It was not that Kita had never considered the possibility of Hitori winning.
She just felt that the probability was infinitely close to zero.
In terms of offense, Ryo-senpai was several levels higher than Hitori.
If it really came down to sneaking in and stealing a win, Bocchi-chan was still a bit too inexperienced.
As for defense, Nijika sat firmly on the fishing platform.
Toru's favor toward her was visibly high. With an overwhelming advantage, under the premise of fair competition, her chances of winning were almost one hundred percent.
In a situation like that, who could have expected it…
That the final winner would actually be Hitori?
Unbelievable...
"When did it happen? Who confessed first… alright, it must have been Hitori-chan who confessed first."
Kita stopped halfway through, realizing she had just said something pointless. If Hitori had not confessed first, why would she kneel down and apologize?
"I, I'm sorry."
"There's no need to apologize. It already happened anyway. I can't exactly make you and Toru-kun break up and then have everyone compete again, right?"
Kita had just put aside the idea of becoming a lover. Before she even had the chance to launch an attack, the fruit of victory had already been snatched away by Bocchi-chan.
Forget it, forget it. Better return to the original intention.
"I, I wasn't planning to monopolize Kitahara-san."
Hitori hurriedly explained, afraid of being misunderstood.
"Eh, really?"
Kita suddenly felt the joy of finding an ally.
Was she not the only one who restrained herself from going all out?
"Mm. Everyone really likes Kitahara-san…"
Hitori glanced at Toru, who was chatting with the staff not far away. The soundproofing here was good, so they did not have to worry about being overheard.
"I don't want everyone to be sad, and I don't want the band to break up."
During the year she had joined the band, it might have been the happiest period Hitori had experienced since she was born.
She did not want to be separated from her friends.
This way of thinking might have been a little selfish, but it was truly Hitori's honest consideration. She did like Toru, that was true, but she was not so generous that she could accept him having multiple wives. It was only because those multiple wives were her friends that Bocchi-chan could allow it.
If a completely unfamiliar woman were to suddenly descend from the heavens.
Hitori would probably resist with all her might…
Though whether it would actually be effective, given her social anxiety, was another matter.
"So that's how you think, Hitori-chan…"
Kita pressed her right index finger against her temple and pondered. "Before this, I only knew that you had a crush on Toru-kun."
"Ah… you knew?"
Hitori's small brain buzzed.
"That's right. Hitori-chan, you really can't hide secrets at all."
"Then… Kita chan, since you knew I liked Kitahara-san, why did you still compete with me for him?"
Hitori voiced a question she had kept hidden in her heart for a long time.
"That's a long story."
Kita was extremely embarrassed.
During the first simulation, she had even thought about helping Hitori as support.
But then she fell in deeper later.
It was not that Kita lacked willpower, it was that Toru's allure was simply too strong.
On top of that, the simulator did not interfere with the real world.
Kita felt no guilt about putting a green hat on someone, and without realizing it, she went too far.
By the time she came back to her senses, she had already become shaped entirely from that man.
There was no turning back.
"Could it be… Kita-chan, you also have a simulator?"
Hitori suddenly lowered her voice.
Kita: "?"
This time, not only Hitori, her own head also started buzzing.
"Looks like I didn't guess wrong."
"Does everyone have a simulator?"
After coming back to her senses, Kita leaned close to Bocchi-chan's ear and asked in a daze.
"At least Nijika-chan has a simulator. She told me herself a few days ago."
Hitori nodded.
"…Uh."
Kita thought of many things at once.
If the people connected to the simulator were not just herself and Toru, then…
During the first simulation.
The matter of her betraying Hitori, the victim likely knew about it!
Th, this is bad!
Kita hurriedly asked, "Then what about Ryo senpai? Does she have one?"
Bocchi-chan did not dwell on it and shook her head.
"I don't know."
"I think… Ryo-senpai probably has one too. Everyone in the band might have one."
Detective Kita chan began her reasoning, conveniently changing the topic. "With Ryo-senpai's cold personality, there's no way she would just fall for Toru-kun on her own. Something must have happened between them… as the seed of their feelings, a simulator would fit perfectly."
Ryo-senpai had always maintained the persona of a weirdo. The fact that she would develop feelings for Toru was strange in itself.
No one falls in love with someone for no reason.
Even Ryo-senpai, whose actions were hard to predict, would still need a trigger to fall in love with someone.
Thinking this far.
Kita took out her phone, preparing to ask the person herself on Line.
"Kita-chan…"
Hitori reminded her cautiously. "Ryo-san has been very busy these past few days."
Hearing that.
Kita moved her guilty little hand away from the send button on the screen.
"That's right. Ryo-senpai has been arranging music lately…"
That was close.
She almost did something wrong.
Kita thought that her impulsive personality really needed fixing sometime.
Over the past year, she had suffered enough consequences from recklessness. Whether it was turning into a yandere in the simulation, or running away when she first joined the band, both were actions that severely damaged favorability.
If Nijika-senpai and Ryo-senpai had not been gentle enough, a guitarist who deserted at the critical moment…
What ordinary band would choose to accept her again?
"By the way, Hitori-chan, how many simulations have you gone through?"
Kita asked.
Hitori recalled and said softly, "Eleven times. There were three times when I didn't participate."
"That's three more than me."
"There were a few months in between."
Bocchi-chan recalled the fourth simulation. In that round, Kita had won…
Although in the end, just like the first two times, Toru still died relatively quickly.
"Can you tell me about the content of the first three simulations?"
"Mm…"
Hitori leaned closer to Kita and began whispering.
Including the first simulation where she was abandoned by Toru, the second simulation where Ryo carried lifelong regret, and the third simulation where Nijika gave birth to a baby and passed away, leaving Toru alone to raise the child.
…
Half an hour later.
"What were you two talking about?"
Toru returned to the lounge and found that the relationship between Kita and Hitori seemed to have grown much closer…
Holding hands, shoulders pressed together.
Anyone who did not know better would think they were real sisters.
"We weren't talking about anything."
We were just discussing how to punish you, you peach blossom spirit who changes wives with every simulation.
"Kitahara-san, what should we eat for lunch?" Hitori-changed the topic.
The two sang in perfect harmony, cooperating flawlessly.
Toru did not think much of it.
He had no idea at all that a terrifying battlefield of love was quietly brewing.