Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

At least the level of the guitarist on stage is something he can never reach no matter what he does now.

"In my time, a new band's first performance of this level was not allowed on stage. It was only in the past few years that such incidents began to occur more frequently."

Ijichi Xingge gently supported her waist and leaned against the wall behind her, showing a nostalgic look.

"Did the store manager play in a band before?"

"I played it in college, and later I wanted to form a band and play music for the rest of my life, but I had to give it up in the end."

Ijichi Hoshika answered this question seriously, which was somewhat unexpected by Iruma Hibiki.

"..."

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment, and following Ijichi Seika's gaze, he saw the busy figure of Ijichi Hongka. In an instant, he understood why Ijichi Seika appeared here.

“Why did you give up?”

He shouldn't have asked any further questions here.

Or rather, in reality, the relationship between him and the Ijichi sisters was not good enough to allow them to communicate such things.

but--

It is obvious that Ijichi Xingge wants to say something now.

"Are you serious about forming a band with Hongxia?"

Ijichi Hoshika turned her head and stared at Iruma Hibiki.

“I actually wasn’t thinking about the band at all at first, but now I’m serious about it.”

Iruma Hibiki and Ijichi Seika looked at each other. He looked at Ijichi Seika with a firm gaze, without any dodging at all.

"You're still a long way off, but before that, just have fun and don't worry too much."

Yidizhi Xingge smiled, which was rare, and then said some words as if they were from the experience of someone who had been through it, with a hint of inexplicable emotion and nostalgia on his face.

And Iruma Hibiki did not pursue the topic that was not answered but could be diverted.

He cared a lot about what happened to Ijichi Hongxia and why she was always so busy, but it seemed that there was still a limit to what he could do.

"Have fun..."

Iruma Hibiki repeated what Ijichi Hoshika had said.

"Well, it's better to not worry about anything and just have fun. If you're too concerned about the performance on stage and the effects off stage, the performance will end up being a mess."

As if to verify Ijichi Hoshige's idea, from the second half of the performance, the band on stage began to make more and more mistakes, and the number of disappointed audiences increased.

Finally, when performing the last song, the band on the stage looked like they were in prison, and anyone could see their reluctance, pain and suffering.

Unconsciously, Iruma Hibiki clenched his fists.

He actually felt a little bit of the same way.

In other words, he is actually not as good as anyone on the stage.

Will their performances be like this then?

When such thoughts came to mind, Iruma Hibiki felt suffocated.

Blackjack at night.

The performance was over, and Iruma Hibiki cleaned up the front desk and checked all the accounts with Ijichi Hoshika.

"Thank you for your help, Iruma-san."

When Iruma Hibiki finished his work, he saw Ijichi Hongka carrying a bucket and seemed to be planning to clean the exhibition hall.

"Let me help."

"Thank you, but if you need anything, Iruma-san, it's okay if you go back first."

Ijichi Nikka tilted her head towards Iruma Hibiki and smiled cutely.

But despite this smile, the fatigue on her face still did not lie.

"It's ok."

Iruma Hibiki shook his head. He didn't have the habit of abandoning his companions at the last moment.

While they were cleaning, Ijichi Hongka suddenly asked beside Iruma Hibiki:

"Did your sister say anything to you, Iruma-san, during the performance today?"

"Well, the manager talked to me about some of the performances and then asked us to have some fun together."

In fact, until now, when he recalls what Ijichi Hoshige said, Iruma Hibiki still feels a little uncomfortable.

However, in Iruma Hibiki's opinion, the strange thing was not Ijichi Seika, but him, so he did not express this discomfort.

Because of the words "Have fun".

Doesn't it essentially seem to be saying that their band is actually just [playing] and not a band that seriously wants to perform?

This is how Iruma Hibiki understood what Ijichi Hoshika said at that time.

But he felt that maybe he had misunderstood.

Ijichi Hoshige actually had no such idea at all.

"It's fun to form a band with Iruma-san and Nagasaki-san."

Ijichi Hongxia said with a smile.

"I'm sure I'll be very happy when the band is finally established and we start rehearsing together. Thank you, Iruma-san. If it weren't for your help, Iruma-san, my dream of forming a band wouldn't have started so early."

40 The Reason Why Ichichi Hongxia

Ijichi Hongxia expressed her heartfelt thanks.

For her, she felt that knowing Iruma Hibiki was a very happy and lucky thing in her high school life. Although there were many such things, for Ijichi Hongka, each one was precious.

because--

In her life full of worries, every little thing like this is a ray of sunshine that needs to be cherished.

"If it were Ijichi-kun, he would definitely have chosen the path of a band even without me."

Iruma Hibiki said with certainty.

"Eh? Why do you say that?"

Ijichi Hongxia was a little curious. She stopped what she was doing and wiped the sweat off her face. The weather was neither too cold nor too hot, just right. However, this also meant that if she wore too little, she would feel cold easily, and if she moved too much, she would sweat easily.

"Because, Ijichi-san really is fascinated by band life, right?"

……

Ijichi Hongxia was silent for a moment.

"Yeah, yes, forming a band is my dream."

Then she responded seriously.

"I remember that you, Ijichi-san, decided to form a band after seeing someone else perform on Fanxing?"

"Um……"

When talking about this topic, Ijichi Hongxia nodded seriously and the smile on her face disappeared a little.

And Iruma Hibiki also noticed the change in Ijichi Nichina's expression.

For him, now is a decision point, but there is no archive in the life of a dog, he needs to make his own decision.

“Were the performances back then the same as they are today?”

Hibiki Iruma looked out at the stage in the distance, which was now pitch black.

The speakers above still remain in the same state as during the performance, with the wires scattered on the ground in a mess, and the lights and curtains used on the stage also hanging in a mess to the side.

It is hard to imagine that such a deserted place is the starry sky where the atmosphere was so lively just now.

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, there is still some difference."

Ijichi Kouka walked up to Iruma Hibiki and focused their attention on the stage together.

"The performance that day was, to put it mildly, awful."

Ijichi Hongxia said in a low voice.

"In Liang's opinion, this band's performance today has some potential."

"Ryou can be quite blunt and sharp-tongued sometimes. I was beaten down by her several times when I first started practicing drums. Iruma-san, you have to be prepared."

Ijichi Hongka secretly spoke ill of Yamada Ryo behind his back.

After saying this, she smiled quietly.

"At that time, I actually had no idea whether the performance was good or not. I just saw the lights and the performance on the stage and immediately decided to give it a try."

"The rest of the reason why we have to form a band is actually you, Iruma-san."

"I?"

Iruma Hibiki turned his head and looked at Ijichi Nikka.

"Well, Iruma-san heard about my invitation and asked Nagasaki-san to come. Actually, I... no, I shouldn't say that!"

Ijichi Hongxia shook her head, looking cute as if she was avoiding something.

"As you can see, Iruma-san, I've been a bit busy lately with family matters, and I've been tied up a lot, so I haven't been able to attend rehearsals often. In fact, I've had less time to practice drums lately."

"Actually, when I first entered high school, I was thinking, let's wait for two years, until things are less busy here, then start the band. But when I think about it, in two years, I will graduate from high school, so at that time, I was a little bit interested in the band..."

"So, Iruma-san, you're the reason I chose to form a band. Ah, actually, it's better to say that I joined your band, Iruma-san, haha, because you found Nagasaki-san."

"So, I'm really grateful for listening to me, taking the band so seriously, and being willing to help me, Iruma-san."

Hibiki Iruma looked at Kouka Ijichi, and their eyes met.

"Iruma-san, you're really serious about forming a band, right? I'll do my best to support you."

"what……"

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki was slightly speechless.

Because he was not sure whether his attitude towards the band would bring more pressure to Ijichi Hongxia.

He didn't know how to respond.

"Ah! Sorry! Does this bother you, Iruma-san?"

"Actually, I don't hate anything you've done so far, Iruma-kun!"

Ijichi Hongka seemed to misunderstand the current silence and apologized quickly.

"Not at all. Rather, it's really great that you're willing to tell me this, Ijichi-kun."

Iruma Hibiki calmed down his slightly turbulent emotions, and then responded seriously to Ijichi Kouka:

"However, if possible, I hope you, Ijichi-kun, don't push yourself too hard. Actually, right now, I'm the one who's completely unqualified."

"No, I heard from Ryo that you and Nagasaki-san are practicing very hard, Iruma-san. The day when we can perform together might be very soon."

When the topic of going on stage came up, anticipation and more complex emotions once again appeared on Ijichi Hongka's face.

And when Hibiki Iruma saw Ijichi Kouka's admiration, he was also slightly infected.

Let's practice a little longer tonight.

Thinking this way, Iruma Hibiki made his own plan.

The two of them were busy until 11 o'clock before they finished the work.

The train that Hibiki Iruma was taking home was already the last one.

He put on his headphones on the tram, found an empty seat and sat down to watch videos. It seemed that Guitar Hero used to be updated regularly at 8 o'clock every Friday night.

But today, Hibiki Iruma didn't see any new Guitar Hero videos.

There were also some discussions about this matter under the old previously updated video.

【Guitar Hero didn't update any videos this Friday.】

"Yeah, what a shame. I thought I could hear it."

【Guitar Hero is a high school student, right? Maybe it's something about school.】