Chapter 222: Complete Joy   - (1) "Even I had a bit of a craving to play!" With her bright smile and a firm grip on my hand, the sound of the alarm announced the start of the event.

Soon after, Sawano Tsubaki, the final character of the virtual idol, echoed through the speakers, and unexpectedly, my entire body trembled.

In the empty platform, just the two of us...

Your silent profile beside me bothered me...

What's this? It's the voice I heard every day through CDs, but I never expected my heart to tremble like this...

Mayumi, who was beside me, spoke with a quivering voice.

"This...

it's live, isn't it?" "What do you mean?" "You can feel the breaths in between the song phrases.

Don't you notice?"

"Now that you mention it, listening closely, it does seem that way..." As we grow into adults, we'll lose precious things...

I know that too...

Ah...

truly, as I lent my ear to Mayumi's story, it was evident; unlike what I heard from the CD, there was a sense of being present in the live voice.

Mayumi was right.

The person behind this voice is somewhere, singing live.

Later, our conversation spread through the crowd via those nearby.

"This feels like a live performance, doesn't it?" "Huh? Come to think of it, the breathing is subtly different from what I heard on the CD." "Is that so...?" "Whoa...

it gives me goosebumps!" The person in front of me, arms crossed, swept their forearm across their biceps, gazing at the stage set up in front of the Pentagon Shop.

As Sawano Tsubaki appeared on the screen, playing the piano under the black-out screen to counter the intense summer sun, sighs of admiration started echoing throughout the queue.

Hold me, please.

My body feels like it'll shatter...

"Ah...

finally..." Her sleek, black hair fluttering in the wind carried a subtle melancholy vibe as her face appeared on the screen.

As her slender fingers danced across the ivory keys like a floating dance, Mayumi, who had been blankly staring at the screen, leaned on my shoulder, looking a bit staggered.

"Why are you suddenly like this?" Among the cheers echoing around, just as I was about to make a statement, Mayumi snatched my hand in mid-air.

"Are you seriously considering buying all four right here? Are you just talking nonsense?" "...Ah, bringing Mayumi was not the best idea." Eventually, we agreed to purchase the Tsubaki version for me and the Kanna version for Mayumi, with the intention to swap once we cleared them.

However, my heart still felt somewhat twisted.

"Hey...

just buy two calm songs.

How about getting one more from either Cheryl or Azusa?" "Let's stick to one.

Only one software can fit into the console anyway." "But even so, if it gets boring during play, we can switch in the middle, right?" However, I could sense my suggestion being lightly brushed aside by her piercing gaze.

Some envied me for bringing my girlfriend to buy games, while others looked at me with jealous eyes as if they wanted to kill me...

"In truth, this is tiring in its own way..." What was I striving for in this past month?

Enduring hunger, saving on transportation costs by biking everywherethese were all investments for today.

I have to figure this out somehow...

I impatiently waited for the dwindling of her scrutinizing gaze.

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