After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

The giraffe didn't mind; she hadn't expected it to be a spectacular show.

Despite the lack of dazzling lights and exquisite stage skills, the emotional entanglements between the girls before her possessed a different kind of allure—sincere and intense. Her usually indifferent gaze stirred slightly at this moment due to the strong and complex emotional fluctuations.

The giraffe murmured softly, "Even if it's not a Revue, it's quite interesting to occasionally watch the emotional conflicts of girls."

Side Story: A Trip to Hikami Mountain - Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Missing Protagonist

The giraffe watched with great interest, its eyes sparkling with the interest of an onlooker, but the three people fighting below were not so happy.

Hinasaki stood to the side, her brows furrowed, her face filled with helplessness.

She glanced around at the two people locked in a fierce confrontation and could clearly sense the growing hostility between Lixi and Taozi—this contest had long since transcended acting and become a genuine outpouring of emotions.

Each collision was filled with obvious anger and stubbornness, almost like real fire.

A cold light flashed in Peach's eyes as she ruthlessly slashed at Lixi with her blade. Lixi's counterattack was equally merciless, as she struck out with her double sticks again and again with undiminished force, as if determined to force Peach to back down.

The two moved with fierce speed, each move aimed directly at the other's vitals. Every collision brought forth intense sparks, making the scene exceptionally intense and dangerous.

Hinasaki looked at the situation before her and felt extremely troubled, secretly lamenting her predicament.

If Lixi and Taozi were fighting alone, she could at least try to join in and put up a fight. But every time she tried to join in, the two of them would immediately turn their attacks on her without any mercy, as if they had agreed on it. Two fists can't fight four hands, and she couldn't stop them at all.

Just as Hinasaki was standing awkwardly to the side, the giraffe next to her spoke up quietly, "Hinasaki-san, why don't you just sit in the audience?"

"Huh?" Hinasaki didn't react for a moment and blurted out unconsciously, her tone revealing a hint of Riki's.

It's worth noting that the giraffe has always said it wouldn't participate on stage, but this time it actually took the initiative to intervene.

The giraffe's eyes held an undisguised amusement, and its tone was calm yet sarcastic: "You, who can only watch the stage performance from the sidelines but can't truly immerse yourself in it, aren't you more suited to sitting in the audience now?"

Hinasaki was stunned for a moment, then glared angrily at the giraffe.

Hinasaki's eyes widened, then she turned angrily, her gaze as cold as knives as she stared at the giraffe. Her fists clenched, her anger almost bursting from her eyes. "You bastard..."

It's infuriating to think that a young girl on stage is being asked to get off the stage by a giraffe who is acting as an "audience member."

Despite her burning anger, she silently told herself, "Calm down... He's just deliberately trying to make me angry, I can't fall for it."

Hinasaki took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions, and retorted with a cold smile, "Mr. Giraffe, didn't you say you would never interfere with the stage? Then why are you making me, an actor, leave the stage now?"

The tense atmosphere between the two was no less intense than the fierce duel on stage.

In the center of the stage, Li hope and Tao Zi clashed with their swords and staffs, producing a crisp clanging sound. The flashing blades and staffs danced under the lights, each strike carrying a chilling force. The two moved in tandem, their expressions solemn and focused.

Meanwhile, on one side of the stage, Hinasaki and the giraffe were engaged in a silent "battle." Hinasaki's eyes were cold, her lips were slightly pursed, and her tone carried suppressed anger, as if she might explode at any moment.

Amid this confrontation, an eerie sense of harmony emerged on the stage.

Two battlefields—one in the open, one in the shadows; one filled with the clash of swords, the other with the scathing of words—were interwoven on this stage, creating an unexpected tension, as if this intense and contradictory scene was simply the true nature of the stage.

“I will indeed not interfere with the Audition stage…” the giraffe said slowly, his voice low and leisurely.

Hinasaki was about to press her advantage when she heard this, but the giraffe's next words pierced her heart like a sharp blade, "But... Hinasaki-san, do you really think this can be considered a stage?"

Hinasaki's previously relaxed fingers suddenly tightened, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. She bit her lower lip, her teeth almost sinking into it, her eyes revealing deep resentment.

She desperately wanted to argue, to tell the giraffe with conviction that this was the stage, the stage where she, Lixi, and Taozi had worked together. However, the words caught in her throat.

As a stage girl, she knows that a real stage should be filled with dazzling light and unwavering beliefs, not swayed by endless personal feelings.

Hinasaki opened her mouth, trying to refute, but the words seemed to be stuck deep in her throat, making it difficult to utter a sound.

She had no way to refute it, and couldn't even utter a simple retort. An unbearable sense of humiliation welled up inside her.

"It seems, Hinasaki, you already have your answer in your heart," the giraffe said slowly.

“As the protagonist,” he said slowly, his voice carrying a chilling calm, “you have not even the slightest fighting spirit, nor the belief in the stage. The dust of the mundane world still clings to you. How can someone like you truly become the protagonist on stage?”

"How can a stage without a main character be liked by the audience?"

"A stage without an audience is at best a small-scale rehearsal."

"To wash away the dust of the world?"

Hinasaki murmured to herself, looking down at her wet performance costume, water droplets still sliding down the hem of her clothes.

Her gaze shifted to Shiina Tatsuki and Kurosawa Momoko in the center of the stage—their clothes were already dry, the smooth fabric shimmering under the spotlight, making them look like polished gems, bright and sparkling.

So that's what the difference is...

Hinasaki managed a weak smile, tinged with a helpless bitterness, as if futilely concealing her inner despondency. She slowly raised her hand, gently covering her face, her fingertips trembling slightly, a self-deprecating glint in her eyes.

"So that's how it is..." she murmured softly, almost inaudible to herself, her voice filled with a near-desperate regret and self-mockery.

The words seemed to be both a response to the giraffe and an admission of this ignorant mistake to oneself.

“Such a simple thing…” Her voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of suppressed sobs, her tone full of self-reproach, “I only realized it now.”

She finally understood that the reason why the stage could not be called a stage was not because of the personal grudges between Lixi and Taozi.

Such dramas have been countless throughout history, and the rivalry between lovers has never hindered the composition of the stage.

The real problem is the lack of a protagonist.

Hinasaki's gaze fell on Riki and Momoko again, their eyes burning with intense emotions. On the stage, swords and sticks clashed, just like burning emotions colliding with each other.

However, she herself, as the "protagonist," has been slow to get into character.

She remained on the sidelines, watching indifferently, unable to immerse herself in this emotional torrent. Because of this, it all seemed utterly empty.

The stage could not become a true stage simply because it lacked her involvement.

Side Story: The Trip to Hikami Mountain - Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Returning Protagonist

"Do you finally understand?" the giraffe murmured, his gaze falling on the girl on the stage who was covering her face and tears were slowly streaming down her cheeks, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

Hinasaki's shoulders trembled slightly, her fingers pressed tightly against her face, her eyes filled with regret and self-mockery.

Tears seeped through her fingers, wetting her palms. Her gaze was somewhat vacant as she stared at the ground, seemingly not yet fully accepting the truth, yet unable to ignore the painful reality that pierced her heart.

All those emotions she had never faced before surged forth at this moment, finally making her realize her alienation and absence.

The giraffe watched her figure, feeling a slight sense of relief.

As the protagonist of the stage, she finally realized her absence, and this emotional contest finally had real meaning—he silently appreciated her belated realization, as if his unusual advice had finally been worthwhile.

"Hmm... it's not exactly against the rules," he muttered to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if trying to reassure himself. "After all, the show hasn't officially started yet."

--------------

Hinasaki took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and a determination she had never shown before ignited in her eyes.

Her gaze sharpened and hardened, carrying an unwavering determination.

She looked down at the weapon in her hand, and her previously scattered thoughts gradually calmed down. It was time to take action.

Without the slightest hesitation, she walked step by step toward the battlefield where Lixi and Taozi were fighting.

Each step she took carried a steady strength, as if accompanied by an invisible sense of pressure, and the surrounding air vibrated slightly as she approached.

She charged straight into the center of their confrontation, her eyes burning with unwavering conviction.

Lixi and Taozi were startled by her sudden intrusion. After a brief moment of stunned silence, they simultaneously raised their weapons to fight back.

However, Hinasaki's movements were swift and precise, and with each swing of her hands, she mercilessly blocked their attacks.

As Riki's double sticks brought down with a chilling force, Hinasaki nimbly dodged, seized her wrist, and pushed her outward with one hand, forcing Riki back several steps.

Immediately afterwards, Momoko's katana swept swiftly towards her, its sharp blade aimed directly at her side.

Hinasaki crouched slightly to avoid the blade, then turned sideways and swiftly slashed at Momoko with a backhand strike, forcing her back.

Lixi and Momoko exchanged a glance, clearly not yet fully accustomed to Hinasaki's sudden change, but they quickly coordinated again and attacked her almost simultaneously.

Hinasaki's gaze remained unchanged, her movements clean and swift, as if she had anticipated their actions.

She moved nimbly between the two women, wielding her weapon and swiftly dismantling their attacks, neutralizing each strike without leaving any opening.

Before long, Riki and Momoko were forcefully separated at both ends by her, with Hinasaki standing between them, her breathing steady and calm.

She looked up at them, her eyes no longer filled with doubt, but instead exuding an undeniable aura of a protagonist.

The stage spotlights shifted subtly, converging like a flowing stream, focusing their soft yet bright light on Hinasaki.

The lights shone down, enveloping her figure, as if the entire stage's focus had shifted to her.

The water stains on Hinasaki's body had completely dried, and her whole body shone brightly under the light.

Riki and Momoko also stepped back slightly because of the sudden light, their gazes involuntarily lingering on Hinasaki, their eyes flashing with complex emotions.

Hinasaki Tsuki stood still, gently closed her eyes, and felt the familiar stage lights, her heart at peace. After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes, meeting the gazes of everyone watching from the audience and the stage, a slight smile playing on her lips, confident and resolute.

She slowly raised her weapon, her gaze sweeping over Lixi and Momo, her tone carrying an undeniable aura, as if she were infusing every word with her resolve and determination: "Hinasaki, keyboardist of the Mygo band! With the determination to become the protagonist, leap onto the stage!"

"Tonight, I will end all the strife!"

As soon as she finished her opening remarks, deep music filled the air above the stage, and the atmosphere of the entire theater seemed to change along with her words.

Hinasaki's figure stood out brightly and dazzlingly under the spotlight, like a true protagonist, standing proudly in the center of the stage.

Taozi and Lixi exchanged a glance, a tacit and resolute look flashing in each other's eyes.

They had already made up their minds—no matter what, they had to get Hinasaki out of the competition.

They reached a silent consensus almost simultaneously.

In their hearts, if this duel belonged only to the two of them, they would have no complaints about winning or losing, and they would willingly admit defeat if they were not as skilled as the other; whoever became the final winner would be due to their own strength.

However, Hinasaki's sudden arrival complicated everything.

They knew perfectly well that as long as Hinasaki stood on the field, no matter who she favored, the competition would lose its original fairness.

Li hope's gaze darkened slightly, his brows furrowed, and he gripped the stick tightly in his hands, quietly adjusting his breathing, seemingly ready to launch another attack.

Peach lowered her eyes, her fingers gripping the knife tightened slightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, but a barely perceptible anxiety was revealed in her eyes.

They all turned their gazes to Hinasaki, their eyes burning with a determination as they longed to drive away this "uninvited guest."

Without the slightest hesitation, they launched their attack on Hinasaki almost simultaneously.

Riki's twin staffs struck Hinasaki's flank like lightning, while Momoko's katana whistled in from the other side, its blade carrying a chilling aura as it fiercely approached her.

Facing the onslaught from the two, Hinasaki took a deep breath, a calm glint in her eyes. She stood firmly on her feet, her weapon slightly raised, her entire demeanor as steady as a rock, without the slightest hesitation.