They all have hidden attributes!

"Acheng, shall we go?" Nekoya Hina said in a low voice.

He nodded, turned and walked out of the studio.

Not long after the two left, a girl rushed into the art club, came to Shiraishi Junka's side, and said breathlessly, "Captain, no one is in the light music club. The supervisor of Class 1-A said that Hell Girl took the afternoon off."

Chapter 55 The Keyboardist Selection

[Urgent Recruitment! The final piece of the puzzle!]

[Band: NiceFold]

[Style: Japanese rock, psychedelic rock]

[Position: Keyboardist]

[Requirements: Proficient in synthesizers and electric piano; arrangement skills preferred...]

[Audition Requirements: Prepare an impromptu piece of any style]

[Interview Preparation: Extracting a clip and adding it to the keyboard track]

......

After posting a black-and-white poster featuring the Ace of Spades from a playing card on the notice board in the courtyard, Makoto Takahashi took two steps back, and after confirming that the location was fairly conspicuous, asked Hina Nekoya beside him:

"What did Hanakawa-kun say?"

"I was rejected."

She turned and walked toward the academy gate, her tone neither distressed nor disappointed: "But there must be other ways."

"For example?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

"Shove her into a sack and tie her up, then take her straight to the badminton club?"

"Putting aside other issues, if Hanakawa himself doesn't want to play badminton, forcing him to the gym won't do any good, right?"

"It seems so."

Hina Nekoya raised her head, gazing at the crimson sky above, a thoughtful expression on her face: "But in other words, if she's willing to pick up a racket after being tied to the badminton club, then there's still hope, right?"

What kind of reverse thinking is this? And is it really necessary to stuff Hanakawa Kaori into a sack?

Not wanting to become an accomplice, Makoto Takahashi steered the conversation in a healthy and positive direction: "What do you want to eat for dinner?"

"Hey?"

She turned her head and looked at him, blinking in surprise, and asked, "Has Acheng been a little too generous lately? He's treated me to meals so many times this month!"

"I'm relatively well-off lately."

Makoto Takahashi waved his hand generously, indicating that it was no problem: "Besides, I'll need you to come with me to put up the flyers later, and I'll also ask you to help me with the negotiations with the shop assistants."

"I'm fine with it, but the original plan was for Acheng to come with me to return the item."

Seeing Hina Nekoya tilt her head and make a suspicious expression, he took out his phone, copied the text message sent by Maya Uesugi, and sent it to Hina Nekoya's Line.

"We're going to all of these places tonight."

The list is long, covering almost every area of ​​Tokyo's livehouses and music stores, after all, keyboardists are a rare breed.

"All of them?" Hina Nekoya's pupils widened in shock.

"Let's go to Ginza first. There's a ryotei there that serves really high-quality beef."

Makoto Takahashi used his phone to search for the restaurant where he had dinner with Yuki Tachimi last night. There were discounted set meals available online, and the prices were within his budget.

“Ginza, huh? I’ve never been there before.” Nekoya Hina nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on Takahashi Makoto’s profile.

As the two walked out of the academy gate, she suddenly leaned close, put her hand on Takahashi Makoto's shoulder, and asked in her usual straightforward tone, "Makoto, how about we have pizza tonight?"

"Don't you only like to eat meat?"

Makoto Takahashi turned his head curiously and saw Hina Nekoya with her familiar sunny smile. He nodded in agreement: "Pizza is fine too. Speaking of which, there's Pizza Hut in Ginza."

"That can't really be considered a fast food restaurant, right? It's more like a Western restaurant or something?"

"The price has been lowered this year, and now it's no different from a family restaurant."

"Hmm, then let's eat this."

“You have no obligation to save me money,” Makoto Takahashi said.

"No, Cheng, we're friends, I can't let you spend too much money."

Nekoya Hina patted his shoulder playfully, her eyes slightly darting around, and tentatively said, "Besides, if A-Cheng wants to pursue me, he should save his money for when we get married."

Pizza Hut also has many special combo meals. Which one would you like to try?

Makoto Takahashi handed her his phone and moved two steps away, saying, "It's too hot. At least come to a place with air conditioning before you come over here."

"No way, don't even think about running away." Nekoya Hina ignored her and insisted on coming closer to choose a set meal.

The two walked into the train station amidst their bickering, took the Tozai Line of the subway towards Nakano, transferred to the Yurakucho Line at Iidabashi Station, and arrived directly at Ginza Ichome Station.

Upon entering the Yamano Musical Instruments store, Nekoya Hina demonstrated her strong communication skills, quickly getting the staff to post a poster recruiting keyboardists in the discussion area of ​​the electric piano section. Then, they went to have dinner first.

The setting sun cast an orange glow on the asphalt, and the air still held the warmth of the afternoon. The two walked along the sidewalk toward Pizza Hut.

"Acheng, do you want to go take a look?"

Hina Nekoya, looking around with curiosity, suddenly took two quick steps forward, turned around, and pointed to the window of a stationery store.

Her chestnut hair rippled under the sky, flowing with a warm luster: "I heard from a senior in the badminton club that this stationery store costs 5000 yen."

"Isn't that a bit too expensive?" Takahashi Makoto thought to himself.

"Right, right?"

Haruna Nekoya pulled her wrist as they entered the store, laughing cheerfully, "I want to see why these stationery items are so expensive. Come with me for a look."

The two went inside the store and experienced the prices in Ginza: an eraser cost 3 yen, a box of pencils cost 1 yen, and a compass cost 3 yen...

Compass?

Knowing that Uesugi Maya could easily pull out a compass and a paper cutter from her skirt pocket, Takahashi Makoto picked up the compass and examined it carefully, considering whether it was appropriate to give her this gift.

Seeing him stop, Nekoya Hina, who was shocked by the price, put down the 2000 yen note in her hand and moved closer: "Does Makoto like this?"

She knew that Makoto Takahashi liked to spend money on useless things, such as buying character bookmarks or postcards when buying light novels at bookstores.

"I've received a lot of help from Uesugi-san recently, so I'm thinking of giving her a small thank-you gift."

Makoto Takahashi picked out the color of the compass, remembering that Maya Uesugi's outfits were always either black or white: "I also need to think about returning the gift to Sachi-senpai, a lot happened last night."

"Acheng, you still can't call Hell Girl by her name directly."

With her hands behind her back, Hina Nekoya bent down to look at the various compasses and craft knives in the lower row, and casually asked, "I guess the angel is easier to get along with, isn't she?"

Hearing her say that, Makoto Takahashi was momentarily stunned, unable to figure out whether it was Yuki Tachimi who was too aggressive or Maya Uesugi who had too strong a sense of boundaries.

His relationship with Uesugi Maya should be closer than his relationship with Tatsumi Yuki.

After selecting exquisite and high-quality craft knives, paper cutters, compasses, scissors, and other weapons as gifts, Makoto Takahashi concluded that it must be because Maya Uesugi's personality was too eccentric, like a cat.

The staff packed the gifts into beautiful gift boxes. After paying, Makoto Takahashi and Haruna Nekoya continued their journey to Pizza Hut.

She walked along the side closest to the building, her pace varying in speed, constantly glancing at the shop windows of different styles, and occasionally pulling Takahashi Makoto inside for a stroll.

As dusk fell, the two entered the restaurant and, guided by the waiter, sat in a "V" shape at one side of a square table, in a spot overlooking the intersection from the window.

"Acheng, do you really want to give her something like this?"

Nekoya Hina looked curiously at the gift box that Takahashi Makoto had placed on the seat next to her, blinked and said, "When you give a girl a gift, the first thing that comes to mind is cosmetics, jewelry or bags, right?"

Makoto Takahashi nodded in denial, but didn't know how to explain it to Haruna Nekoya.

"Does Uesugi-san not seem like the type of active female college student?"

He rested his elbows on the table, interlaced his fingers, and turned to look at the bright glass, which reflected the interior of the restaurant.

After thinking for a moment, Hina Nekoya nodded emphatically: "That's right! She's anything but ordinary."

Just being called "Hell Girl" is already quite extraordinary.

Moreover, Uesugi Maya is not only skilled in both literature and martial arts, but also adept at cooking, adept at housework, and a bestselling author.

Therefore, giving her a gift like a utility knife is perfectly fine.

Makoto Takahashi, having confirmed that his thinking was sound, turned and looked directly into Hina Nekoya's eyes, asking her, "Do you have any suggestions regarding the return gift for Sachi-senpai?"

She tilted her head blankly, looking completely lost.

After the waiter brought out all the set meals, Nekoya Hina picked up a slice of Hawaiian pizza, took a big bite, and mumbled:

"When it comes to gift-giving, you should do some research beforehand. Now you're asking me, so it's probably something like hand cream?"

If it were a gift for Makoto Takahashi, she would immediately think of taking a stroll through a bookstore. As for Yuki Tachimi, the two had never even formally met.

"Hand cream?"

Makoto Takahashi shook his head as he thought of Yuki Tachimi's smooth and delicate hands, and picked up his fork to twirl the spaghetti: "I feel like she doesn't need them at all. The young lady doesn't need to wash dishes or anything like that."

"Students handle textbooks and notebooks every day in class, or type in air-conditioned rooms, so their hands can easily become dry."

Nekoya Hina swallowed the food in her mouth. Seeing that he didn't seem to accept the answer, she ate a fried shrimp and said, "Next up are the cuter things."

Most girls, regardless of age, will like cute things, such as plush toys or ornaments, but Makoto Takahashi is not sure if Sachi Tachimi falls into the category of "[most girls]".

"Never mind, a few days later probably won't matter." He focused on eating his dinner, planning to think about it slowly when he had time.

After dinner, the two left Ginza and took the tram to the Shimokitazawa area.

The streets of Shimokitazawa are bustling at night, with men and women carrying violin bags everywhere, and all sorts of uniforms from different areas of Tokyo on display.

—After all, this is the spiritual home of Japanese rock music worldwide.

Thanks to Nekoya Hina's exceptional communication skills, Takahashi Makoto quickly posted the posters on the exterior walls or bulletin boards of various music stores, convenience stores, and live music venues.

After successfully completing the mission, he sent a text message to Maya Uesugi to report.

Nekoya Hina, walking beside me, had a shifty gaze, sometimes surprised by the strange name of LiveHouse, and sometimes showing interest in the snacks.

"The atmosphere here is completely different from Shinjuku. Although both are lively, it feels more..."

She thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Subculture?"