Mental Strength: 100
Ability: [Sound Beyond the World]: Produces tangible sound waves by playing the bass
Bonus: [The Later Ones]: Movement inside [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] is unaffected by the special environment
Skills: Electric bass technique Lv9, Electric guitar technique Lv7, Music Production Lv8, Vocal Technique Lv7, [Great Music is Silent] Lv2
Marina Tsukihiro
Physical: 100
Reaction: 100
Intelligence: 100
Radiance: 150
Mental Strength: 189
Ability: [CiRCLE]: Yes! Bang Dream!
Bonus: None
Skills: Electric guitar technique Lv8, livehouse operation Lv9, Baking Technique Lv8, [Attribute Boost] Lv3, [Imaginary Field] Lv3, [Shockproof] Lv3...
Yuki Arakawa
Physical: 328
Reaction: 246
Intelligence: 100
Radiance: 150
Mental Strength: 342
Ability: [Hundred Deaths No Regrets]: Nothing can kill her before her Mental Strength is depleted
Bonus: Black and White Twin Guns: [Belobog of Goodness] [Chernobog of Evil]
Skills: Music Production Lv10, Jazz Drum Technique Lv10, Gun-fu Lv6...
The first volume is finished. Those who have been waiting for more chapters can start reading now~
Please, dear readers, at least read through the end of the first volume, qwq
The upcoming plot is exciting too. There'll be plenty of twists and gravity, qwq
The CP content will be very high, qwq. I won't be writing pure battle arcs anymore, either. I'll only touch on them occasionally, and every major arc will have plenty of sweet moments~
So please, dear readers, give it a look, qwq
Chapter One: Only After Forgetting Sorrow Itself
The members of Kessoku Band were dressed in plain black or white short-sleeved shirts, with matching jeans on their lower halves, as they sat in a hot-air balloon. The balloon was more than twice the size of the one they had ridden before, since it was carrying quite a bit of luggage as well. Ryo sat cross-legged beside the luggage, with Kita next to her, looking up as she controlled the flames. Ichiri leaned over the edge of the basket and looked down, while Nijika stood nearby, gazing at the distant horizon. Shiko stood beside her, holding a homemade telescope.
The sky, nearing sunset, was crystal clear. The air high above was clean and open, perfect for easing the mind. Nijika relaxed as she dragged over a stool and sat down.
Behind the stool was a large box, its lid half open and musical instruments showing inside. There were several more boxes like it, taking up what little space they had.
"We still brought so much stuff."
"What can we do? I still can't conjure something as complex as a musical instrument, and the same goes for machines like generators." Shiko lowered the telescope. "We're almost at [Xingtian]."
In the distance, the outlines of snow-capped mountains had already come into view. The direction Yuki had given them for Roselia lay beyond the mountain range where [Xingtian] was located. However, none of them knew what lay beyond the snowy mountains.
"Let's stop for a while once we get there." Nijika glanced at the sun. Half the sky had already been dyed crimson, and the sun was about to set.
At that, Kita breathed a sigh of relief. She was doing most of the work of keeping the hot-air balloon stable. Even with Ijichi-senpai's assistance, she was still somewhat exhausted.
"Ah—I'm going to eat something good today. Wu-san, can you make the crepes from that shop in front of the station? The ones that were so popular on SNS before we crossed over."
"What are those? I only know how to make the kind we usually eat." Shiko continued studying the distant mountains listlessly. "Ichiri, remember to mark the snow line. It doesn't have to be exact."
Ichiri was drawing a map with pen and paper. They were high above the ground, giving them an excellent bird's-eye view for sketching a rough map. It had been Shiko's idea. They didn't know whether they would need it, but it was better to be prepared.
Shiko took a look. The map was indeed fairly rough, reminding her of the ancient maps in history textbooks. It took her a great deal of effort to connect it to the actual terrain.
"I... can only draw it this well..." Ichiri noticed Shiko's gaze.
"It's fine. I'm not blaming you. It's already impressive that you could draw this well without any experience. Sorry for the trouble—you should never have had to do my job." Shiko stared down at the ground listlessly. "Speaking of which, there are quite a lot of spectators..."
"Huh? Spectators?" Kita abruptly turned her head.
Shiko looked slightly nervous. She shrank back to avoid meeting the spectators' eyes. "Even if an aerial live is the gimmick, isn't this too many people? Could it be that Kessoku Band is really this popular..." She returned to the luggage, picked up a shoulder keyboard, played a few notes, and began making adjustments.
"Uh... what are you doing, Little Shiko?" Nijika was still utterly confused. Could it be that this time...
Ryo sighed, picked up her bass, and gestured to the others with her eyes. The others immediately understood. Nijika picked up a small drum, Kita took her guitar and microphone, and Ichiri set aside what she was doing and began playing the guitar first.
Y.O.L.O
Straightforward rock rang out in midair.
The basket swayed constantly under the violent rocking, but fortunately, they were all experienced enough that nothing dangerous happened. Music truly possessed magic. As the melody progressed, they felt as though they had become one with heaven and earth, soaring together through the endless sunset. Shiko gradually let go of her initial restraint as she played and found her rhythm.
Near the end, a flicker passed through Shiko's eyes. She missed a beat. However, she quickly picked it up again, though her playing had become much more strained.
When the final note fell, smiles appeared on everyone else's faces. Shiko, by contrast, looked perfectly calm. She quietly put the instrument on her shoulder away.
"Whoa—it's pretty great playing drums in an environment like this—ah, Little Shiko, you're back?"
"Yes." Shiko stood up with an exasperated expression. "Can you explain how she managed to turn things into singing Y.O.L.O in the sky?"
Kita thought for a while. "She seemed to think we were holding an aerial live..."
The corners of Shiko's mouth twitched twice. "Looks like my imagination really is quite rich. Perform here?" Shiko glanced outside. They were at least several hundred meters above the ground.
"Luckily, she didn't just jump out after getting carried away. Sorry for making you look after me, too."
"Little Shiko has already helped us so much." Nijika waved it off. "Besides, that incident must have been an even greater blow to you... Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."
Her last sentence was addressed to everyone.
Shiko shook her head. "The sun's already gone down. Let's go down first."
The edge of the sunset had been completely swallowed by the horizon. The surroundings quickly darkened, and the snow-capped mountains were already shrouded in shadow.
At the foot of the snowy mountains, they put up a tent. Dinner was simple: they put rice in an iron pot, boiled it over the campfire, and served it with curry. It did have a camping feel to it.
"Here, Kita. Your crepe." Shiko handed Kita a crepe she had conjured directly. It certainly wasn't as tasty as one made step by step, but they couldn't ask for more right now. After all, no one knew how to make one properly anymore. The person who did was gone.
"Thank you." Kita took it and bit into it. Her expression shifted as though she had thought of something, and she turned her face away.
No one spoke while they ate. Ever since that day, the atmosphere throughout the band had grown gloomy. Nijika wanted to change it, but she herself lacked the energy to be lively. All they could do was hope that, with time, they would gradually return to their usual state.
Shiko stared blankly at the dancing flames.
"I was wondering..." She sounded as though she was speaking to the others, yet also as though she was talking to herself. "When will this illness of mine... be cured?"
Ever since that day, she would occasionally fall into a deep sleep, then wake up again. The others told her that, during those periods, another version of her was active. That version was cheerful and happy, living in a world where Miss Marina was still alive and touring the country with Kessoku Band. Moreover, she apparently possessed no supernatural abilities. Fortunately, whenever a battle was necessary, she could always take control of her body in time, so she wouldn't become a burden.
But Shiko thought that, in some respects, she had already become a burden.
No one answered her.
"Tonight's watch rotation will be me, Ryo, Kita, and Bocchi, in that order. Is that all right?" After dinner, Nijika began assigning duties.
After they started living in the wilderness, they began taking turns standing watch. Miss Niiki had given them some pointers about keeping watch, so things had gone fairly smoothly. However, work that required staying alert at all times was no longer assigned to Shiko.
She stood and walked toward the snowy mountains. Ichiri immediately followed and silently stayed by her side.
Besides, wherever Shiko went, someone had to accompany her.
Under the starry sky, the snowy mountains towered majestically before them. Reflected by the snow, the ground was as bright as day, seeming mysterious and noble. Shiko breathed out. At that moment, she understood completely why snowy mountains so often became symbols of the sacred.
She sat down and silently prayed to heaven and earth. The starlight reflected off the snow slowly cleansed her heart, and she temporarily cast aside her distracting thoughts.
"Actually... sometimes I think that version of Shiko is pretty good, too." She heard Ryo approaching step by step.
"Ryo-san..." Ichiri looked toward Ryo. Shiko did not move.
"Although it may not be nice to say this, I'm actually quite envious of that version of you." Ryo sat down behind Shiko. "Only she can live carefree in a beautiful world. When I see her smile, I somehow become happy, too."
"...Do they feel the same way?" After a while, Shiko asked dreamily.
"...Yes." Ryo hesitated briefly before answering.
Ichiri said nothing.
"Do you want my illness to be cured?"
"Of course." Neither of them hesitated over that answer.
"No matter what kind of Shiko you are, I like you. Since you want to be cured... then I want you to be cured!" Ichiri said it in a halting manner.
Shiko closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the morning glow was shining through the gaps in the tent.
Chapter Two: The Camp by the River
After breakfast, they climbed into the hot-air balloon again and continued along the mountain range.
"Can't we just fly over the mountaintop?" Kita asked.
"A hot-air balloon can't fly that high." Shiko raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight and looked toward the peaks that towered into the clouds. "Not to mention that this hot-air balloon of mine can't guarantee its own quality."
"Since Miss Niiki pointed us in this direction, she probably came from this side too. There should be a mountain pass at a lower elevation ahead." Nijika pointed into the distance.
"That way?" Ichiri, who was holding the telescope, indicated a direction. Everyone looked over. There was a clear depression between the mountains, and patches of lush green covered the valley. They could even make out a winding river.
"A river? I've never seen one before."
At noon on the second day after setting out, they arrived in an unexplored region.
The hot-air balloon landed beside the river.
"It's grass!" Kita excitedly stepped out of the basket. Before she had even found her footing, she ran off. After spending so long in a barren, drought-stricken desert where not a blade of grass grew, she could finally feel the breath of life!
She felt as though even her skin had become moist!
"Wait!" Nijika was in high spirits as well and chased after her.
In this broad valley, freshly thawed snowmelt flowed across the land like long snakes. Shiko reached a hand into a stream and felt the chill of the water.
This was the source of a great river. The Yangtze River and Yellow River both began in places like this. She watched the shimmering light rippling across the water with emotion. These streams nourished vast alpine meadows nearby. As they walked across them, the ground beneath their feet felt soft and springy. It was comfortable, yet also gave them a guilty feeling that they were damaging nature.
"I have this feeling that I'll see fish in the stream," Kita said.
"Even in the real world, there wouldn't be fish in a place like this," Nijika corrected her.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Kita's feet began to bulge! A blade pierced out of the earth, but the iron wall Shiko created blocked it instantly, and the attacker itself was burned to ash by the flames that reacted in time.
"Aw~ What a mood killer~" Kita opened her panel.
Ikuyo Kita
Physical: 115
Reaction: 100
Intelligence: 156
Radiance: 170
Mental Strength: 164
Ability: [Kita~]: Manipulates flames as brilliant as the sun
Bonus: [The Later Ones]: Movement inside [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] is unaffected by the special environment
Skills: SNS Account Operation Lv10, Electric guitar technique Lv3, Vocal Technique Lv6, [Dawn of Atonement] Lv10,...
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