Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

After all, when Ryo was arranging the score, the role he assigned to me was to be the foil for the lead vocalist, Goto-san.

"Then, I'll leave it to you!" Goto bowed somewhat exaggeratedly.

"...Don't be so formal." Akie laughed.

The two of them got together, moved their instruments to a corner where they would not disturb others, and began to prepare for the ensemble.

And at the same time.

"Eh? What are you going to do?"

Xingge was suddenly surprised to find that the "stray cat" in front of her suddenly started behaving strangely.

She threw the empty paper cup into the trash can, then bent over, laid the instrument case flat, and took out the contents.

Xingge looked at the guitar in surprise. It was covered with cracks, paint peeling and other signs of aging, giving the impression that it was much older than the "stray cat" himself.

"What?" the girl with short white hair asked back as she picked up the guitar and plugged in the power cord.

"Playing guitar." She answered herself as a matter of course.

Playing guitar means...

“——!!!”

She answered Xingge's question with her actions.

A powerful music sounded, and what she played was the solo part arranged by Ryo that Goto Ichiri had just played alone!

He actually...had already learned it? Xingge, who was standing by, was dumbfounded.

She had never seen the music score, nor had she practiced it. She just stood aside and listened to Goto's performance several times from a distance. But, she actually... learned it?

The general direction of the melody is the same as Goto's performance; but it is more impactful and aggressive than the former.

As for the handling of some details, she only listened to the general idea and did not reproduce it completely; however, this did not affect her performance at all.

All the unclear parts are filled in by spontaneous arrangements. Although it is quite different from the original, it can rely on perfect and pure techniques to give people the illusion that "it should be played like this"!

Like mercury flowing on the ground, she finished playing the entire solo. A touch of red appeared on her fair skin, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

“…Satisfied.”

After the song was over, she put away her guitar, dragged her instrument case again, and walked towards the exit.

"Thank you for the milk."

The "stray cat" said goodbye with these words and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Just like a real stray cat, it comes and goes without a trace.

……

Who is that child?

Looks like he should be a little younger than me...

Goto Ichiri unconsciously hugged the guitar in his hands tightly.

Was she trying to imitate my playing just now?

“…Um, Akie, who is she…?”

"How should I know?" Qiu Hui shook her head. "Although it is indeed shocking, it has nothing to do with us, right?"

"Come to think of it, I seem to have heard from my sister before!" Hongxia, who had just escaped from the afterglow of the performance, said, "That kid seems to be moving around various live houses recently..."

“…It’s a stray cat.” Yamada Ryo explained.

She looked as if she knew the other person very well.

"Do you know her, Senior?"

"She often goes around live houses all over Tokyo," Liang explained. "She stays for a while at each place, and if she's in a good mood, she'll improvise for no reason. After she finishes a performance, she'll leave on her own."

"That's amazing!" Kita responded, "Don't you think this is cool?"

"Because she plays very well, behaves in a very unique way, and looks very cute, she quickly became famous in the area and became like an urban legend." Liang concluded, "I have seen her several times."

"Because you also like to run around between live houses?" Qiu Hui asked, "Then, do you know her real name?"

"I don't know. Or rather, why should I know?" Liang asked back.

"...I tried to think about it from your perspective." Akie replied, "Indeed, knowing the code name is enough."

She turned to look at Goto Ichiri who was holding a guitar: "But this has nothing to do with us, let's get ready to play together."

“Ah? Oh, oh…”

Goto Ichiri nodded somewhat dully.

Chapter 61: The Dilemma of the Ensemble

Qiu Hui was operating the keyboard panel.

"Is it this button? No. Then this one... ah, that's right."

The electronic keyboard began to produce a stiff but rhythmic drum beat.

"Since Hongxia hasn't joined yet, let's use the drum sound effects preset in this system."

"Understood!" Goto Ichiri's face was solemn, and he looked like a member of the defense team who was about to fly a plane to fight a monster. "I will try my best!"

Qiu Hui took a deep breath and found the right time to get into the rhythm.

"One, two, three, 'Genius Idol-sama', let's go!"

Qiu Hui used the preset "chorus" tone of the electronic piano to imitate this section of the original song. Then, while humming the tune of the original song to imitate the human voice, she played the keyboard to enter the fast-paced main song part.

……Oops!

Nervous Goto Ichiri made a mistake right at the beginning.

She cut in half a beat slower than planned.

Originally, this was a song with a relatively high BPM, and one wrong step could easily lead to the collapse of the entire system.

Anxious, Goto Ichiri tried to get back to the correct rhythm, but her efforts were ineffective.

Her talent for guitar made her feel like she had gained life once she started playing, and she followed her own rhythm. Although she wanted to change this trend, the muscle memory brought by her talent for playing stubbornly went against her subjective consciousness.

"... Stop!" Akie turned off the rhythm and stopped playing. "It's completely messed up. Pochi, you look a little nervous? You were a little slow when you cut in."

"I'm sorry! I, um, I didn't mean it..." Goto Ichiri almost curled up like a watermelon worm.

"How can someone deliberately play it wrong?" Qiu Hui couldn't help laughing. "It's okay, just try again."

The second ensemble attempt begins.

This time, Goto didn't make any obvious mistakes.

But this time the problem lies with Qiu Hui.

Goto Ichiri's performance is like a restless wild horse, full of vitality and wildness.

However, Qiu Hui is just a mediocre keyboard player who has just started rehabilitation.

It is easy to imagine how difficult it is to force the latter to adapt to the rhythm of the former.

"..." Qiu Hui frowned and even forgot to hum along with the accompaniment.

Liang was right. She didn't give me any skills-intensive tasks, but working with a strong player like Goto Ichiri did make me feel unprecedented pressure.

Although there were no fatal mistakes like the first time, the performance was still full of big and small discords. The poor listening experience caused by the accumulation of countless problems tortured Qiu Hui's auditory nerves.

The second attempt at ensemble ended in a very delicate situation.

“Ah, how should I put it, it feels very… just…”

Qiu Hui scratched her hair in annoyance, but didn't know how to express her opinion.

The ensemble effect was very...unsatisfactory.

If it's just to create atmosphere in a class meeting or something like that, this might be enough to fool people.

But if we want to target LIVEHOUSE listeners...it will be a big problem if we do it like this.

"Akie, um, how do you feel?"

"To be honest, it's terrible." Qiu Hui sighed, "On the one hand, I can't keep up with your pace at all; on the other hand..."

As she was speaking, she paused for a moment, as if she was considering whether she should say the next words.

"...I don't know if this is accurate. But I have a feeling. Pochi, your level just now...seems to be much worse than in the ensemble." Akie was a little annoyed. "If it was based on your solo level at that time...even if there is a problem here, the effect will not be so bad."

"…As expected, is it my problem?" Goto Ichiri lowered his head in disappointment.

Akie's heart tightened. She really shouldn't have said that. Goto-san had a negative personality. If anyone even slightly criticized her, she would exaggerate that view.

"No, no, that's not what I meant at all!" Akie racked her brains to find words to comfort the disappointed Goto, "How should I put it... Pochi, it should be that you disrupted your own sense of rhythm in order to accommodate me, right?"

"Don't make excuses for me like this." Goto smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I know. Since I was a child, no one has ever formed a band with me, so I have always been playing solo according to my own temperament... That's why I'm not good at coordinating with others, right?"

Her mood seemed to get lower and lower as she spoke.

“Ah, I feel like a bad salesman… I over-performed during the solo and gave everyone too high expectations of my level, but when it came time to actually work with everyone, I failed… It’s like I sold everyone a shoddy product, I’m so sorry…”

"Don't just start playing out this little negative drama in your head!" Although Qiu Hui was anxious, she was helpless.

She has a clear self-awareness of her lackluster eloquence and empathy.

"It doesn't matter if you can't cooperate for the time being. As long as you practice a few more times, you should be able to slowly get the hang of it, right? Although I have no experience of playing together with others, but..." Qiu Hui tried hard to explain, but she felt that her words were not convincing.

However, Goto Ichiri had an unexpected reaction.

"Qihui, you've never played a duet with others?" There seemed to be a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"No."

"Ah...yes. How could I have forgotten that?"

Goto Ichiri seemed to have suddenly thought of something and suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"I'm not the only one who plays the role of a traitor in the band... If even Akiie thinks this is okay..."

Ichiri was talking to himself in a way that made Akie a little confused.

What do you mean "even I think it's OK"? I'm not some master in the field of ensemble, so why would you take my opinion as an authoritative one?

"Anyway, let's practice a few more times, okay?"

"Yes! I will try my best!"

“…Looks like it’s alright for now. All right, then, ‘Genius Idol-sama’, start!”

This duet exercise was repeated several times.

Qiu Hui felt that she had found a little bit of the way to play. The low-level mistakes that occurred frequently before were successfully corrected after repeated practice, and now she has reached the point where she can pursue "effect" rather than "correctness".

But even so, the problem of the messy ensemble effect has not been effectively improved.

Even though Goto Ichiri had a genius level of performance, due to the chaotic coordination, he was unable to display even 30% to 40% of his ability.

Looking at the dejected Goto, Akie also felt a little uneasy.

It's so chaotic with just two people...how chaotic will it be when five people play together?

Chapter 62: Individual Personalities

Time continues to pass.

When Ijichi Hongxia was beating the drumsticks to ask everyone to gather, Qiu Hui looked at the time as if waking up from a dream.

…It’s been so long? She frowned.

"Um...Akie." Goto pulled at her clothes, "Is it time to try out a five-person ensemble?"