--Suiri's POV--

*Guph*

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva as my belly wanted to devour the special bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen. It looked so delicious.

In the past 12 years, I didn't get much chance to have a taste of Ramen again because my body was so weak, so fragile that running one round of my mini-mansion would make me tired and powerless. Furthermore, it grew faster than my peers in this world. Everything was plump and soft like some thick chicks in my previous life, which made me panic. The design of the character 'Suiri' that I remembered didn't like this at all. 'She' was slender and had a perfect idealized figure for a model. I wondered if I was reborn in some parallel world that was similar to the novel's setting. Or did the clothes in the novel themselves downgrade her voluptuous figure? 

I was afraid that if I ate ramen too much, I would be obese. After becoming a woman, I finally knew the deep secret of a female. Many questions 'Why' were answered one by one after receiving the lesson from my mother Natasha. For example, girls had hair in some unexpected places that I thought they didn't have in the first place like armpit, leg, and hand. Or 'Why do women always smell fragrant?', because they hid it so well that we, men didn't notice it in the first place. They had a body odor as well.

Let's those gender-bender stuff aside. I split the chopstick and held the spoon.

When it came to ramen, the first rule was that you needed to taste the soup first instead of devouring anything in the bowl.

The brown yellow dense soup entered the spoon smoothly, and then I raised the spoon to my mouth.

*Slurp*

My eyes lit up instantly when the rich flavor of Pork bone with the unique Tare of this shop went rampage in my mouth. Not only that, the spicy was enough to blend in the soup and neutralize the fatness of the soup.

The second rule was that you should check the quality of the noodles in your ramen. I used the chopsticks to put the thread of noodles inside the spoon with the soup.

*Slurp*

Each thread was firm and elastic in my mouth. Good. However, this shop didn't ask me how I would like to choose the noodle whether it was soft or firm. I could say that the quality of this noodle lying in the middle. It was not too soft, but firm enough. Overall, it passed my criteria.

The final rule was that you could ravage this ramen bowl however you wanted.

I brought some garlic to supply the flavor of this bowl.

The chasu, naruto, and seaweed were indeed good. How long hadn't I had a ramen for myself? In my past life, I often intruded into the kitchen to help my 'mom' cook ramen. I felt nostalgic for her flavor.

My heart ached painfully when I remembered the image of a scary middle-aged woman looking at me like trash. The kind, warm, and righteous mother had disappeared in my heart and was replaced by a demoness... Those distant eyes...

No, no, no, Suiri...You didn't need to recall those hurtful things. They had already died together with Haruto. Now you are Hoshiyuki Suiri, not Minazuki Haruto anymore. You needed to enjoy your second life, not to continue to suffer.

I convinced myself with that excuse.

I took a cup of Coke to calm myself down and let those negative thoughts fly away.

Soon, my ramen bowl had already been emptied. I realized I was sweating, and then I took out my handkerchief to swipe those sweats away. I wondered if I had some stinky or weird smells lingering on my body. My handbag always brought some necessary stuff for a girl myself. Like anti-smell spray, perfume, a purse, tissue papers, sanitary pads, inhibitors for Omega, some backup undergarments, a GPS device, a mini-camera, and a recording device. Especially, the electric shock handy tool to protect me.

I observed the surrounding people to get information. The Shimori's sisters breathed heavily as they drank coke constantly. Maybe due to their self-destructed order, it must've been extremely spicy. They sweated even more than me.

*Slurp, slurp*

I turned my head to the next seat. Sasaki also had finished her meal. To be honest, her manners and gestures came from the textbook without any flaws. I tried to be accustomed to the presence of this heroine because my mom Alpha, Shiori had assigned her to take care of me. I had been a true bocchi for many years. Not only her but also Charlotte, Mio, and Akari took a turn to appear in my life, which made me scared. Was it the operation of the will of this world? Did I have to entangle with those heroines to fill the plot hole although I didn't do anything?

There was only the heroine left that I hadn't met her. A childhood friend of the male protagonist, Shiratani Himeki. I thought it was good because I didn't want to meet her either. Why did I have to say that? Because that girl was a psychopath with Yandere tendency.

About her background, she was a rich second-generation daughter, but her parents passed away early due to a car accident. She didn't have anyone accompanying her or giving her so-called love except for the existence of the male protagonist dragging her out of the house to play. He miraculously gave a positive energy wave to her, like a sun shining on her dark life. From a little girl, who got severe depression, turned into a mature and talented Alpha young lady. She could do everything to protect her 'only happiness' because her love was distorted by her relatives as they tried to covet her parents' legacy left behind, which was her drama for the male protagonist to show off.

"Fuwah, student Suiri, is your ramen delicious?"

Akane-sensei spoke.

It was good even though it made me recall 'that woman'. 

I replied casually.

"Um, yummy"

"That's good, that's good"

"Looking at the way you eat, you must be a fan of ramen, huh?"

Akane-sensei asked me. Her observation was quite strong. Ramen was one of my favorite dishes in my previous life.

I nodded.

"Then, you and I are on the same boat. In the future, let's eat together"

Akane-sensei enthusiastically claimed and raised her hand in the sky. She behaved like an elementary student.

"Oh"

I decided to play her game.

"Still emotionless as usual..."

Akane-sensei used her hand to touch her forehead. Actually, I also didn't realize when I became like this, but I knew I'd forgotten the way to express my emotions.

It seemed that everyone at the table had finished their meal.

"All right, let me pay the bill, my treat"

Akane-sensei gave her statement.

"Sensei, this time, let's split the bill first, I will pay for mine and my attendant portions"

Honestly, I didn't want to owe anyone, including Akane-sensei. She had paid too much for me. I hated this feeling. Her operations were to reconnect me to the human social society and make me enjoy my 'second' youth. Hence, I decided to take the risk again to accept her offer as my human nature couldn't stand the loneliness.

As she saw my determined eyes, she shrugged hopelessly.

"You're stubborn, next time you must let me treat my student, won't you?"

"Yes"

I took out my purse and handed her 5 thousand yen. My portion was 2 thousand yen while Sasaki's was 1 thousand 5 hundred yen. Coke plus the tax costs the rest.

Akane-sensei took my money and went to the counter of this ramen shop. Before going, she reminded.

"All of you stay here for a while to rest your stomach"

I nodded my head as I watched her little figure walk away.

While waiting for my teacher, I didn't have anything to do. The atmosphere here was awkward because Akari and I had just met today. We didn't have a common topic to talk about when both were Bocchi.

I turned to look at Akari, whose appearance was still in the ignorant period as she tried to have Rock's style. It was kind of cool, but the original appearance might be cooler if she returned her hair to the cherry blossom color. She was a natural-born bocchi, while I was trying to distance myself from the outsiders. 

I didn't know what she was thinking right now. According to the original plot, her facade extrovert was found by the male protagonist. This time, she hadn't made that facade yet. Her mind always overthought the problem as an introverted bocchi.

"Um...ano...is something stuck on my face? Hoshiyuki-san....~"

Akari seemed to realize that I was staring at her. 'Stop'. The way you speak conflicted with your appearance.

I didn't reply because I smelled a wine-like pheromone. I supposed this was from the heroine sitting in front of me. You were nervous, and yet you lost control of your pheromone? The Shimori sisters were so interesting. While the mature older sister had a smell of fresh milk, the young and ignorant little sister possessed an adult smell of wine. Their bodies were also conflicted with each other.

*jii~*

She was indeed good-looking. Her Rock style highlighted her coolness. In real life, it was a fresh view for me. Was her face so red? Was she blushing?

"Please stop staring at me...It's uncomfortable"

Her reply didn't have the mighty tone of an elder. You should realize that you were older than me, right?

I withdrew my stare as I knew it was rude. I decided to pretend to ask an ignorant question.

"Onee-san, is your hair dyed?"

Akari quickly regained her composure.

"Eh~ you knew...Is it good?"

I replied casually with a straight face.

"Yeah, but it would be more beautiful with the cherry blossom hair like Akane-sensei"

Her face stopped its momentum as her mouth gasping became an O shape. The redness of blood vessels ran straight to her face at high speed, which turned this cool woman red like a tomato. Hmm? Sure enough, girls always love being praised whether it was the previous world or this parallel world. It was the same for me too. After 12 years of experience as a girl, I raised my self-awareness about my appearance and body odor. It was just my fashionable taste being disapproved by my gentle mother Natasha and my perfect older sister Maria, while my other mother Shiori praised to the heaven.

"he...heh...Wh...What're you talking about? If you say like this...hehe...I don't like it at all..."

"..."

Another dishonest person appeared. Akari used her hand to scratch the back of her head and her lips curled into a crescent moon. You shouldn't have smiled stupidly like this if you didn't like it. I didn't know what to say next. 

Please, give me back the cool image of this heroine in the novel.

"Why did you dye your hair in the first place, Akari-nee-san?"

I inquired for more info as I had only read one volume of this novel. The meeting and the way heroines fall in love with the male protagonist were all written in the first volume. As for their love process, and interactions, all were pushed to the second volume. 

As you know, in the Harem novel, many characters need to be exploited in detail. It is also the downside of this genre as it contains a huge information that can't be written in the first volume. It is also the reason why I don't know the incident behind the character 'Shimori Akane', or how the character 'Suiri' becomes a villainess. I just have a theory that 'she' is jealous of Maria, and causes trouble due to being deeply in love with Mio but I don't know in detail. If I remember correctly, the ending of the first volume will be the Rock performance at the school festival.

When I came to this world, those events could be described as untold stories, which were also a wake-up call for me as a transmigrator. This world was real, people were also realistic as they had their emotions. They weren't paper figures. The info in the novel was just the tip of the iceberg in this massive world. I didn't know anything...I was clueless in the second life. Should I treat this world as a novel or a real world? I didn't know.

"Ah, about this, let me tell you a secret"

"???"

Akari showed a mysterious face as if she was about to save the world. I nodded and patiently waited for her answer.

"When my sister had been active in the band, her style was like me...no...even bolder than this"

"..."

My mind hurriedly substituted the image of a mature legal loli with navy blue hair with the Rock style. 

"Humu~" 

"..."

it was so unbelievable.

"Ah...Hurt...hurt...hurt, onee-chan"

A short figure stretched out her hand to squeeze the left ear of Akari as she shouted painfully. Akane-sensei came back and caught her sister selling her out to her student. I wished there would be popcorn to watch the show.

"You know it's hurt, yet, what have you done?"

"Ahaha, I won't dare next time..aaaaaaa. Hurt!!!!"

"Oh there is still next time"

Akari-sensei smiled gently but her eyes didn't. 

"Don't dare, don't dare"

"Fuu~, fuu~, sorry for my ignorant sister, let's forget about her talk"

She urged me to erase that talk in my brain. I understood more of my teacher's past. I nodded my head perfunctorily.

---

"All right, student Suiri, follow me!"

"Oh"

Akane-sensei said as she held my hand to lead me to her house. She said it was near the ramen shop so we just walked by feet and simultaneously digested our lunch. It was just that something was wrong. The eyes of the passersby were glued on me and Akane-sensei. Did they think that we were in mother and daughter relationship? Following us were Akari and my attendant Sasaki.

There were also perverted eyes stuck on my body. I was used to that kind of eyes. After becoming a woman, my sense of the surroundings had leveled up to a certain extent. Plus, I inherited the ability to perceive malice from my past life. I wondered if every woman could be sensitive like me.

It had been a long time since I had physical contact with an outsider. My teacher's hands were so small. I couldn't help, but feel a sensation of softness with warm temperature. I hoped she wouldn't notice my inner turmoil.

We walked step by step on the street of Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo City. Maybe today was the last day of the week. The flow of people fully occupied the vacancy of the street. Many pairs of eyes were glued to me, which made me have a weird feeling. Was it the feeling of good-appearance blessing?

Soon, we raised our feet and stepped forward. The process continued repeatedly. We crossed by many buildings, whether shops or apartments. Eventually, the destination gradually appeared in front of us as Akane-sensei slowed down her steps.

"Student Suiri, welcome to my house"

I took a look at a certain building in front of me. It was a huge building with 4 stories house design. Wait a minute...

"???"

"Sensei, why do your house...?"

"Hehehe, surprised? It's a Live House as well as Music Studio for recording"

"Woa~"

I exclaimed as I gasped in surprise. In my previous life, this place actually had the illustration in the novel as the male protagonist was in a certain event with Akari. This was also the place, where their band practiced for the school festival.

Now, it has appeared with my own eyes. With the real structures, and 3D graphics with high-quality shadow and lightness. The board with the standout label 'The Stage of The Stars' was put in front of the door. Behind the name was an additional line 'Shimori Studio'. 

"Student Suiri, let's go in"

"Yes, sensei"

I stepped in, and then the cold of the air conditioner inside swallowed my whole body. Sasaki and Akari also headed inside with me. I subconsciously hugged both arms to rub because my body was trying to get used to the sudden change in temperature.

It seemed the first floor was the live house as I could see the tables, chairs, and the stage there. There was also a counter to buy food, and drinks as well. There was a stair to head up to the upper floors placed on the left of the counter.

The mature woman with light pink hair, who was cleaning the floor, raised her head and smiled inexplicably.

"Aka-chan, Riri-chan you're home"

Was she the mother of my teacher? Before I could confirm her identity, Akane-sensei gave a salute.

"I'm home, Aunt Mitsumi"

"I'm home, Obaa-san"

Akari also greeted.

The woman named Mitsumi, aunt of the Shimori sisters, stopped her hand.

"Welcome, then, who is your student?"

She inquired curiously as she observed me and Sasaki. Her eyes were trying to guess from who to whom.

"It can't be the gorgeous white-haired girl right?"

"Stop guessing, Auntie"

"She is my student, and the red-haired girl was her attendant"

"Oh, understood"

Mitsumi nodded her head but froze in the next second. Then, she suddenly launched herself toward me with an excited expression.

"You're Hoshiyuki Suiri, right?"

"I'm your fan"

"..."

She shook my hand like a fan meeting their idol. I felt happy when she realized who I was. She must've enjoyed my music, which I appreciated.

"Thank you, Auntie"

"At first, I didn't recognize you due to the different style in the poster"

"You look so mature"

"Um, thanks, Auntie"

This style was the work of art of my older sister Maria. She wasted 1 hour to get me as dress-up doll.

After that, Mitsumi dropped my hands and turned over hurriedly to find something.

"All right, where is my poster? I need you to sign an autograph!!"

"Mitsumi-obaa-san, calm down!!!"

Akane-sensei reminded.

"She is still here and not going away"

"ah, right, fu~, sorry I just lost myself". She said kindly to me, and I just nodded in response.

"Let me take her to tour our home" Akane-sensei shrugged helplessly.

"Okay~"

"Oh, Riri-chan, you have a performance this afternoon, you haven't called your band to practice yet?"

Out of the blue, Mitsumi remembered something.

Akari panicked.

"Ah, I will"

Akari from behind spoke.

"Hoshiyuki-san, my band will also perform here at 3:00 PM"

"If possible, can you watch and give your opinion to me?"

Her tone was nervous as if she expected me to evaluate her band's performance. Honestly, I didn't know how to evaluate others' music because each of them had a unique attraction.

I told her what I thought.

"Um, I can watch your band but my opinion won't help much because I don't like to comment on people's music"

"As expected of my student, Suiri"

Akane-sensei nodded proudly.

"But this is a live performance. There will be some mistakes when playing instruments"

"You can focus on that field"

Akari suddenly bent down to 90 degrees as she bowed politely and yelled.

"Please help each other from now on"

Hey, don't bow to me. Don't you realize that you're older than me? Our age gaps almost reach double digits. This heroine overreacts to the problem, which makes me speechless.

"..."

'Weird, you've not had any auras of the strict teacher in the novel'. I thought. Maybe she must have experienced that event, which her band was disbanded as it couldn't develop due to having fewer fans. Her members lost their motivation to continue the band although she tried to hold them to pursue her dream.

"Um, onee-san, also please take care of me"

I also bowed down to show my respect.

Then, I watched her figure going outside.

Mitsumi touched her cheek and said worriedly.

"I don't know how long her band can last. ~hah"

I knew it. The canon event in the novel was about to happen soon. According to the way of Mitsumi, the members had already been bored and lost motivation to develop.

Now the time is 1:24 PM. The members haven't gathered to have rehearsal, which means they are giving up?

I innocently asked.

"What do you mean, Auntie?"

Mitsumi covered her mouth as she realized that she let the words escape her lips.

"Ah, sorry, It's just that her members..."

Akane-sensei interrupted.

"They just followed the trend to perform and didn't wholeheartedly devote themselves to music"

"Now, you don't need to worry about their problem" 

"When you listen to their performance"

"You will understand eventually"

I was confused as an outsider. Mitsumi also expressed her agreement.

"Sensei, why don't you ask your sister to change the band?"

I was curious. There were many solutions to this problem. If you meet teammates like this, just change the band.

"Hah~, if so, there won't be a problem now"

"Other bands reject my sister as they have full members"

"Gathering people with the love of rock isn't easy"

"You should know that the Rock genre is kind of picky for the audience"

"Um"

I concurred with her. In my previous life, the Rock music industry was at the bottom of society as it was picky for audiences. When mentioned Rock, they would ask what it was, as if they didn't exist in the world. Just the minority enjoyed it.

"Besides that, if her band is disbanded, it won't be a problem"

"???"

I tilted my head as question marks appeared on my face.

"We have the best and genius Musician here, do we? hehe~"

"..."

"Sensei, don't tell me..."

I guessed the meaning behind her sentence. Were you trying to get me to help your little sister?

"Yes, Akari will be the unofficial second member of our club"

"Humu~"

"Next year, she will join our school to be an assistant"

I gave her a death stare and pretended to be surprised.

"Wow, so coincidence!"

My tone was flat and emotionless as the surface of the ice.

Mitsumi laughed.

"Aka-chan, you are a bad teacher"

"Drag a Pianist to the Rock"

"However, I'm looking forward to her style in the Rock genre"

"Fufufufu~"

Akane-sensei showed a guilty look but my mind was in a mess.

Was this the operation of the world or the force of the plot trying to fix me, an anomaly? In the original plot, this thing should've belonged to the male protagonist. Why did I have a hand in there?!!