Chapter 276

Upon Hitori, Ichiri shoved the wig onto her head, instantly transforming into a female ghost with cascading hair covering her face.

"Ah... I can't see anything at all..."

After putting on the wig, she cried out, unsure whether it was out of relief or discomfort.

Nijika immediately complained.

"Of course, with such thick hair covering it, what else could be seen!"

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled as he watched them goofing around.

"I'll go upstairs and take a look."

He said this as he walked upwards out of the starry sky.

As he left, Seika and PA-san, who had been huddled in a corner because of the intense atmosphere among the five of them, glanced at the four girls who were staring at him as he left.

PA: "Wow... it's completely centered around him now, it's really become a harem."

Seika pouted in dissatisfaction.

"They're all too dependent on that pervert."

A short while later, Ishikawa Hayato came down again. He beckoned the group to Liang's side and said to them...

"I just went up and saw that there's already a long line outside, mostly our fans..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hitori let out a frightened "Ugh..."

Seeing Hitori's frightened expression, Ishikawa Hayato chuckled and showed his phone to the others.

"I just took a picture."

He then opened his phone and showed the photos.

This time, not only the three who were standing, but even Liang stood up to take a look.

The photo is divided into two parts, left and right, by the railing. In the lower right corner, there is a sign displaying today's bands, with the words "Kessoku Band" and the logo occupying the largest space in the center, surrounded by smaller bands that were there as warm-up acts.

In the upper left corner, fans lined the sunken staircase filled with stars, a dense crowd that caught their eye. Among them, they spotted a few familiar figures.

Fans Number One Number Two, along with their Number Three, noticed the camera and happily waved in this direction.

Looking closely, you can also see fans of the band Ryozen, such as Sato Aiko, and some other fans wearing their band T-shirts in the corner.

It looks like a rather lively photo.

"This is... really a great photo..."

The first to speak was Hitori. The others looked at Hitori in surprise, but what they saw was her face covered by a waterfall of hair.

Nijika, who knew Hitori very well, sighed.

"Bocchi-chan definitely didn't watch it, did she?"

Hitori felt a pang of guilt and struggled to speak.

"I... I saw it!"

Ikuyo chuckled, then looked expectantly at Ishikawa Hayato.

"This photo is really good, Hayato-kun, send it to me quickly~"

Ishikawa Hayato readily agreed and sent her the photos via his phone, but at the same time he noticed Ryo walking towards the corner.

He glanced in that direction; it was where they had set up their stalls around the band's area.

This person really doesn't learn their lesson. Nijika has already taken their money several times, yet they still keep doing this. They're really shameless.

Ishikawa Hayato raised his phone, pretending to check the time, and very "kindly" reminded Nijika.

"Nijika, it's almost time to enter. Let's wait at the booth."

While still lecturing Hitori, Nijika checked the time. Although it was still a bit early, she smiled and nodded to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Um."

The four then walked toward their stalls, while Liang, who had been leaning against the wall looking at his phone, turned and headed toward the restroom as the four approached.

Nijika sensed something was wrong as soon as she saw this scene. She quickly went over, glanced at the stall, her face darkened, and without hesitation, she pulled out a spiked club from her pocket and chased after Liang.

"Shan~Tian~!"

Ishikawa Hayato stepped forward with a smile, but his smile vanished when he saw what Liang had laid out.

Ryo only displayed one product, called Special Ending Rope, which was actually just a loop made of a few blades of grass. The raw materials looked quite fresh, as if they had just been picked from the roadside. The price was 400 yen, and there were five of them on display.

He just realized that this guy had been reckless and hadn't learned his lesson. This time, he had essentially gotten something for nothing, showing significant improvement.

Beside him, Ikuyo stared blankly at the few blades of grass, unaware of her feelings at that moment.

A few minutes later, customers began to enter the store one after another.

In no time at all, it felt as if the entire starry sky had been filled, with all sorts of people gathered there waiting for tonight's performance.

Thank you so much for your support!

At their stall, Nijika and Ikuyo having a great time selling merchandise, and the CDs, end credits, and various other small items on the table were gradually disappearing.

Behind the stall, Ishikawa Hayato was in charge of keeping an eye on Ryo, who looked aggrieved and had tears in her eyes, and Hitori, who had been ordered to remove her wig. The three of them sat there looking miserable.

But they weren't idle either. Several fans who had bought their merchandise didn't want to disturb the two busy people, so they walked over to them.

Number One, Number Two, and Number Three moved together as before, waving to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Wow, today's performance looks like it's going to be really exciting!"

Ishikawa Hayato responded with a smile.

"Yes, it completely exceeded my expectations. I also want to thank the supporters from the fan club."

Not long ago, under the leadership of Fan Number Two, their fan club was established.

Although it wasn't officially explained to other music fans, the number of fans who joined was surprisingly large; if all of them came, even the Starry Sky wouldn't be able to hold that many people.

Of course, Ikuyo was still in charge of this matter within the band.

"Huh?" Number One was taken aback upon hearing Ishikawa Hayato's response, and she looked at Number Two and asked.

"Is Ishikawa-san really such a serious person?"

"No, it feels like there's been a big change..." Number Two also looked surprised.

Ishikawa Hayato helplessly shrugged and explained.

"Because I have a girlfriend now."

As he spoke, he looked at Nijika and Ikuyo by the stall, and the two of them immediately noticed his gaze and looked in his direction.

"Oh?" Number One noticed the exchange of glances between them, a smile of great interest on his face. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Ishikawa Hayato to ask.

Can you reveal who it is?

"We'll keep that a secret for now."

Ishikawa Hayato's enigmatic reply.

Sensing that the conversation wasn't going to end, although they all trusted Ishikawa Hayato, they weren't strong enough to let it go.

After Ikuyo and Nijika looked at each other, Ikuyo smiled and walked over to say something.

"Great, you're here! We'll be playing a new piece tonight!"

Ikuyo is very good at creating buzz, and in one go, he attracted the attention of three fans, as well as other music lovers interested in their band.

"A new piece?"

"What is it like?"

"Wow, don't announce it so early! Those few hours are so hard to wait."

Ikuyo smiled as she looked at the music fans whose curiosity had been piqued.

"This is a song with somewhat dark lyrics, but it's a very cool song with special meaning. The song is called... <Adolescent Syndrome>!"

196. Harvest

Inside the box-like performance hall, dim lights flickered in sync with the music.

On this not-so-high stage, the musicians expressed themselves, letting their emotions drive the music, which then spread throughout the venue through the loudspeakers.

In these small performance venues, musicians mostly use original compositions that are devoid of commercial elements and full of inspiration to showcase their dreams and emotions on this stage.

This was especially true for the group that Kessoku Band performance.

On this stage, she conveyed her emotions through her music, using the highly infectious song "Adolescent Syndrome".

"I like dark, narrow places, like a deeply concealed hood."

"His eyes were filled with hatred for this cruel world, yet he desperately craved love."

Lively music, somber lyrics, accompanied by Ikuyo's mature vocal tone and her charming stage presence.

The other four were more immersed in the world they and their companions had created, playing along with the melody.

The current situation does indeed resemble what Ryo said to Hitori a long time ago, "Isn't it interesting to have such gloomy lyrics sung by people who are popular?"

Below the stage, the fans swayed and cheered, completely absorbed in the new song from the Kessoku Band. The packed venue was filled with excited fans watching the five members on stage showcase their talents.

Music fans were not puzzled by their combination of quirky elements.

Rather, what they love most about this band is their unrestrained lyrics that resonate with them and their unconventional musical style, not to mention their superb playing skills.

"I like getting soaked in the rain, because it suits my gloomy face."

"Pretending to be afraid of the storm, while waiting for the sky to crack."

Despite singing such somber lyrics, Ikuyo still wore a smile, though it wasn't as bright as usual.

Ishikawa Hayato had previously reminded her, "Just follow your own feelings; there's no need to perform anything specifically to match the music."

Therefore, she didn't find the lyrics to be dark. She waited expectantly for the chorus, then raised her voice and sang her favorite part.

"Play it! Let the thunder roar with the fuzz of lightning!"

"Ring it! What lies ahead in suffering? Respond with this raging, fierce heartbeat!"

The intense music echoed within this small, box-like space, allowing everyone to release their pent-up emotions.

Kessoku Band finished their performance, some fans in the Starry Night venue didn't stay to listen to the final show and chose to leave one after another.

But once they left the starry sky, they chatted excitedly Kessoku Band's performance for the night.

"It was absolutely fantastic to Kessoku Band's new song tonight!"

"Did you hear it too? That line, 'I kept my head down during the night raid, group 69.49' 36135, that's good, because becoming a hunchbacked tiger is exactly what I wanted,' should be a self-comparison to the article 'The Moon Over Mount Liang.'"

"What? I didn't notice at all!"

"So that's why Kita- san said this song is so cool?! It's really so cool, I feel like I'm getting goosebumps."

"Now that you've said that, I want to listen to it again to see if there's anything else I missed. When is the Kessoku Band going to make a mini-album of this song? I want to buy it right now."

Backstage, the five members of the Kessoku Band are resting after their performance.

This wasn't their first time on stage, and they'd seen even bigger occasions before, so naturally they weren't nervous.

Moreover, this half-hour performance was incredibly easy compared to the rehearsals that often lasted for several hours.

Despite this, the girls were slightly tired from their enjoyable performance.

As usual, there was a weirdo in the band who wasn't tired at all. He leisurely looked at the girls wearing T-shirts and slightly sweaty, especially Hitori.

It wasn't for any strange reason that Ishikawa Hayato viewed Hitori in this way.

Fans who hear this song for the first time can understand the meaning of the lyrics, while Ishikawa Hayato, who knows Hitori better and has read the lyrics for a longer time, naturally understands Hitori's thoughts in the lyrics even more clearly.

This girl, who is usually quiet and seems to be doing silly things most of the time, is actually more complex than she appears.