Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

Seeing the white-haired girl go on stage obediently and hold the guitar in her hands again, Ritsu Narose finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I really hope everything goes well...

134. Rest in the Lounge

As soon as she returned to the lounge, Maomao pounced on the three-colored dango on the coffee table like a hungry tiger, chewing on the matcha dango while slightly shaking her legs—she seemed to be in a good mood.

However, humans will probably never be able to understand the happiness of cats.

Although Chihaya Aine, who is also a guitarist, has received special treatment from Ritsu Narose, she feels a little scared when she thinks of the stage with the word "professionalism" written all over it under her feet.

At times like this, she was particularly envious of Kaname Rakuna's mindset. Chihaya Aine also picked up a dango, but she couldn't imitate the cat's carefree and relaxed attitude.

Taking the other bag of cookies handed to him by Naruse Ritsu, Shiina Riki asked curiously, "Where did this come from?"

"I got it on the spot. I ran into the other band members when I went out to get a bottle of water, and they told me there were desserts available."

After handing out croissants and donuts to Nagasaki Suyo and Takamatsu Deng, Naruse Ritsu casually replied, "Looking at their outfits... they look like Afterglow..."

"Huh!?" The action of opening the biscuit bag stopped instantly, Shiina Riki sat up straight, and looked at Naruse Ritsu in surprise.

"Although I know you're a fan, it's better to calm down at this time. Don't let it affect your mentality~"

After shaking the mineral water in her hand like a goblet and distributing the desserts, Ritsu Narose stood against the wall. The look of nervousness for them that she had shown before was long gone.

"You didn't say anything strange, did you?"

"What image do you have of me in your mind?"

Caught off guard by Ritsu Naruse's ordinary words, Shiina Riki felt guilty and could only avoid talking about it.

And she didn't notice that the eyes of the other two people in the room fell on her at the same time after she fell silent - either in surprise or suspicion.

In this atmosphere, two more members of Afterglow knocked on the door of the lounge and informed them to gather and meet.

It was just past 2:30, and Ritsu Narose took advantage of this window of opportunity to see if the two ancient dragons he had invited had arrived at the scene.

Soon, he saw two figures, one tall and one short, in the corner at the edge of the venue, both holding mobile phones and rubbing glass.

In this environment, shooting games that require sound positioning are naturally ruled out, so the two chose moba games, which are not very popular in this country, and attacked together as a top-down team.

Then the two of them, who were not good at coordinating, crashed on the spot.

Without caring about their teammates' thoughts at all, the two of them quietly quit the game after noticing that Ritsu Narose saw them crossing the tower one after another to send warmth, whistling and turning their attention to the brightly lit stage in front of them.

Just as he was about to say something, Naruse Ritsu suddenly felt a gaze directed at him from somewhere else. However, when he tried to identify the gaze that was spying on him, he couldn't find it in the crowd.

That look was definitely not from Nergigante seeking an enemy, but another kind of look that made him uncomfortable - like the frosting on your hand when you pick up a donut, it will give you a sweet taste, but also make your fingers sticky.

He scanned the area again, but Sky Comet's excellent eyesight still didn't provide him with any useful information. His pale blue eyes sank into deep thought, believing he needed to prepare for a sudden attack from Nergigante.

Speaking of which...

"You didn't tell Nerulu that I was here, did you?"

After asking this question, seeing the two people's ignorant eyes like dead children, Ming Se Ritsu knew that they were completely out of touch with the situation.

Giving up discussing more specific plans with them, Ritsu Narose asked them to contact him as soon as they saw Nerulu, and then left the audience area.

When he returned to the lounge, he saw Chihaya Aine lying on the sofa again with lifeless eyes, like an immortal with the last bit of humanity drained away.

"What's wrong with her?" Turning to look at Nagasaki Suyo standing on the other side, Naruse Ritsu asked curiously.

"Well... maybe I'm just too nervous?"

While tidying up Kaname Rakuna's hair at a leisurely pace, Nagasaki Suyo's mood was completely different from that of Chihaya Aine.

Indeed, no matter whether this live performance is good or bad, for her it is just the difference between "small win", "medium win" and "big win".

If the performance fails, then just declare on the spot that everyone has their own dreams and they are all wonderful;

Even though the performance was average, she also had the reason to "strengthen the band" and recruit new members;

However, the best scenario would be that, based on the success of the performance, Chihaya Aine would realize that the professional stage doesn't need people like her who join for fun - it would be even better if she could voluntarily withdraw from the team.

As she stroked the "cat hair" in her hand, Nagasaki Suyo felt particularly happy.

"Su Shi is in a good mood?"

"Well, I'm the happiest today~"

Facing Ritsu Narose's doubts, Nagasaki Soyo smiled, and this unacted smile made Chihaya Aine, who was sitting on the sofa, feel pressured.

Even Tatsuki Shiina, who used to be in a band with her, looked at her as if she had seen a ghost.

It was clear that she was slacking off at the beginning of the practice, but during the last period of time, Nagasaki Suzuya became quite normal. Shiina Ritz thought about it and felt that only someone's whispering could cause such a big change.

So, Ritsu Naruse had to endure the sharp gaze from Riki Shiina again.

However, for Ritsu Narose, this look was like setting a paralysis trap in the lair of the Thunder Wolf Dragon. It could not be said to be completely useless, but it was like adding fuel to the fire.

Seeing that Rakuna Kaname was sitting obediently on the chair, Ritsu Narose turned his attention to Takamatsu Touma who had been sitting quietly on the edge of the sofa.

"How do the lights feel? Are you used to the atmosphere on set?"

"I……"

"Are you still a little nervous?"

Seeing that the little animal was still a little uneasy, Mingse Ritsu suggested, "How about imagining the audience as other things? Like small stones on the roadside?"

"Hey, that's really rude of you." Shiina Riki refuted his suggestion, looking down at the coffee table in front of him, and then slowly said, "It's enough for Deng to just participate in the live."

"Yeah, after all, in Lixi's heart, even her favorite Afterglow can't compare to the song sung by Deng."

"Hey--"

His inner thoughts were exposed on the spot, and Shiina Riki subconsciously clenched his hands and stared at Narose Ritsu with embarrassment and annoyance.

"Sincerity is a virtue, Shiina-san." Smiling, Naruse Ritsu said calmly, "Are you going to deny what I said?"

Noticing that Takamatsu Touma seemed to be looking at him, Shiina Riki had to fall silent again - just like before.

Patting Takamatsu Deng's shoulder, Narose Ritsu gave her an encouraging look, completely different from the hesitation she had when she talked to her yesterday.

In response to his encouragement, Takamatsu Deng's tightly clenched hands finally relaxed, allowing her to transform her useless worries into the determination necessary to face challenges.

135. Who Played My "Long River Song" (Two in One)

There was only half an hour left before going on stage, and during this final waiting time, everyone's mood became impatient.

Except for Nagasaki Suyo.

Hearing the waves of cheers coming from the audience, the eager Yao Lenai could only sit on a round stool and play the guitar, as if he was enjoying the fun of being on the stage in advance.

However, Shiina Riki, who usually likes to put pressure on everyone, was trying to reduce their pressure at this time, contrary to her usual behavior. She tried to familiarize everyone with the subsequent segments by going over the key points after going on stage in advance.

"The live environment has a strong echo, so you can look at my hand gestures to confirm the rhythm of the guitar." While telling Chihaya Aine this "unconventional method" that the newbie didn't know at all, Shiina Riki looked at Kaname Rana.

"And Wildcat, don't suddenly play guitar during live performances. Wait until the MC of the lights is finished before you start."

The accompaniment guitar is not very strong but has a good attitude, the lead guitar is very strong but plays as she pleases - although Shiina Riki and Nagasaki Motoyo did have the idea of ​​optimizing them both, especially Chihaya Aine, at the beginning, but now she can't have such an idea no matter what.

That's why she would——

"It's a very rare scene... It's worth recording." Ritsu Narose, who was standing aside, continued to shoot the vlog and couldn't help but sigh.

The thought of her appearance being broadcast after the live ended made Shiina Riki's voice suddenly panic. However, the merciless recorder was just faithfully fulfilling his duties, just like when they held a band discussion meeting before.

However, the little farce that Ritsu Narose deliberately caused only lasted a few minutes. In order not to interfere with their performance, Ritsu Narose left the lounge early and chose to wait in the audience.

He looked around, but Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu had not appeared yet - the former was probably on her way home from get off work, while the latter was waiting for the former to get off work.

After asking on Line as a courtesy, Ritsu Narose put his phone back in his pocket and focused his attention on the girls who were coming onto the stage.

His excellent eyesight allowed him to see very clearly that two of the five people on the field had uneasy expressions.

One is Chihaya Aine, and the other is Takamatsu Touma.

The professional venue and the audience below the stage plunged Chihaya Aine into a tense silence.

The stage she had stepped onto once before made Takamatsu Deng see a nightmare from the past, causing her to involuntarily recall that sharp and accurate evaluation.

"The lead singer is trying too hard" - when she thought of this, she...

The dark thoughts in his mind were suddenly dispelled by the blue light not far ahead. Gao Songdeng saw that Mingse Ritsu, who was in the back, was using the blue fluorescent stick in his hand as a blue lightsaber symbolizing courage held by a Jedi Knight, drawing a bright but not dazzling track against the black background.

The lights suddenly came on, illuminating the helplessness on Shiina Riki's face: "What is that guy doing again..."

"Eh...Eh!?"

Chihaya Aine, who also saw the trajectory, suddenly came to her senses and realized her gaffe. She could only give an awkward but polite smile.

Nagasaki Suyo naturally also saw this scene.

While feeling happy, she took the initiative to take on the task of giving the opening remarks so that Takamatsu Deng could use this last bit of time to adjust his mood.

"Nice to meet you. We're just a temporary warm-up band..."

Soft and friendly words came out from the speakers, causing the few audience members to put down their phones temporarily and look curiously at this band that had not even decided on a name.

Standing on an unfamiliar stage in front of an unfamiliar audience was a very challenging task for Chihaya Aine. However, this time, her past hard training paid off.

If she made a mistake because of nervousness, wouldn't all her hard practice, Naruse Ritsu's care and efforts, and the efforts of everyone else be in vain?

The serious sunk cost forced her to take a deep breath and adjust her state. Seeing that Chihaya Aine's condition had inexplicably improved, Shiina Riki, who was sitting in the back, also breathed a sigh of relief.

It was in this situation that their live performance finally began...

As the rapid and compact guitar sounds and intense drum beats echoed in the scene, Ritsu Narose saw Shoko Toyokawa pushing the door and walking in.

Although the venue was a little dark, she, who was in the back row, soon saw Ritsu Narose.

"So Toyokawa-san also has the habit of arriving on time?"

"Because I was just planning to chat with Nagasaki Suyo after the show."

Hearing Toyokawa Shoko's helpless sigh, Naruse Ritsu just smiled and asked, "Where's Wakaba-san? Didn't she come?"

"She went to buy some drinks." At this point, Toyokawa Shoko seemed to recall some strange memory and looked at him with a subtle look. "Did you... did Hemu say something strange?"

"Me?" Naruse Ritsu was a little surprised, flicking the light stick in his hand. But when he was about to look through his memory list, Wakaba Mu came over with two glasses of mango juice.

Looking at the expressionless girl, Naruse Ritsu asked curiously, "Did I say anything strange?"

"?"

Ruoye Mu just tilted his head and looked at him with the same curious eyes - but seemingly without any fluctuation.

Taking the mango juice handed to her by Wakaba Mutsu, Toyokawa Shoko felt that the other party's tactic of using drinks to gag people was becoming more and more proficient, and this style made her discover some similarities in another person in front of her.

Not in the mood to drink, Toyokawa Shoko chose to hand the mango juice to Naruse Ritsu, and looked at the stage in front of her with her arms folded.

"Incredible..." Shoko Toyokawa murmured to herself when she saw Takamatsu Tomo singing hard on the stage again.

"Do you feel the comfort of discovering that your daughter has grown up?"

The touch and joy in her heart were disrupted by Ritsu Narose's words. Toyokawa Shoko could only roll her eyes at him unladylikely while silently acknowledging this strange feeling in her heart.

Seeing that her former friends have now found their own stage, she does not have any gloomy jealousy, but only wishes them well for their future.

Even though Nagasaki Suyo had been pestering her and becoming increasingly annoying, Toyokawa Shoko did not curse her viciously, but instead wished her to enjoy her future activities in the band.

Seeing the expression on Toyokawa Shoko's face gradually soften, Naruse Ritsu silently glanced at Wakaba Mu. From his perspective, he clearly saw the corners of Wakaba Mu's mouth slightly raised.

The loser does not cling to the shadows left by the past and finds a new way out; the lonely can break through the barriers that separate her from others; the hard-working people will eventually be rewarded for what they do... The more she reads, the more she likes peaceful stories like this one with a happy ending.

Stories that seemed like myths and epics were fine, but he was tired of those legends that made people wander in the turbulent power struggles or were hidden in the endless clash of swords.

After the magnificent story comes to an end, people will always return to their peaceful and stable daily lives.

Even the Blue Star, whose strength was a mystery, didn't go hunting every day. She would sit quietly in the base's gathering place, drinking and listening to the melodies played by the musicians.

Even peaceful everyday life can have the power to change people - Ritsu Narose is particularly grateful for the choice he made and is satisfied with it.

So when the singing stopped and the music ended, he offered his applause without hesitation, and then shook the blue glow stick in his hand again, trying to cheer for everyone on the stage.

But this time he forgot one thing, that is, there were two unexpected visitors standing next to him.

"Xiao Xiang..."

When Nagasaki Suyo saw Toyokawa Shoko standing next to Naruse Ritsu, her eyes were full of surprise.

She suddenly had the urge to drop her bass and rush off the stage to ask her why she was there, whether she wanted to return to the band, and why she looked so familiar to Ritsu Naruse.