Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"what happened?"

"Is Toyokawa-san taking everyone's orders?"

"Yeah, yeah. Iruma-san and Mutsu-san like hot Earl Grey tea, just like Nagasaki-san, and Takamatsu-san likes mocha coffee, just like me. As for the newcomer, Shiina-san, we only met online, so we don't know her well, so we'll have to put it aside for now."

"..."

Nagasaki Suyo's silence deepened.

"I want to get right into the band conversation once everyone arrives, so I'll order for everyone first."

After all, Iruma Hibiki likes hot Earl Grey tea, and Nagasaki Suyo had no idea that she liked it too.

Or rather.

What did Iruma Hibiki always drink in Nagasaki Suyo's memories?

It seems to be the same good boy juice as Ijichi Hongka?

Nagasaki Suyo's memory is a little vague.

After all, that was a few months ago.

She couldn't remember clearly.

A few minutes later, Iruma Hibiki arrived.

"Iruma-san! Here—"

The moment she saw Hibiki Iruma arrive, Toyokawa Shoko stood up and waved to him. At this moment, the drinks had just arrived.

"Waiter, please add another mocha."

"Ok."

Afterwards, Shiina Tatsuki also confirmed his order online, and Toyokawa Shoko prepared drinks for everyone.

Therefore - the air is full of tears

Everyone's seats were decided in this way.

Toyokawa Shoko sat in the main seat on the side, while Takamatsu Touma and Shiina Tatsuki sat in a row, Nagasaki Motoyo sat to the right of Iruma Hibiki, and to the left of Iruma Hibiki was Wakaba Mutsu, who was a little further away.

After a few minutes, everyone arrived.

In fact, when Iruma Hibiki saw Shiina Riki, he was surprised, completely surprised.

Although I had a premonition, it was another matter when it actually came true.

"What, what are you doing!"

Shiina Riki also felt a little uncomfortable because of Iruma Hibiki's direct gaze and reacted violently.

"No, I'm just lamenting my fate."

Iruma Hibiki complained slightly.

"Himagi and Shiina-san knew each other before?"

"Oh, yes. It was my senior who worked there during the summer vacation."

Iruma Hibiki responded to Nagasaki Suyo with a faint smile.

Perhaps in a place that even she herself hadn't discovered, Nagasaki Suyo was actually...

I was slightly concerned about the people around Hibiki Iruma.

"Then let me briefly introduce our members to everyone!"

Toyokawa Shoko started the conversation first. Just like her personality, she took everything into her own hands from the very beginning and appeared overconfident.

"First, there's this Takamatsu Deng classmate. She's a talented lyricist I met before, and she's our future lead singer. Her hobbies include writing poetry, and—"

Toyokawa Shoko brought the topic to the girl who had been a little timid from the beginning and made Iruma Hibiki feel that she was somewhat similar to Goto Ichiri.

"Pick up, pick up stones, and stars..."

Takamatsu Deng responded hurriedly, then looked around like a cute little animal as if to confirm whether others were looking at him strangely.

"Then there's Hibiki Iruma. He's a genius author I met again at the place where I met Takamatsu-san. He's an alien composer. He'll be joining our band as a guitarist. His hobby is—"

"Writing and music and stuff like that."

Iruma Hibiki responded before Toyokawa Shoko could speak.

After all, this introduction is a bit confusing.

But it is very much in the style of Toyokawa Shoko.

"I met Shiina-san online before, and her current position is roughly as a drummer."

"Her hobbies should be raising cats and pandas."

Iruma Hibiki added to Toyokawa Shoko's story, and was then glared at by Shiina Riki.

"Well, he's right."

Despite his fierce appearance, Shiina Riki finally admitted it obediently in a weak and unusual voice.

"Wakaba Mu is my childhood friend and the future guitarist of our band. His hobby is gardening."

……

Wakaba Mutsu, who had no expression from the beginning, was actually right next to Iruma Hibiki.

She opened her mouth to say something.

But in the end, he just nodded and said "hmm" in a voice that only Iruma Hibiki could hear.

"The last words go to Nagasaki-san. She's a double bassist I met at a previous performance in the music club and will be the bassist for our band in the future."

"As for my hobbies, well... actually, when I think about it, I don't have any particular hobbies. However, I really like the feeling of forming a band with everyone."

Nagasaki Suyo said with a smile.

On the side, Iruma Hibiki, who had actually been paying attention to Nagasaki Suyo from the beginning, probably breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

【It’s great that Sushi can move forward. 】

He couldn't help but think so.

01 How about hearing Wakaba’s opinion?

"Today's initial topic is the arrangement of the next rehearsal time and the planning of the band's indicators."

"First of all, as the founder of Crychic, I will be fully responsible for the arrangements of the performance."

"What does it mean to be fully responsible?"

Shiina Riki raised a question.

Or rather, among the people present, Shiina Riki could be considered the one who understood the band's composition best. After all—

Shiina Maki.

The name that always hung above her head forced her to understand everything and live under her shadow.

"I will completely resolve the issues regarding indicators and performance venues."

"Wait, if only one person is responsible for the quota, it's not a small amount. Toyokawa-san, have you considered this?"

"Eh?"

Toyokawa Shoko looked puzzled.

Perhaps he was a little confused about Shiina Riki's question.

"It seems like a typical performance only costs 10 yen? Is there something I'm not understanding?"

"Only, as long as..."

Iruma Hibiki was having a hard time holding back his laughter, especially when he saw Shiina Riki's voice softening and trembling as he confirmed.

"Yes, so please don't worry about such trivial matters. Please rest assured and leave it to me. More importantly, rehearsal time is what's most important. It's important for everyone to have more time to practice without any worries. This is the schedule I've set for now, and I've sent it to everyone."

A few seconds later, everyone received a private message from Toyokawa Shoko.

That is indeed a timetable.

"Don't we rehearse together every day of the week?"

"Xiang, I can't do it."

To Shiina Riki's surprise at his mysophobia, Wakaba Mutsu, who was sitting next to Iruma Hibiki, suddenly spoke.

"That's why we're talking about this topic today. Mu, what's your schedule like?"

Hibiki Iruma looked at Shoko Toyokawa and then at Mutsushi Wakaba.

He felt that his current position was a bit bad.

Because no matter what, in Iruma Hibiki's view, Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu were old acquaintances.

"Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, I should be able to do it. I have family plans for the rest of the time."

"Well, let's tentatively set these times. What about everyone else? Any opinions?"

Toyokawa Shoko continued to ask.

"My words don't matter, what about the sound? Xia Umbrella Lin (9) slipped away and pulled Wu Si"

"ring?!"

After Nagasaki Motoyo's response, Shiina Riki made a loud noise, attracting everyone around to look over.

"Ah, it's okay."

Then she realized that something was wrong and immediately stopped talking.

"It doesn't matter to me. My part-time job is on Saturdays."

She then used her answer to cover up her embarrassment.

"My words are fine."

"but……"

Gao Songdeng, the girl whose hobby was picking up stones, looked at the people around her with a conflicted and hesitant look.

After all—

The current situation was extremely new to her.

She had never experienced the feeling of being among so many people and being watched by so many people.

She considers herself a weirdo.

No, perhaps before meeting Toyokawa Shoko, he was not even considered human, or even "No Longer Human".

That’s why—

"If you have anything to say, Takamatsu-san, please feel free to speak up."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at Takamatsu Deng gently, and for Iruma Hibiki who was standing beside her, this scene was actually very familiar to him.

“If there’s something that’s hard to say out loud, it’s okay to write it down.”

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

Then he felt a subtle touch.

Nagasaki Soyo was getting closer to him. In the moment of the previous movement, their arms were touching each other. Iruma Hibiki, who thought he was being rude, moved slightly to the side. Now he was curled up in a small corner, as if he was going to be directly driven to Wakaba Mutsu by the bully Nagasaki Soyo.

Ruo Yemu watched everything quietly from the side, without saying a word and without any expression.

In front of Iruma Hibiki, Takamatsu Deng was quickly flipping through the notebook he carried with him.

Soon, she turned to a page where there were words that had been corrected many times with an eraser.

It was a sentence, a sentence that took up a whole page.

[Everyone, can we form a band for life? ]

"Okay, that's what I think, Takamatsu-san. Please, leave the rest of your life to me."

Toyokawa Shoko smiled brightly and sunnyly at everyone present.