Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

「That’s true… It shouldn’t matter to me, Mutsu-chan, and Nagasaki-san, but as for you, Hibiki…」

"I'll definitely be there, but I'd better check with Touma and Shiina first so they don't feel overly pressured."

[Speaking of which, they're pretty close to Moon Forest. I can pick them up. I'll contact them!]

……

The conversation between Toyokawa Shoko and Iruma Hibiki ends.

Wakaba Mutsuya, who was peeking, withdrew his gaze and returned to his usual self.

[I can't find Kita at all, but Pochi-chan is totally fine.]

On the tram, Iruma Hibiki was leaning against the railing next to the door, with an umbrella hanging on his left hand that was a little torn by the strong wind. He was looking at the message on his mobile phone and was a little unsure whether he should respond to Ijichi Koka at this moment.

【Didn't Kita go to school? 】

"Well, no, her classmates didn't say anything either. But speaking of which, Pochi is doing well. I saw her chatting with her classmates when I went there."

【real or fake? 】

Faced with the news about Ijichi Kouka, Iruma Hibiki showed a surprised expression.

"Really? I don't know why Pochi ignored me when I said hello, and then class started, so I left."

【That's because Goto-san lost consciousness.】

Hibiki Iruma quickly came to his conclusion.

Then he breathed a sigh of relief. It was really great that during the short time when he was away from the band, Goto Ichiri was not abducted by aliens and transformed into an abnormal human or an alien spy.

If such a thing really happened, he didn't want to ride a bicycle with Goto Ichiri, who had rolled himself up like a bamboo wheel with a quilt, to receive alien radio signals.

Although such a thing sounds romantic, it is too strange no matter how you look at it. Although he doesn't have any rigid count of youth points, his life will be over if all the points are deducted.

But he would still decline such a weird thing for the time being.

Yamada-san said he'll send me the sheet music later. I'll try my best to practice. If Kita still can't be found by tomorrow, I'll take on the rhythm guitar part. As for the vocals—

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment.

How about having Chihaya-san come? 】

【Eh? ! 】

Ijichi Hongxia responded very quickly, and at this moment she was also surprised by her response.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki had never thought of this method at first. The moment he came up with this idea, he recalled the painting in Ijichi Kouka's notebook.

Although her guitar skills aren't great, Chihaya's singing skills are definitely decent, and she definitely wouldn't refuse to help.

【It just so happens that Chihaya-san hasn't left for England yet, so we should be able to catch up.】

[Yes, is it possible? ]

Faced with Iruma Hibiki's proposal, Ijichi Nijika actually——

She felt anticipation, but at the same time, Ijichi Hongxia felt that her anticipation was very bad.

Not gentle at all.

But she really, really wanted to—

Playing with Hibiki Iruma and Aine Chihaya, the people who initially supported her ideals and walked with her through the busiest and most difficult days.

Even if it's only once in a lifetime.

But what if Xiduo comes back tomorrow?

Do you want to refuse Kita from going on stage?

how is this possible.

So at this moment, when the long-awaited happiness was within reach, it was as if she was touching a cotton pillow with steel needles hidden inside.

Beneath the soft and happy touch is a piercing pain that pierces the heart.

I'll contact Chihaya-san. Anyway, Chihaya-san will definitely not miss your performance, Ijichi.

Iruma Hibiki responded.

Mixed feelings.

Just like at this moment, Ijichi Hongka is in the same complicated mood.

Speaking of the goal of [bringing Iruma back], can it be achieved?

Ijichi Hongka looked at Iruma Hibiki's reliable reply and thought leisurely.

"I'll discuss this with Chihaya-san. If Kita comes back, we'll cheer for you from the audience."

Finally, Iruma Hibiki noticed the slightly uncomfortable mood on Ijichi Kouka's side, so he added a word with sympathy.

As for Chihaya Aine, she naturally did not refuse and agreed readily.

He even pestered Hibiki Iruma and asked if he could record the video.

Obviously, her vanity has struck again.

32. The things you communicate on the phone are definitely important.

Iruma's cell phone rang.

In fact, such things are a bit strange. After all, in the past, for a period of time that was roughly the total time of Iruma Hibiki's two lives combined, he usually did not receive any calls other than harassing ones, so he developed the habit of not answering any calls. There were often dozens of missed calls piled up on that green button.

Of course it’s not that I won’t answer.

At first, or even occasionally later on, he would answer these calls, perhaps with a glimmer of hope—[Could it be a call from a friend he didn't even know about, one that had finally come through countless hardships?]

Thinking this way, it was natural that Hibiki Iruma would be disappointed every time he received a message.

【Real Estate Agency】

【Bank Salesperson】

【Communications Company Advertisement】

……

These are the general results, and that’s how it should be.

Therefore, the call function of the mobile phone does not exist for Iruma Hibiki.

but--

【Chihaya Aine】

This time, the call showed the note he had specially made, and even a pink lotus avatar that he had deliberately found, the same one that Chihaya Aine used on social software.

Because he has few friends and even fewer ways to contact them, Iruma Hibiki carefully wrote notes for each one.

For example, Chihaya Aine in front of us is:

【Important bandmate.】

"Hey?"

After pressing the green button somewhat awkwardly, Iruma Hibiki placed the phone's speaker against his ear, then moved the receiver toward his mouth.

This kind of action seemed unfamiliar to him, and even made him miss it a little.

When was the last time?

He can no longer remember, his memory is very vague.

"I'm sorry to call you at this hour. I hope I didn't disturb you, Iruma-san?"

Chihaya Aine was lying on the sofa in a thin nightgown, her feet swinging up and down behind her, as if she was traveling on the sofa. In front of her was her tablet, on which the beauty program "Meow Dream" was paused. The progress bar had only moved less than 40%, and the picture was frozen on Meow Dream holding a bottle of concealer.

"No, but... it's rare for you to call directly, Chihaya-san."

Iruma Hibiki looked at the time. There were still 40 minutes before the rehearsal, so he still had time to chat with Chihaya Aine for a while in the station where the rain was pouring.

"Iruma-san, don't you often chat with your friends on the phone?"

Chihaya Aine asked in surprise.

"Before I met you, I didn't have any friends close enough to call, but to be honest, I did talk to the real estate agent for a long time."

"Hey! Sorry..."

An apology voice came from Chihaya Aine's side. Obviously, she thought she had touched Iruma Hibiki's sore spot, while Iruma Hibiki smiled gently.

"It's okay. Chihaya-san, do you want to talk to me about the performance? Of course, although I have invited you, Chihaya-san, if it's not convenient for you, it's better not to force yourself."

Iruma Hibiki spoke considerately.

But in fact--

If Chihaya Aine said it was inconvenient here, he didn't know what to do. Should he grab Takamatsu Touma and go over to end the band's performance?

Although Hibiki Iruma didn't think that Takamatsu Tomo would refuse, he always had a feeling that Toyokawa Shoko would fight to the death with him. After all, Toyokawa Shoko cared about Takamatsu Tomo very much and treated Takamatsu Tomo as her own treasure.

The relationship might be like that between a dragon and gold coins, or the only one of its kind.

"You guessed it right! It doesn't matter to me at all if there's a performance. I will definitely be there."

Chihaya Aine's voice on the other end was firm.

"only……"

Then there was a hint of hesitation and a turn in her tone.

She turned over slightly, and the sound of fabric rubbing against each other was very clear, but the sound of rain on Iruma's side was actually very loud, so he didn't hear it.

Similarly, as she turned over, the paper that Chihaya Aine was pressing under her body was also exposed.

At this moment, the high-quality test paper had many wrinkles on it, and at the top of the test paper there was a line of bold and widened words - TOEFL real test questions self-test.

Next to this line of words, there is a lovely handwriting written in red ballpoint pen [67].

This is Chihaya Aine's score.

When such scarlet handwriting appeared in front of Chihaya Aine, she deliberately pushed it away. However, perhaps because the soft sofa was very comfortable to lie on, and she felt a little soft and weak after taking a hot bath, Chihaya Aine's movements at this moment were a little too lazy.

There was a hint of coquettishness and disgust in her pushing the paper away. The paper was not pushed very far, but flew to the ground just right and landed in a corner where Chihaya Aine could not see it.

"Iruma-san, I'm a little worried about whether I can do well. If Iruma-san is the one asking me for help, this performance must be very important to Ijichi-san and the others, right?"

Chihaya Aine closed her eyes, slightly pulled the blanket covering her body, and then held the phone tightly as if to immerse herself in it, listening to the heavy rain and silence from Iruma Hibiki's side.

After a pause, Iruma Hibiki spoke:

"Actually, I'm worried about this, too. Actually, I probably won't get the score until tonight, and I only have 30 minutes to rehearse tomorrow before the performance. There's hardly any time left, and if it's important—"

"If this performance fails, Ijichi will cry."

After those simple words, Chihaya Aine heard the deafening silence of Iruma Hibiki.

"But Chihaya-san agreed even though she was worried. That's really impressive."

Soon, perhaps because Iruma Hibiki himself realized that the atmosphere was not right, he quickly praised Chihaya Aine to ease the atmosphere. Apparently, this worked well, and soon a response came from Chihaya Aine:

"Since it's your request, Iruma-san, I can't refuse it in any way."

"Are you not afraid of making a fool of yourself on stage tomorrow?"

When she heard this question, Chihaya Aine frowned at first, then sighed, but in the end a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Of course I'm scared! Super scared! If my classmates knew I made a fool of myself on stage as the lead singer, I wouldn't be able to survive!"

Chihaya Aine spoke to Iruma Hibiki in an exaggerated manner, and her voice, which was a little lazy and cute, made Iruma Hibiki laugh uncontrollably.

After all, this is the vain Chihaya Aine.

"But—I haven't considered rejecting you, Iruma-san. And if Ijichi-san cries... then I'll have to go even more."

"Chihaya-san is surprisingly nice."

"What's the unexpected thing? Huh?!"

Facing Iruma Hibiki's teasing, Chihaya Aine retorted with a cute question.

"Hahaha, just kidding, Chihaya-san, I think we should be feeling the same right now."

Iruma Hibiki became serious and earnest in the middle of the conversation. He looked at the rain in front of him, and the joking tone had completely disappeared.