Joker's Band Game Story

Thud! "Ouch!"

Okay, I couldn't resist.

Retracting her little fist, Amamiya continued chatting beside her: "How's the band doing now?"

"Ah~ it's so-so~ anyway, it has a certain audience."

Ah, indeed, Hiroi and her band play something quite unusual, what's known as psychedelic rock.

A smaller audience means a stronger fanbase. Although Hiroi sometimes acts out during live performances, such as spitting after drinking, giving the middle finger, forgetting lyrics halfway through a song and then laughing and arguing with the audience, at least everyone seems to be having a good time.

Yes, Amamiya couldn't understand what was wrong with those viewers. How could they be excited after being sprayed all over by Hiroi? It's the same situation as him not understanding the porridge bar.

Yeah, I don't understand, but I respect it.

Perhaps those people are what people call "looks-obsessed"? After all, Hiroi is quite good-looking. The only problem is that he's flat-chested, which is a major drawback. Can you fly a plane from Hiroi Airport to Chihaya Airport?

This also resulted in her dressing style being perfectly acceptable. She always liked to wear a dark green halter dress, which showed off her fair collarbones and shoulders. Sometimes, when she was drunk, she would even sway and the halter dress on her shoulders would fall down.

But it's not sexy at all, because it has no ups and downs.

What? You're asking about the large size in Hiroi's fan art? Well, Chihaya's fan art is also very large!

"Just getting by."

"Yeah, isn't it pretty good? That's just how the world is. You can't make a lot of money anyway. Every day you're just worrying about your salary and basic necessities. You just live one day at a time. When you get tired of playing in the band, you'll find a husband, get married, and stay home to do laundry and cook... Ah! Drink up, drink up, I can't think about this anymore!"

Hiroi took out another can of Demon Slayer Sake, inserted a straw, and started sucking on it again.

One hundred and eighty milliliters costs about 122 yen, which is considered a relatively inexpensive drink.

Hiroi herself was always short of money. Although the band wasn't exactly short of money, she often went on stage drunk, which led to her messing things up and having to pay compensation. A lot of the money she earned went into this.

So sometimes she would shamelessly come to Amamiya for help... Why does this scene feel so familiar?

Oh, Ryoya Yamada always does that. So, is there something wrong with you bassists?

Amamiya didn't understand, and was greatly shocked. Could a bassist really not be able to make a living?

After drinking a can of beer, Hiroi was drunk again. She leaned against the wall, squinting her eyes with a dazed look: "Ren, what are you planning to do next?"

"Playing music."

"Ha...yes, this is your specialty. You're a genius."

Hiroi couldn't help but chuckle strangely. She knew Amamiya's abilities and was amazed by his talent. Amamiya was clearly not even an adult, yet his instrumental skills already surpassed those of many professional musicians. If he wanted to, breaking into the Budokan would be a piece of cake.

If he wanted, he could assemble a group of prodigies and storm the martial arts dojo; he'd make a fortune!

"I really envy you, Qi'er Yi San Ling Si Jiu Qi San Shi~ Your talent."

"There's no such thing as talent; it's all about practicing day after day."

Amamiya was telling the truth; all his skills were inherited from his previous life. But to Hiroi, his words sounded more like the self-deprecation of a genius.

Wow, that's amazing! Such incredible talent, yet so humble—that's the generosity of the truly strong!

Upon seeing Amamiya, Hiroi immediately became emotional again; the alcohol she had just drunk no longer had any effect. She leaned dejectedly against the wall and sighed, "Yes, it's all just day after day of practice..."

If it were just a matter of practice, it wouldn't be so difficult...

Hiroi began to feel melancholy again. She touched her pocket and found that she had finished all the alcohol.

"Ah... I've finished it all... I'll go buy some more..."

"Still drinking, huh?"

"Yes, what can dispel sorrow? Only wine!"

Muttering Cao Cao's poem to himself, Hiroi swayed as he got up to go to the convenience store to buy some more alcohol.

She was having a good time drinking, but Amamiya happened to be nearby, which made her unhappy again.

It had nothing to do with Amamiya. She knew it was all her pride that was getting the better of her. Seeing how radiant Amamiya was, while she herself was constantly worrying about these things, she felt resentful and just wanted to drink to forget everything.

That's right! Drink! Once you've had a drink, you can forget everything!

"Aren't you performing today?"

"The band isn't performing live today, so we need to drink... Ah! Let's go to a bar!"

Suddenly remembering something, Hiroi clapped his hands and decided to go to a bar instead.

She realized that the reason she couldn't forget what happened even while drinking next to Amamiya wasn't because of Amamiya, but because the alcohol was bad! The alcohol at the bar must be better!

It can only be said that the alcoholic's logic is very strange, and it's hard to know what she's thinking. Amamiya watched as Hiroi swayed and stumbled into an underground bar with practiced ease.

"Welcome... It's Kikuri, you're here for drinks again?"

At that moment, a female bartender in a bartending uniform was mixing drinks behind the bar. Hearing someone push open the door, she began to serve.

It's clear that Hiroi Kikuri frequents this bar... or rather, she's been to almost every bar in Tokyo. Perhaps this bar is genuinely quite good? That's why Hiroi keeps coming back.

Hiroi is very picky about alcohol. After all, she doesn't have much money, so if the price-performance ratio isn't good, she definitely won't be a repeat customer.

"Ah~ Yumi~ bring me a drink that will make me forget everything~"

Hiroi sat down in the chair and, in a drunken state, spoke to the bartender, Yumi, who immediately understood what she meant.

However, her gaze still fell on Ren Amamiya next to Hiroi: "And who is this?"

“My friend, Lian.”

Hiroi mumbled incoherently, his introduction so simple it couldn't be more basic, so Ren Amamiya had to add, "Ren Amamiya, seventeen years old, is Hiroi's friend."

That's right, he added the most important part—age.

Japan has a prohibition on alcohol sales, and theoretically, Amamiya sake cannot be sold anywhere. Of course, if an adult buys sake to take home for a child, then no one can stop them. This law is a punishment for sellers, not buyers, so sellers only need to know that they cannot sell to minors.

"Oh, I see. Then it seems I can't recommend the wines here to you. But..."

As Yumi spoke, her gaze began to sweep over Amamiya: "Would you be interested in trying a non-alcoholic cocktail?"

"Non-alcoholic...cocktail?"

Upon hearing this strange word, Ren Amamiya was a little confused. Is sake without alcohol still considered sake?

"Ah, because this store is open to minors, but minors can't drink alcohol, so they usually offer drinks like orange juice or milk to help them sober up. I was thinking of adding more drinks for minors like you, so...would you like to try some?"

Yumi asked with a smile, and her words made Amamiya think.

"Yumi-chan! Cocktail!"

Ren Amamiya started to think, but the people next to her couldn't wait any longer. Hiroi slammed his fist on the table, making a scene in a very unladylike manner, hoping that Yumi would hurry up and mix the drinks.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Prepare a bar for Hiroi first."

Amamiya eventually agreed; if it was just to experience this novelty, then it was worth a try.

Of course, the more important reason is that Hiroi is sitting here. With her there, this restaurant probably won't overcharge loyal customers, right? Otherwise, Hiroi wouldn't be a regular customer.

"Ok, no problem."

Upon hearing that Amamiya had agreed, Yumi smiled and responded with narrowed eyes, then immediately began preparing a cocktail for Hiroi Kikuri.

Ren Amamiya sat next to Hiroi, enjoying Yumi's performance together.

That's right, it's a performance. Watching a bartender mix drinks is a pleasure, and a good bartender's mixing skills are very entertaining.

At this moment, Yumi was twirling the glass in her hand, using various techniques to blend the different base spirits in the glass together, ultimately creating a cocktail of about 500 milliliters.

"Enjoy your meal slowly, 'Forget Everything'."

When the glass of wine was placed in front of Hiroi, her attitude towards it was completely different from how she usually drank.

She solemnly bowed to the glass of wine before saying, "Let's dig in!" and began to slowly savor the wine.

That's right, it's about tasting, not drinking.

This was the first time Amamiya had seen Hiroi drinking this drink so slowly. It was less like drinking and more like she was performing some important ceremony. Amamiya didn't understand what she was doing.

Is this glass of wine really that important?

"Kikuri is always like this, always so serious when she drinks."

Yumi responded with a smile. Looking at Hiroi Kikuri's expression and Amamiya's puzzled look, she explained to him, "Because this glass of wine is not cheap~ so she cherishes it~ of course, it's also because this glass of wine has a high alcohol content."

"Very high?"

"That's right, because it's about forgetting everything."

Yumi's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, and Amamiya nodded slightly to indicate that she understood.

"Oh, but the non-alcoholic cocktails later are free, so don't worry too much."

Yumi added a sentence at the last minute to avoid Ren Amamiya misunderstanding that she was going to charge him money.

In her opinion, Amamiya was only 17 years old and just a student; he probably wouldn't have that much money to drink.

Instead of performing the cocktail for Ren Amamiya, she decided to quickly prepare a non-alcoholic cocktail for him, as the performance, while entertaining, was a waste of time.

"Try it, experience it."

Looking at the cocktail in front of him, its deep blue color made Amamiya hesitate for a moment.

He knew that these cocktails always came in all sorts of colors, and he had encountered some in his previous life, but this was the first time he had tried a non-alcoholic cocktail.

Then...shall we have a taste?

He picked up his glass, took a small sip, and Amamiya's eyes lit up.

It's delicious, very delicious. It really tastes like a cocktail, very similar to the cocktails I tasted in my past life. The taste that I had forgotten is now swirling in my memory again.

But whether it contains alcohol or not, he'll have to drink a couple more sips to tell.

"Yumi!"

Hiroi, seeing the non-alcoholic beverage in Amamiya's hand, also felt a craving, so she started to whine to Yumi, "Pour me one too~"

"Why don't you finish your cocktail first?"

But Yumi just laughed at Hiroi's words and didn't agree.

Because she knew that Hiroi would pass out drunk after drinking that cup, so even if she prepared it for her, she wouldn't be able to drink it, which would be a complete waste.

"Shiina Yumi!"

Hiroi suddenly slammed his hand on the table: "You don't, you don't think I can't even finish this one cup, do you?! Just you wait and see!"