After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

In order to achieve her own goals, Toyokawa Shoko ignored what the band members really wanted and only squeezed their potential, which led Nagasaki Motoyo to say such a powerless and aggrieved thing.

"According to feedback from the brass band students, Nagasaki Motoyo is a kind older sister type of girl who is very empathetic and tolerant, and is good at caring for others and mediating conflicts between others. If even someone like Nagasaki feels overwhelmed and exhausted by the training plan and band goals set by Toyokawa Shoko, then the situation of the other members of the band is probably even worse."

A hint of worry flickered in Rui Hachishio's slender eyes.

A year ago, she might have been indifferent to the suffering endured by Nagasaki Motoyo and her teammates. After all, she had also gone through a phase of frantically honing her violin skills under mental pressure, and she didn't think it was a bad thing.

But now, after working with the members of Mofornica, she has changed her mind—a band where all members are under immense mental pressure has no future.

If Toyokawa Shoko were a student of Tsukinomori, she could directly interview her and correct her flawed band management methods.

However, Shoko Toyokawa was a student at Haneoka Academy, and her band included students from other academies besides Motoyo Nagasaki, so it was inconvenient for her to get involved.

In fact, given Rui Yashio's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for her to ask the student council president of Haneoka Academy to communicate with Shoko Toyokawa. However, the student council president's power is limited. If Shoko Toyokawa is determined to prove herself through the band, then even if the student council president of Haneoka Academy intervenes, it won't make much difference.

"Aoyama... Lord Haku, can you stop this situation from getting worse? If it were you, you could make Toyokawa Shoko change her mind with just one sentence."

Therefore, let Aoyama deal with this source of all evil.

As soon as he points out Toyokawa Shoko's mistakes, all of Shoko's ideas will become like a tree without roots, and all the band rules built on what she believes to be correct will collapse instantly.

“I will… but before that, I’d like to find out about the members of Ms. Toyokawa’s new band.”

Aoyama is so passionate about rock music that he was willing to risk losing his immense power to become an all-rounder in an underground band.

Therefore, he also pays attention to the development of younger bands. If the band members that Toyokawa Shoko recruited really have potential, he may provide them with further assistance while correcting Toyokawa Shoko's mistakes.

The songs of excellent bands should be heard by more people.

"Miss Hachishio, do you have any relevant information?"

he asked.

"I only know about Nagasaki Motoyo. As for the others... I only know that they are students from Haneoka Junior High School and Hanasakigawa Junior High School, and they usually rehearse in the training room of RinG Live House."

Ruyu Hachishio answered truthfully.

"Then tell me about Nagasaki Motoyo's situation first."

……

After listening to Rui's story, Aoyama was surprised to find that Nagasaki Motoyo's mother was someone he knew.

As mentioned earlier, Aoyama reduced the amount of US Treasury bonds that Tokyo would subscribe to this year through negotiations. In exchange, 55 large-scale companies will increase their investments in nine US states.

Motoyo Nagasaki's mother, Saya Nagasaki (I couldn't find her information; if anyone knows, please let me know), is an executive at one of these 55 companies.

She spoke as a company representative at the second round of business negotiation meetings held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (the first round consisted of 9 large companies, and the second round consisted of the remaining 46 second-tier companies), and secured considerable benefits for her company.

Aoyama was deeply impressed by this person's exceptional eloquence and uncompromising attitude.

This person was able to occupy a senior management position in a large company at the age of less than forty, which shows how much he has put into his career. Aoyama also heard that Nagasaki Saya divorced a few years ago and has not remarried.

This seems to suggest that her daughter, Motoyo Nagasaki, has long lacked family companionship and has significant emotional vulnerabilities in her personality.

Once such a person identifies with a group she joins, she will inevitably feel familial affection for the members of that group, hoping to draw upon the familial emotions she lacks from the group.

Perhaps, the band that Toyokawa Shoko formed was a substitute for family for her?

Thinking about this, Aoyama suddenly realized a problem.

If Motoyo Nagasaki truly considers the band as family and her bandmates as family members, would she endlessly tolerate and accept any excessive demands made by Shoko Toyokawa in order to maintain the existence of this family?

Just like a mother who spoils her child and tolerates the excessive demands made by her child without restraint, even if the demands make other family members suffer.

Looks like I need to find some time to check out RinG.

……

After saying goodbye to Rui Yashio, Aoyama went to the back lounge of Shinjuku Folt.

The lounge's decor is undeniably rock-and-roll. The flimsy wooden walls are covered with the signatures of musicians who have performed here, along with tickets for their shows. There's also a hole in the wall that was punched by Kikuri Hiroi not long ago—the manager, Ginjiro Yoshida, charged her 10 yen for wall repairs, but it still hasn't been fixed and has even become a popular attraction for Sickhack fans.

Isokachi Music Awards: 010 Performing at RinG

However, Yoshida Ginjiro did not return the money.

Last week, Hiroi went out drinking alone and discovered that her wallet was missing when she went to pay the bill. Just when she was in dire straits, she saw Yoshida Ginjiro strolling on the street. So Yoshida Ginjiro paid for her drinks, cutting the 100,000 yen bill down to half.

Well, to calm his nerves, Hiroi ordered a lot more drinks and snacks, so the cost of the drinks doubled...

The remaining half was quickly spent... no, completely lost, since Aoyama wasn't present for these performances, and no one was there to help Hiroi share the losses...

Hiroi Kikuri was still quite drunk today, but thankfully she didn't smash anything on stage, so she didn't have to pay compensation. She received her full 200,000 yen performance fee, so Iwashita Shima, for the first time in a long time, agreed to go to a celebration party with her.

Aoyama was also forcibly dragged away by Hiroi.

The mask he's wearing now has been modified so that the part near his mouth can be removed, so he won't just stand there watching the three of them eat.

The celebration party was held at Soria, a popular Japanese restaurant.

"Why come to a family restaurant? There are much better places to drink, and I already got my full performance fee today!"

Hiroi Kikuri laid out seven Fukuzawa Yukichi (10,000 yen) cards and slammed them onto the dining table with a thud.

Ah, what a beautiful sound!

"Sound! Let's go to an izakaya and have a big drink, Hiroi-sama will pay!"

"Keep this money for living expenses!"

Shima took six of the bills and stuffed them back into Hiroi Kikuri's clothes, keeping only one for paying the bill after the meal.

"Have you forgotten? Mr. Hack doesn't drink at all! Going to an izakaya and just having oolong tea and snacks without drinking isn't a very good experience. Unlike Soria, they have snacks to go with drinks and rice, the prices are reasonable and the food is delicious. And you like Soria's wine, don't you?"

“That’s true,” Hiroi said, settling into his seat and casually placing his hand on Aoyama’s shoulder as he sat on the inside. “So, Hakusan, how about we have some affordable food today? A Japanese-Western restaurant where it’s less than 2,000 yen per person! Hakusan has probably never been to a place like this before!”

In his previous life, Aoyama had actually eaten Soria a few times, but not in this life.

When he first transmigrated, he was the young master of a subordinate organization of the East City Gang. The allowance he could control each month was enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years, so naturally he was completely cut off from restaurants like Soria's.

"This is indeed my first time in Soria, so I'd appreciate it if you three could order some good food for me."

"Then I would first recommend Soria's signature large bottles of wine, one red and one white should be enough."

Without saying a word, Hiroi Kikuri wrote down the names of two bottles of wine on the order form.

"Please don't recommend any alcohol!"

"Tsk tsk, Haksan, a grown man, can't even drink? What a waste of all that good wine stored at home!"

"Well, since we reunited this year, most of the wine has been used up."

"You're kidding, right? Everyone says that rich people buy up wineries abroad and then send hundreds of kilograms of wine to their homes every year... In the past few months, I've only drunk about a hundred kilograms of your wine at most."

Hiroi Kikuri felt that Aoyama was just giving her the runaround.

"Isn't 100 jin of liquor a lot? You don't even weigh 100 jin yourself, do you? And that doesn't even include the liquor you paid for yourself. Aren't you afraid of drinking yourself to death one day?"

Aoyama made a few complaints about her, then paused and said...

"My family has also purchased shares in those foreign wineries you mentioned. However, since I don't drink, most of the wines are shipped to my father. I only keep a small amount of the finest wines to give away as gifts."

"Oh right, Haksand's dad, the kind-looking uncle with a scar on his face."

"You still remember him?"

"Of course I remember. He brought a bunch of people to watch our live show and almost got into a fight with Aunt Tsuzuki."

Kikuri Hiroi said as she recalled.

"Oh, right, speaking of Aunt Tsuzuki, she mentioned before that she wanted to invite us to perform at the live house she's been supporting. I think the name of that place is Ring?"

Such a coincidence?

Aoyama was somewhat surprised.

Just a few dozen minutes ago, he was considering whether to go to RinG to check on the rehearsal of Toyokawa Shoko's new band, but he didn't expect to have the opportunity so soon.

"So, has everyone decided when to go to RinG's performance?"

Qingshan asked.

“Two or three nights from now is fine,” Shima, who is in charge of the band’s schedule, replied after thinking for a while. “However, I heard that RinG’s audience is mostly students from nearby schools, so they don’t really welcome intoxicated people performing on stage. So if we go there to perform, Hiroi might be banned from performing.”

"Hiroi, you can perform even without drinking, right?"

Hiroi followed Aoyama Mukata to live performances when she was in junior high school, but she never drank alcohol back then.

"No alcohol? No, no, no."

Hiroi shook his head frantically, "Hakusan, the past is the past, and the present is the present. You can't treat the past as the present."

"A bottle of Professor Tree's special Daiginjo?"

"Hmm... two bottles."

"A bottle of Daiginjo, and a bottle of Gekkeikan."

"make a deal!"

"Then it's decided. Shima, could you please communicate with RinG?"

"Then let's set it for the evening two days from now."

Shima took out her notebook and scribbled a few notes on it, then looked at Hiroi with some concern.

"Hiroi, you can't be a lead singer if you don't drink, right? I remember when we formed a band, your singing was just a mess..."

"Wait! Don't remind me of that time!"

Hiroi suddenly became agitated, as if he were being violently attacked by some embarrassing memory.

Unfortunately, the large bottle of wine she had just ordered hadn't been served yet. In desperation, she actually jumped over the table and threw herself into Aoyama's arms.

"Phew! Haksan smells just like he did thirteen years ago, so reassuring."

She buried her head in Aoyama's chest and took a few deep breaths to calm down. Then, under the watchful eyes of Eliza, who was covering her mouth and blushing, and Shima, who was deep in thought, she slowly sat back down in her seat.

"Kiku, Kikuri! You and Hakusan really are..."

"Haha, emergency, emergency..." Hiroi Kikuri scratched the back of her head and laughed heartily. "I just suddenly remembered that a long time ago when I was in a band with Hakusan, when I was nervous before going on stage, I would follow closely behind him and smell the scent on his collar to calm down. I didn't expect that this experience could still come in handy now."

"Hmm..." Iwashita Shima seemed to have figured something out. "Hiroi, could Hakusan be your alcohol substitute?"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you just say that Haksan's scent made you feel safe? If you could be with him every day, would you be able to quit drinking?"

"Wait, how could I possibly be with Hakusan every day... Shima, don't be delusional."

Hiroi panicked.

She certainly didn't want to be the wife of a governor. If she did, let alone drinking, even just wandering the streets in wooden clogs like she is now could draw criticism from 3000 million citizens!

Isogachi Music Awards: 011 Does Governor Aoyama know my daughter?

In Aoyama's private office located in a high-end office building in Roppongi, two corporate executives are waiting in the client lounge for a meeting with him.

The two executives, one male and one female, with the male executive likely holding a slightly higher position, were taking advantage of the brief moment of waiting to lecture their colleague sitting on the sofa next to them.

“Ms. Nagasaki Saya, what’s your decision? Isn’t the current situation in the company obvious enough? If you stay in the country, your career advancement has already reached its limit! Moreover, those old fogies on the board are very dissatisfied with you being a woman as a managing director and have been trying to remove you. But if you can take advantage of this opportunity to increase the company’s investment in the United States and become the general manager of a branch there, your future will be limitless.”

The woman known as "Nagasaki Saya" showed no displeasure on her face, simply listened silently to the former's speech, and then replied in a neither soft nor hard tone.

"Executive Director Ikeda, I don't quite understand who you mean by 'those old fogies on the board.' Could you please tell me their names?"

"You don't believe what I said?"

Executive Director Ikeda curled his lip, looking Nagasaki Saya up and down with an unfriendly expression.

"You've misunderstood. It's just that if I want to change the opinion of those 'old fogies' you mentioned, I need to know their names first."

"Okay." Nagasaki Saya replied earnestly, her attitude impeccable.

"Humph."

Of course, Executive Director Ikeda would never do something so offensive, so he could only turn his head away with a displeased expression and take a sip of the tea that Aoyama had handed to his personal assistant.

"Always being so sharp and assertive will only lead to trouble, Miss Nagasaki Saya. Your backers won't always be on your side."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aoyama's personal assistant knocked on the door of the lounge from the outside and then came in.

"Is it finally our turn to meet with the Governor?" Ikeda stood up, tightened his tie and pressed down his sideburns, not forgetting to turn back and sarcastically say to Nagasaki Saya, "Ms. Nagasaki, please make sure you present yourself properly and don't tarnish the company's reputation in front of the Governor."