Chapter 163

"Hey, hey..." Number One looked at the reckless Number Two with embarrassment, then glanced at the people following behind her, and asked her.

"Is it alright? This child has been getting a bit too excited lately."

"No, it's okay if it happens occasionally." Number Three scratched his head with a slightly gloomy expression and asked Number One, who seemed much more mature.

"I'm just going to a show."

Number One nodded.

Their school assigns dormitories according to majors, and this area is mostly for photography majors.

With less than two weeks until returning to school, she knew the other person was probably struggling with handing in assignments.

"That's fine then. I've been looking for some inspiration lately."

Number Three's voice was slightly low and weak, and he seemed quite gloomy.

"Okay! Let's do it together."

Number One smiled and extended an invitation to her as well.

Number One knows this person; she simply doesn't like interacting with people. She usually has this expression and hides alone in a corner.

However, perhaps Kessoku Band's songs would actually attract her.

Number One believes they possess unparalleled, cool, and powerful abilities.

When the three arrived at Shinjuku Folt, they arrived just in time for dinner. They managed to get in without having to wait in line for long.

As soon as they entered the store, the faint sounds of loud music and singing reached their ears.

Number One and Number Two looked excited, while Number Three looked uncomfortable.

She looked at the door next to the ticket checkpoint. The urgent, clamoring sound she heard was only a glimpse of what was being emanating from the sealed door.

The moment she passed through the ticket check and the doors opened, the overwhelming enthusiasm and the feeling of blind frenzy that erupted inside filled her with regret.

But with encouraging looks from Number One and Number Two ahead of her, she still went inside.

She had already silently decided in her heart that she would never come again; this time, she would just consider it a social experience.

Once inside, contrary to her expectations, Number One Number Two didn't immediately join the crowd in having fun. Instead, they calmly found a corner and happily sat down.

Seeing this, Number Three's expression relaxed considerably.

If the two of them really abandoned her and went off to have fun, she would definitely turn around and leave.

Inside the venue, lights flashed, music resonated, and a huge crowd of people waved and swayed in front of them.

Beside her, Number Two leaned close to her and spoke to her earnestly and gently.

"The band I recommended is in the second-to-last show."

"What time is the second to last?"

Upon hearing what Number Two said, Number Three suddenly had a bad feeling.

"8:30 PM."

Number One added with a smile.

Number Three picked up her phone and glanced at the time. She began to regret it. She'd endured two hours in such a noisy place!?

But amidst the regret, curiosity also arose.

Although she didn't particularly like the band performing on stage, she could still tell that they were playing quite well.

But the two of them didn't seem to be interested at all.

What kind of band could make them ignore all other bands and wait patiently?

After this band finished their performance, two more bands came on stage before the Kessoku Band finally took the stage.

Although the stage was covered by a curtain, the three of them still breathed a long sigh of relief when they saw the name of the Kessoku Band projected on the pure white curtain.

Finally, the main character has appeared.

The sounds of instrument testing coming from behind the curtain further energized them.

But at that moment, Number One and Number Two noticed that at the drink window in the corner, someone had taken back the merchandise sold by the previous band and replaced it with merchandise from another band.

Their eyes lit up, and without hesitation, they abandoned Number Three and ran over quickly.

Number Three stared blankly at the two women. They had accompanied her to the previous band performances, so why had they run away without a word now?

However, seeing that the two were heading towards the sales window, she hesitated for a moment, then followed them.

Wow, there are so many more merchandise items! That's great!

"They even have band T-shirts, and this autographed wristband."

Hearing the two exclaim in surprise, Number Three quickened his pace and rushed over.

But she noticed that while Number Two was talking about wristbands, he was holding a large endband in his hand. She checked again and confirmed that it did indeed have a signature on it.

That's just a strap, not a wristband!

And why does he look so honored that the band is making money off him?!

She began to doubt whether it was a good idea to come with the two of them.

Finally, the two bought a huge pile of things, packed them into a canvas bag, and, with a bewildered Number Three looking on, happily searched for the best spot to watch the performance in the crowded venue.

And they just happened to brush past Sato Aiko.

As a fairly well-known writer, Sato Aiko could ask the organizers to go backstage to interview the bands for material.

But she didn't today.

She spent two days at the event, interviewing only a few bands that were considered decent.

On this last day, she did not interview any bands.

The reason is that she was hoping that this event would give rise to a band that could make waves in the entire Japanese music scene, but after searching around, she could only find those relatively good bands among the younger generation.

She hasn't found a band that she considers a gem.

Therefore, she gave up somewhat and decided to honestly compile a list based on the summary of the past few days, give an evaluation, and that would be the end of this event.

After all, apart from the current Kessoku Band, the level of the other bands is basically public knowledge, and she already knows their strengths and weaknesses.

She walked to the back row, slightly expectant, ready to listen carefully to this little-known band.

After browsing the forum for a while, Sato Aiko saw that it was time to leave, so she logged off the forum, opened the text message, and looked up at the stage.

Just then, the curtain on the stage slowly pulled back to the top, and the lead singer, standing in the middle, greeted the audience with a smile.

"Hello everyone, we are the Kessoku Band, a band that has been formed for less than half a year."

Finally seeing the band in person, Sato Aiko was slightly surprised. They were all quite cute and could certainly generate some buzz, but all she cared about was their playing level.

She looked at her phone, listening to the opening remarks on stage with complete indifference.

Kita continued, as if explaining why they didn't have much information online.

"Before, due to various circumstances, we were never able to perform perfectly, so there aren't many videos of our performances online."

"But being here today..."

At that moment, someone in the audience suddenly shouted in shock.

"Kunitomo Gen appeared in BAR."

"Is that singer Kunitomo Gen?!"

The first person to speak replied, "That's right," and then walked away.

Sato Aiko looked up from her phone. She had witnessed firsthand what it meant to be affected by all sorts of circumstances; this band was truly unlucky.

While the lead singer hesitated on stage, she quickly opened the forum.

Sure enough, the forum was full of news about Kunitomo Gen appearing at the livehouse in BAR.

There are people like that in the younger generation of bands too.

Sato Aiko knew that the music festival organizers would verify the identities of the performers during auditions.

In other words, the singer was not the lead singer of a band, but simply someone who came to watch the performance.

But this has caused quite a stir.

It's obvious that someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes, using off-stage tactics to attract attention.

As the curtain rose, Number Three looked curiously at the band that Number One Number Two were so interested in.

But she was surprised to find that the band members looked even younger than them, probably just high school students.

She glanced at the expectant looks on Number One and Number Two, then took another look at the other five people.

As the lead singer spoke, Number Three's gaze wandered from side to side and finally settled on a pink-haired girl on the side of the stage.

She had her head down, her bangs covering her eyes, but Number Three could discern her expression from the lower half of her face.

She was nervous and uncomfortable.

Perhaps it was empathy, or perhaps it was the realization that the other person was also an outsider.

Number Three's heart lingered on the pink-haired girl.

She paid no attention to the commotion from the audience behind her, focusing instead on how the band on stage would handle the situation.

On stage, after the curtain was drawn back, Kita was quite surprised to see that the venue was even more crowded than he had expected.

But she suppressed her excitement and began the opening interaction.

However, her words unexpectedly became a flag, and things changed again.

Seeing this scene, she helplessly turned back to look at Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled to himself, then glanced at Nijika and Ryo, noticing their equally helpless expressions.

But just as he was about to make his move, Bocchi struck first!

In Bocchi's eyes.

With each rise of the curtain before her, the number of people in her eyes doubled.

The sheer number of people made her eyes widen, and a hint of fear appeared in them.

But the more afraid she was, the more she could feel the support from behind and from her friends beside her.

She quickly adjusted her emotions, listened to Kita's voice, and mentally prepared for the performance.

But after the commotion inside, she saw more than a dozen people walking out of the venue, and the memory of the disastrous performance from last time immediately flashed through her mind.

And again... and again, it's the same situation.

Bocchi wanted to do something to stop this from happening.

Do something... to make them stop.

She lowered her head; the only things she could rely on were her guitar and the falcon, but she had decided not to depend on the falcon anymore.

So, at this moment, without anyone to call out to them or give them instructions, they found themselves in a situation where...

In the midst of a misfortune that had only just begun to unfold.

Bocchi suddenly lifted the neck of the guitar, put down the pick, and began to play.

The audio signal shot out from the guitar like lightning, passed through the backstage area, entered the large loudspeakers in the venue, and then spread throughout the entire venue.

The guitar's rapid strumming and various techniques, resembling both a display of skill and a display of its fangs, resonated throughout the venue.

Those who hadn't even left the venue couldn't help but shudder when they heard the guitar music.

The fans in the audience, Number One and Number Two, showed expressions of joy and surprise, which were not unexpected.

And after this short but timeless guitar solo, it ended.