[Main Mission: Capture Goto Hitori (In Progress)]
[Current Progress: Need an opportunity to make her feel like you are “one of her kind.”]
“A guitar, huh…”
Ai rubbed his chin.
Although the system hadn’t given him a guitar, he had money.
The 50,000 yen he got from the gacha just now, plus some of the original owner’s savings, was enough to buy an entry-level used guitar.
He remembered there was an old musical instrument store near the school.
He pushed open the wooden door of the instrument store, which was adorned with wind chimes.
“Welcome~”
The shop owner was a long-haired middle-aged man who was napping on the counter.
There weren’t many customers in the store.
Except for…
that girl crouching in front of the guitar effects pedal display case, her entire body emitting a pink, gloomy aura.
Goto Hitori.
What a coincidence.
Or rather, is this the so-called “Stand users will naturally be drawn to each other”?
At this moment, Bocchi-chan was in a state of extreme inner conflict.
She had her eye on a distortion pedal, but…
‘What should I do, what should I do…
Should I call the clerk?
But that clerk uncle looks so scary.
Will he think I’m just a country girl pretending to know what I’m doing?’
‘What if I bite my tongue when I speak?
I’ll be laughed at, right?
I’ll definitely be laughed at!’
‘Then I’ll have a social death, then I’ll drop out of school, and then I can only go to the deep mountains and old forests to grow mushrooms…
Uwah, I don’t want to grow mushrooms…’
Just as Bocchi-chan’s mental theater had fast-forwarded to “fighting monkeys for bananas in the Amazon jungle”—
A slender hand reached over her head and pointed to the effects pedal in the case.
“Boss, could you please get that BOSS DS-1 for me?”
A cold, clear voice sounded above her head, interrupting the “Amazon Survival Chronicles” playing in Goto Hitori’s mind.
Bocchi-chan jolted, pulling her neck back like a startled hamster, subconsciously wanting to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
It was that…
that boy who recognized her guitar in the stairwell!
Ai didn’t look at her, but simply gazed calmly at the effects pedal in the display case.
In fact, his knowledge of guitars wasn’t entirely gifted by the system.
Back when he was a “gloomy loner” who locked himself in his room to escape reality, that cheap acoustic guitar had been his only companion.
On countless silent nights, the blood blisters on his fingertips and the frequency of the vibrating strings formed his initial understanding of this world.
Therefore, that sense of familiarity with musical instruments was etched into his bones.
The shop owner yawned, walked over slowly, and took out the orange effects pedal box.
“Good eye, kid. A classic distortion tone, the top choice for getting into rock.”
Ai took the box and fiddled with the knobs casually, his movements skilled and professional.
“Yeah, although it’s a classic, this batch has some minor changes to the circuit board. The mid-frequency is a bit thinner, but it’s just right for pushing a tube amp.”
The owner was taken aback, then showed an appreciative look: “Whoa, an expert. Students nowadays rarely know their stuff this well.”
Goto Hitori, standing aside, was completely stunned as she listened.
‘So…
so amazing!’
‘He even knows about circuit board changes!
Is this the world of the strong?’
‘Uwah, compared to him, I’m just a useless person who only knows how to play the guitar…’
Bocchi-chan’s mental theater began to play again:
*In the scene, Ai is wearing a cool leather jacket, standing on a massive stage with spotlights hitting him.
He just casually plucks a string, and the audience below screams frantically.
Meanwhile, she, wearing a tacky tracksuit, is huddled in the shadows at the corner of the stage like a background prop—no, even worse than a prop, just a piece of pink seaweed used for decoration…*
“Aaaah, no! I don’t want to be seaweed!”
Goto Hitori couldn’t help it; she clutched her head and let out a tiny whimper.
Ai turned his head and looked at this pink creature next to him who seemed about to crumble.
“You want to buy this too?”
He shook the effects pedal in his hand.
“Ah! I… that… ye… yes!”
Goto Hitori stammered her reply, her face turning so red it looked like it was about to smoke.
“Bu… but… I’m still hesitating…”
Plus, she didn’t dare to haggle with the owner.
(The money earned from her account was with her parents.)
Ai glanced at the price tag, then at Bocchi-chan’s longing little eyes.
He suddenly made a decision.
“Boss, I’ll take this.”
Ai pulled out his wallet and handed several Noguchi Hideyo bills to the owner.
Then, he held the orange box out in front of Goto Hitori.
“For you.”
“Eh?!!”
Goto Hitori was completely petrified.
Her mental theater collapsed instantly, replaced by countless giant question marks and exclamation points.
*Why is he giving it to me?
Is this some new type of scam?
Or is this a prank show?
Where is the camera?
Am I going to be on TV?
It’s over, it’s over, my hair is a mess today!*
“Don’t overthink it.”
Ai looked at her face, which was cycling through a myriad of expressions, and interrupted her wild thoughts with a hint of amusement.
“This thing isn’t quite right for my current style, and…”
He paused, his deep eyes looking at Bocchi-chan.
“I think in your hands, it can make a better sound.”
These words, for Bocchi-chan who valued her guitar more than life itself, were like a finishing move.
“Tha… thank you thank you thank you!”
Goto Hitori was so excited her tongue got tied.
Her hands trembled as she took the box, holding it like some sacred relic.
“I… I will cherish it! I’ll never let it get rusty! I’ll wipe it three times a day!”
[Ding! Goto Hitori Affection Value +80!]
[Favorability increased! Current Favorability: 15/100.]
[Description: What you gave was not just an effects pedal, but a form of recognition. In her closed and lonely world, you have forced open a crack.]
Ai nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave the instrument store.
Leaving Bocchi-chan alone, clutching the effects pedal and grinning foolishly on the spot, with tiny pink flowers seemingly floating all around her.