Tanaka Masao paused at the right moment, giving everyone enough time to savor the story and be fully immersed in its emotions.
Seeing that their emotions were almost in place, Tanaka Masao continued to weave his tale.
"When I finished listening to her story, my heart was incredibly heavy, so I asked her if there was anything I could do to help her."
Hearing this, the girls nodded frantically in agreement.
If they encountered someone so pitiful, they would certainly lend a helping hand.
At the same time, their opinion of Tanaka Masao increased slightly.
"Even though Tanaka usually seems unreliable, his heart is still good."
Good heart? What kind of good, like taste?
"The girl didn't respond to me, didn't ask for my help, but instead asked me a question.
Do you know what the depths of the sea look like?"
Tanaka Masao stopped and looked at the girls, as if asking them if they knew what the depths of the sea looked like.
The girls were very cooperative and gave a few replies.
"Darkness?"
"All kinds of fish?"
"Beautiful scenery?"
Tanaka Masao nodded and continued.
"I told the girl at the time that I wasn't very sure, so I asked her what was truly in the sea.
The girl replied that the sea is gentle; it can embrace everything, so the depths of the sea are a sacred place.
It is quiet, warm, and there I heard a voice, which was the guidance of salvation.
The girl turned to me and said, 'Mr., let us embark on the path of salvation together.'
It was a pale, festering face, with no good flesh visible, revealing stark white bones.
'Let's sink into the sea together!'"
The sudden change instantly brought images to the minds of the girls who were immersed in the story.
Especially when Tanaka Masao chose that moment to show a menacing expression, it startled them even more.
"Ah!"
Screams filled the room.
"A ghost!"
"Oh, what are you doing~"
"Ah ba ah ba~"
"Don't come closer!"
"Hiss~"
For a time, the practice room was in chaos, and Tanaka Masao, the instigator, was even hit several times as if he were an evil spirit, but he didn't mind at all, instead feeling excited by the success of his prank.
Fortunately, the soundproofing of the practice room was good enough that no matter how loud the girls were inside, no one outside could hear them.
This meant that Tanaka Masao's bad behavior was not known to outsiders.
Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her arms, looking angrily at Tanaka Masao.
Although she usually appeared aloof, in reality, she wasn't very brave, afraid of both darkness and ghosts, so Tanaka Masao successfully scared her.
Yukinoshita Yukinoshita was very displeased about this.
"This mere Tanaka-kin, who is usually my subordinate, always obeying my every command and never daring to resist.
But now his courage is truly growing, daring to scare me; this is simply an act of rebellion."
Yukinoshita Yukinoshita could not accept such an act of insubordination; she wanted to let him know who was truly in charge.
Yukinoshita Yukinoshita calmed herself down and sneered.
"Tanaka-kin, you've been planning this for a long time, haven't you? I was wondering why you would run to the sea late at night.
After all, your house isn't close to the sea, and no decent person who can't sleep would run that far late at night."
Ijichi Nijika, hiding in Yamada Ryo's arms, was also very angry.
"Tanaka, bad."
She was most afraid of ghosts and such things.
Yamada Ryo gently stroked Ijichi Nijika's back while glaring at Tanaka Masao.
"You're the one who scared her, and now I have to comfort her. Give me my comfort fee!"
Facing everyone's condemnation, Tanaka Masao shrugged.
"Alright, I was wrong. This story was indeed made up by me."
"Tanaka-kin, your apology truly lacks any sincerity."
"But you were the ones who insisted I tell a story."
"Heh, if we insist, you'll give in, will you? In that case, Tanaka-kin, for my sake, please sink into the sea."
"I won't."
"Oh, so now you know how to refuse."
On the other side, Yamada Ryo said.
"Alright, Nijika, look, Tanaka also said that this story was all made up by him, so ghosts and such things don't exist at all. Don't be afraid."
Hearing this, Tanaka Masao pulled his mouth away from Yukinoshita Yukinoshita and wagged his finger at Yamada Ryo, correcting her.
"Ryo, I don't like what you're saying. Although the story was made up by me, you can't say that ghosts and such things don't exist at all. This world..."
Just as he was about to continue, he felt two icy stares.
One came from Yukinoshita Yukinoshita, and the other from Yamada Ryo. Knowing Tanaka Masao as they did, they naturally knew what he was going to say.
"If you dare to say that, you're finished."
"If you dare to say that, your wallet is finished."
"If I dare to say that, everyone is finished."
"Ghosts and monsters don't exist at all. If they really exist, they should come find me! How come I've never seen a single one?"
Everyone nodded in satisfaction at Tanaka Masao's words.
Comrade Tanaka was once again engaging in individual heroism, but this brave act of not fearing sacrifice and daring to face difficulties...
So, ghosts and monsters, you all heard it. If you have anything, go find Tanaka Masao.
Ghosts: We don't want to die.
Kita Ikuyo asked, a little puzzled.
"Tanaka-san, since this story was made up by you, what exactly is the background of the song?"
"This story is the background of the song."
Facing everyone's confused eyes, Tanaka Masao said as if it were obvious.
"What, can't I make up a story and then write a song based on that story?"
"Ah... this..."
As they thought about it, it seemed there really wasn't anything wrong with it.
And such a thing wasn't that difficult.
Look at the theme songs of those anime, can't they be created based on fictional stories?
"However, is Tanaka really that amazing? He can write a song with such rich emotion just through fiction and imagination."
Regardless, Tanaka Masao successfully convinced (shuǐ fú) them.
On the other side, Goto Hitori, who had been silent since the beginning, finally spoke.
"Everyone, I've decided."
"Ah, Bocchi-chan, you finally reacted. I thought you had already died for a while since you hadn't spoken."
Gotō Hitori: ...
She had finally gathered her courage to speak, only to have it almost scattered by Tanaka Masao's words.
Gotō Hitori, uncharacteristically, glared at Tanaka Masao timidly before continuing.
"Everyone, I've decided! I'm going to play this song!"