Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"Come on!"

Until, Chihaya Aine, who was beside him, spoke.

After a slight hesitation, Iruma Hibiki also lit the glow stick in his hand.

His glow stick is a classic goose yellow style. In fact, Iruma Hibiki always has a stereotype that goose yellow is the orthodox color of glow sticks, and it is the color that should be there, and all others are heresy.

Of course, he had never told anyone about this idea that could easily provoke a fight.

With the help of the light of the fluorescent stick, Iruma Hibiki actually saw the profile of Chihaya Aine at this moment.

Maybe his previous idea was wrong.

He thought so.

but--

Soon, he saw emotions other than excitement on Chihaya Aine's face in an instant.

It was a similar emotion to that of Toyokawa Shoko, whose eyes were shining at the moment. Perhaps the only difference was that there was admiration in Toyokawa Shoko's eyes, while there was envy in Chihaya Aine's eyes.

"So—our first song!"

At the same time, Ijichi Hongxia on the stage struck the drum three times as a signal to start.

Then——

Iruma Hibiki's previous premonition came true. Or rather, based on his understanding of Goto Ichiri, he would hardly have made any misjudgment about Goto Ichiri's condition. Goto Ichiri had indeed completely lost consciousness on the stage.

So at the beginning of the song, there is no sound from the rhythm guitar, only the drums and bass.

"Ah! I'm so sorry everyone, let's do it again!"

Then Ijichi Hongxia quickly warmed up the field and gave the signal again.

"That won't work. If Goto-kun is in that state, no one can wake him up."

Iruma Hibiki's palms began to sweat from nervousness.

Sure enough, the second time, Ijichi Hongxia came back and got the same result.

At this time, Yamada Ryo walked to Goto Ichiri and intended to remind Goto Ichiri.

Then——

As Yamada Ryo poked gently, Goto Ichiri was like a stone that had been eroded by the wind for billions of years, and weathered in an instant.

"Pochi-chan!"

Ijichi Hongxia screamed and then stood up directly from her drum position.

There was also some small commotion among the audience.

"Iruma-kun, we have to do something!"

When Hibiki Iruma was nervous and a little overwhelmed, his arm was held by Chihaya Aine beside him. Then, from a very close distance, Hibiki Iruma met Chihaya Aine's determined eyes.

"I'm really worried, Ijichi-kun and the others—"

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki's expression froze.

Because Nagasaki Motoyo's voice suddenly sounded behind the three of them. After she finally greeted some people, she came behind Iruma Hibiki and the others.

"Shigasaki-san! When did you get here?!"

Toyokawa Shoko was a little surprised, but on the contrary, Chihaya Aine did not hide the disgust on her face at all.

"We need to think of a way to cheer up Goto-san! Iruma-san—"

So, Chihaya Aine chose to ignore Nagasaki Suyo who appeared at this moment and continued with the important topic.

As for Hibiki Iruma—

Should he say something to Nagasaki Suyo?

Or should we help Goto Ichiri, Ijichi Nikka and others who are in urgent need of help at this moment?

Hesitation is only a matter of a moment.

Although the pain would last longer, Hibiki Iruma made a decision.

"Goto-san!"

He faced the stage and called out Goto Ichiri's name a little loudly.

In such a noisy exhibition hall, only in this way can you make your own shouts heard.

Ijichi Nichina could clearly see the face of Iruma Hibiki in the first row. She gently turned the face of the fallen Goto Ichiri towards Iruma Hibiki.

Even though he called out Goto Ichiri's name loudly, Iruma Hibiki had no idea what to say at this moment.

The gazes of the people around him were also a bit dazzling to Iruma Hibiki.

and--

Nagasaki Suyo was right behind him now.

He probably only has one chance to say one sentence. If Goto Ichiri can't recover from the tension of social anxiety, the performance will be ruined.

The choice and all opportunities are here at this moment.

What should I do?

Iruma Hibiki clenched his fists.

Chihaya Aine smiled at the side, as if to say, "Ah, as I expected."

As for Toyokawa Shoko——

Her eyes sparkled even brighter.

In her opinion, such a thing was something she would never have dared to imagine in her past life, and it was too rock and roll.

Ah, what should I say?

Perhaps for Hibiki Iruma, he was a little impulsive when he spoke, and he had a little less time to think after speaking. In the end, all he could say was -

"I love Goto-san's guitar the most!"

Endure the shame.

In an emergency, Iruma Hibiki shouted out his inner thoughts.

This cry was a slight shock to everyone who knew Hibiki Iruma.

"Come on, Goto-kun. Why are you stopping here? Didn't you want me to see your performance?"

Hibiki Iruma stared at Ichiri Goto on the stage, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

And the cry just now——

Like a puppet on a stage play, Goto Ichiri slowly stood up. In fact, this action was a bit scary.

So much so that Kita, who had been present from the beginning, had his eyes sparkling after seeing such a shocking performance and the posture of Iruma Hibiki almost crossing the fence and leaning half of his body onto the stage.

Then, Iruma Hibiki saw the ripples flashing in Goto Ichiri's eyes, which were slightly green and looked like the most tranquil tropical ocean.

39 The missing solo and Hibiki Iruma's escape

Goto Ichiri looked like a zombie.

Under everyone's incredulous gaze, she walked to—

No, that is not the position of a rhythm guitarist at all, but the position of a lead singer.

It's just opposite where Hibiki Iruma is.

For Goto Ichiri, this might be her once-in-a-lifetime courage, a choice to burn everything.

She didn't tell anyone.

It's just that after deciding on the song "Godknows" for today's performance, I occasionally dream about this scene.

In Dream Seven ⑵彡又IV=酒棋叄丝, she is a brave and shining guitarist who can speak her mind frankly and can pour out her heart completely on such occasions.

A hero among heroes.

He is the bravest among the brave.

It is the most shining existence.

But in fact, she couldn't hold on during the preparation, and when she went on stage, her brain melted and she lost consciousness.

until--

I like it the most.

That cry appeared.

Yes, she is a guitar hero, someone who wants to speak her mind in such an occasion, isn't she?

After calming down a little, Iruma Hibiki saw Goto Ichiri's tears.

Those were tears that kept rolling down.

Behind everyone, Ijichi Xingge sighed slightly as she watched this scene.

"It's really rock 'n' roll."

PA-chan beside her said with a somewhat envious voice:

“It seems like we also had such a youthful time.”

"It's so touching, woo--"

At their feet, Hiroi Kikuri, who had just passed out from drinking, miraculously sobered up in an instant and looked like she was crying even harder than Goto Ichiri on the stage.

"what--"

Goto Ichiri spoke up.

"I'm so sorry everyone, but I want to say a few words to myself at the beginning of the show."

"Pochi-chan..."

When Ijichi Nijika saw Goto Ichiri speaking, she gave him a look of "Ah, as I expected." Actually, when Goto Ichiri decided on the song, Ijichi Nijika had a premonition, so one day after school, Ijichi Nijika didn't go home with Iruma Hibiki, but instead found Yamada Ryo—

"Ryo, Pochi-chan's song choice is a little special, so I think we should all be prepared."

"What preparation?"

Yamada Ryo responded to her calmly at that time.

"Hmm... well, Ryo, do you know Don Quixote?"

"Yeah, I heard that you've changed a lot, Nijiga, after spending time with Iruma."

"Oh! That's not important. It's just that when I was deciding on the song, Pochi-chan seemed a bit like the protagonist in the story."

This was probably the conversation going on at that time.

So at this moment, Ijichi Hongka and Yamada Ryo, who were well prepared, exchanged glances, and then Yamada Ryo, with a cool smile on his face, raised his middle finger at Ijichi Hongka while crossing his bass.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Kita, who was completely confused in the audience, shouted and raised two middle fingers towards the stage.

Then——

"I was originally the lead guitarist in this band, but the reason I'm standing here as the rhythm guitarist is because I have a song I want to sing to Iruma-san, no matter what."

"Although I was very scared, it was my first time on stage and I almost lost consciousness."

"but--"

Goto Ichiri lowered her head, her pink bangs blocking her view.

"I love it when someone says that to me."

"I'm a guitar hero!"

"A guitar hero with 10 followers!"

-

"I also like Iruma-san the most!"