Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 59 25. "Performance"

The lead singer's voice echoed through the microphone, and the guitar blasted out waves of sound from the Marshall speakers.

Tuesday, a rainy night, in a small underground Live House in Kobe's Chuo Ward.

Miyazawa Masumi faced the stage and stood among the audience.

Even though it was a quiet Tuesday, with few visitors due to the rain, the air still felt unpleasant. Perhaps it was the rainy season and the basement's atmosphere.

Just like when the summer heat is rising, there is that feeling of stuffiness, anxiety, and slight difficulty breathing that always accompanies it.

At this moment, the singing of the band performing on the stage reached his ears.

Soaring in the sky at dusk
Get rid of the current situation of this planet

Gradually getting smaller directly below

What disappears from sight is the street you once walked on

Flowers bloom in the summer sky
The huge flame flower blooms beautifully

I remember thinking, "I want to cry forever."
The summer that had it all is gone

……

Masumi raised his eyebrows: This band is of very high level.

Whether it is the tone of the keyboard or the most eye-catching guitar, they are all quite catchy, and the melody gives people a sense of anxious noise through the tube speakers.

It's not noise in a negative sense, but a desire that makes people clench their fists involuntarily and want to take a deep breath to break through the summer heat and be uncontaminated like the cloudless blue sky.

"What do you think?"

After the song was over, Masumi asked the girls around her for their opinions.

Hanekawa Kaizuki, who was closest to him, replied softly:

"It's sometimes fast, sometimes slow, just like people's emotions..."

A wonderful metaphor.

Masumi glanced at the girl who seemed to be still immersed in the lingering sound of the music. Her clear and transparent blue eyes were like the color of the summer sky after being sifted through a filter.

"It's quite good."

Suddenly, Mami exclaimed in praise: "A band of this caliber can only perform compilations? I think they can definitely hold their own solo shows."

Masumi shook his head helplessly: "The band's popularity is due to many factors. It's not enough just to sing well."

"However, I am very optimistic about this band and think it is only a matter of time before they become popular."

He looked at the lead singer of the band on the stage. She was a quiet and gentle young girl. She looked weak, but when she opened her mouth, her voice was full of explosive power that no one else had.

"Oh my, you sound like a top agent, Masumi-kun."

Asami quipped.

"It's not entirely intuition," Masumi explained slowly. "The audience here today only got particularly excited when this band performed. I guess most of them are their fans."

"Even on rainy days, they came to support us. Having such die-hard fans is a testament to our strength."

Masumi took a sip of the drink in her hand through the straw and expressed her own judgment: "I guess they are just trying to grab every performance opportunity to attract popularity."

"It's strange, though. A band of this caliber wouldn't waste their time performing during a less popular period."

"I just searched for this band on Spotify. They have over 5000 listeners. They mainly perform in Osaka and have even played shows for 300 people. They're already a top underground band."

"I guess they've already been negotiating the contract with the agency."

Masumi didn't even realize that when he said these words, he unconsciously felt a bit envious and lonely.

However, his tone was usually very calm, without any strong emotional ups and downs, and the LiveHouse environment was quite noisy, so almost no one noticed.

Only Hanekawa Kaizuki, who was closest to him, was staring at him, as if thinking about something.

"As expected of Masumi-kun!" Asami looked at him with a smile. "When it comes to matters related to the band, you're quite professional and reliable."

"Stop teasing me." Masumi sighed.

"Hey, Masumi-kun is really boring. I was just praising you." Asami curled her lips in disapproval and turned to the black-haired girl beside her, "What do you think, Rin-kun?"

"Ah, very good."

"Even though I don't understand the professional stuff, I can tell that the lead singer's voice is quite infectious, and the instrumental arrangement sounds very comfortable."

"But... it's a little too noisy." Rin's voice was slightly troubled. "The speakers are too loud."

As she spoke, she rubbed her ears gently.

"Well, that's how it is on stage. Is this your first time at a LiveHouse, Rinone-chan?"

“It’s the first time, for sure.”

Masumi interrupted and asked, "Has Seno been to a LiveHouse before?" "A few times." Asami nodded slightly, "After all, a live performance is the best place to showcase a band's charm."

Masumi nodded in agreement. There was no doubt that the band had a powerful charm, and the live performance was its greatest attraction.

Pinching her chin with her fingers, Mami looked at the silent Hanekawa Kaizuki, who had already finished her drink and was chewing on the straw and ice cubes.

"Come to think of it, Xiao Haiyue should have been to LiveHouse before, right? You seem very familiar with it."

Including buying a 500 yen melon soda at the bar right at the entrance.

Many LiveHouses obtain business licenses in the form of restaurants, so in addition to the performance ticket, it is generally mandatory to consume a drink.

"No."

Hanekawa Kaizuki's eyes flickered as she told an obvious lie.

But none of the three cared.

Although this girl has been clumsily hiding her identity, her natural actions have betrayed her more than once.

Masumi felt that sooner or later, Hanekawa Kaigetsu would reveal all her secrets herself.

"Next up is the performance of the band 'Meteor'—"

"Ah! It's Mirai and the others' turn!"

Asami turned her attention back to the stage.

Five high school girls took the stage.

The most eye-catching one among them was the girl named "Toyama Aimei" whom Masumi had met before. She had a red alien-shaped guitar hanging on her shoulder and purple contact lenses in her eyes.

Her short hair looks like it's been wigged with a brown wig, and she's tied up in two cat-ear-shaped buns. Her pretty face makes her look more like a school idol than a high school girl band member.

Before the performance, she met with the three members of Fanxing, and was stared at by the "veteran cat lover" Jinshiro Rinone. However, Toyama herself insisted that it was a star shape, not cat ears.

"Hello! Everyone!"

Before the MC segment even started, she waved her hands and greeted the audience in broken Japanese English, "I'm Meteor's guitarist, Aimi Toyama!"

"Hey, Amy—"

A girl with twin ponytails behind her was pulling her softly. Her hair, which was like golden threads from roots to tips, shone in the background light. There was no trace of her hair being dyed, so it looked like natural blonde hair.

Masumi also greeted her, and I remember her name was... "Ito Yusaki", the keyboardist of the band, a classmate of Toyama, a girl with a less frank personality, and a very good relationship with Toyama.

But...blonde hair, keyboard player.

Masumi's scalp tingled, and he suddenly recalled an unpleasant memory, sighing quietly in his heart.

I wonder how Kurokawa is doing in Tokyo...

I might form a new band.

After all, she has been studying classical piano since she was a child, and her music theory and performance skills are quite high. She also has an obsessive-compulsive understanding of timbre and chords, and is a very good keyboard player.

Even Masumi would feel it was a pity if he didn't continue to delve deeper into music.

Well, it's all in the past anyway.

Gathering his thoughts, he turned his attention back to the stage.

The lead singer, Jiuyuan Future, was quite inconspicuous among the group. She wore a rock-style quilt with popular elements, and her long brown hair fell down, making her look a little gloomy.

In addition, the arm holding the guitar was visibly shaking.

Is she nervous? Masumi wondered.

It's normal to be nervous when performing at a LiveHouse for the first time, and he was no better when he first took the stage.

As my stage experience grows, I will gradually stop being nervous and instead enjoy the feeling of being the center of attention.

He remembered that Kuon Mirai had performed at the cultural festival before, and he felt a little relieved. Well, since he had performance experience, it shouldn't be a big problem.

The strings vibrate.

Toyama's energetic opening remarks rang out in the LiveHouse:

“Good evening everyone! We are the Meteor Band! Please enjoy our first song:”

"Happy Happy Party!"

The drum beats and the muffled sound of the guitar come together.

Then, the next song is about to play——

　Please make your first order!

　　The characters are based on the characters and voice actors of the animation. They are purely the author's personal works. There is not much ink in the plot. They will not be deeply involved in and affect the main plot and emotional line. They are just easter eggs. It does not affect you if you have not watched the animation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)