I'm having fun in Tokyo

"It's alright, Asaka, I'm still the same me, don't worry."

"It's okay if you treat me like Him, I don't mind."

"No way! I hate that bastard who deceived me. He said something like, 'If you tell that white fox, he can make you a god,' but he ended up destroying the whole of Kyoto."

"I hate Him, I wish I could tear Him to pieces, I don't want to mistake you for Him!" Asaka said angrily in a low voice.

The three priestesses beside him all lowered their heads and remained silent.

When they first learned that the Goddess was a fake, they were all very scared, worried about how the real Goddess would treat them. But after getting to know her, they found that she was much easier to get along with than the fake Goddess.

If they had to choose, they would prefer the current God.

“Okay, then let’s not talk about Him.” Mitsuko bent down and hugged Asaka’s small body.

Morikawa Yu watched with envy.

I want to snuggle up in the big fox's arms.

"Master, are you okay?"

Xinjue stepped forward and tugged at his trench coat.

"The look in your eyes right now makes me feel like I'm going to fail the task Lady Scarlet Moon gave me... Ouch, ouch, ouch."

She covered her head and took two steps back.

Morikawa Yu withdrew his fist.

"Give your master some confidence."

"Oh." Xin Jue nodded honestly.

She just wanted to remind her master that although he was strange in private, he had his own bottom line and wouldn't do anything excessive.

"Let's keep going, big fox."

He patted Mitsuko on the back from behind.

Asaka looked up at him, half annoyed, feeling that he was oblivious to the atmosphere.

However, Morikawa Yu didn't mind; he just wanted to liven up the atmosphere instead of making it so dull.

"Come on, let's go see the Thousand Torii Gates together." He urged, pulling Mitsuko with one hand and Asaka with the other, and walked towards the steps leading to the back mountain.

“I’ve seen those torii gates for a thousand years, what’s so interesting about them?” Asaka complained without thinking.

“The torii gate itself isn’t anything special; what’s interesting is the person with you,” he said softly, smiling at Mitsuko.

Mitsuko's cheeks flushed.

"Ugh! He actually used my complaints to confess his feelings, how cunning!" Asaka glared at him.

"Haha, whether someone is cunning or not is not important, as long as the big fox is happy."

Morikawa Yu laughed and ignored her, taking a step forward.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"I have a surprise for you all in a bit, so look forward to it!"

Chapter 228 Skin Debut

......

An hour later, at the mountaintop.

"Is this the surprise you were talking about?" Asaka looked at Morikawa Yu with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

He was taking something out of the Goshuin-cho (a type of tent), but it turned out to be a guitar.

"It's not that I doubt you, but even if that woman named Yui gave you the blessing of music theory, there's no way you could have learned an instrument so quickly, right? I'll see..."

She was speaking when she suddenly couldn't continue.

Morikawa Yu silenced her with a very crisp and clean strumming.

He didn't just sweep randomly; he came prepared.

A chord, a wrist turn—there was none of the awkwardness or noise of a beginner; instead, it was exceptionally crisp, smooth, and melodious.

After a quick test of the sound, Morikawa Yu mentally activated the system.

-

[True Damage] Skin Mission:

"Prerequisite task completed"

"Task 1: The right atmosphere and music are a perfect match. Please play a piece of music in a suitable environment and gain the approval of others (you can try again after failing, with no limit on the number of attempts)."

"Completion Reward: 300 Shop Points, raise the musical level of any instrument to lv3 (Mastery)."

-

Upon arriving in Kyoto and boarding a private car, Morikawa Yu received the musical instruments from Fujiwara Keisuke's assistants, which included a shakuhachi, a flute, a violin, and a guitar.

He took these instruments into the shadows of history, hoping to improve his proficiency, but found that he only developed his awareness, without any improvement in his physical skills.

Even if his consciousness in the afterimage played the piano beautifully, his proficiency in reality only barely reached level 1 (beginner).

After thinking for a long time, he could only conclude that the playing skills acquired through consciousness were different from music theory and singing skills, making them difficult to use effectively in reality.

Music theory is knowledge; once you memorize it, you memorize it. Singing is the human instinct to produce sound, plus technique. As long as you're not tone-deaf, you can sing very well with a little attention.

Playing a musical instrument is much more complicated. If you haven't practiced, you haven't practiced. Even if you know the techniques and are conscious of it, it's still difficult for your body to keep up.

That level 1 proficiency level was probably only achieved because of his strong physique and reaction speed, allowing his body movements to barely keep up with his consciousness.

But that's enough.

The prerequisite for 【True Damage】 is simply to reach proficiency level 1 (Beginner) in music theory and any instrument.

He submitted the mission and received the [True Damage] cosmetic reward, which also allowed him to raise the proficiency of one musical instrument to level 2 (proficient).

Now that he's ready for his first official task, he's raised his guitar proficiency to level 2 (proficient).

As for why he used a guitar, it's mainly because the song he wanted to play was best accompanied by a guitar.

The song is called "Tomorrow's Night Sky Sentry Post," a legendary VOCALOID song that won't appear for over a year.

This song isn't particularly popular, but he really likes it and even taught himself how to play the guitar version of the sheet music created by a YouTuber named Samurai-san.

Unfortunately, he only gave up learning guitar halfway through his previous life.

But things are different now. I easily reached level 2 (proficient) guitar skill, so of course I had to play it and have some fun.

Morikawa Yu put down her guitar and looked at Mitsuko and Asaka.

Asaka frowned at him: "Hey, you're not really planning to play a song for the God as a gift, are you?"

"Even if I told you that the Lord God would like anything you made, you can't be so casual about it, can you?"

Beside her, Mitsuko, who had initially been just curiously watching Morikawa Yu, suddenly became expectant.

"Morikawa, is the surprise you mentioned going to play a song and sing for me?"

Morikawa Yu nodded.

Xinjue blinked.

She knew her owner could sing, but what was with playing the guitar?

Master, did you really train? Or did you train in the afterimage using the power given to you by Lady Scarlet Moon? Can training your consciousness really be effective?

She suddenly became worried.

Don't play it badly and embarrass yourself in front of Princess Mitsuko!

Although she disliked this woman who opposed Lord Feiyue, she also didn't want to see her usually handsome master embarrassed, as that would be extremely difficult for her to accept.

This has nothing to do with stance; it's simply a maid's expectation of her master.

Morikawa Yu was unaware of Shinjue's thoughts. He closed his eyes and began to recall the score and lyrics of "Tomorrow's Night Sky Sentinel".

He had listened to this song countless times, and with his already thorough grasp of music theory, he could recall the lyrics and melody perfectly.

But even if you remember it clearly, it doesn't guarantee that it will all pop up.

He pressed down on the string and began experimenting, disassembling it section by section and testing each note individually.

Keisuke Fujiwara, who was standing on the outermost edge admiring the scenery, was also drawn back to the music by its rhythms.

He was different from everyone else present.

He has listened to a lot of songs, so much so that even adding most of the anime songs to the charts wouldn't be enough. Moreover, he was forced by his family to learn music theory in order to cultivate aristocratic manners.

In this way, even if one cannot perform or compose, one can at least demonstrate the necessary musical literacy in musical occasions that require "refined taste".

That's why he was able to hear the connection between these seemingly nonsensical details.

He was certain that Mr. Morikawa was composing a piece of music.

Although these fragments are somewhat disjointed, when put together, they form a fairly good pop song.

He thought he could find a sense of belonging from the people around him, but he was somewhat disappointed because even his niece, Fujiwara Shiori, who was most likely to agree with him, had a puzzled expression on her face.

He knew without even guessing that his niece had been slacking off in her music theory class.

Damn it, I didn't want to learn it, but I was forced to finish it. When I got home, I made her take the lessons again.

.......

Mitsuko gently tapped her feet to the beat as Morikawa Yu played.

Although she had never studied music theory, her strong sense of awareness allowed her to keenly capture the emotions in the playing.

The first quarter had a sense of bewilderment, and by the second quarter, there was even more melancholy and worry, casting a shadow over one's mood.

But in the third section, the tone became gentle, as if it had found something important, let go of its worries, and become firm. After a melodious and light strumming, it became brisk and cheerful.

She stared intently at Morikawa Yu, eager to see how he would perform the song, while also feeling a little shy.

She had a vague feeling that the important thing he was looking for in his playing was her, but it didn't come out in the whole piece, and she wasn't sure.

Amidst Mitsuko's anticipation, Fujiwara Keisuke's regret at not finding a sense of belonging, Asaka's pouting lips, and Shinka's worry, Morikawa Yu put down her guitar and took a deep breath.

A breeze of deep blue and pale purple slowly gathered around him, blowing his trench coat and making it longer and more fitted, giving him a more mysterious air and making him radiate a dreamlike rainbow light.

[True Damage] - Skin appearance unlocked!

He pressed down on the strings, flipped his fingers, and began to play.

Chapter 229 Reward! Reward!

The first sentence of "The Night Sky Sentinel of Tomorrow" is, "I am a boy who acts on impulse and chooses his enemies carefully."

"There is no future that we want to achieve; we are just waiting for the unrealistic dreams we have."

The preceding content mainly describes the protagonist's confusion, "fear of the future and longing for the past".

It wasn't until the third section that the emotions underwent a positive change, becoming light and firm, because the "protagonist" found something important.

The lyrics then changed to "However, that night was no longer the same, because you held my hand tightly."

As he played and sang, he thought about his last embrace with the big fox.

At that time, the great fox and he defeated the Inari god together and fulfilled their long-cherished wish. However, due to the complete disappearance of the white fox Tamamo-no-Mae, he wanted to end his own life.

He couldn't bear to see the big fox leave like this, so he embraced her and promised to stop her from ending her own life.

In short, the process was difficult, but worth the effort.

The big fox found a reason to keep living and promised to meet him again.

Having come to understand himself, and with the support of Hiigetsu, he and Asaka went to Kyoto and met her.

Now, he wants to use this song and its content to express his feelings to the big fox.

I hope she can move on from the past and stop being afraid of the future.

No matter how difficult things get in the future, there's no need to be afraid or worried; we can face them together.

As Morikawa Yu sang, he felt more and more into it and looked at Mitsuko.