Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

I don’t know if Iruma Hibiki was overthinking it, but facing the straightforward Wakaba Mutsu, he felt a little uneasy.

Is this really okay, Wakaba-san?

[Well, location is irrelevant.]

Looking at Wakaba Mu's reply, Iruma Hibiki frowned slightly.

【It doesn't matter? 】

He sat up straight, glanced at the station name, and after confirming that it was still some time before Kasai Station, Iruma Hibiki stared at the screen seriously.

[Rukaba-san...I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean by "insignificant things"...could you please elaborate?]

Hibiki Iruma asked.

Then at the same time, a message came from Shiina Riki:

I found a really cool album. Note 1*

?

Following the mindless message was a sharing of a link.

[Album: Hypochondirac Singer: Brakence]

Completely unable to comprehend the sudden sharing, Hibiki Iruma was at a loss as to how to respond. However, she felt that she had already read it, and if she did not respond at all, it would seem perfunctory.

The other party probably sent it with deep affection?

Perhaps it is somewhat similar to the beautiful moonlight.

Is it the kind of feeling when you see something you like and can’t wait to share it?

But for Hibiki Iruma, now is not the right time to listen to the album, and the sharing without a beginning or an end has made him completely at a loss as to how to continue the topic.

A few seconds later, Tatsuki Shiina added an emoticon that was somewhat cute but also a little weird.

The emoji shows a sad red crab in a graffiti style with a noose hanging above its head, against a melancholy blue background.

This response made Iruma Hibiki even more confused, so he could only let it go for the time being and focus his attention back on Wakaba Mutsu.

【What do you want to say? 】

Wakaba Mu's answer was this.

[Xiang said, if you want to play lead guitar, I'll trade places with you. I can play any position, so it doesn't matter.]

……

Iruma Hibiki looked at Wakaba Mu's reply and took a deep breath.

He then suppressed the strange emotions in his heart and forced himself to remain gentle and calm as he replied:

[Sorry, Wakaba-san, I still need some time to practice, so I'd like you to play the lead guitar.]

[Well, Iruma really needs to practice hard.]

Ruoye Mu replied quickly this time.

He even didn't use any honorifics when addressing her, instead calling her "Iruma".

【Does Xiang know about this? 】

Ruoye Mu then added something more.

[Eh? Toyokawa-san? Why did you mention her?]

If Xiang says it's okay, then it's fine.

……

Finally, Iruma Hibiki roughly understood the source of his discomfort from the beginning.

[This is Wakaba-san's own business, so she should make the decision herself.]

He spoke to Wakaba Mu in a slightly stern tone.

"Besides—this is everyone's band. For the sake of the performance, such an important position can't be completely indifferent. And I don't think you completely trust me to handle the lead guitar part, Wakaba-san."

【Well, Iruma is still lacking. 】

Ruoye Mu once again replied to the message within seconds.

This time, the person who was speechless was Hibiki Iruma.

I understand. I'll continue to play lead guitar.

Until new news came from Ruoye Mu.

On the other side, Ruoye Mu was sitting upright in his chair, holding his cell phone, with a faint, barely perceptible smile on his face.

She stared at the message for a long time.

Such chats are actually very rare for her.

especially--

She actually didn't hate that at all and would care what she thought of Hibiki Iruma.

During the first meeting, when Hibiki Iruma asked her what she thought, she was very happy. Although her response in the end was not very good, but——

There's a feeling of having made a decision myself.

That was probably one of the few things that could make Ruoye Mu feel such emotions.

Just like this moment.

"I'll talk to Toyokawa-san about this. Wakaba-san, I think it would be better if you had some ideas of your own regarding the band."

At the end, Hibiki Iruma ended his conversation with Mutsu Wakaba that day with these words.

Then I started to deal with Tatsuki Shiina's album.

[Guitar, do you want my help...?]

The word "guitar" remained in Wakaba Mu's chat box.

But after thinking for a long time, she deleted all the words. Then she packed up her things on time and prepared to wash up and go to bed.

As for Hibiki Iruma, she didn't fully recover from the chaos of the night until the next morning.

The reason for coming to his senses is very simple.

This morning, Ijichi Hongxia was very friendly.

Of course, using the word "relative" is like describing Ijichi Hongxia as some kind of cute little animal, but that is indeed the case.

This morning, Ijichi Hongxia and Iruma Xiang talked a lot about Wu Yiqi's father and interacted a lot.

even--

Hibiki Iruma looked at the snacks and Goodbaby juice on the table and felt a little confused.

When Ijichi Hongxia took out these, he thought it was some special festival, but after checking again and again, he found that there was nothing.

"Ijichi, today really isn't some special occasion? Like, your birthday or something?"

"Eh? No, didn't you come to my birthday, Iruma?"

"Ah...that's right."

Iruma Hibiki still remembers that it happened around the time after the Golden Week.

At Ijichi Hongka's birthday party, he was like a dead child, reluctantly celebrating Ijichi Hongka's birthday. Then, Chihaya Aine, who couldn't stand him anymore, hit him hard with a small piece of cake, causing his nostrils to be filled with cream and he coughed several times. Then -

Because he couldn't defeat Chihaya Aine, Hibiki Iruma chose to attack Nikka Ijichi.

Then there was a chaotic fight.

Although it is a relatively long memory, I can still feel it when I think back. He was definitely happy at that time, and it was a rare sunshine in those days.

“Come to think of it, we had a lot of fun back then.”

Ijichi Hongxia said with emotion.

"Yeah, the subsequent cleanup is also very troublesome..."

"Hahaha."

Ijichi Hongxia laughed out loud.

She looked at Iruma Hibiki's face, and felt a little guilty.

After all, she has been like this since this morning—

Because Yamada Ryo's plan was to be kept secret during the preparation stage, Iruma Hibiki could not be informed for the time being. Therefore, Ijichi Nikka always felt guilty that she was secretly plotting against Iruma Hibiki.

This guilt made her feel that she had to compensate Iruma Hibiki in order to feel a little relieved.

but--

"Come to think of it, yesterday was your band's rehearsal, wasn't it? Did you enjoy it?"

Ijichi Hongxia asked.

“It’s very hard.”

But Iruma Hibiki's response was a deep sigh.

"Eh?!"

Probably at this moment, the smile on Ijichi Hongka's face disappeared.

Her heart skipped a beat.

After all, the only thing she didn't want to hear was probably—

That is Iruma Hibiki or Chihaya Aine, who cannot find happiness.

14 The doodles you make when you are distracted in class are a true confession of your feelings

When did you start to subconsciously take care of the people around you and treat everyone gently?

Maybe Ijichi Hongxia doesn't remember it either.

After all, most people don't remember the initial opportunity for such things. It's as if they are born with the ability to be gentle to others and worry about the suffering of others.

Iruma Hibiki's face was filled with fatigue and a hint of helplessness. He quickly changed the subject:

"Ijichi, how are you guys doing? How's the new guitar lead vocalist?"

"Kita... um... how should I put it..."

"Kita?"

"Yeah! The new lead guitarist is Kita. Come to think of it, she seems to be from the same school as Goto-san, and she also knows you, Iruma."

"Well, I've received some care from her before."

Hibiki Iruma still remembers Kita, whom he met when he first went to Xiugao.

After all, that fiery red hair and overly sunny and cheerful personality would definitely leave a deep impression on people even if he hadn't taken a helicopter and rushed into the classroom to take the protagonist away when he was at his worst.

"But if it's Kita, the band should be fine. Congratulations, Hongxia."

"actually……"

Ijichi Hongxia looked a little conflicted and thoughtful.

"what happened?"

Facing such a Nikka Ijichi, Hibiki Iruma suddenly became serious. After all, there was a bit of confusion on Ijichi Nikka's face, just like when she had cutely asked him to form a band before.

"I'm a little worried about Kita, because she's a complete fan of you and Ryo, Iruma."

……

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment.

"She seems to have chosen to join the band entirely because of you and Ryo, and sometimes, she likes Ryo a little too much."

Ijichi Hongxia sat backwards, lying on Iruma Xiang's desk and complaining softly.

It looks a bit hard and helpless.