Next, not only did Nino have a session, but Hakuto and Nao also met with the other three sisters one after another.
What surprised Hakuto the most was that, as this so-called psychology teacher, he actually got to hear some rather confidential things.
And he also realized that it wasn't just Nino— the others seemed to have some feelings for him too.
Looking at it now, Nino's worries weren't entirely unfounded.
"Sigh... There's nothing I can do about it. Being too handsome is a problem," Hakuto muttered to himself.
"Stop being so full of yourself!"
"Huh? Me, full of myself? You can say that after getting off my shoulders!"
Hakuto realized that Nao truly treated him like a personal ride, sitting on his shoulders without a shred of guilt— sometimes for one or two hours straight.
"Alright, work's over, boss!"
"Yeah, yeah, work's over. Time to split the money."
"I meant it's time for me to get off you…"
"I'll give you a little extra cut."
"Forget it. If you want to sit, just sit."
If money makes you the boss, then not just his shoulders— Hakuto would probably be fine with her sitting on his head too.
Hakuto slowly got up and walked out of the stall. By now, the sky was growing darker, and people around were gradually packing up.
"President, don't we need to clean up?"
"Hmm? Most of the stuff at our stall was provided by Toyosaki. We just need to take back the unsold merchandise."
"'Unsold merchandise'… you mean only Zhiend's merch didn't sell, right?"
"Tch! It's normal for people here not to understand post-rock."
Saying that, Nao leaned back and flipped off his shoulders with ease.
"Alright, nothing left for you to do. I'll let Takajo handle moving things."
Nao waved him off.
"Am I just some disposable tool? Used and then tossed aside?"
"Hmm? You want to stay and be a porter? Not impossible."
"Forget I said anything."
Hakuto rejected the idea immediately. While he wasn't afraid of hard work, he preferred it if it was beneficial.
"By the way… how's that guy, Otosaka Yuu, been lately?"
Hakuto was still somewhat concerned about Otosaka Yuu, mainly because his ability was just too ridiculous.
"He still thinks his power is just possession for five seconds. Because of that, he's unknowingly stolen abilities from several students at school…"
Hakuto nodded upon hearing this. He could already predict what would happen next— at this rate, Otosaka Yuu would soon realize the true nature of his ability.
The time for saving the world wasn't far off. Hakuto had to make sure to look out for himself.
"I'm off. Call me if anything comes up."
"Take care~"
Hakuto waved at Nao and left the area.
Looking up at the darkening sky, Hakuto felt out of place amidst the bustling crowd around him.
Even though it was summer, the cool evening breeze still made him shiver.
"Haa... I really shouldn't have given away my jacket just to act like a gentleman."
But there was no point in complaining now. The priority was getting food.
At noon, he had planned to treat himself to a feast, but he got dragged off to play the role of a psychology teacher. Making up for it at dinner wasn't too late.
With that, Hakuto left the event site in search of a restaurant.
Originally, he wanted to find a well-decorated place, but as he walked down the street, his eyes suddenly landed on someone.
If it were just an ordinary stranger, he wouldn't have paid much attention.
But this particular girl had long red hair that covered half her face, and she was walking along the tactile paving with a white cane in hand.
"A blind person?" Hakuto muttered softly.
To him, there was no real difference between disabled and non-disabled people, but he still instinctively glanced at her a few more times.
Not thinking much of it, Hakuto continued looking for a restaurant, while the blind girl happened to pass by him, muttering under her breath.
"Where is it…?"
Just those few simple words made Hakuto feel an eerie sense of déjà vu.
It was that same feeling he got when listening to the portable music player Nao had given him— like standing alone in an endless plain.
"Just now…?"
Instinctively, Hakuto pulled out the small music player Nao had gifted him. Because of its size, he always carried it around.
The only thing that had ever made him experience this kind of hallucination was Zhiend's music. Nothing else had ever come close.
"Which means…" Hakuto turned to glance at the red-haired blind girl behind him. "She's a member of Zhiend?"
Nao had mentioned before that Zhiend was coming to perform in Japan, but he never expected to run into one of its members like this.
Though Hakuto liked Zhiend's music, he had little interest in the band members themselves.
So, he quickly dismissed the idea of asking for an autograph and instead continued searching for a restaurant.
"Food first."
Hakuto shifted his focus away from the red-haired girl and continued his search.
"Wait… wasn't that girl also an ability user?"
As a transmigrator, Hakuto naturally knew some hidden truths.
But whether that red-haired girl was an ability user or not, he wasn't certain. After all, the original story never explicitly stated it.
He couldn't tell just by looking. The only way to confirm would be using his supercomputing ability, but that wasn't worth the effort.
Just as he was about to move on, Hakuto ran into the red-haired blind girl again— in less than five minutes.
"Huh? What the hell? Some kind of supernatural loop?"
As the red-haired girl approached, Hakuto instinctively took a closer look. This time, it wasn't out of curiosity— it was just too much of a coincidence.
"Damn it! Why are you avoiding me?"
Hearing the red-haired girl complain, Hakuto once again felt that strange vision overtaking him.
Shaking his head, he turned back to look at her and instinctively spoke.
"Uh…"
But before he could finish his sentence, the red-haired girl suddenly appeared in front of him as if she had teleported.
"Can you find the hidden okonomiyaki?"
"...Huh?"
As expected from a top-tier band member— even the way she spoke was unpredictable.
"I mean, I know what okonomiyaki is, but what do you mean by 'hidden'?"
"You know where to find okonomiyaki?"
"Isn't it just the version with noodles mixed in? Any place should have it…"
Saying that, Hakuto pointed at a restaurant not far behind him. "That place should have it."
"What?! The okonomiyaki I've been searching for so long… was right beside me this whole time? Damn it!"
And so, Hakuto led this extremely airheaded red-haired girl into the restaurant.
After ordering food, Hakuto glanced around the restaurant's décor and couldn't help but grumble.
"Sigh… I was supposed to treat myself to something fancy…"
"Huh? Young people should learn to save money."
"I've been saving my whole damn life!"
It wasn't that Hakuto had wanted to come to this place— he was just genuinely curious about this red-haired girl.
If Zhiend's music had some sort of mystical power, then this girl's voice carried a unique kind of magic as well.
And now that he thought about it, she seemed to have the ability to make people recall forgotten things.
From Hakuto's perspective, he wanted to know what Otosaka Yuu's brother, Shunsuke Otosaka, had done during all those time jumps.
The red-haired girl was bold— after ordering okonomiyaki, she also got herself a draft beer.
She downed it in one go, her face flushing slightly from the alcohol.
At that moment, Hakuto suddenly asked.
"Excuse me for asking, but… you're a member of Zhiend, right?"
"Yep, I'm Zhiend's lead vocalist, Sala Shane."
"Foreign names are such a mouthful…"
"If it's too much trouble, just call me Shane."
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