Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

When Takamatsu Deng turned around, she was startled by Toyokawa Shoko's appearance, and a cautious look appeared on her face again.

"Are we at our destination yet?! Great! Planetarium—shall we all go in together?"

Looking at the stubborn Shoko Toyokawa, Hibiki Iruma felt like laughing.

It is rare and interesting to see Miss Toyokawa Shoko, who rarely cares about others, showing off like this.

but--

Because of this, Iruma Hibiki also felt a sense of security.

Looking at the strong-willed Shoko Toyokawa at this moment, he always had a feeling that, ah, he had found the right person.

"Takamatsu-san, let's go buy tickets together. Toyokawa-san, you can wait for us on that bench over there. The ticket booth looks crowded, so we can just go there."

"Yeah! Iruma-san, just wait here for me! I'm very familiar with buying tickets!"

Takamatsu Touma looked eager to try, which was very cute, while Iruma Hibiki looked at Toyokawa Shoko and then at Takamatsu Touma, and after some hesitation, he nodded.

"Then I'll trouble you, Takamatsu-san. As for the money..."

"It's okay if I ask Iruma-san and Toyokawa-san to look at it!"

Gao Songdeng spoke quickly.

She seemed eager to share what she loved.

No.

She wasn't actually impatient about it.

What she couldn't wait for was probably—the 85th year of the 18th century?

Being recognized and acknowledged by those around you, knowing that others also like what you like, and being able to——

Become human.

It doesn't matter if I can't become a human.

She wants to be friends with Hibiki Iruma and Shoko Toyokawa.

No longer alone.

Like an outlier in the crowd.

Gao Songdeng thought so urgently.

"Then next time, as a reward, I'll treat you."

Toyokawa Shoko actually didn't care too much about this kind of mutual treat. After all, in her opinion, the tickets to the planetarium were actually very cheap and there was no need to worry about them.

but--

For the time being, three 3 yen tickets shouldn't cause too much damage to Takamatsu's wallet, right?

Iruma Hibiki thought with a little worry.

And Takamatsu Deng had already run quickly to the ticket office to buy a ticket.

"Let's take a rest."

After Takamatsu Deng ran away, Iruma Hibiki spoke gently to Toyokawa Shoko, and then he handed her a pack of tissues.

"Come to think of it, we can actually take the bus two stops over here."

Iruma Hibiki looked at the road sign erected on the side of the road, and skillfully bought two cups of mocha coffee from the beverage vending machine on the side. He handed one of them to Toyokawa Shoko.

"By the way, Toyokawa-san, what does Takamatsu-san usually like to drink?"

"Mocha, that's what she ordered when we first met."

Iruma Hibiki didn't know why he always wanted to laugh when he looked at Toyokawa Shoko at this moment.

After all, the sight of the panting and disheveled eldest lady with slightly disheveled hair and a body covered in sweat was somewhat novel.

Then, accompanied by another loud noise, Iruma Hibiki bought a cup of room temperature mocha coffee and put it in his mouth, intending to give it to Takamatsu Deng later.

【The main performance time is 9:30 pm】

It's written on the sign at the planetarium at the entrance.

The current time is 6:20

It was almost dinner time.

"Looks like we'll have to have dinner out. Later, we'll treat Takamatsu-san."

"okay."

Toyokawa Shoko responded softly, obviously still not fully recovered.

And Iruma Hibiki didn't say anything else, just sat next to Toyokawa Shoko and looked at the Takamatsu Touma lined up in the distance.

It was not until about 10 minutes later that Shoko Toyokawa came to her senses a little.

"It's really hard."

Iruma Hibiki noticed Toyokawa Shoko's little action and took the initiative to speak.

"But it's fun! This is my first time doing something like this. And, planetarium, has Iruma-san ever seen the stars?"

"Seen."

"Eh!"

Toyokawa Shoko showed a shocked expression.

"Although I was born into a good family, I'm not a lady like Toyokawa-san."

"That kind of talk is a bit offensive, please stop saying it, Iruma-kun."

Iruma laughed, then looked at the sunset which was now a little late.

"Okay, I live near Kasai Station, where there's a seaside park. At night, there's very little light pollution, and the darkest spots are very dark, so you can see a lot of stars. The number of stars would probably surprise anyone looking up at the sky for the first time. Of course, it's still very different from the Milky Way-filled sky seen in movies and TV shows."

There was a hint of nostalgia and emotion in his tone.

"Rinhai Park! I want to go! Next time, let's invite Takamatsu-san to go together?"

"That's fine with me."

Iruma Hibiki responded to Toyokawa Shoko.

"We need to invite everyone in the band too. I wonder if Mu and Shiina-san have time."

Toyokawa Shoko mentioned Wakaba Mutsu. Actually, at this time, she wanted to mention Nagasaki Suyo, but——

In fact, she was probably aware of the subtle relationship between Nagasaki Suyo and Iruma Hibiki, so she did not mention her name here.

"I don't know about Wakaba-san, but Shiina is definitely free except for Saturdays."

Iruma Hibiki said with certainty.

To some extent, he knew Shiina Riki's daily life very well.

After all, she had told him in person that, apart from her part-time job, she spent all her time on music, which made her a super hard worker in a sense.

Of course, at this moment, Iruma Hibiki was actually a little curious about Toyokawa Shoko's reaction just now——

"So why were you surprised just now? This wasn't my first time stargazing?"

Hibiki Iruma asked Shoko Toyokawa curiously.

He was actually a little concerned about Toyokawa Shoko's reaction just now.

"Because—if everyone's experiencing this for the first time, it would be fun, right? Experiencing all the firsts together! That's also my ideal for forming a band!"

Toyokawa Shoko responded to Iruma Hibiki, her face full of expectation and ideals, and slightly dazzling.

It was a kind of dazzling brilliance that was different from that of Ijichi Hongka.

Iruma Hibiki was actually a little dazed for a moment.

But he reacted quickly, and thank God, he did not show any strange expression in front of Toyokawa Shoko at that moment.

If I were to be told—

"Iruma-san, you're disgusting."

In this case.

Iruma Hibiki probably felt that he would lose the courage to live.

19 Three people watching the stars, two people worrying

Is Shiina free this week? Would you like to go to Rinkai Park in Kasai Ward to watch the stars together?

Iruma Hibiki sent a message to Shiina Riki.

Of course, their conversation was actually a bit awkward.

Anyway, it was a discussion about the album after the album sharing that day. Although the album was good and Iruma Hibiki had listened to it carefully many times, it was indeed a bit strange that the only content of the conversation was about the album.

[When? What time? Are we the only ones here?]

Shiina Riki's reply came quickly.

[The exact time hasn't been confirmed yet, but it will probably start around 8: and end before the last bus. Everyone in the band should be there.]

[I understand. Just let me know when the specific time is set.]

I don’t know why, but Iruma Hibiki always feels that Shiina Riki’s subsequent performance seems a bit disappointing?

[Shiina, don’t you like stars? ]

So Iruma Hibiki asked.

【What about you, Iruma? 】

As a result, his question was thrown back by Shiina Riki.

I think I like it.

[Yeah, I like it too.]

Shiina Riki replied quickly.

[If it will disturb your practice, forget it.]

Feeling a little worried, Hibiki Iruma thought for a while and decided to continue confirming.

[This should be a headache for you, right? How was the previous practice? ]

[It's going very smoothly. I'm working hard to the point of no error.]

Facing Shiina Riki's question, Iruma Hibiki suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders.

"Xiao Mu agreed."

Toyokawa Shoko also got the answer.

After all, the reason I confirmed it with everyone so quickly was because the line at the observatory was a bit long tonight. After all, it was a last-minute decision and I couldn't make an appointment online. It always takes more time to grab tickets offline.

[I will go. Just let me know the specific time when the time comes. You know my working hours.]

【no problem. 】

After responding to Shiina Riki, Iruma Hibiki opened the chat box with Nagasaki Motoyo.

[Does Xiang have any plans for today? ]

About an hour ago, Nagasaki Suyo asked him this.

There's nothing special about it.

Iruma Hibiki responded first, and then repeated the invitation he had made to Shiina Riki to Nagasaki Motoyo.

"It's fine on my end, Shiina and Suyo both said it's okay."

"That's great. Takamatsu-san is usually free, too."

"It's better to ask again to confirm, and then find a time that's convenient for everyone."

Hibiki Iruma said to Shoko Toyokawa.

"Yeah! Let's do it! By the way, is Takamatsu-san okay? (The text then abruptly shifts topics.)"