I Just Want A Single Ending!

The moment he said that, all eyes turned to him.

[Takamatsu Tomori]

[Chihaya Anon]

Then, two options appeared in front of him, almost as if by magic.

"I think it's better if Tomori's the lead vocalist."

After a brief moment of thought, Kamigawa Saku made his choice.

Based on his experience with dating sims, choosing one option over the other usually raised the affection of the person selected.

Right now, he and Chihaya Anon were fairly close; they'd even gone shopping together.

To keep things balanced, it made sense to choose Takamatsu Tomori, with whom he wasn't as close.

Besides, picking her offered an extra advantage.

It would also help him gain a little favor with Shiina Taki.

[Strength +3]

"You heard him, right? He thinks so too," Taki said, clearly pleased with his answer, her tone a bit smugger than before.

Grrr…

In contrast, Chihaya Anon glared at him, looking rather disgruntled.

She'd fully expected him to choose her.

But no—he'd gone and picked Tomori instead.

How could he betray me like this?

"Why?" she demanded.

He had better give her a reasonable explanation.

Otherwise, she was definitely going to hold a grudge.

"It's mainly because I've never heard you sing before. I don't know how good you are," Kamigawa explained carefully, hoping not to lose too much of her goodwill.

"Plus, I'm a big fan of CRYCHIC. Their last live left a deep impression on me, so I chose Tomori."

"…I suppose that makes sense."

After following his logic, Anon managed to talk herself into agreement.

If she were in his position, not having heard herself sing, she'd likely pick Tomori as well.

It was… understandable.

"Actually, I'm a really good singer," she added as a side note. "I'll let you hear it sometime."

"Alright."

Having agreed, Kamigawa noticed Tomori looking at him, too.

"What's up?"

In a determined tone, Tomori said, "I won't let you down."

For this fan of hers, she'd apologized to him twice, each time saying she'd fallen short of his expectations and support.

Without him, she wouldn't have rejoined the band. She wouldn't be sitting here now, talking about their band's future together.

So, this was her first time telling him she wouldn't let him down.

And she fully believed in herself.

"Go for it. I'll be cheering for you," Kamigawa replied, a gentle smile on his face.

"Then it's settled—Tomori will be the lead vocalist."

Shiina Taki, though feeling like there was something a bit odd between Kamigawa and Tomori, couldn't really find fault with their interactions. She decided to steer the conversation back on track.

"Alright."

Recalling the rehearsal version of Spring Shadows she'd heard on Nagasaki Soyo's phone, Chihaya Anon didn't press the matter further.

Even though she had a beautiful singing voice, Tomori was excellent too.

Besides, Anon had written the lyrics; letting Tomori sing them would bring out their full emotion.

"Next up: the band name."

Chihaya Anon looked down at her phone, reading the next topic on their agenda.

"Let me make this clear—I'm never going to agree to use your name as the band name," Shiina Taki preemptively stated.

"That's exactly why we need to talk about it," Anon replied, unbothered.

"Can't we just put this unimportant stuff aside for now?" Taki asked, clearly indifferent.

"No, we can't. Without a name, Kamigawa can't create the band's social media accounts or start any promotion," Anon insisted.

She was planning to use the band as her stepping stone to fame, to stand out.

That's why she'd given up on being the lead vocalist so easily.

"If we haven't even practiced yet, his management skills won't matter much, no one's going to notice us anyway," Taki countered. "And besides, we're not going to agree on a name today."

"We should talk about booking rehearsal days instead. If we wait too long, all the best times will be taken."

Seeing that they were on the verge of another argument, Nagasaki Soyo stepped in to smooth things over.

Honestly, she didn't want to name the band either.

No matter how nice it sounded, to her, it couldn't compare with the name CRYCHIC.

Once they found Togawa Sakiko, she could just kick out the two "extras" here and keep the band name as CRYCHIC.

There was no need to waste time on trivialities.

Kamigawa offered, "How about this—you all send me your schedules in the group chat, and I'll sort it out."

"Sounds good."

Each of them picked up their phones and started typing.

Looking at their schedules in the chat, Kamigawa started organizing the times.

Taki worked afternoons, Soyo had club activities, which meant she'd usually be late.

Anon might go out with friends, and while Tomori was free due to her one-person Astronomy Club, she still had to write her reports.

As for him, he often had to check out venues, write reviews, and sometimes even negotiate contracts with certain companies, so his schedule was far from predictable.

"Oh, by the way, just so you know, since I'm handling the band's management, I won't factor myself in when booking rehearsal times," Kamigawa clarified.

"What do you mean by that?" Anon asked, looking puzzled.

"I mean, there might be days when I won't be around for practice," he explained simply. "Since I'm not performing, my presence isn't necessary during rehearsals."

"Not coming?" Tomori sounded a bit disappointed.

"Not all the time, just occasionally. If you need to factor me in, it'll limit our options even more."

"Mhm."

With that reassurance, Tomori didn't say anything else.

---

After they booked the rehearsal room, the group disbanded for the evening.

They hadn't brought their instruments yet, so practice wasn't possible anyway.

After grabbing dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kamigawa Saku decided to head home.

But on his way back, a tabby cat suddenly darted out from the bushes, circling his feet and blocking his path.

Saku knelt down, reaching out to pet it, only to find it meowing insistently at his backpack.

"Are you hungry?" he murmured, a thought striking him as he opened his bag to look inside.

As a review and recommendations blogger, he usually carried an assortment of snacks in his backpack.

"Hmm… what do cats even eat?" he wondered aloud.

"Try giving it that."

A girl with silver hair and mismatched eyes had appeared beside him without his noticing, pointing at the matcha cookies peeking out of his bag.

[New romanceable character discovered: Kaname Raana]