I_LOVE_RICE+

V3 Chapter 4: Hoshino "Looks like I’ll Regret This for Life"

Kayoko and I shared a pair of earphones as we listened to music together, until Aru messaged her to ask where she'd gone.

Just as Kayoko had said, I could truly feel it then. Music really does have the power to heal, especially when you're sharing it with someone special.

Still, both times, it was Kayoko who picked the songs, which made me feel a little embarrassed. As her music buddy, I thought I should find a song I like too, so I could share it with her next time.

After t...

Chapter 67: Gotoh Hitori Wants to Change

[After the holiday.]

[A transfer student arrives in your class.]

[The familiar face makes you lift your head slightly. Just when you had lost hope for school life, a spark of joy wells up inside you.]

[But unexpectedly, after Toru introduces himself, he doesn't say much more and quietly sits down beside you.]

[After the first period, you don't talk.]

[By noon, not a single word has been exchanged.]

[When school ends in the afternoon, still no conversation.]...

V3 Chapter 3: Problem Solver 68?

Aru refused to explain, but someone else was happy to do it for her.

"Haha, Sensei, you have to hear this! It's hilarious! Aru slipped, lost her balance, and slammed her face right into one of the mines!"

…Maybe that is funny by Kivotos standards, but given my circumstances, I couldn't really laugh.

After thinking for a while, I asked gently, "Should this be considered a workplace injury?"

Aru pressed her lips together and shook her head, pulling her coat up...

V3 Chapter 2: Aru’s New Hairstyle?

In the end, after a unanimous vote, the punishment for Hoshino's great blunder was decided as follows.

"Wait a minute! I never agreed to this!" Hoshino protested loudly.

Ayane gave her a puzzled look, watching as Hoshino raised both hands in objection.

"Since when does the offender get to vote?"

"Sensei, I'm not an offender! Even if I made a teensy little mistake, I'm still the president of the Foreclosure Task Force, aren't I?"

Hoshino slipped her shoes back on,...

Chapter 66: Absolutely Cannot Lose

[Simulation start]

Inside the café, Bocchi focused her attention.

This time might be her most perfect start ever. She couldn't afford to waste it.

[Please select your simulation target!]

[1. Kita Ikuyo, current affection level: Friendly]
[2. Ijichi Nijika, current affection level: Friendly]
[3. Yamada Ryo, current affection level: Friendly]
[4. Kitahara Toru, current affection level: Fondness]

Eh? Why are the band members still in the o...

V3 Chapter 1: Hoshino’s Day of Tribulation

"Hoshino, I think it's best if we keep a proper distance between us."

Inside the classroom, I finally said those words to her.

The pink-haired girl looked up, tears shimmering at the corners of her asymmetrical eyes, gazing at me with the pitiful charm of a lost kitten.

"Sensei, why? You just told me something completely different yesterday. It's only been one day, and now it doesn't count anymore?"

"I didn't..."

"No, you did."

Hoshino closed her beautiful ...

V2 Epilogue: Toward a New Tomorrow

When I awoke, the first thing I saw was Hoshino's gentle smile.

I was lying flat on soft, coarse sand, my head resting on smooth, warm skin.

"Sensei, you're awake."

Her voice was still a little hoarse, but her tone had returned to its familiar, lazy rhythm. Though something else lingered in it, faint and uncertain.

"Ahaha∼ Usually, I'm the one lying on someone's lap, you know? Which means, this is the first time this Oji-san's ever given a lap pillow! Sensei, if I'm ...

Chapter 65: Bocchi-chan Starts Cheating

Time passed.

Early July. The weather was getting hot.

As final exams approached, the members of Kessoku Band decided to hold a study session.

That morning, they gathered at a café with a nice atmosphere.

Originally, they'd planned to study inside the live house, but another band was rehearsing there today, making it far too noisy.

"This is so hard," Hitori mumbled, sipping her drink.

Studying was really boring.

If only she could play the simulator ag...

V2 Chapter 60: The Time of Coronation Has Come

"Losing focus in battle, how impolite."

Antonis sneered. With one hand pressed to the ground, he flipped his body over in a burst of tremendous core strength, rising from a prone position into a crouch in an instant. His other hand seized my ankle and slammed me hard against the unyielding floor. Hoshino's shotgun flew from my grasp and skidded far away.

Before I could recover from the dizziness, Antonis was already upon me, his left hand clamping tightly around my throat while hi...

V2 Chapter 59: I Will Make Hoshino Happy

OST: Blue archive - animation ED Full or 真昼の空の月

--- 

Ordinarily, losing focus in the middle of a fight is a fatal mistake.

But when I called out to Hoshino, I noticed something strange as Antonis's attacks began to slow down. He was deliberately holding back, giving me breathing room, as if to allow me time to talk to her. Truly, a model villain.

H...

Chapter 64: Gotoh Futari

After the fourth simulation ended.

One weekend in June.

"Why do I have to help design the team shirts?"

Kitahara Toru tilted his head slightly as he looked at Kita and Nijika before him. He had no intention of joining Kessoku Band.

To be honest, a girls' band like that simply couldn't fit a man in without it looking awkward. Rumors would spread, like "Kessoku Band is Toru's harem band" or something equally absurd.

Though in the simulations, he really had cor...

V2 Chapter 58: Hoshino, Look at Me

When the Kaiser PMC director stared at me, I was staring right back at him.

I suddenly felt that this man, someone I had once underestimated, now seemed oddly unfamiliar.

I narrowed my eyes and gave him a polite, businesslike smile. "What an unexpected meeting, Director."

"Yes, truly unexpected," he replied with an equal smile. "I never thought you'd actually have the courage to come alone, walking straight into the cage I prepared especially for you."

"Oh?"

To m...

V2 Chapter 57: Our Drill Must Break Through the Heavens!

Carrying nearly one hundred kilograms of heavy gear, speeding across the desert proved to be far more grueling than I had imagined.

First there was the fatigue of my body, but the 'White Wolf' bike carried a stamina-drain reduction effect, and with the determination behind me I could just barely endure it.

Next was the obstruction of wind and sand, Shiroko used her scarf to cover my mouth and nose, but closing my eyes partially to deal with the grit felt awkward. Not bringing gogg...

Chapter 63: The First Step to Becoming Friends

[Since this is the player's first time achieving the "Extreme" rating, a special detailed score breakdown will be displayed.]

[Life Achievement Score: 94] (You showed the world the true meaning of genius.)

[Life Happiness Score: 89] (You had a girlfriend who loved you deeply, but you could not spend your lives together, which is truly regrettable.)

[Time Factor Rating: 99] (You reached an extraordinary level in just two year...

V2 Chapter 56: The Long Way Around Is My Shortcut

At the headquarters of the Kaiser Corporation.

Kaya stepped out of the car, wearing a perfectly measured smile. Her long hair was neatly tied up behind her, and the custom-tailored General Student Council uniform she wore radiated an air of grace and refinement that commanded attention.

Everything about her exuded polish and poise except for the cheap, mass-produced long-handled umbrella she carried, which seemed utterly out of place.

Lately, Kaya had been carrying that umbr...

V2 Chapter 55: The Beginning of the Rescue Plan

I cannot understand what kind of feelings Hoshino had when she wrote such despairing words.

In my memory, I have only seen two sides of her: the lazy, carefree Hoshino, and the cold, irritable Hoshino. Even those two images have never completely overlapped in my mind.

Which one is the real Hoshino? Perhaps both, or perhaps neither.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I have never truly known Hoshino. And she has never truly known me. It is this lack of underst...

Chapter 62: Love Letter

OST: Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?

---

[There is no need to describe the process of the competition.]

[These ordinary pieces no longer posed any difficulty for you, and the judges regarded you with newfound admiration.]

[As you had hoped, you wo...

V2 Chapter 54: You Are the True Gematria

The Black Suit's words sounded so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh.

With a mocking tone, I replied, "Since when did Kivotos have such a tradition?"

To be honest, after hearing Arona joke about it once, I'd half-seriously looked it up out of curiosity. As expected, nothing of the sort existed.

The Black Suit tilted his head. "What tradition? Ah, I think I understand. Heh, Takanashi Hoshino or rather, Horus... is merely an exception among students.

"Takanashi Hoshin...

V2 Chapter 53: Hoshino’s Lament

Early in the morning, I was woken up by a series of frantic knocks at the door.

"Sensei! Sensei! Something's wrong! Wake up, hurry!"

Hearing Ayane's voice, I quickly threw on my clothes and opened the door to find her face filled with urgency.

"We've detected that Kaiser PMC has gathered a large-scale force! They're launching an attack on the school, and at the same time, carrying out indiscriminate strikes on the entire Abydos Autonomous Region!"

"What?" I frowned in ...

Chapter 61: His Will

[The dead are gone, and the living go on.]

[Your boyfriend's passing didn't destroy you, but it left a hollow space in your heart.]

[For a long time, nothing in life could bring you joy. It was as if all color and brightness had drained from your world.]

[Your eyes could see only gray and lifeless tones.]

[You practiced piano mechanically, driven only by your promise to him to fulfill it two years later. In your free time, you would open the diary and read the warmth o...

V2 Chapter 52: Hoshino Has No Regrets Left

At that moment, Hoshino noticed something else was wrong.

The posters on the wall had been carefully torn down. The photo she'd taken with her beloved senior was gone from the bedside table. Her marine life encyclopedia was missing too, along with several other small trinkets.

Who would have both the motive and the means to do this?

Only someone who had a key to her home.

"Intruder."

Murmuring under her breath, Hoshino lay down on the bed.

It felt a little ...

V2 Chapter 51: Hoshino Facing the Setting Sun

After rushing between the General Student Council, Trinity, and Gehenna all day, it was already afternoon. I hadn't even had lunch yet, and hunger was beginning to gnaw at me.

I gently told Ako that her help was no longer needed. After a brief moment of blankness, she fell into dejection. Seeing she wouldn't recover anytime soon, I excused myself.

In the hallway, I ran into Iori, who was still loitering about. I greeted her, but she only rolled her eyes, gave a short hum, and walk...

Chapter 60: Curtain Fall

OST: Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai Fireworks Full 『Lyrics AMV』 Himitsu - Sumika

---

[After the New Year.]

[Toru's health began to fail. You noticed how often he gazed at the sky, drifting into silence, the spark he had last year fading away.]

[He looked like an old man nearing his end, surrounded by the scent of decay.]

[The number of pills your boyfriend too...

V2 Chapter 49: Traditional Arts

Sensei POV:

With Seia's endorsement, and the confirmed support of the Trinity Tea Party, I felt secure enough to continue with my plan.

However, I met with a setback on the very first step.

"Huh? You want to see Ako? Do you think the Gehenna Prefect Team's Administrator is someone you can just waltz in and see?"

Blocking my path was the leader of the Prefect Team's Assault Corps, Shiromi Iori, a girl with a scowl, carrying a sniper rifle without a scop...

V2 Chapter 48: A Future Without Hoshino Isn’t the Future I Want

Mobilizing large-scale police forces first requires reporting the funding flow to the Finance Office, while the report to Rinny can be submitted later.

I told Kaya to come up with a reasonable excuse on her own. I didn't tell her about my agreement with Aoi.

Without wasting even a moment on Kaya's attempts to persuade me to stay, I headed straight for the next battlefield - Trinity General School, the Tea Party.

This time, the meeting place was different from before. It was ...

V2 Chapter 47: Even Kaya

After receiving Aoi's assurance, I stepped out of her office and let out a long sigh of relief.

I had been fully prepared to bleed dry for this, but to my surprise, everything had gone smoothly. I could only conclude that Aoi, despite her cool and aloof appearance, was warmhearted and surprisingly passionate beneath that calm surface.

Ah, how I longed for the day I could fool around with the other students outside, then file an "emergency" request with Aoi for extra funds, letting...

V2 Chapter 46: I Would Give Everything for You All

At dawn, after washing up, I stood before the mirror and examined myself. Satisfied, I nodded.

No dark circles. Good. I looked lively and sharp.

Even though I'd gone to bed late last night, perhaps because my talk with Arona had completely settled my resolve, I'd slept unusually well. So well that I woke up before the alarm even rang.

I took that as a good omen.

Since it was still early, I reached into my pocket, took out the card, and checked its new entry.

—�...

Chapter 59: The Last Happiness

[The midterm exams have ended.]

[With your boyfriend's help, you managed to pass and even reach the average score.]

[Time quickly moved on to the second semester's school trip, this time to the southern islands of Okinawa.]

[During the trip, Toru seemed to know a lot about Okinawa. He acted as your personal guide, leading you to experience all sorts of unique activities and to visit places few tourists ever found.]

[You simply assumed he had done some research in advan...

V2 Chapter 45: My Arrogance

[Bonus Chap]

---

"Unable to truly understand each other, huh…"

Hearing Arona's words, I frowned slightly, lost in thought.

"Yes, even between you and me, Sensei, we'll probably never truly understand each other."

With a soft grunt, Arona hopped up, slipped off her white sneakers, and stepped barefoot onto the soft sand. She walked toward the sea until the waves reached her ankles.

With her parasol gun held behind her back, Arona turned ar...

V2 Chapter 44: The Confused Me

When you lose yourself in brief moments of joy, you can forget your troubles for a while.
But when the noise fades, what remains?

Nothing but deeper confusion, and an emptier loneliness.

In simpler words, when you're alone at night, the unpleasant things you'd rather forget are the ones that come back to haunt you most easily.

I lay on my soft bed, hugging a blue whale pillow, tossing and turning.
It was far past the hour I normally fell asleep, yet tonight, small...