Nijika: [President, did you reply to Ryo yet?] Rin Ito: [Not yet. Why?] Nijika: [You can't lend her the money that easily!] Nijika: [We have to give her a lesson. She needs to know she can't just borrow money recklessly!]
On the other end, Nijika was in her room, her fists clenched, her fingers flying across the screen. They had known each other since elementary school and had been friends since middle school. She didn't want to see her best friend continue to spiral!
Rin agreed completely. If her parents were rich and supported her, she could spend whatever she wanted. If they didn't support her but she borrowed for her dreams and then worked hard to pay it back by eating grass, that wouldn't be a huge issue. Borrowing from the wrong people was just a lack of social experience.
But Ryo was different. The instruments she bought far exceeded the needs of a high school girl band. Her own bass was over 90,000 yen—not cheap, but something a high schooler could earn over a summer break. However... she didn't just have one bass. The guitar she lent Ikuyo Kita was 850,000 yen. That is not a price a high schooler can handle. Where did all that money come from?
Ryo had confessed to borrowing from classmates and schoolmates. When she ran out of people to ask, a schoolmate recommended the lenders. If Ryo was allowed to continue like this in this world... it would end up exactly like one of Eriri's smutty manga!
The only silver lining was that Ryo wasn't borrowing for vanity, luxury, or gambling. If it were gambling, no amount of money would be enough. She was just buying instruments. If she could just swallow her pride and ask her parents, they'd buy her an 8.5 million yen guitar without blinking.
Rin Ito: [Nijika, what do you plan to do? I think we should tell her parents first. How is her relationship with them?] Nijika: [Hmm...] Nijika: [We should definitely talk to them. They don't support her music, but they still love her. They listen to her songs, they've been to the live house, and they even recommend the band to their friends.]
Rin Ito: [I thought they had a bad relationship.]
Rin didn't know much about Ryo's parents. In his memory, they didn't appear in the anime, and he didn't know about the manga. He'd had a bit of a stereotype in mind. They didn't provide money for music because they didn't want her to pursue that path, but once she showed results, they provided every support except money.
Rin Ito: [I'll lend her the money to pay off the debts first. Once I'm back, I'll find time to talk to her parents.] Rin Ito: [By the way, I'll be the one to talk to them. You shouldn't go, Nijika. If Ryo finds out, she might feel "betrayed" by you.]
Nijika: [Okay!]
If they were bigoted parents, Rin might have opted to "correct" her personality himself or use a "mental injection rod," but since they were open-minded, he couldn't keep them in the dark. Besides... while he wouldn't let Ryo fall into a pit, she was someone else's daughter. He couldn't be expected to pay that much out of his own pocket for her mistake. If it weren't for his little rich girl, Mashiro, he wouldn't even have that much cash.
After deciding to talk to the parents, Rin chatted with Nijika for a bit. Nijika wanted to give Ryo a lesson so she wouldn't dare borrow from those people again, but she hadn't thought of a specific plan yet. Finally, Rin switched back to Ryo's chat. He'd left her hanging for quite a while.
Rin Ito: [First, tally up exactly how much you owe. Including what you owe your classmates!] Ryo: [!!!!] Ryo: [I'll go do that right now!] Rin Ito: [Tally everything. Since you're asking me, don't leave any loose ends for the sake of your pride. Understand?] Ryo: [Understood! Sir!]
Phew...
On the other side, Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. At least she could pay the money back. She didn't have many friends at school, but at least the whole school wouldn't find out she was a deadbeat. She just had to pray the game sold well.
As she began to organize her debts, she stared at Rin's words "don't leave any loose ends" and got pensive... If he paid her debts, the debt wouldn't disappear; it would just transfer to him. Since she already owed him so much, and she'd be paying him back with future sales anyway...
In that case, why not report a bit more? That way I'll have extra cash and won't have to eat grass for lunch or make friends with wild weeds!
...
Rin didn't know about Ryo's scummy little plan yet, but since he'd decided to go to her parents, he didn't care.
He put down his phone and looked around. Eriri had changed into her green tracksuit and glasses and was sitting at her computer, occasionally rubbing her chest... She felt like her flat chest had really been stretched by Rin!
Seeing her grimacing as she rubbed herself, Rin teased, "Want me to help you rub them?"
"Piss off! Could you have been a bit gentler when you pulled that chain?" Eriri glanced at Megumi. "Go rub hers. Hmph... while you were gone, Megumi was very frustrated. She was touching herself secretly at night."
"How is that 'secretly'?" Utaha added with a smile. "She was clearly making noise on purpose so we'd notice. Megumi is quite a depraved exhibitionist."
"Oh? Really?" Rin shifted his body behind Megumi, burying his face in the crook of her neck where her black hair fell. His hands slipped into the gaps of her buttons, finding only the smooth skin of her breasts—nothing else.
Mocking Utaha's tone, Rin teased, "She really is depraved."
"I... I'm not," Megumi stammered, staring fixedly at the screen and biting her lip. "There's no one else on the island... You're a man, you don't know how uncomfortable bras are... And... even if I'm depraved, it's because you pervert trained me that way."
"And Eriri and Utaha-senpai... your scripts and CGs are too lewd. It's their fault... ugh, don't... don't kiss my neck, it tickles."
"Blaming us?" Eriri giggled. "Megumi, you're the heroine of the script and the CG... hehe."
Speaking of heroines, Eriri had a great idea. She smirked, took out her phone, and dialed a voice call.
"Hello, Tomoya... how's the game progress on your end?"