Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Page 82

After thinking for a moment, Iruma Hibiki also took the initiative to speak.

"This performance is very important to you, I want to help."

He showed a bright and cheerful smile in front of Goto Ichiri.

"I, I don't know... You can ask Ijichi-san later, but... I'd be very happy if you could come, Iruma-san."

Goto Ichiri said a lot of things.

When she was with Hibiki Iruma, she would talk a lot unconsciously.

"Is Nagasaki-san's situation okay now?"

And then——

When the atmosphere was about to cool down and Hibiki Iruma wanted to take Ichiri Goto back, Ichiri Goto suddenly asked.

But the moment this question arose, Goto Ichiri started to panic.

"what……"

She seemed to realize the inappropriateness of the question.

"Well, don't worry, it's okay."

However, Iruma Hibiki replied to her with a smile.

"Let's go, let's go back. Ijichi and Chihaya-san must have been waiting for a long time."

"Um……"

Goto Ichiri nodded.

Then, as if it was a habit, he pulled Iruma Hibiki's sleeve.

Only this time——

After holding on for a while, Goto Ichiri stared at her snow-white fingers that had grown because she didn't go out.

Then, the moment he entered the door, he gritted his teeth and then let go.

However, Iruma Hibiki, who opened the door, did not notice this small detail. After all, the timing of Goto Ichiri's loosening up was just right.

Rather, if we were to select a genius in this field in the world, Goto Ichiri would at least be recognized.

What she is best at is backing off, and quietly backing off and running away when the time is right and no one will be affected.

"Oh! You're back!"

Ijichi Kouka, who was sitting at the dining table, smiled at Iruma Hibiki and Goto Ichiri who had returned.

In fact, if Iruma Hibiki didn't go out, she would have gone out after a while.

Because of this small tacit understanding in her heart, Ijichi Hongxia smiled, and she subconsciously assumed the same sitting posture as in the classroom -

She spread her legs slightly, placed her hands on the table, and then looked at Hibiki Iruma with a smile.

"Oh, by the way, Chihaya-san, this is a gift. Don't forget us when you get to England."

Seeing that time was almost up, Ijichi Hongxia took out a small bag from her backpack. As Chihaya Aine opened it, she found a total of 30 exquisite translucent resin picks inside the bag. They were all custom-made, with a star-shaped logo and a small string of English letters on them.

【NARHH】

Putting it all together makes a bit of a weird noise, which is very cute.

In fact, it is the initials of their names.

"Thank you! Ah! I'd definitely be reluctant to use a pick like this—"

Chihaya Aine sighed.

"Don't worry, I've asked Liang, and if you don't lose any picks, you'll only use about 10 a year at most. When Chihaya-san comes back, it'll be time to order new ones."

Ichichi Hongxia smiled brightly.

"This is my gift."

Then Hibiki Iruma handed over his gift, which was placed in a small box with a packaging bag with the Uzui Bunko logo on it.

26 Iruma Hibiki prepares to join a new band

Iruma Hibiki's gift was a fountain pen and a dried bankwood flower. The dried flower was delicately preserved in a gift box, blooming with a deep red color.

Independence and courage

Such gifts generally symbolize this kind of meaning, and as for the fountain pen, it was purely chosen by Hibiki Iruma according to her own preferences.

But to be honest, fountain pens can be used for a long time. If used properly, they can last for decades. They are also perfect as a parting gift symbolizing friendship.

"Thank you! Iruma-san's gift is a real treat!"

Chihaya Aine touched the gift in surprise and closed the box.

"..."

Goto Ichiri on the side hid the gift behind his back and did not take it out for a long time.

No matter how you look at it, she seemed a little shy because she was the last one to give a gift.

"This is my gift... Please don't despise it, Chihaya-kun!"

After a long time, Goto Ichiri finally took out her gift from behind her.

The moment he saw the gift, Hibiki Iruma's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah! What a cute little bear! I love it!"

In fact, at the entrance of the junior high school where Hibiki Iruma and Ichiri Goto lived, the shop that sold dolls had very few varieties of bears. Apart from the Christmas bear that Hibiki Iruma had bought, there was only this pink and white bear named Michelle.

Although "Michelle" can be bought anywhere, when it appeared, Iruma Hibiki thought that it was bought at the store in front of the junior high school that Goto Ichiri bought it at.

That's true no matter how you think about it.

In other words, actually—

Does Goto Ichiri still remember the agreement we made?

Hibiki Iruma was a bit dazed. It had actually been quite a while since they'd made that Christmas promise. So much had happened, so many people had gone through, that even now, when Hibiki Iruma occasionally thought about it, he'd wonder if Goto Ichiri had forgotten.

Although no matter how you look at it, Goto Ichiri doesn't seem like someone who would forget a promise.

But Hibiki Iruma couldn't help but think so.

Until the moment he saw the gift that Goto Ichiri gave to Chihaya Aine, Iruma Hibiki could even understand everything about Goto Ichiri——

Maybe Goto Ichiri hesitated for a long time about what gift to give her before finally deciding to buy this bear, because it was a gift he had given her before and it couldn't go wrong.

If it were Goto Ichiri, he would certainly think so.

Perhaps Hibiki Iruma felt a little happy when he noticed this little detail and figured it out.

But he hid it very well. Looking at Chihaya Aine and Goto Ichiri who were already hugging the teddy bear tightly and chatting happily on the other side, to some extent, the gifts he and Ijichi Kouka gave were not the kind that were suitable for use on the spot. Only Goto Ichiri's gift could be hugged to the chest at that moment.

"I will definitely cherish everyone's gifts! I will definitely not forget you all. Speaking of which, I actually saw a very popular game online--"

After spending some time, Chihaya Aine took out a small white paper figure from her bag.

"Sachiko's game?"

In fact, such little paper figures are familiar to everyone present.

"Eh? Everyone knows this? That's easy then—let's all play together."

In fact, Sachiko's games are not popular at all. After all, the only people who would do this are probably elementary school students 10 years ago. Not to mention that in some subsequent game works, Sachiko's games were designed to be very scary and bloody games.

but--

For some reason, it's not surprising that Chihaya Aine is interested in strange and old things.

After all, her profile picture is a lotus, and the team name she had previously thought of was [Tokyo Anon], a name that has nothing to do with normality.

But despite saying this——

Everyone cooperated with Chihaya Aine and played Sachiko's game.

Before we knew it, the farewell party was about to end.

"actually……"

At the final farewell, Chihaya Aine stood there hesitant for a while, playing with her hair and looking awkward.

"I've been thinking lately whether it would be better not to go to the UK."

"Huh?! Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

Ijichi Nichina was startled by Chihaya Aine's sudden words.

And the same goes for Hibiki Iruma.

The only one who seemed to have burned out was Goto Ichiri. Her entire body turned into a strange grayish-white color and she no longer responded to anything.

Although this situation is normal for Goto Ichiri, if it happened to someone else, it would definitely escalate from a story to an accident.

"Because I really miss leaving everyone!"

Chihaya Aine suddenly laughed, then gave Ijichi Kouka a hug, then gently patted Goto Ichiri's shoulder, and finally walked in front of Iruma Hibiki.

"Iruma-san, please keep in touch. We'll see you soon."

"Okay, see you soon."

After saying this, Chihaya Aine turned around and ran away.

She was still a little reluctant when she finally left.

So there was no final goodbye.

Seeing this, Ijichi Nikka and Iruma Hibiki didn't say much. They just watched Chihaya Aine disappear from their sight before preparing to leave.

"Speak of it."

Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, Hibiki Iruma looked at Ijichi Kouka beside him and said:

"If our band had continued to this day, I feel like Chihaya-san was serious about what she just said."

……

"That's really scary."

Ijichi Hongxia laughed and complained about Iruma Hibiki, and both of them smiled easily.

"By the way, Iruma-san, have you decided where to go? With your personality, Iruma-san definitely won't stay quiet for too long."

"Well, I've thought about it. As for me, I'll probably accept the invitation from a friend I met recently. But before that, I need to work harder. After that, I might have to trouble you, Ijichi, and Goto-san to teach me for a while."

Iruma Hibiki spoke about a decision that had probably been made before.

"No problem."

"I...me too!"

Compared to Ijichi Hongka's frankness, Goto Ichiri's reply was a bit hesitant and overly excited⑸|⑴⒎ and printed the word "ba other wife⑹".

"But, Iruma-san already has a band he wants to join?"

Ijichi Hongxia asked curiously.

"Well, yes, it was formed by someone I just met a while ago... I don't know much about it, but—"

"The other person said something that concerned me, so I decided to at least try my best to not disappoint him."

Iruma Hibiki's smile at this moment was a little complicated.

The so-called words of care.

It was probably the love at first sight with Toyokawa Shoko that almost broke his defense.

After all, those who disappoint and hurt people who fall in love at first sight probably have a very cold heart deep down.