance at the gym."
She smiled gently.
"But since Minami-senpai is part of the band, I'm pretty curious… What kind of people are the other members? What's your relationship with them?"
There it is.
Minami had expected this.
Just like in the simulation—
Reality Satou Matsuzaka was also quick to investigate his relationships with every single member of the band.
Fine.
He'd stick to the script he'd prepared.
Minami set down his teacup.
"There are five of us in Kessoku Band, including me. The other four members—are all girls."
"Eh…?"
His blunt answer left Satou stunned.
But what really caught her off guard was that all the members—besides him—were girls.
Wasn't that a bit too much…?
"So Minami-senpai is the only guy?" she asked again, needing to confirm.
"Yup."
"..." Satou Matsuzaka.
She let her guard down.
Satou fell silent.
Even before asking, she'd known that Minami likely had a few girls drawn to him.
That was normal.
He was smart, ridiculously handsome, and even among first-years, plenty of girls whispered about him.
Now add musical talent and master-level cooking?
A guy that perfect—
It'd be weirder if he didn't have a few girls around him.
But…
Satou had not expected that just within Kessoku Band, there would already be four girls alone with one guy.
This was…
She couldn't help but shake her head.
She knew Minami's charm was outrageous—but she didn't expect this level.
A strange sense of crisis welled up inside Satou.
But then, she remembered something her best friend, Shouko Hida, had once said:
Minami might be good-looking, but he could still be single, right?
Even if someone in Kessoku Band liked him—
There's no way all four of them liked him, right?
Satou shook her head.
That would be way too far-fetched.
She believed in Minami's charm.
But the idea that every single girl in the band liked him? That was just…
She pondered for a moment, then asked,
"I'm really curious about your relationship with the other members of Kessoku Band."
Trying to sound casual, she added teasingly,
"But with someone as charming as you, Minami-senpai, I bet you're really popular in the band, huh? Don't tell me all the girls in Kessoku Band like you?"
It was meant to be a light-hearted joke.
Just a playful way to pry into his relationships.
Or so Satou believed.
However—
"Yeah. They all like me."
…Huh?
Huh???
Hearing Minami's calm reply and seeing his serious expression—
Satou Matsuzaka froze.
Really froze.
Because the weight of what he'd just said was massive.
Her cherry-pink lips parted in shock. Her pink eyes scanned Minami's face, searching for any sign that he was joking.
But she found nothing.
His expression didn't waver at all.
Unable to stop herself, she said,
"Minami-senpai, you really know how to joke around… saying something like all of them like you…"
"I'm not joking."
The black-haired youth didn't hesitate for a second.
And Satou's lips twitched.
Not joking…?
That meant…
She suddenly had four major obstacles on her path to Minami Shouji.
Four. Rivals.
Her mind couldn't stop calculating her odds.
But the more she thought—
The lower her chances seemed.
Kessoku Band were his bandmates. They shared a common interest.
Shared hobbies were the perfect way to get close to someone.
Not to mention they'd be interacting constantly because of band activities.
Regular contact.
Common interests.
Deepening bonds through collaboration.
Just those three alone crushed her odds significantly.
Even though Satou had confidence in her looks—
Standing against those natural advantages? It felt crushing.
Still…
She wasn't ready to give up.
Four might be a lot—but it wasn't five or six or eight.
Maybe she should be optimistic.
A guy like Minami Shouji, only having four admirers? That seemed almost too few.
So as long as she played to her strengths, she still had a good chance.
Satou tried her best to reassure herself.
And then—
"Actually, it's not just the band. There are also two girls at my part-time job who like me, and two more from our grade at Shuka High."
Minami said it casually.
"Uh—"
Satou's face cracked.
She instinctively looked at him.
Her mouth moved but no sound came out.
Wait a second…
Two at his part-time job?
Two at school?
Satou lifted her pale hand.
The math wasn't hard.
A simple addition—revealed eight girls liked Minami Shouji.
Eight, not counting herself.
Her four "rivals" had just doubled.
Satou felt like her world was spinning.
Who had ever seen something like this?
She'd thought she still had a chance with four rivals.
Now it was eight.
What little chance she felt tiny.
And she'd been the last one to appear in Minami's life.
Who knew how long the others had been around?
Just from time alone, she was already losing.
She couldn't even respond.
Silence.
And her silence? Minami had expected it.
Looks like my Romantic Writing, Regrets of Life Guitar, and Happiness Cooking all did their job.
Minami smirked internally.
In the simulation, when Satou heard about his "flock of admirers," she reacted with perfect calm, smiling serenely.
Unlike now—where she was clearly thinking, calculating, reacting.
In the simulation, her next move had been clear—
She tried to kidnap him.
She failed.
But now—after his triple combo—
Real-life Satou was clearly more human now.
No longer viewing the world with that cold, pure gaze from above.
This was good.
At least the chances of her going full yandere and doing something crazy had greatly decreased.
Minami was satisfied.
But he didn't want her to dwell on this topic too long.
So he smoothly shifted the conversation.
"By the way, Satou-san—you live alone?"
He glanced around her apartment as if just realizing it.
"Ah…"
The question snapped Satou back to reality.
She nodded instinctively. "Yeah. I've been living alone for a while now."
Perfect. Got her.
Minami smiled slightly and pressed on, "A girl living alone… that's pretty rare. Doesn't it get difficult sometimes?"
"It's alright. Isn't Minami-senpai also living alone?"
She responded softly.
"That's different. I'm a guy—it's no problem. But you're a girl. Your guardian is okay with you living alone?"
His tone was casual, even curious.
And he instantly caught the flicker in Satou's eyes.
He narrowed his own eyes slightly, but didn't stop. He smiled and kept going:
"Come to think of it, I've never seen your guardian. Do they live in Tokyo? Why don't you live with them?"
One question after another.
Watching her every expression.
And hearing Minami's words, Satou's once-calm face wavered.
To be honest—
She really didn't want to talk about that.
But Minami's curious expression left her at a loss for how to refuse.
She could only nod. "My aunt does live in Tokyo, but she lives somewhere else."
As she spoke, her fingers fidgeted slightly—rubbing her thumb against her index finger.
Minami noticed.
"She lives too far from Shuka High."
Unaware that Minami had caught her nervous tic, Satou continued calmly:
"It takes about half an hour by train from her place to get to school, so I moved out to live separately for convenience. We don't keep in close contact—maybe I visit her once every month or two."
The distance made commuting difficult, so she moved out.
It sounded perfectly reasonable.
Even Minami couldn't find a flaw in the explanation.
Under normal circumstances, he might have accepted it without question.
But…
Before she spoke, Satou had made that subtle motion—rubbing her thumb and index finger.
If Minami hadn't gone through the simulation, he might've missed it.
But having done so, he knew what it meant.
In the simulation, Satou did this every time she was nervous or lying.
Even she didn't seem to realize it.
In other words—
Minami could now confirm she was lying.
He maintained a calm smile, nodding slightly as he glanced around the room.
He was certain—Satou's aunt, Sayuri Matsuzaka, lived in this very building.
And their relationship wasn't distant, not at all like Satou claimed.
The only problem: he didn't know which unit Sayuri lived in.
Apartment buildings like this didn't display nameplates outside the doors, only unit numbers.
Her door might say "502," but there'd be no "Matsuzaka" name on it.
This privacy measure prevented harassment—but it also delayed his search.
Still…
Minami tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
He'd already thought of a way.
He just hadn't acted on it yet.
After hearing Satou's explanation, he smiled, nodded, and dropped the subject.
"I see. Sorry for asking strange questions, Satou-san."
"Ah… it's fine. Actually, my friends often worry about me living alone too."
She didn't suspect anything—thinking Minami was simply curious.
After all, high schoolers living alone was rare.
Minami let the topic go.
And Satou was more than happy to chat about something else.
As they talked, she realized Minami was exceptionally good with words.
Conversations with him felt oddly comfortable.
Even someone like her, who struggled with emotions, found herself easily responding to him.
And just like that, time flew by.
Around 6:30 PM—
"Well then, I'll be heading off, Satou-san."
After guiding her through homework, Minami glanced at the clock and stood up.
"I'll walk you out, Minami-senpai."
Satou quickly gathered her things and stood.
"No need. It's not raining anymore."
Minami politely declined.
Outside, the weather had cleared—though the sky was still overcast, it was much better than before.
But Satou shook her head.
"I insist, Minami-senpai. You've done so much for me—I haven't even properly thanked you. Let me at least walk you out. Please don't refuse."
"…Alright then."
Seeing her determination, Minami thought for a moment, then nodded and picked up his bag.
Satou followed close behind.
From the fifth floor to the ground was just a short elevator ride.
Once Minami stepped out of the building—
Satou finally stopped.
"This is far enough, Minami-senpai."
She lifted her hand, waving at him with a soft smile. "See you tomorrow."
"Ah… yeah. See you tomorrow."
Smiling, Minami Shouji also raised his hand and waved goodbye to Satou Matsuzaka.
He watched her turn and walk back into the apartment building.
And just as she was about to disappear from his line of sight—
Minami's smile slowly faded, and at the same time, he reached out as if tapping something in midair.
Then he strode forward purposefully, without hesitation, pursuing her from behind.
His steps were long and brisk.
His footsteps weren't loud, but certainly loud enough for Satou Matsuzaka to hear.
However—
Under Minami's sharp gaze, Satou showed no reaction at all, as if she hadn't heard anything. She kept walking, unfazed.
"…This is really something."
Looks like the item worked.
Minami's spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace.
His footsteps grew louder.
Still, Satou continued walking as if she heard nothing—calmly inputting the security code at the entrance.
Minami slipped in right behind her.
It could be said he followed her directly into the elevator.
They stood in the same confined space.
Even so—
Satou acted as if Minami wasn't there, as if his presence had completely vanished.
"Yeah, this item really works."
Confirming that Satou hadn't noticed him at all, Minami felt genuinely impressed.
Yes—
The reason for his complete disappearance from her awareness was due to a character card he'd used from his stockpile.
He lightly tapped his simulator interface.
Immediately, the active item's description popped up:
["Peerless Tracker – Chisato Nishikigi" Character Card] (In Use)
A character item card Minami had earned from simulating Chisato Nishikigi.
"Love is war. Showing mercy to others is cruelty to yourself! With unmatched execution and initiative, she believes passivity never wins affection. For her, only striking first leads to victory."
"I'm not the kind of woman who'd usually stalk someone. But for you, I devised an unrivaled tracking method—Chisato Nishikigi."
[Single-use character card. Upon use, your presence is perfectly concealed—no human instinct or surveillance device can detect you. Allows a flawless follow of your target.]
"Glad it works. Chisato's card came through."
Minami nodded in satisfaction, watching Satou stand there completely unaware of his presence.
He'd been worried, given how sketchy the description sounded, that she might still notice him—so he'd deliberately left his train pass holder behind at her place.
That way, if she did catch him, he could say he'd just come back to retrieve it.
Turns out—he didn't need the excuse.
The card was absurdly effective.
Even standing back-to-back, Satou didn't react at all.
What a shame…
Minami shook his head.
Such a useful tool—and only one copy?
No, wait.
He cleared his throat.
One copy is just right!
He wasn't some pervert who enjoyed tailing pretty girls.
He'd only used this card because he happened to have it.
Definitely not because he regretted using it.
Something with such a criminal vibe—even if it worked, there was no need to feel regretful!
He kept telling himself that.
With those self-reassurances, he quickly shook off the small pang of regret and focused on Satou's movements.
He watched as her fair hand pressed the elevator button.
A soft ding sounded, and the elevator began to rise.
Her actions seemed completely normal.
But Minami—watching her closely—noticed something.
The floor button Satou Matsuzaka pressed wasn't for the 5th floor—unit 502.
She pressed the button for the 8th floor.
"Just as I thought…"
Minami narrowed his eyes.
The place Satou had taken him was indeed her home.
But she had hidden the existence of her aunt, Sayuri Matsuzaka.
8th floor…
That meant the Sayuri Matsuzaka he'd been searching for—was right here, in the same building, on the 8th floor.
Excitement stirred in Minami's chest.
He glanced up at the floor display as the elevator steadily climbed.
Soon enough, it stopped with a soft ding at the 8th floor.
Satou stepped out.
Minami followed silently, still completely undetected.
They walked down the hallway—her in front, him close behind.
Then—
Satou's steps halted in front of an apartment that looked no different than the others.
She glanced around briefly.
Seeing no one, she pulled out a key and unlocked the door.
Without hesitation, she stepped inside.
Thud—
The door closed behind her.
Silence returned.
Minami walked up to the door she had entered.
"803…"
He murmured as he read the unit number.
This had to be it—Sayuri Matsuzaka's place.
He snapped a quick photo with his phone—just in case.
With that, Minami turned back the way he came.
That was enough for today.
He'd confirmed Sayuri's location—no need to camp out at her door.
After all…
Who knew how long Satou would stay in her aunt's place?
If his tracking card expired and she caught him loitering…
That would be a disaster.
Best to retreat for now.
Besides—
"I'm going to visit her soon and ask about Satou… better come with a proper gift."
Stepping out of the building, Minami glanced back once.
"Can't be rude to someone's guardian."
With that, he headed toward the station.
Hmm…
Of course.
He also had plans with Hitori tonight.
Ahem, wasting time here would be disrespectful to the shy, pink-haired guitarist.
Obviously! That's the real reason for leaving.
As the train approached, Minami stepped on without hesitation.
The Next Morning
Minami gently slipped his arm from the embrace of the pink-haired, socially anxious girl.
Watching her sleepy smile, he couldn't help but reach out and brush her face softly.
Youth is a wonderful thing.
Even after last night's "intensive" guitar lesson with Hitori—one that lasted well into the night, with her fingers too tired to move and Minami guiding her through every technique—
He was still full of energy.
Hitori, however, was still fast asleep, as if she'd been drained by a incubus.
Minami didn't disturb her, only checked the time—6:30 AM.
It was Saturday. No need to wake her.
He changed into athletic wear and went for his morning run.
After finishing his route, he picked up a gift for Sayuri Matsuzaka and groceries for breakfast.
By 7:30 AM, he was back.
A quick meal, set the table.
He woke Hitori gently, fed her as she dozed, and reminded her to dress properly—
After all, they were at STARRY's ground floor—Ijichi Nijika and Seika's domain.
Getting caught with Hitori disheveled… yeah, not ideal.
After helping her get dressed, Minami finally stepped out.
10:30 AM.
Sayuri Matsuzaka should be awake by now.
And it was the weekend—she likely had no work.
Time to pay a visit.
With the address burned into memory, Minami made his way to the station.
