Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

The news about Kita appeared in front of Iruma Hibiki, and it brought Iruma Hibiki back to his senses from his boundless anxiety while he was waiting for a reply from Toyokawa Shoko.

[Aside from band practice, which I do, I don't have any special plans.]

When replying like this, Iruma Hibiki actually had a slight premonition.

After all, generally speaking, you only ask if someone is free when you want to make a date, right?

"So, Iruma-san, are you interested in this? I happen to have an extra ticket!"

The photo appeared in front of Hibiki Iruma a moment later than the invitation.

That was the official announcement of a concert——

It seemed to be a joint performance by a girl band near Ikebukuro. Iruma Hibiki had paid attention to the developments in this regard before, but the tickets were really hard to get, and concerts were a bit too much for him, so he never considered it.

[I don't have any friends around me who can go to the concert with me...]

is that a lie.

This was Hibiki Iruma's first reaction to the news about Kita.

After all, he didn't dare to look directly at Kita's account. The lively and wonderful life on it often made him doubt his life after reading it.

For example, what -

"Damn it! Why did I end up in this guy's body? Where's my brilliant life?!"

Such thoughts always come to my mind inexplicably.

Therefore, at least in Iruma Hibiki's opinion, "A friend with no one to go with" is definitely a lie of Kita, a fake. But on the other hand, such thinking still has some narcissistic elements, and it is better to believe that Kita is real.

[Sure, I have no problem with Saturday.]

【Then it’s a deal! 】

The news from Kita's side, even from the text alone, has some joy in it, and seems to be looking forward to it.

So as expected——

This must be a scam, a thing like an extra ticket.

Iruma Hibiki, feeling a little annoyed, waited for a while but still received no response from Kita, so he simply closed the chat box and stared at his computer screen.

Then he saw that Goto Ichiri's Steam account seemed to be online, so he sent her a game application with the mentality of giving it a try.

After a while, a reply came from Goto Ichiri, and she quickly opened the server and sent an invitation to Iruma Hibiki.

After entering the game for a while, the two people's voice channel was also connected.

"Good evening, Goto-san."

"good evening!"

There was a hint of energy and joy in Goto Ichiri's voice, as if he had been looking forward to the current situation for a long time.

And Iruma Hibiki also felt a subtle sense of nostalgia. After all, he seemed to have spent a lot of interesting time in the game with Goto Ichiri during the previous summer vacation.

But after school started, he became busy with various things and never touched games again.

“A lot has changed.”

After re-entering the server, Hibiki Iruma took a look around his and Goto Ichiri's home, and was surprised to find that Goto Ichiri seemed to have quietly advanced the progress of the game a lot.

The business inventory, which was almost exhausted, was now filled with three or four large boxes, and all kinds of tools and weapons were piled up on the table. Downstairs, the vehicles that were originally broken down because of their deaths were now brand new. They were repaired and carefully parked on the lawn.

Hibiki Iruma couldn't even imagine the amount of time Goto Ichiri had spent playing this game alone.

Thinking of this, he quietly cut out -

He bought the double pack of this game with Ichiri Goto.

Apart from playing with Goto Ichiri, he had never played alone or with others, so until the end of summer vacation, the game time he and Goto Ichiri had played was the same, about 190 hours.

But at this moment, Goto Ichiri's game time is approaching the 300-hour mark.

No matter how you look at it, the length of such games has increased a bit scary.

After all, the new semester hasn’t started for long yet.

The establishment of Crychic is actually just around the corner.

"Sorry! I messed with the layout here because there's no room for anything! I'm going to go throw all this stuff away!"

As he said this, Goto Ichiri began to dismantle the wooden box he had built.

Then he threw the supplies he had worked so hard to find downstairs one by one.

"Wait! These are all things Goto-kun worked so hard to collect. It would be a shame to just throw them away. Want to go to Louisville again? With all these supplies, I think I could travel around the world."

Hibiki Iruma suggested.

"Um!!!"

"I wouldn't dare go to a large place by myself! The car is right downstairs, and the fuel tanks are ready!"

As if it had been long awaited——

Well, it can’t be said to be long-awaited at all. The more accurate word here is long-planned.

When Iruma Hibiki got into the car, she realized how well prepared Goto Ichiri was. She had packed almost all the supplies needed for the long journey in this two-seater Matador fire truck. She was even so meticulous that the supplies were categorized into special bags according to their use for easy access and searching.

"Then let's go, Goto-kun."

Iruma Hibiki got into the driver's seat without hesitation.

"Ok!"

Then, with the sound of the passenger door closing and the roar of the car's engine, Iruma Hibiki and Goto Ichiri's doomsday journey began.

"Turn left at the bend ahead. There's a warehouse next to it that could be dangerous!"

"Ah, there's a car wreck marked ahead, be careful of a collision."

“You can refill your water here!”

……

Hibiki Iruma was driving the car, and Ichiri Goto was acting as the navigator. After a long journey of five days and five nights, they arrived at Louisville, the big city where the two had died before.

The nervous Goto Ichiri was ready for battle almost as soon as he got out of the car.

But this time was different from before, both of them had a rough idea of the route into the city.

"Speaking of which, what does Goto-san think of Kita?"

While waiting for the meal and reading the notes, Iruma Hibiki suddenly said.

"Eh?"

Such a topic made Goto Ichiri subconsciously stunned for a moment.

"Kita..."

Then she murmured Kita's name.

The image of the girl with fiery red hair who was a little difficult for her to handle came to her mind.

"Xiduo wouldn't be the kind of person who would run away without permission!"

Then, Goto Ichiri said this a little loudly.

"She must have her own reasons, because... she didn't even run away from me, and..."

This time, Goto Ichiri was silent for a long time. Iruma Hibiki had clearly eaten the cucumber in his hand, but he was still waiting there.

"Kita, she likes you, Iruma-san..."

Then, Goto Ichiri said this, not knowing what kind of mood he was in.

In the game, the little figure in a pink sweatshirt that she was controlling put away the weapon in her hand while speaking this and circled around the little figure of Iruma Hibiki.

55 When you are troubled, please believe that it is my decision.

Goto Ichiri's eyes were focused on the screen in front of him. He didn't know when Goto Jiri's noise and Jimmy Henry's running sound had disappeared. It was late at night and the game should be over, but Goto Ichiri was still reluctant to leave and stayed in front of the computer.

She twisted her body slightly.

It seems that she hasn't taken a shower today.

It's a bit late now no matter how you look at it.

Tomorrow is Monday and I still have to go to school, but——

"like?"

There was a hint of strangeness in Hibiki Iruma's question.

"Well, Kita said she envied Iruma-san for singing on stage, and Ryo-senpai too... So, Kita must have done something, she definitely didn't run away..."

"my words……"

Goto Ichiri seemed to want to say something else.

Her hesitant voice came through the headphones.

"I feel that Kita is very enviable, whether it's expressing her aspirations honestly or deciding to become the lead singer... If it were me, I would never be able to do it..."

"That's it..."

Iruma Hibiki sighed slightly.

"So... it would be nice if Kita could come back... Come to think of it, isn't it my fault? After all, I'm not very likable. Maybe I made Kita angry someday, and she stopped coming..."

"Hehehehe... am I the one who should quit the band?"

Seeing that Goto Ichiri was once again overcome by inferiority, Iruma Hibiki sighed helplessly.

Actually——

Goto Ichiri is really a good girl. At least in Iruma Hibiki's mind, Goto Ichiri definitely has the capital to stand on the stage with pride.

Her music, her voice, and the occasional moments of courage that blossomed were truly moving and beautiful.

Iruma Hibiki closed his eyes, but the voice of Goto Ichiri, who had been singing for a while, still surfaced in his mind. At that time, Goto Ichiri's voice—

It's amazing.

The courage and emotions contained in it are something that even Iruma Hibiki himself believes he cannot achieve.

"That's not true."

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

"Well, yes, it's not."

In fact, Iruma Hibiki was planning to say something, but he didn't expect that before he could say the comforting words, Goto Ichiri responded first.

"I can't possibly quit the band Iruma-san recommended me to join..."

Listening to Goto Ichiri's mumbling, Iruma Hibiki fell silent.

Because he knew that Goto Ichiri was now trapped in his own world, and it was useless to say anything.

"And if I don't join the band, my life will definitely be over. I'm not very good at studying and I'm a fool. I definitely won't be able to go to college, let alone work. If I work as a waiter, I will definitely be sentenced to death the next day..."

"Hahaha... I can only support myself through music... If I quit the band, my life will be over..."

"By then, I'll definitely be a shut-in in my room, drinking. I'll be old enough to get married, but still alone. Because my skirt was blown away, I won't dare go out again—"

"Oh, sorry, I was distracted for a moment."

After a few minutes of being out of control, Goto Ichiri regained consciousness, but her mood was visibly depressed.

In the game, her little character just completed a lot of complicated actions.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki noticed that Goto Ichiri was very involved in the game and would deliberately express her emotions and thoughts in the game.

Hibiki Iruma wanted to say something to comfort Ichiri Goto.

I also want to say something light-hearted.

but--

Unable to speak.

After all, Iruma Hibiki has also thought about Goto Ichiri's concerns about the future.

What kind of person do you want to be in the future?