I Just Want A Single Ending!

He turned to the side, meeting Kaname Raana's gaze.

"Want one?" Saku held out the matcha cookie to her, testing the waters.

"Yes."

She nodded slightly.

---

Saku sat on a nearby bench, watching as Kaname Raana took small, delicate bites of the matcha cookie beside him, while the tabby cat at his feet gnawed on a piece of sausage.

For a moment, he felt like he was taking care of pets.

Yes, two cats.

"By the way, what's your name?"

Even though he already knew her name from the system, it felt necessary to follow the usual script.

"Kaname Raana," she said after swallowing her bite.

"I'm Kamigawa Saku," he introduced himself in turn.

Raana kept nibbling on the cookie, seemingly oblivious to his name.

"Tasty?" Saku asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Mm." Raana picked up another cookie.

Seeing her munching so happily, Saku couldn't help but offer a word of caution. "Maybe I'm not the best person to say this, but you really shouldn't eat food from strangers. It's dangerous."

"You're a good person."

Raana replied earnestly after swallowing her bite.

"I mean, I know I'm a good person, but others might not be," Saku said, feeling fairly confident about his own character.

After all, even with a superpower like teleportation, he hadn't once used it irresponsibly. That said a lot about his self-discipline.

Raana didn't respond, focused on finishing her cookie.

"What makes you think I'm a good person, anyway? This is the first time we've met, right?"

Saku was sure they hadn't spoken before; otherwise, the system would have notified him earlier.

"Cats like you," she replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Cats?"

Saku blinked, looking down at the tabby still happily munching sausage at his feet.

"So… because this cat likes me, that makes me a good person?"

"Mm."

Raana gave a quiet nod.

"That's some strange logic." Saku couldn't help but feel skeptical. "The cat could just be hungry, and I just happened to have food on me. That's why it's acting friendly."

"It's not a reliable way to judge a person," he added.

Raana tilted her head, staring at him intently. "You're an interesting guy."

"Me?" Saku pointed to himself, a bit bewildered.

Raana nodded again.

"I wouldn't call anything I just said interesting," Saku said, self-aware enough to know that. "Besides, what does that have to do with me being a good person?"

Raana continued, "I want to join the band."

[Accept]

[Decline]

It took Saku a moment to process, but the options that popped up helped him understand what she meant.

"Wait… you mean our band?"

"Yes."

"Hold on—how did you even find out about our band?"

"I saw it."

"So that's why you think I'm a good person?"

Saku finally put the pieces together.

Raana said nothing, her silence confirming it.

"Sorry, but I can't decide on my own whether you can join the band. I'll need to run it by the others first and see what they think."

Even if she was a character he could recruit, Saku wasn't about to act on impulse with this kind of decision.

[Agility +5]

Raana continued to watch him quietly.

"Just so I know, what instrument do you play?"

"Guitar."

"Alright then. If you're serious about joining, give me your contact info."

Saku took out his phone.

"When we start practicing, I'll introduce you to the others so they can hear your guitar skills, and we'll talk about you joining."

Without hesitation, Raana handed her phone to him.

"Added you."

Saku took her phone, quickly sending a friend request.

"Mm."

Raana took her phone back and then glanced at his backpack.

"Want another snack? Help yourself to anything in there," Saku said, noticing her gaze.

"This one."

Without hesitation, Raana picked up a small loaf of bread and began eating again.

---

By the time Kaname Raana finished her snacks, it was already quite late.

For her safety, Kamigawa decided to walk her home.

Another romanceable character unlocked…

Walking back on his own, Saku let out a deep sigh.

He was already feeling the weight of it; the number of "unlockable" characters was now in the double digits.

Trying to befriend so many girls was no easy task.

And this might not even be the final count.

There was still one member of CRYCHIC he hadn't spoken to yet.

Wakaba Mutsumi.

There was a high probability that she was an unlockable character as well—a safe estimate was at least a ninety percent chance.

Guess I'll have to find a chance to talk to her, Saku thought, already planning his next steps as he returned to his empty apartment to continue his self-study on the bass.

---

The next day, afternoon, in the rehearsal room.

"So? How was that? C chord!"

Chihaya Anon, seated beside the amp, struck a few chords on her guitar, then looked expectantly at Nagasaki Soyo and Takamatsu Tomori.

"That was amazing!" Tomori complimented.

Soyo, holding her bass, asked curiously, "Do you know any other chords?"

"Of course! G, A minor…" Anon said confidently, attempting to strum them. The results, however, were… underwhelming.

"F too, let me think…"

"Yeah, right."

Shiina Taki, standing near the drum set, looked unimpressed with Anon's guitar skills.

"It is kind of tough, though," Anon defended herself.

Taki crossed her arms. "But it's a basic chord."

"Guitar starts and ends with chords, after all," Anon replied casually. "You're just a drummer, so you probably don't get it."

"Sigh."

Taki let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"What's with the sighing?"

Annoyed, Anon looked over to Kamigawa Saku, who was standing near the door, absorbed in his phone.

"Saku, tell her off! She's picking on our band members."

"Oh, there's something I need to talk to you guys about," Saku said, putting his phone away and walking over to them.

"What's up?" Tomori asked, looking at him with curiosity.

"There's a guitarist who wants to join our band," Saku explained.

"Eh?" Anon's eyes widened in surprise.