Chapter 157

Kita smiled, clenched his fist, and recited the classic sports meet slogan with all his might.

"Kita- chan... this isn't a sports meet... we can just go easy on here."

Nijika also started joking and Kita.

But soon, the staff's words shattered this relaxed atmosphere.

"... Then please, Homeland Band, Zero Return Band, Kessoku Band, Cute Girls Band, and Acute Angle Band, these five bands, please get ready for rehearsal and come on stage in turn to rehearse."

"Huh!?"

The four girls were stunned when the staff inexplicably called out their band's name.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled to himself as he looked at their dumbfounded expressions.

Otsuki Yuyuko walked into the hall.

The atmosphere at the venue today felt very different to her, since everyone there was a musician, and they all looked eager to go on stage.

But Otsuki Yuyuko didn't take them seriously; basically, all the bands considered to have potential had already been called in to prepare for rehearsals.

Of course, she is an exception; after all, as a "local," she still has some advantages here.

Moreover, she could almost not participate in this event anymore. Her skill level and popularity no longer qualify her as a new band. She only participated because the store manager and Hiroi Kikuri asked her to help boost the popularity of the venue.

When she came out of the waiting room, it was already the end of the second band's rehearsal.

Since she hadn't heard the main part of the piece, she didn't comment on it, but only made a preliminary assessment of the performers' abilities.

All I can say is that the performance was very powerful.

But it probably still doesn't meet the standards of the top bands participating this time. Is it because they're not in good form or something else happened?

Moreover, judging from the scene, the first band didn't seem to be very good, since most people still looked eager to try.

Soon, it was time for the Kessoku Band.

Otsuki Yuyuko slightly perked up and looked at the stage.

The five people hurriedly took small, quick steps, running from the preparation room to the stage.

The pink-haired guitarist almost tripped and fell flat on her face, but the man caught her and prevented her from hitting the ground.

They immediately took their positions and began tuning their instruments.

Otsuki Yuyuko sighed as she watched their tense expressions. She paid special attention to Ishikawa Hayato and Gotou Hitori, whom Hiroi Kikuri mentioned.

After going on stage, Gotou Hitori a flash, then lowered his head again and began to tremble on the spot.

"Is it okay for that girl to perform on stage?"

Otsuki Yuyuko overheard the same thoughts she was having from the person in front of her.

After only a couple of tremors, perhaps realizing that wouldn't do, Gotou Hitori quickly turned around, his back to the venue, while she watched in disbelief.

She even saw Ishikawa Hayato, who was behind her, give Gotou Hitori a thumbs up, Gotou Hitori reached out and touched the back of her head. Although she couldn't see Gotou Hitori's expression, she could tell from the flowers blooming behind Gotou Hitori.

Gotou Hitori was quite pleased.

"This band is really interesting."

At this moment, the person next to her said something completely opposite to her opinion.

What's so interesting about this?!

This little incident seemed to relax the lead singer and the drummer who were initially a bit nervous. The drummer said something, but Ishikawa Hayato stopped him with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Soon, after the group confirmed their status, the lead singer began to sing.

"We are the Kessoku Band, so please listen to <Guitar, Loneliness, and the Blue Planet>."

On the other side of the venue, Hiroi Kikuri let out a questioning cry.

"Huh?"

But her voice didn't affect the start of the song.

The fast and smooth intro immediately conveys the beauty of the interplay between instruments, and then quickly introduces the vocals.

Kita leaned towards the microphone and began to speak very steadily.

"The sudden downpour made me so fed up with not having an umbrella."

Inside the venue, the musicians who had initially hoped to assess their opponents' skill level and look forward to performing on stage clearly felt the gap in just a few seconds, experiencing firsthand what it meant to be a favored contestant by the organizers.

Under this music, the atmosphere in the venue changed from initial surprise to sighs of enjoyment, and finally to complete immersion and participation.

But while listening to the beautiful music, Otsuki Yuyuko frowned. They were only at the level of getting top rankings in previous years, not as good as Hiroi-nee said.

On the other hand, the more Hiroi Kikuri listened, the more questions arose in her mind.

Why did these people's performance lack passion? Although they played very seriously, it wasn't like they were deliberately holding back.

And their song selection seemed rather arbitrary; didn't they all have better songs?

But as she listened, sensing the emotions in the music and those of the performers on stage, she suddenly smiled.

"Happiness and friendship come first, looks like that's what this guy thinks again."

The song wasn't long; their performance didn't make every second of the music feel incredibly long, yet after it ended, it felt excessively short.

It ended just like any other ordinary thing.

Amid the applause, Ishikawa Hayato glanced at the staff and the store manager.

They were writing something on paper with pens while recording equipment ran.

He guessed that their evaluation was only "very good," since their momentum wasn't strong enough, and Bocchi was too scared to face the crowd, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Rather than striving to compete and win, he would rather see them happy.

At that moment, he could sense without even looking that the girls around him were completely relaxed and happy because of the applause and their easy and steady performance.

Even Bocchi was happily peeking into the arena.

Ishikawa Hayato was satisfied, but he also harbored ambitions. If he could play so consistently amidst such fierce competition, what about the performance a few days later...?

There's something to watch now.

Ishikawa Hayato never lies.

"I want to be number one." That wasn't just something I said to appease them.

With such a great opportunity, of course they had to try to transform themselves from an unknown band into a super popular band of their time.

After the five of them finished rehearsing, they came off the stage with relaxed expressions and returned to the crowd. This familiar song and this level of performance didn't take much effort on them at all.

As soon as they returned to the crowd, many musicians came over to greet them.

Their powerful yet unpretentious performance garnered them considerable goodwill.

At this point, it was natural for Kita and Nijika, the two lovely and bright diplomats, to step forward and interact with them. They quickly struck up a pleasant conversation amidst Bocchi's terrified trembling.

Ishikawa Hayato, meanwhile, protected Bocchi, who looked like he'd just seen a zombie army, and Ryo, who was leaning against him, as they hid in a corner.

But he also kept an eye on the two people to prevent pests from getting close.

He was serious about protecting his future girlfriend from danger.

Because the next band was still tuning their instruments, Liang didn't pay attention to the stage but leaned against the wall, absentmindedly looking at her phone.

It wasn't until after the performance that she gradually understood what was going on. She glanced at the stage and saw the tense and heavy expressions on the faces of the people there, then she looked away.

She knew how reliable her boyfriend was, but this was the first time she had truly felt his thoughtfulness.

She realized then that in this audition, which was supposed to be a rehearsal but was actually an allocation of performance time slots, the important thing wasn't how great the performance was.

Instead, it was a stable and flawless performance.

They were not facing an audience, but rather the staff.

From his pre-performance pep talk to his selection of the pieces they were most familiar with, the performance was bound to go smoothly.

Only...

Ryo glanced at Ishikawa Hayato's current state; he was looking longingly at Nijika and Kita in the crowd.

This possessiveness is truly extraordinary...

But considering that such a meticulous person could also be so silly, it's surprisingly kind of cute.

"Hey bro, Bocchi-chan, your performance was really good!"

Just then, the stalker Kessoku Band's run returned. His signature muffled voice was instantly recognizable.

They had only been hiding in this corner for a short while when Hiroi Kikuri caught up with them. She was holding an opened Demon Slayer Sake, and her face was flushed, indicating that she had drunk quite a bit.

Ishikawa Hayato sighed as he looked at the person who was causing them so much trouble, walked up to her, and waved his hand in front of her face amidst her puzzled expression.

What song were we just singing?

"Ah."

Hiroi Kikuri wore a wry, gloomy smile as she cautiously guessed what was going on.

"Guitar and the World?"

Ishikawa Hayato sighed deeply, and like a doctor facing someone beyond help, he patted Hiroi Kikuri on the shoulder and shook his head.

He went back.

"Hey buddy, what's with that expression?! I'm still alive!"

Hiroi Kikuri tried hard to show that her life was very healthy.

At this moment, Ishikawa Hayato stopped and turned around, saying with an expression that said, "You finally realized."

"Actually, you've already died from drinking too much, and I am Death."

"Huh!?" Hiroi Kikuri was taken aback.

Ryo suddenly found it amusing, put down his phone, and watched the farcical scene of Ishikawa Hayato teasing the drunkard.

Ishikawa Hayato spoke slowly, his face stern, a deep sense of guilt lingering beneath.

"Yes, you are dead. Because you were kind, I will now open the gates to heaven for you. However, you cannot take anything from this world to heaven. Give me everything in your pocket."

"How could this happen..." Hiroi Kikuri was on the verge of tears.

"Hurry up, there's still time to see your friend's reaction when we get to China."

Upon hearing this, Hiroi Kikuri hurriedly began rummaging through her pockets. Ishikawa Hayato saw her take out several bottles of alcohol, but still seemed reluctant to give them to her, and let out another long sigh.

He didn't accept what Hiroi Kikuri offered, and instead shook his head at Ryo.

"I could fool a thousand people this stupid in a day."

Liang smiled.

A short while later, Hiroi Kikuri, seeing that he hadn't taken it, scratched her head in confusion, wandered around the area, and returned after confirming that she was still alive.

She cried and said, "Young man, this can't be true."

When Ishikawa Hayato saw that she had come again, he knew he couldn't avoid her, so he told her directly.

"I feel like I'll be unwelcome just being around you."

"That's too much!"

Hiroi Kikuri wiped away her tears, took another sip of wine, and, under the protection of the alcohol, smiled again.

Knowing that casual conversation with Ishikawa Hayato would lead to escalating topics about space, she directly stated her purpose.

"Hey buddy, could you please take good care of my junior?"

"Junior? That one?" Ishikawa Hayato asked casually.

"Oh, come on, it's Otsuki-chan." Hiroi Kikuri waved her hand.