Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 175, Section 16: "The Floating Bird and Travel"

Foreign guests may appear carefree, but their hearts are filled with bitterness; I am like a water bird, unknown to others.

A thousand years ago, Murasaki Shikibu gazed at the waterbirds floating on the river where everything flowed and nothing remained, and lamented the impermanence of the world and the futility of human existence.

Thus, the term "floating bird" came to describe those who have difficulty falling asleep due to worries, just like a water bird tossing and turning on the water's surface.

It is also one of the symbols of winter.

Gazing at the water birds on the river, Masumi thought of these things for some reason.

As the leaves of the roadside trees turn from yellow to fall, winter deepens. Masumi has been in Tokyo for almost five years, getting through the winter until the early cherry blossoms bloom in March.

Seven sufferings and eight sufferings (3)

Masumi: "Can you come to practice today?"

Takuma: "I have a late shift at the drugstore today, so I'm sorry I can't go. Maybe next time."

Ahai: "I also have a job."

Ahai: "Anyway, it's just the three of us now, so let's put rehearsals on hold until we find a new keyboardist."

Masumi: "It's okay if we rehearse first, right? Didn't we agree to participate in next year's Unconfirmed Carnival Festival?"

The message is still showing as unread ten minutes after it was sent.

Masumi expressionlessly put away his phone and subconsciously pulled his coat tighter around him. He was walking through the streets of Tokyo at dusk in winter.

With music activities temporarily on hold, and today being a day off at the coffee shop, I'm the most idle of the remaining three members of the band.

He spent the entire afternoon first at the pavilion called "Higashiya" in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, and then wandered aimlessly around Shinjuku, Yoyogi, Harajuku and Gaien.

Before I could even feel tired from all the walking, a cold rainstorm struck, even though it's almost snow season.

Masumi awkwardly sought shelter from the rain at Shinjuku Station. On a weekday, the station was crowded with commuters and students, and being there felt like being a raindrop blending into the downpour.

He drifted along with the flow of people, floating in the sea of ​​humanity.

As Masumi passed by a claw machine, a poster on the wall caught his eye. It was a new series of plush musical instruments. Although his favorite Tele was not included, the rounded wooden guitar looked pretty good.

This claw machine was placed here about six months ago.

Masumi had seen this machine more than once, but each time she had only glanced at it briefly before walking away. Today, however, she seemed to have the leisure to while away the time here.

With this in mind, Masumi made her way through the crowd, but when she got to the machine, she found that someone was already operating it.

is her.

Kurokawa Mio.

Her long, honey-gold hair flowed gently. If I hadn't searched for videos of her previous piano competitions online and seen her dignified and elegant long, straight black hair, I would have thought it was her natural hair color.

While this may seem like a stereotype, blonde hair does indeed look more suitable for rock bands than long, straight black hair.

Her striking hair color, her undeniably stunning beauty, and the unforgettable, chilling piano music that you'll feel once you've heard her perform live.

Compared to her unparalleled musical talent, this girl named Kurokawa Mio's claw machine skills are worrisome; Masumi shakes her head at her incomprehensible technique.

Even if she caught the tram when it stopped, she probably wouldn't be able to catch it.

Masumi wasn't the type to be overly friendly, so she didn't plan to strike up a conversation. Besides, the aura she exuded was so cold that even without her saying a word, one could sense that she had no interest in anything else.

He planned to wait until the girl gave up before grabbing a wooden guitar doll.

Masumi then stood in a space not far from the claw machine, and after dealing with a few more bold high school girls who came up to chat her up, she suddenly regretted bringing her guitar.

Unlike when she's in the spotlight on stage, Masumi is not used to being watched in private.

"Speaking of which, Masumi has a handsome face and is a member of a band. If he just stands in Miyashita Park and acts lazy, he would definitely get a lot of girls from high school to exchange LINE contacts with him."

The band's keyboardist, Ah-Xun, once said this to him.

However, just over a month ago, after passing the civil service exam for a general position in his hometown of Kanagawa Prefecture, he chose to leave the band.

The departure of old band members is a common occurrence in the underground scene. Old members leave and new members join, and in the end, apart from the band name remaining the same, the members, instrumentation, and musical style are all very different from the original.

In Athenian philosophy, this is called "The Ship of Theseus".

Even so, Masumi still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that Seven Sufferings and Eight Sufferings was a special case. In the third year of her activities, her best achievement was the release of a single, which was bought by a natural water company in Tokyo as a commercial song because the lyrics and style were suitable.

That's it.

Even so, Masumi still believes that a four-person band will one day make a mainstream debut.

Even now, it's the same.

About ten minutes later.

The girl in front of the claw machine seemed to have no intention of giving up or leaving.

Although I didn't count them specifically, there were at least 20 times, with coins being tossed in one after another. The price was 200 yen per toss, and now I have about 5000 yen.

Perhaps she had been there for a long time before Masumi arrived. The coins she tossed in might have been enough to buy all the plush toys in the glass case.

Is he a weirdo who plays in a band?
Masumi suddenly became very curious about whether she would succeed today.

"...What are you trying to do, standing here spying on me?"

Suddenly, a cold female voice came from the air.

"Alas!"

Masumi forced a sharp sound from his throat, and his astonishment seemed to be contagious to the other person. The beauty with long honey-gold hair stood straight, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Don't make any strange noises if you get caught peeping."

"Wait! I wasn't spying, and a spy wouldn't just stand blatantly in the middle of a crowd like I do, would they?"

"Who knows, after all, people who play in bands are all a bunch of weirdos."

"You're a member of the Monster Association too, aren't you?" Masumi thought to herself, then her eyes widened as if she suddenly remembered.

"Huh? You mean the band?"

"That huge violin case on your back, are you trying to tell me it contains badminton rackets?"

"Ah, no wonder."

Masumi nodded, somewhat subdued by her, and then listened to Kurokawa Mio continue.

"Miyazawa Masumi...right?"

"Hey, you recognize me?"

Lead singer and guitarist of the math-themed rock band "Seven Sufferings, Eight Sufferings".

"Since we both work at Shinjuku LOFT, you should know me, right?"

Masumi nodded, her words more articulate than she thought: "Kurokawa Mio, the keyboardist of the all-female band 'Cyokoreito'."

“Yes, but the first sentence can be deleted.” Her expression was indifferent. “As for the band, they withdrew three days ago.”

"so."

Masumi wasn't surprised. Since the first time she saw her perform at a LiveHouse, "Cyokoreito" was the third band she had been in.

"What's wrong with this guy? Don't bring the strict standards of competition to the band."

"A flawless performance? How is that possible? Even if you, a genius from Tongpeng, can do it, it doesn't mean others can."

"Ah~ Our band can't accommodate someone as big as you, please find someone else."

Masumi heard this evaluation from her former teammates.

Homeless keyboard warrior.

That's very rude of you; she looks like a puppy abandoned in the rain.

Masumi snapped out of her daze and explained what had just happened: "Anyway, I didn't mean to spy, it's just—"

His gaze fell on the claw machine. Kurokawa Mio paused for a moment, then nodded knowingly. "Are you trying to win a claw machine? Wait a minute."

Her honey-gold hair traced a clean arc in mid-air as Kurokawa Mio expressionlessly tossed in a coin, then placed her hand on the joystick.

It's now--

The hook inside the machine slowly descended, precisely grabbing the wooden guitar doll piled on top.

"for you."

Still struggling with confusion, Masumi blankly accepted the doll, then belatedly said, "Huh? For me? Thank you."

"Speaking of which, you're actually quite good at claw machines! So what was that just now—"

"Just killing time."

"Oh."

Kurokawa Mio clearly wasn't in the mood for conversation; her beautiful profile was like an ice sculpture, her lips slightly parted. "Well then, goodbye."

She used the phrase "never to see you again".

After today, she'll probably be leaving Shinjuku, Masumi thought. She's always been like this.

Staring at her departing figure, Masumi hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Um, Ms. Kurokawa, our band is looking for a new keyboardist—"

Her voice vibrated in the air, and she paused in her steps.

"If you don't mind, would you like to meet my teammates?"

◇

After truly waking up, I felt a sticky sensation from the sweat clinging to my skin.

Although he didn't specifically use a thermometer to measure it, he thought his body temperature had probably returned to normal.

It was already completely dark outside.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Haiyue standing expressionlessly at the head of the bed.

"Woo!"

For some reason, the jellyfish girl immediately turned around and ran away as soon as she made eye contact with her.

"Haiyue?"

Curious about what was going on, Masumi threw off the covers, got out of bed, and chased after her.

The jellyfish girl ran very slowly, so Masumi quickly caught up with her and grabbed the hood of her sweatshirt from behind.

"Ugh."

Why did you suddenly run away?

"nothing……"

"This reaction doesn't seem like nothing's wrong at all," Masumi sighed, suddenly feeling a gelatinous pull from her outstretched arm.

"This is……"

What comes into view are medical fever-reducing patches covering the entire arm, including moon jellyfish, red moon jellyfish, freshwater jellyfish...

The same goes for her abdomen; when she lifted the hem of her pajamas, a colorful black sea jellyfish was stuck to it, even a bit too low.

Without a doubt, this must be the work of the girl in front of you.

“Masumi’s body… is very hot… I just… want to bring Masumi’s body temperature down…”

Haiyue blinked innocently.

“…Never mind.” Masumi shook her head, after all, she meant well.

The black sea jellyfish on her belly is positioned way too low. Simply lifting her shirt probably wouldn't be enough. Wouldn't that...?

"Let's go downstairs, Rinne and the others should have already prepared dinner."

"Ah."

Haiyue nodded quietly and answered.

Reaching the door, she slowly turned around, looking at Masumi who had turned away from her, and asked in confusion, "Masumi...aren't you leaving?"

"Uh, let me peel this fever patch off first—ouch!!!"

◇

Dinner was a steaming hot monkfish stew, fried fish chunks, and pan-fried fish liver.

The heiress made the most of the whole fish, even the grotesque fish head was carefully prepared, blanched with cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, and then cooked with tofu to make a delicious soup.

"Wow, I never expected this fish to look so ugly, but smell so delicious after being cooked." Mami couldn't help but exclaim.

"This is what they mean by 'don't judge a book by its cover,' isn't it?"

She altered a proverb without permission.

"Of course."

Qian Ai nodded smugly.

"In the world of island nation cuisine, there's a saying: 'Pufferfish in the west, anglerfish in the east,' meaning that only anglerfish can rival the deliciousness of pufferfish."

"Hey--"

Upon hearing this, Mami showed a thoughtful expression.

"Sister Mami, what's wrong with you?" Qian Ai asked, puzzled.

"I've been thinking that we often hear sayings like 'western pufferfish, eastern anglerfish' or 'western pufferfish, eastern cod,' but no matter the comparison, the pufferfish's status remains unchanged."

"so……"

"So?" Qian Ai tilted her head, puzzled.

"So, I really want to eat pufferfish!"

"Mami-nee, wipe your drool." Rinne said as she untied her apron. "Could you please go to the third floor and wake Masumi up to come down for breakfast?"

"I'll go get it," Kurokawa Mio said immediately, placing the fried fish pieces on the table.

"—No need, I'm already awake."

After tearing off the excess fever-reducing patches in the room, Masumi walked down the stairs along the handrail, with Kaizuki swaying behind her.

"Masumi, why did you get up before I called you? Are you feeling alright? Has your fever gone down?"

Kurokawa Mio approached with a concerned expression.

"Thank you, I feel much better after waking up."

Masumi pulled out a chair and sat down. He felt a slight tearing pain in his lower abdomen and looked at the dining table as if to distract himself.

"The selection of dishes is quite extensive; it's amazing how many dishes can be made from just one fish."

"Brother Masumi, I fried those fish pieces," Chiai said proudly. "I fried them with grape seed oil, so they're very healthy."

“For patients, fried food is not healthy, is it?” Kurokawa Mio retorted, arms crossed.

"Eh! Uh, sorry, Masumi-nii,"

With a victorious expression, Kurokawa Mio glanced at Chiai, who was gesticulating wildly as she explained, then looked at Masumi, smiling charmingly as she parted her red lips slightly.

"Masumi, I made this monkfish liver dish. I pan-fried it with butter, so it's not fishy at all and it's very nutritious. You can eat more of it."

Mami joined in the fun, saying, "Masumi-kun, I cut the tofu in the soup."

"Mami-nee, there's no need to mention that tofu that was cut so crookedly," Rinne sighed.

"Who told it to sway back and forth like that? It's very cunning."

In the lounge, six people sat around a long table. Rinne lifted the lid of the stew pot, and wisps of white steam rose up, filling the air with the delicious aroma of fish soup.

"Wow, it smells delicious."

"I'm starting." x4
The fish pieces are tender and juicy, sliding down your throat with the nourishing broth.

"That was so much fun!"

The sound of a soda can deflated followed as Ms. Mami opened a can of beer.

"It's a real shame that Masumi-kun can't enjoy monkfish while drinking alcohol because he's a patient," she said regretfully.

"Only Mami would feel sorry for her," Chiai remarked.

"Why hasn't Masumi-kun said anything? Didn't you rest well just now?"

"Masumi?"

Kurokawa Mio made no attempt to hide her worry, and beside her, Rinne's indifferent purple eyes also betrayed her unease.

"I'm sorry to have worried everyone, but I'm fine."

Facing the girls' fixed gazes, Masumi shook her head nonchalantly.

"I'm just thinking about how to bring it up."

"What does Masumi-nii want to say?"

Qian Ai tilted her head slightly in confusion.

“…Let’s go on a trip,” Masumi said softly.

(End of this chapter)