Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"I'm sorry Shiina, I said something strange, but I still want to convey my feelings to you, I..."

Iruma Hibiki knew the pressure Shiina Riki was under.

I also know about the existence of Shiina Maki.

After all, he was there when Shiina Riki was choosing the band, and he knew Shiina Riki's plans and goals very well.

"I really want to prove to the world on stage that you, Shiina, are a great and reliable drummer..."

Iruma Hibiki said seriously.

There was a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you Shiina."

"what……"

At this moment, there was only a hoarse sound left in Shiina Riki's throat.

"do not talk like that……"

"I……"

She wasn't very good at talking, and her emotions and attitudes often ruined her interpersonal relationships. So when goodwill was naturally extended, Shiina Riki——

Yes, that was why she had no choice but to take advantage of the situation.

"I wish Crychic could help you find what you want, Shiina."

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

His phone had actually been popping up chat logs since the beginning.

Most of them are private messages from Nagasaki Suyo.

Nagasaki Suyo was extremely angry about Shiina Tachikawa's actions.

Yes, in the final analysis——

It was just Goto Ichiri's business at first, but she...

Let alone now.

"I'm sorry, Iruma. This is my fault. I will discuss this with you before making any decision."

When there was nothing more to say and she herself was unable to continue, Shiina Riki took the initiative to end the call with the excuse of "I've arrived at the school gate."

But in fact, she plans to skip class today.

And I prepared an excuse to skip class early on.

She huddled in front of the computer in her room, her whole body curled up.

On the screen, everyone’s chat history in the group is constantly refreshing.

And on the other end.

Iruma Hibiki watched the phone call end and couldn't feel at ease.

But the mental and physical exhaustion made him no longer care about anything else. He contacted Nagasaki Suyo and responded to her message.

Then he lay on the bed in the hotel as if in a coma.

And Iruma Hibiki disappeared.

In fact, it became the end point of this conflict.

"Xiang."

Wakaba Mutsu, who was next to Toyokawa Shoko, called out softly to Toyokawa Shoko, who was standing still.

"Are you still coming to rehearsal?"

She asked Toyokawa Shoko.

"Today, Mutsuki will go... After all, I was the one who said I couldn't go at the beginning. Now Shiina-san has made arrangements... And Hibiki has said so too. I can't go and cause trouble for everyone..."

The moment Toyokawa Shoko said this, Wakaba Mutsu was greatly shaken.

Such a statement actually far exceeded Wakaba Mu's expectations.

In Wakaba Mu's mind, Toyokawa Shoko should never have reacted like this at this time...

“Everyone will be sad when Xiang is gone.”

So Ruoye Mu persisted for once.

Because Iruma Hibiki took care of her:

If Shiina goes too far, she'll call a halt.

So Wakaba Mutsu followed Iruma Hibiki's orders accurately.

"But Xiao Mu..."

Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head.

"It seems like the band can go on even without me."

She spoke slightly self-willed words.

Probably at this moment, Toyokawa Shoko felt a little panicked and expected to get a response and the comfort that should come from Wakaba Mutsu.

"Without Xiang, Crychic will be over."

Wakaba Mu responded.

"Xiao Mu wants me to tell everyone now that I can attend rehearsal again today?"

Shoko Toyokawa once again asked Wakaba Mutsuyuki to confirm something.

"Hiriya hopes Xiang would say that."

……

In front of Wakaba Mutsu, Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth slightly, revealing an extremely shaken look, then she ran towards the Moon Forest, leaving Wakaba Mutsu alone.

Looking at Toyokawa Shoko running away, Wakaba Mu thought for a while, then she took out her cell phone and sent a good morning greeting to Iruma Hibiki.

Then I waited for five minutes, looking at the still unread message.

She withdrew the good morning greeting and replaced it with:

【Xiang, are you asleep?】Erju Lingwu?③Baqi Yishan;

……

But that day, Wakaba Mu did not receive a reply from Toyokawa Shoko.

But after school, Toyokawa Shoko said to her:

"Xiao Mu, go rehearse."

Then, Wakaba Mutsu saw Toyokawa Shoko turning around and walking towards Toyokawa's residence.

26 Wildcats, Housecats, and Crying Penguins

In front of Wakaba Mutsu, Toyokawa Shoko only left her back.

Just like when the two of them were together, if Toyokawa Shoko left, Ruoye Mu would stand there for a long time, wait for a long time, and then finally find out what he should do at the moment with difficulty.

For Ruoye Mu, making decisions on his own is such a difficult thing and something he is not good at.

Or rather——

For Ruoye Mu, since she had very few opportunities to make decisions on her own, it was natural that she would always hesitate when faced with things that required her to make a decision, and ultimately missed the opportunity.

The school bell in Yuezhisen has been ringing for a long time.

The setting sun dyed the sky red.

As school was over, Ring became lively.

Today's rehearsal room is packed as usual, which is only natural given the popularity of girl bands.

"Come to think of it, the quality of performances has skyrocketed recently thanks to the increasing number of bands. That's a good thing, but more and more new bands are being screened out. Has the Ring's performance standards become a little too high lately?"

-

When Shiina Riki came to the store, he heard a familiar friend from his part-time job at the front desk chatting with another person.

"What are you talking about?"

"Shiina, you're here. Is your band planning to perform on stage soon?"

"Not yet. Iruma hasn't told me that yet."

"Eh?"

"Eh--"

"What, what's wrong?"

Faced with the teasing of his colleagues, Shiina Riki looked a little guilty and evasive.

"Iruma hasn't said anything yet—Shiina, the leader of your band is Toyokawa-san, right?"

"Yes, that's right..."

"But Shiina listened to Iruma's words."

"Things like that are always good!"

Finally, Shiina Riki interrupted the teasing of the person in front of him.

"What's this performance you were talking about?"

"Ah, Shiina, just look at this and you'll understand—"

Because of the convenience of the employees, Shiina Riki was pulled to the backstage of Ring.

"Hachiman, please keep an eye on the wild cat for me."

"Well, you go ahead."

Hachiman Kailing nodded to Shiina Riki, and then became a little concerned about the topic they had just talked about. However, today she remained silent for the time being, waiting for Shiina Riki to return.

Five minutes later, Shiina Riki left from backstage.

Then, her deeply frowned brows were stared at by both Kaname Rakuna and Hachiman Kairin at the same time, which made her feel a little uncomfortable and troubled.

"Let's go to the rehearsal room. I'm counting on you today."

"no problem."

"Lixi, where's Xiang?"

"He's in Kyoto now. Something happened to his family, so he can't make it here."

"Ah."

……

Kaname Rana responded softly.

But the loneliness on his face was very easy to understand.

"Hey, Wildcat, do you miss that guy?"

"ring?"

"Ah."

Shiina Riki nodded to Kaname Rakuna.

"Think about it."

Then he asked Lenai to answer without hesitation.

"The interesting person was snatched away by Li Xi."

"Aha?"

Shiina Riki looked at Kaname Rakuna beside him with some surprise, and sure enough—

In fact, it might be because the name "Wild Cat" has been used for a long time, and Rakuna's usual strange and electric behavior is always difficult to understand.