Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Nagasaki Motoyo's response was so unusually cold and icy that Shiina Riki was stunned for a moment.

"How can it be unrelated? Iruma looked so sad. He's never been like that before!"

Shiina Riki's temper is a little out of control.

In fact, she was just guessing at first, but now she is confirmed.

"Shiina-san cares about Hibiki a lot, are you two close?"

Following Nagasaki Motoyo's question, Shiina Riki was silent for a moment.

Is her relationship with Iruma Hibiki good enough for her to meddle in such matters? However, this thought only flashed through Shiina Riki's mind for a moment.

"You don't have to worry about our relationship, but I am in charge of Iruma's training. If he falls behind in practice, it's my responsibility."

"Shiina-san is truly a reliable teacher."

There was a strange tone in Nagasaki Suyo's voice.

"But we will sort out the matter between Hibiki and I. It was just a small quarrel today. Could you please not meddle in our affairs, Shiina-san?"

Afterwards, her usual sweet voice appeared again, and facing such a Nagasaki Suyo, Shiina Riki finally fell into a helpless situation.

"what……"

Just at this moment, Wakaba Mutsu, who had been following behind Nagasaki Motoyo, made a soft sound, so that Shiina Tatsuki and Nagasaki Motoyo, who had been in a tense atmosphere just now, paused and looked at her.

They had indeed just ignored Ruoye Mu's existence.

"Peaceful and loud, like lovers."

……

It was only when Wakaba Mutsu said this that Nagasaki Motoyo and Shiina Riki noticed that Iruma Hibiki and Toyokawa Shoko, who were walking in front of them, were indeed quite close.

It's completely beyond the level of ordinary friends.

And the cute girl, Deng Takamatsu, who followed behind the two of them and occasionally looked back with a worried look, was like their pet, or even their daughter.

"..."

Shiina Riki heard the muffled sound of Nagasaki Suyo gritting her teeth beside her. In front of her, Nagasaki Suyo clenched her fists, lowered her head, and gritted her teeth, showing a look of great unwillingness and pain.

although--

When she heard Wakaba Mu say that, her heart was not without waves, but at this moment, Shiina Riki also figured out what the most important thing was in an instant.

"I don't want to argue with you, Nagasaki, but if the conflict between you two continues to escalate without anyone knowing, it will be very troublesome to deal with the band's affairs."

Shiina Riki put away his selfish thoughts that no one knew about and said to Nagasaki Motoyo who was obviously on the verge of an emotional outburst.

At this moment, Nagasaki Suyo, who was like an awakened lion just now, suddenly turned into an orange cat that was about to cry. While his eyes became clearer, his original angry look disappeared, and he became pitiful instead.

And Iruma Hibiki also stopped and looked at them.

Shiina Riki looked at Nagasaki Motoyo's sudden change of attitude and actually felt a little relieved. At least she confirmed that the band was also very important to Nagasaki Motoyo. So she didn't stay with Nagasaki Motoyo for too long and caught up with Iruma Hibiki.

25 Wakaba Mutsu's Residence

Sometimes, occasionally, Hibiki Iruma would feel like a bad person.

The kind of hopeless, utterly bad person.

Just like now, on the tram, when he saw Nagasaki Motoyo's expression that looked like she was about to break down, he actually felt a strange sense of joy.

This joy filled every corner of his heart with guilt, so much so that he no longer dared to look at Nagasaki Suyo's face.

But in reality, this joy was probably just a sad and pitiful thought: "It turns out that Su Shi would also be sad because we became friends."

After all, it was just because he still had memories of the past.

Hibiki Iruma laughed at himself.

He vaguely heard the conversation around him, and when he came to his senses, he saw Toyokawa Shoko's profile.

Her amber eyes sparkled with the same brilliance, innocence and gentleness as always, as if they were real amber, sealing these beautiful things.

She was chatting with Takamatsu Deng amid the clanging sound of the train.

The content of the chat seems to be stars.

Once Takamatsu Deng mentions something she likes, it's like a dam is opened. The words accumulated in her daily life and her strong desire to share will make her talk incessantly without caring about anything else.

It's very annoying.

Most people would definitely think so.

But Toyokawa Shoko is different.

What Takamatsu Deng told her was something she had never encountered before but was of interest to her, so the more Toyokawa Shoko listened, the more excited she became, and the more Takamatsu Deng spoke, the more excited she became.

Then the atmosphere of communication between the two became pleasant yet somewhat uninterrupted.

Shiina Riki stood on the other side of Iruma Hibiki, while Wakaba Mutsu and Nagasaki Suyo were a little further away.

"Iruma."

"Ok?"

Just at this moment, Shiina Riki, who noticed Iruma's movement, took the initiative to speak.

"Are you still planning on coming back to Ring's part-time job?"

She asked about something that concerned her as a way to ease the silence at the moment. In fact, Shiina Riki felt a little lonely and isolated just now.

However, she also knew that she had to give Iruma Hibiki some time to think and be quiet, so she endured it.

"Probably not in the next few months, but I might come back to work at Ring during the holidays. After all, I really miss my seniors."

Iruma Hibiki responded.

After all, a few hours of such awkward sadness was enough.

Now he could probably suppress some of his inner disappointment. Even though the damage to the Jiulinjiulinqijiuwu Dam was irreversible, if he tried his best to wipe it out, the mud deep in his heart could be relieved a lot.

The next stop, Linhai Park, was his suggestion, and he couldn't afford to spoil the fun.

Just think of it as being for Shoko Toyokawa, Tomo Takamatsu, Tatsuki Shiina and Mutsu Wakaba.

Iruma Hibiki thought so.

Soothe your mood.

"After all, you're working here entirely for them."

"Haha, after all, those seniors are really something to look up to, aren't they? How did a band like that manage to continue to be so happily active from the very beginning?"

There was some emotion in Hibiki Iruma's question, as well as a hint of his own depth.

"Our bands weren't like this from the beginning. Toyama-senpai once lost his voice, and it took him a lot of effort to get over it."

"That Toyama-senpai?!"

Iruma Hibiki found it a little hard to imagine Toyama Kasumi losing her voice.

"It was said that due to the pressure and stress of performing, he went to the hospital, which caused many people to worry. Fortunately, he recovered well and returned to the stage."

Shiina Riki continued.

"So, it's only natural that you get into trouble, and it's not surprising that you get into arguments. You're not a genius..."

Shiina Riki gritted his teeth.

"If you're not that lucky, you'll just have to face it."

Then she looked at Iruma Hibiki, revealing her own determination and persistence.

"That's true, Shiina."

Iruma responded, then asked with a hint of concern:

"Am I causing trouble for everyone?"

"Yes."

Shiina Riki responded decisively.

"So if you keep acting like this, it'll be very difficult for me. I won't compromise on anything related to the band, not even with you, Iruma."

"Eh?"

Hibiki Iruma asked back in surprise.

In fact, at this moment he noticed something strange.

Even if

Isn’t this turn of events and the vocabulary used here a bit strange?

But soon, Iruma Hibiki put aside his doubts and looked at Shiina Ritsuki, who still looked as if it was a matter of course.

After all—

In fact, Shiina Riki is also a somewhat mature girl. Her dress and makeup are very mature. However, compared with Nagasaki Motoyo, she lacks some of the unique temperament of a college student and still maintains the level of a junior high school student.

Beneath her tough exterior, she is actually an ordinary girl who is soft and fragile.

"Do not worry."

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

"From my side, everything is over."

Then he said this with an unknown mood, and while saying this, he deliberately avoided looking at Nagasaki Suyo.

In the back, Nagasaki Suyo, who was standing with Wakaba Mutsu, had a sad expression on her face that was beyond words.

It is clear.

very obvious.

She no longer knew what to do.

"Why didn't Xiang stop it? If he had, it wouldn't have happened..."

Such thoughts were swirling in her heart.

It was probably at this moment that she understood why she had done that just now.

She just wanted Hibiki Iruma to pay attention to her again, not to ignore her, not to avoid her, and not to be perfunctory.

It's just like the relationship between two people when they just met.

Suddenly, when Nagasaki Suyo was still deeply entangled, Wakaba Mutsu moved.

Nagasaki Suyo was startled by Wakaba Mutsu's actions. She quickly raised her head and then saw Wakaba Mutsu walking towards Iruma Hibiki.

"What's wrong, Wakaba-san?"

Hibiki Iruma looked at Wakaba Mutsu who was walking over with some curiosity.

"nothing."

Wakaba Mutsu shook his head expressionlessly.

"Can I stand here?"

Then she asked a question without any emotion and without any questioning tone.

"no problem."

Hibiki Iruma responded briefly.

"Thank you, Sushi is a little scary."

"Eh?"

When Wakaba Mutsu said this, Shiina Riki looked at Nagasaki Suyo with a little surprise.

"that……"

Now it was Shiina Riki's turn to be a little at a loss. She looked at Iruma Hibiki and then at Nagasaki Suyo.

After all, during the confrontation with Nagasaki Soyo on the night road just now, Shiina Tatsuki actually didn't pay any attention to Nagasaki Soyo's expression.

Until now she had seen a face like that.