Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

And Kita finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s…that’s great…”

But then, suddenly, Goto Ichiri twitched again as if he had thought of something.

She was always like this along the way.

And Kita didn't have any good solution for this.

She probably knew why Goto Ichiri was like this.

In fact, she was a little nervous.

According to Ijichi Hongka's plan, she will perform on stage with everyone today...

Yes, even though she is not a member of the ending band, she is still on the performance list of today's welcome party.

[It doesn't matter if I just sing the lead vocals instead of playing guitar.]

This is what Ijichi Hongxia said to her.

So Kita had no reason to escape.

Of course, at this moment, Goto Ichiri was troubled by the thought of performing in front of a large group of people, and his previous confident and decisive look was completely gone.

【Goto-san, Iruma-senpai really likes you.】

While supporting Goto Ichiri, Kita thought softly.

She gently pinched the hem of her skirt, then took out her cell phone to check the message on it.

She sent:

We're almost there.

QilingbaQwu④1 ⑹Ba cried and did not receive a response from Yidizhi Hongxia.

Of course, there was a plan before this incident. Xiagao's rigorous academic style meant that radio silence had to be maintained during this operation. That's roughly it.

"Goto-san, relax a little. Today's performance! As long as it makes Senpai happy, that's all that matters!"

Kita turned off the screen and tried to cheer up Goto Ichiri again.

She has reasons to succeed today no matter what.

"Hima, wait, I'm going to be away for a little while and will be right back."

"Eh? Hong Xia?"

Before school was over, Iruma Hibiki was mysteriously brought to a bench in the corridor by Ijichi Nikka, and then sat on it. She said that the classroom needed to be decorated, so it would take some time.

Iruma Hibiki felt subtly uneasy about being left alone in the corridor by Ijichi Kouka.

In other words, he was actually not good at dealing with the current situation from the beginning.

Of course it’s not that the welcome party was bad, it was just too good.

"Don't worry, I'll be here in a few minutes. If Xiang is worried, I can ask Liang to come over early."

"Ah...that's not necessary."

"no problem, no problem."

Soon afterwards, Iruma Hibiki saw Yamada Ryo approaching.

"Liang, please leave this place to you. I'll go for a while."

"Ah."

After a brief exchange, Ijichi Hongka ran towards the school gate, and at this moment, Yamada Ryo sat next to Iruma Hibiki.

At the moment when silence began to spread, Yamada Ryo unexpectedly spoke first:

"How's your band doing?"

"Ok?"

Perhaps Hibiki Iruma didn't realize that the topic would start like this. When he met Yamada Ryo's overly serious gaze, he realized that he had to respond to this question properly.

"Something went wrong, but it should be alright."

Iruma Hibiki responded.

But he actually had no idea.

"Ah."

As if just to confirm this, Yamada Ryo nodded.

"For the upcoming performances, take it seriously and give your best."

"Eh? Performance?"

Suddenly, Yamada Ryo's words scared Iruma Hibiki.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki probably guessed that there would be a performance today, after all, Ijichi Kouka seriously told him to bring his guitar.

But he thought it was just a play in front of his classmates to liven up the atmosphere, not a performance.

Then——

Iruma Hibiki noticed that at the classroom door, a small cart had been pushed in with several speakers, including Yamada Ryo's bass.

There are labels on those speakers saying "class rental", and it seems that they originally belonged to the school's light music club.

"No way……"

The completely unexpected situation made Iruma Hibiki a little overwhelmed.

"Senior Liang, what on earth is this..."

"It was Hongxia's idea. Even though it was a surprise, it was a good idea not to tell you in advance."

Yamada Ryo suddenly showed a smirk in front of Iruma Hibiki.

"If you make a fool of yourself later, I won't help you."

"Hey... what's the song? Can you tell me the song in advance?"

Iruma Hibiki gave up struggling.

Then he asked Yamada Ryo.

"Are we and Hong Xia performing together today? 3Piece?"

"You're not unfamiliar with this."

"I know that."

Iruma Hibiki responded, most of which was out of trust in Ijichi Kouka.

Since Ijichi Hongxia decided to launch a surprise attack and give him a surprise before the performance, she naturally would not make things difficult for him in the performance.

"What do you think?"

Yamada Ryo threw the question to Iruma Hibiki with some malicious intentions.

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment and then sighed deeply.

“What a mess.”

Just after sighing, a smile appeared on his face.

Then, as expected—

Although no one showed up yet, Hibiki Iruma had already heard the voices of Ijichi Kouka and the others coming from the stairs.

"If this is the same as last time, you should be prepared to start training again. I don't recognize a disciple like you."

I don’t know if he was joking or serious.

Anyway, he looks serious.

Yamada Ryo suddenly said this.

The so-called last performance probably refers to the one he and Chihaya Aine attended together.

This time—

Suddenly, Iruma Hibiki had an idea of whether he should contact Chihaya Aine.

With this thought in mind, Ijichi Hongxia walked in front of him.

"Clang, clang! Look who's coming!"

"ring……"

"Iruma-senpai!"

Kita and Goto Ichiri walked out from behind Ijichi Kouka.

"Ryo, have you told Hibiki?"

Ijichi Hongka asked, and Yamada Ryo nodded.

"Then everyone, get ready, we're about to go!"

"Already on?!"

Iruma Hibiki cried out in surprise.

After all, he really didn't get the music sheet at all, and he didn't even know which side his guitar was responsible for.

"Ah."

And Ijichi Hongxia just nodded firmly at him.

"Because, the song we're going to perform today is the song Hibiki wrote to end the band—"

Then, when Ijichi Kouka said this, Iruma Hibiki froze in place for a moment.

The song he wrote to end the band -

Memories from before the Golden Week once again flooded his mind.

As long as he closes his eyes at this moment, Iruma Hibiki can recall the scene of everyone gathered around the table at that time.

"Eh? These are the lyrics written by Iruma-san."

Chihaya Aine said this at that time.

"The lyrics Hibiki wrote are really interesting."

Then came Nagasaki Suyo's praise with a smile.

He blushed slightly when facing Nagasaki Suyo, and then began to talk nonsense.

"It's great."

Then came Ichichi Reimu's first praise of Rainbow Summer.

"That's great, Xiang. As expected, I don't want to give this song to anyone else."

-

Finally, Ijichi Kouka's voice brought Iruma Hibiki back to reality.

"what……"

"Come on, Hibiki! I can't be there, but I'm here too!"

On the side, Kita was holding a tablet with a video call from Chihaya Aine.

For some reason, Hibiki Iruma, who was surrounded by everyone, suddenly felt a bit sad.

He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, his throat felt like it was blocked by a huge rock.

He gently squeezed the strap of the guitar bag in his hand.

"Everyone! Come on! We, the past and the present, are about to end the band's performance! We'll use this song to show everyone that Xiang is actually quite powerful!"

Ijichi Hongka made her final declaration.

She stretched out her hand and placed it in the middle of everyone, then looked at Hibiki Iruma with a hint of anticipation.

30 Before the Show