Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Page 47

The band's coordination is still a bit difficult.

This was new territory for him.

But very happy.

He could understand why Nagasaki Motoyo and Ijichi Nijika were so looking forward to today's rehearsal, and why they were so disappointed that Chihaya Aine didn't come...

Yes.

There was less practice on rhythm guitar and lead vocals.

It's like the band has lost its soul.

Although everything that music should have, such as melody, rhythm, bass, middle notes, treble, rests, punctuation, chords, etc., is still present, the most critical part, the part with the most expressive tension in the music, is missing.

As for Goto Ichiri who was standing aside.

Ijichi Hongxia's gentle but not overly caring teaching is very useful for a socially anxious person like her.

rather say--

This kind of teaching is exactly what Goto Ichiri needs at this moment.

She absorbs knowledge like a sponge.

just.

As he gently stroked his black card, which bore many traces of time, a lonely expression appeared on Goto Ichiri's face.

Especially, she, who was very sensitive to music, noticed——

【Iruma-san, you are very lonely.】

Goto Ichiri felt Iruma Hibiki's emotions.

but--

Almost every time Hibiki Iruma showed a hint of concern about the missing part of the music score, Nagasaki Suyo would take the initiative to move closer to him.

Just like that, an hour passed by unknowingly.

"I'm going to get some drinks, everyone, take a break."

Nagasaki Suyo stood up and made a suggestion at the perfect moment when Ijichi Hongka's physical strength was almost exhausted.

Thinking of the previous agreement, Iruma Hibiki also stood up and said:

"I'll go too."

"Well, please, huh—it's been ages since I've enjoyed drumming so much."

Ijichi Hongxia wiped the sweat from her forehead, then threw down her drumsticks and relaxed.

She glanced to her side and saw Goto Ichiri, who was sitting in the corner with his back to her, tightly gripping the neck of the black guitar, with a hint of regret in her heart.

After all, it was her idea to invite Ichiri Goto to perform together.

She didn't expect this to happen either.

But fortunately, it seems that there is still time to resolve everything.

The clock pointed to 6 o'clock.

Today's practice is just the beginning in some ways.

74 Nagasaki Suyo got the answer

After passing the star-studded front desk, Iruma Hibiki and Nagasaki Motoshi greeted the three store managers seated inside. It looked like Senior Hiroi Kikuri wasn't planning on returning to Shinjuku tonight. It was only 6 o'clock, but she was already drunk and groggy at Ijichi Hoshika's feet. Scattered on the ground nearby were seven or eight "Demon Slayer" liquor cartons.

The carton wine in "Ghost Slayer" is the kind of low-quality liquor that even the self-depraved bastard father who relies on his daughter to support himself would look down upon.

Cheap raw materials and inferior taste make its price extremely cheap. To be honest, the price of "Demon Slayer" is even much lower than that of Asahi, the favorite of a certain STG game producer.

But it seems that Hiroi Kikuri is particularly concerned about this?

Of course, these are just minor incidents.

Walked onto the surface.

At this point in the night, Shimokitazawa was already somewhat noisy, like a night market. Fortunately, the area around the vending machines near the stars was relatively empty, with no one around, except for the overflowing trash cans.

After Iruma Hibiki bought three boxes of Good Boy juice and Nagasaki Suyo's favorite black tea, he also bought three boxes of Bad Boy juice.

"I brought it for the store manager. She took good care of me."

Iruma Hibiki explained briefly.

"Put it in my bag first. My pockets can't hold so much."

Nagasaki Suyo carefully brought her own small bag when she came out, and this small bag also came in handy at this moment——

After putting in three boxes of juice, the remaining Iruma Hibiki could just fit into his pocket.

Then comes the main event.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki had no idea how to start the conversation, so he just asked:

"Did anything happen between you and Goto-san?"

Although it seems that it is not impossible.

But Iruma Hibiki always felt that it was a little inappropriate to ask this question here.

So he seemed to be hesitant to speak, and at that moment, the street lights in Shimokitazawa lit up, and soon they were in a corner that was not too dark.

"I'm sorry, Hibiki. I didn't mean to say that just now. When I get back, I'll personally apologize to Goto-san. I just..."

Nagasaki Suyo clenched her fists, frowned, and spoke to Iruma Hibiki with a hint of uneasiness and worry on her face.

but--

In fact, this is a kind of pity after enjoying the benefits.

Yes, Nagasaki Suyo was extremely satisfied with what had happened in the past. The band's rehearsals went smoothly, and Goto Ichiri, an outsider, did not interfere with this band that was extremely important to her.

More importantly, now, Iruma Hibiki is on her side.

Nagasaki Suyo was delighted by this.

But on the surface she still showed her guilty side.

"Well, that's good. But, Suyo, what happened between you and Goto-san? If you don't mind, can you tell me? Because, how should I put it..."

Hibiki Iruma organized his words.

"Goto-san, you're one of my few friends, and Suyo, you're my lover, so I... am a little concerned."

He asked in a tone that would least hurt Nagasaki Suyo here.

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As he asked this question, Nagasaki Suyo lowered her head slightly.

"Won't Xiang be angry?"

"Ok?"

Iruma Hibiki responded to Nagasaki Soyo's question with a puzzled tone.

"Well, no."

But then he responded in the affirmative.

"But, even though Hibiki cares about Goto-san—"

Nagasaki Suyo frowned, with a trace of sadness and concern on her face, but at this moment, her right hand was constantly stroking.

It was actually the first time that Hibiki Iruma heard the real voice of Nagasaki Soyo.

This change in voice made Iruma Hibiki think that Nagasaki Suyo was actually very concerned about the current problem.

"Well...I do care about Goto-san."

Iruma Hibiki nodded.

At this moment, Nagasaki Suyo also froze in place, her mouth slightly open, as if she wanted to say something, but her words were stuck there.

"Well, in junior high, Goto-san actually took care of me, even though we weren't even friends at the time. So, I probably wanted to help Goto-san as a friend."

Hibiki Iruma was exceptionally frank on this issue.

In fact, right now, he should follow Nagasaki Suyo's sentiment and say:

No, that’s not actually the case.

Even if you have to lie and confess later, you should still do this.

but--

Hibiki Iruma didn't want to lie about this matter, even if it was just a lie she agreed to.

"But...Su Shi's matter actually worries me. After all, we are lovers, right?"

Then, Iruma Hibiki added another sentence.

Also because of this, Nagasaki Suye's mood, which had just been a little uncontrollable, was slightly calmed down again.

"I saw Goto-san's Guitar Hero account and saw that she and Hibiki were dating—"

Nagasaki Sushi said it aloud with some worry.

The moment she said this, she looked at Iruma Hibiki's expression carefully.

Unexpectedly, Iruma Hibiki suddenly burst out laughing, and then looked like he had a headache.

"Before I started dating Suyo, I had never dated anyone before. As for Goto-san's tweets, it's a long story—"

Iruma Hibiki suddenly understood everything.

To be honest, at this moment, he suddenly understood Nagasaki Suyo's resistance to Goto Ichiri at that time.

What if everything that happened before was because Nagasaki Motoyo was jealous of the relationship between Goto Ichiri and "Iruma-san"?

Perhaps, in some way, Nagasaki Suyo is unexpectedly cute?

For Hibiki Iruma, this is the case.

Even the helplessness and tension on his face changed to a relaxed smile.

Explaining things about Guitar Hero bit by bit.

but--

While recounting the past, Hibiki Iruma suddenly recalled that morning. As usual, he was running slowly in the sea breeze in Kasai Rinkai Park with a heavy heart.

Did he ever feel depressed because Goto Ichiri had a boyfriend?

Of course, such memories were eventually forgotten by Iruma Hibiki.

His current lover is Nagasaki Suyo.

That is the girl in front of me.

Nagasaki Suyo is his heroine.

And Goto Ichiri——

Maybe we will be lifelong friends.

But if it's a lover, it's probably impossible.

At least.

This is what Iruma Hibiki was thinking at the moment, and he felt a little subtle when he recalled his distressed emotions in the past.

"It's actually like this..."

As for Nagasaki Suyo.