As an introverted and communication-impaired high school girl, often prone to strange statements and behavior due to excessive fantasizing, Gotoh Hitori felt she already had enough flaws. Yet, she had now committed another grave sin, a cardinal sin for someone who saw so little light in her own humanity.
"A woman who tackled a shota, a woman whose body and soul felt utterly refreshed from the skin-to-skin contact..."
"The lightest sentence must surely be life imprisonment, right?"
Hitori could already visualize the socially agonizing scene: the surrounding classmates pointing fingers at her, the pervert. Next came the teacher's meeting, school expulsion, police arriving, escort to the courtroom... and finally, the gavel blow.
"Gotoh Hitori is sentenced to death!"
...to death...
...death...
"Hitori-neesan, drink a glass of water to calm your nerves."
The judge's voice gradually faded and dissolved, replaced by a tender, slightly childish voice entering her mind.
Swish!
Hitori snapped back to reality. She looked at the handsome little shota standing obediently before her with a glass of water. She felt her life had been entirely cured.
"Asa-kun, onee-san will take responsibility! Even if it's the death penalty, I accept it!" The socially anxious girl nobly chugged the entire glass of water.
"What death penalty? Bocchi-chan, the audience is starting to come in, get ready to serve the customers!" Nijika grabbed Hitori's shoulders and shook her.
S-s-serve?! Hitori's face, which had just regained color, instantly turned grayscale again.
"I still choose the death penalty!" Between serving and the death penalty, the socially anxious girl's choice was decisive!
"Hey, hey! We're just selling drinks; it's not the death penalty!" Nijika dragged Hitori behind the bar and started operating.
However, with the socially anxious girl's constant hiding, twitching, and darting movements, those who knew realized she was a staff member; those who didn't would think she was shoplifting.
"Nijika-neesan, can I try?"
The little shota's voice suddenly rang out from the side, and the two girls' gazes fell upon him.
"Asa-kun, you're a customer..."
"It's okay. I'm bored just sitting around anyway!"
With that, Asa mimicked their movements and poured a glass of cola.
"Onee-san, here's your cola!" He stood on a stool, his chin barely clearing the counter, just able to hand the cola to the customer.
Though he looked to be struggling, his face alone easily captivated the customers.
"Wow, what a cute little brother!"
"Little brother, I want one too!"
"I want to drink the little shota's water too!"
...
Asa's appearance instantly brought a lively crowd to the small bar.
"Asa-kun is amazing!" Nijika praised.
"Mhm, he's basically a weapon of mass destruction for harvesting women's wallets!" Ryo swiftly collected money from customer after customer, already calculating how much their band's income would skyrocket if they recruited Asa as their mascot.
Hitori stood alone on the side, her figure so utterly defeated it looked like she might dissipate with a gust of wind. She suddenly realized she was completely useless. She wasn't even as good as a little shota...
"No... I have to pull myself together!" After wallowing for a moment, Hitori secretly gave herself a pep talk.
"Bocchi-chan, find your purpose!"
Hitori turned to look at the long line forming behind the bar, then looked at the little shota who was having some difficulty climbing up and down the stool with his short legs. Suddenly, she made up her mind.
"Asa-kun!" She took a determined step forward. Then, she immediately flopped down onto the floor.
"Step on my back. That way, you won't have to keep climbing up and down." Hitori lay prone on the ground, and when she looked up, she could only see Asa's feet. Heh-heh, the little shota's feet, so small, so swee... Ugh, no perverse thoughts!
Asa was stunned. He didn't understand, but he was deeply impressed. Truly, she lived up to her name as the socially anxious girl with the strange thought process.
Asa glanced at the soda machine, squatted down, and spoke to Hitori. "Hitori-nee, the soda syrup seems to be running low. Can you help me refill the syrup?"
Mhm, this is a job that doesn't require facing customers, isn't troublesome, and allows her to feel involved!
Hitori's beautiful eyes instantly lit up. She looked at the little shota before her and felt as though a pair of small wings had sprouted from his back.
"A true angel!"
Nijika, who was known as the Archangel of Shimokitazawa, smiled at the scene. "It seems Bocchi-chan and Asa-kun get along really well."
"It's probably because Bocchi-chan feels guilty and is afraid of the death penalty."
Pak!
Nijika chopped Ryo on the head with a mock karate chop. "Don't joke around! Go help Little Asa-kun!"
It must be said that B-Komachi's popularity was indeed very high. As fans trickled in, the entire live house became completely packed. What surprised Nijika even more was the astonishingly high sales of their beverages today. Hitori had to refill the syrup more than ten times. Furthermore, quite a few people came back for a refill after finishing their first drink!
"Your drinks are so delicious! Is it a secret recipe?" Hearing the customer's question, Nijika scratched her head, even more perplexed. Weren't they just selling the most common soda on the market?
Only Asa quietly looked back at the soda machine, already realizing what was happening.
[LV1. Exploding Clothes Cuisine: Food prepared by the Host will have its deliciousness doubled, causing the consumer to experience pleasurable emotions, with a small probability of making the consumer's clothes explode.]
Did just pressing the machine button, adding ice, and putting in a lemon slice count as 'food prepared by the Host'...
"Ah..." A gasp echoed.
Asa saw one of the girls' small tank top straps snap. The customer, still holding her drink, frowned and re-tied the broken strap.
Asa was silently resigned. He figured Nijika would probably find quite a few clothing buttons when cleaning up tonight.