Chapter 155

"Huh? Listen to him? He's not the captain..."

"Compared to the captain, he plays a bigger role. I trust him." She didn't explain further, just chuckled. "It's been so long since I've seen a scene like this, pleading for someone. I thought I was back in the Showa era, when people were proposing marriage."

"That!! That was just something he did in a desperate attempt to find a cure, please forget about it!" Anwa Subaru waved their arms and legs, sweating profusely as they desperately tried to cover it up.

"Really? I don't think so. Don't you think it's romantic?"

"Romantic stuff... that's not what he meant."

"Really? Even if that's really what he meant, I'd agree without hesitation."

"Huh? Grandma! What do you mean by this?!" Anwa Subaru looked up abruptly.

"You really don't know?"

"..."

Anwa Tendou looked up at the night sky, where a few bright stars were visible, and murmured to himself, "If I could have another outstanding grandson like him, I would have no regrets in this life..."

"!!!" Anwa Subaru's face flushed red, his Hands were placed in front of him, his lower lip was tightly closed, and he lowered his head and remained silent.

"Well, I'm heading back now. Good luck, you've got four competitors right here." She patted Anwa Subaru on the shoulder, it was hard to tell if she was encouraging them or just trying to comfort them.

"My Talent and I aren't related like that..." Anwa Subaru protested softly.

"Just because it's not like that now doesn't mean it won't be in the future. You two have a long time to get to know each other." Anwa Tendou chided, "You're not even thinking about grabbing such an excellent candidate? What kind of person are you looking for in the future?"

"..."

"I'm leaving now. I believe that with your qualities, you won't lose to the other kids." After leaving behind this statement, which was hard to say whether it was self-praise, she walked towards the car that had come to pick her up.

A few minutes later,

"Grandma's gone?" Inoseri Nina asked Anwa Subaru as he walked in.

"Ah, um." Anwa Subaru quickly recovered from the lingering sensation and shyness, raising his Hands and shouting cheerfully, "Great! I'm free!"

"Now I finally have unlimited time to do whatever I want with the band!"

"Guomai, Mina! I'm sorry to have made you worry about me these past few days!"

"Yes! That's great! Thanks to Mr. Talent!" Inoseri Nina was also happy about the news, feeling that the band had taken another big step forward.

"Well, you did a good job with your Talent this time, although the method was..." Kawaragi Momoka turned her head away shyly and took a tactical sip of beer.

"Hmph, you're not entirely useless after all." Miss Ebizuka Tomo crossed her arms and tilted her head, displaying her characteristic charisma.

"You truly deserve your title, Mr. Talent. I have always believed in you."

Sakurakoji Talent quickly stopped himself; it was almost turning into a singing competition. He was more interested in something else.

Two weeks have passed, have you decided on a team name yet?

The air fell silent for a second; the five people stared at each other, and no one spoke for a moment.

"Shin-Kawasaki?" After a long pause, Inoseri Nina the first to probe.

"What is this? It's so tacky."

"The name Miss Momoka tentatively chose for the last street performance."

"So I already said it's tentative, right? Who told you to argue for so long and still not make up your minds?"

"There's nothing I can do! The tastes are just too different! And none of them are related to bands! Ugh!!" She rubbed her hair vigorously.

"So you still haven't decided on this? What will you do for the next performance? Will you still use this incredibly cheesy name?" Sakurakoji Talent's eyes were filled with a complex expression.

"It would be great if it were a name related to rock and roll or a band." Anwa Subaru rested their heads on their Hands on the table, their gaze darting left and right.

"Hmph, what can we do? We'll be using the team name for a long time, how can we decide on it so easily?" Ebizuka Tomo muttered, his face flushed, thinking of the last time they argued about the team name.

"How about Mr. Talent also wants one?" RUPA suggested.

"Eh, me?" He pointed to himself in surprise.

"Yes, Mr. Talent is one of us too!" RUPA nodded with a smile.

Anwa Subaru agreed nonchalantly, "Isn't it pretty good? Why not give it a try?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired of their weird names too. Can you help us think of something?" Kawaragi Momoka agreed, "We might not even use them anyway."

"..." Inoseri Nina and Ebizuka Tomo exchanged a glance and then looked away in tacit agreement.

"Well..." Sakurakoji Talent a little embarrassed. She had originally wanted them to come up with the name themselves, but now it was her turn.

However, this might be a good thing. Now that many things have changed, even if they come up with a name, it probably won't be that one.

If he's going to have to live with that weird name forever, he might as well just close the timeline now.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

"How about TOGENASHI TOGEARI (Togenashi Togeari)?" he suggested.

"Um?"

"TOGENA... what?"

"It sounds like the name of an insect?"

"Huh? Why would you take that thing? It's not cute at all!"

"But it seems to have a bit of a rock and roll vibe?"

"TOGENASHI TOGEARI is a spineless variant of the Spiky Leaf Beetle. Don't you find the feeling of being both spiky and spineless quite interesting?" He rested his chin on his knuckles.

"And it suits your personalities quite well; you're all a bit stubborn and headstrong."

"Having thorns also represents individuality. Don't you want to only make music in your own style? This label suits you well, right?"

"The 'stingless' design, acting as an equalizer, represents the other mature parts, and the name of this beetle also fits well with rock bands."

"Write it in capital letters using Roman letters; it's easy for strangers to read, and I personally think it's pretty good."

After hearing his explanation, the five fell into deep thought, their eyes exchanged quickly, their brows furrowed, unsure of what to do.

I have to say, there's some truth to it.

It's much better than their previous tacky names.

It's pathetic, really, that none of the five members of their band have any talent for naming things. He even seriously doubts that the band name Diamond Dust has anything to do with Kawaragi Momoka!

The final name was actually copied from the shirts of front-row audience members on stage during the concert—can you believe it?

"I think it's great."

"Hmm--that seems to make sense."

"It's somewhat better than the previous ones, isn't it?"

"Let's see what happens next. If we don't find anything better, we'll use this for now."

"I agree!"

The group reached a temporary consensus.

Image: "Thorn Gang Family Photo", Location: "Images/1761312020-100446961-114009584. jpg"

P. S.: The Thorn Band is finally assembled! Next up is the Kessoku Band!

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 199 As everyone knows, a performance requires costumes.

"You guys have probably started composing your own music by now, right?" After that topic was settled, he posed his next question.

Although he did consider giving them popular songs from his memory, or composing some for them to play, he ultimately gave up because it wasn't necessary.

They are already talented enough; they would become famous sooner or later on their own. My interference would only ruin their original style.

He hadn't forgotten that the first principle of their band formation was to refuse to compromise with reality and create music that they themselves believed in. If he did that, how would he be any different from a management company that only cared about commercialization and distorted the band's image?

"Yeah, I've started trying it out. The composition for the first song is almost done." Kawaragi Momoka sat with her usual carefree posture, shaking the second can of beer in her hand.

"Wow~ I can't wait~" Inoseri Nina clenched her hands, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"It's so fast, even though the live show just finished last week."

"Practice makes perfect, and I already had this idea in mind, so it's no big deal."

"I do have faith in your abilities in this regard, as do Tomo and Rupa." Sakurakoji Talent nodded slightly.

"You all start composing and practicing now. Once you've improved a bit more, I'll assign you some work."

"Job? What kind of job?" Anwa Subaru curiously.

"Hmph, all kinds are available." He curled his lips into a smile, his eyes revealing a wealth of information.

"That sounds really impressive..." Inoseri Nina murmured in admiration.

"Rest assured, Xiluo, leave the operational strategy to me. However, I'll leave the social media accounts to you for now, since it's inconvenient for me to be here."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and looked at the group. "Ah, Suo Suo, about part-time jobs, to save time, you should all stop working starting today."

"Huh?"

"Ha?"

"Um..."

The three people who worked there reacted differently, some staring at him in disbelief, others looking puzzled.

"Why? We're really short of money right now. We've saved a lot now, but there are so many other things we'll need to spend money on later."

"If we don't work, how will we cover our living expenses? There are also the costs of livehouse tickets and music production." Ebizuka Tomo crossed his arms and frowned. "We don't have your kind of financial freedom."

Of the five people present, only Kawaragi Momoka, Ebizuka Tomo, and RUPA are working part-time Anwa Subaru are financially well-off and don't need to, while Inoseri Nina doesn't seem to have asked to get rid of her family's support yet.

Rupa didn't say anything, just looked at him trustingly, while the other two grumbled softly.

"Anyway, Momoka, your part-time job handing out tissues on the street isn't very good, is it? Of course, the same goes for working at the fast food restaurant." Sakurakoji Talent felt saddened by the plight of the bands at the bottom of society.

The glamour of the top stage often makes people unaware of the difficult situation faced by those in the middle and lower classes.

"Ugh... How did you know I was doing that?" Kawaragi Momoka shrank back, her expression stiff.

"I just happened to see it." He shrugged.

"In short, you just need to focus on the music right now. Instead of slowly taking half a year to gradually get on track, you should concentrate your efforts and hone your skills in two or three months."

"The sooner we realize this, the smaller the loss will be. You all want to prove yourselves as soon as possible, right? What you and I lack most right now is time."

"Don't worry about the money. As your manager, I will provide you with all the support you need, including living expenses. How about 10 million yen for now? Let me know when you run out."

Upon hearing his summary—especially the last sentence—the five people were all stunned into silence, almost sticking their tongues out.

"Ten million yen?!" Inoseri Nina was the first to jump up, while Kumamoto Girl, who hadn't seen much of the world, couldn't control her expression and actions.

"Mr. Talent, are you kidding us?!"

Do I look like I'm joking?

"But, but! That's ten million!!"

"It should be 'only ten million yen'," Sakurakoji Talent corrected, pointing to his fingers and making a gesture of a galaxy between his fingertips.

Anyway, it's no secret that he's the Young Master of a wealthy family, so this is a good opportunity to give them a little capitalist shock.

"N-No, he truly is Talent!" Anwa Subaru forced a compliment, his eyes twitching slightly.

Although she has a lot of pocket money, she shouldn't be able to say such a figure so easily. Is it really a difference in their social standing?

Thinking about what her grandmother had told her about his background, she couldn't help but become curious about what kind of family he came from. Should she ask her grandmother about it later?

"Well, I'm used to it by now."

"Then you should stop your hands from shaking so much, or the beer will spill all over you."

"..."

It took them a long time to calm down in the face of an amount that would require a lot of working to earn.

"But is it really okay to spend so much money on us? We're already so grateful that you let us stay here." Even the usually free-spirited Kawaragi Momoka couldn't help but hesitate.

After all, although I knew the rent for this house was probably not cheap, it was a completely different feeling compared to the actual amount.

"I made a promise to Grandma, so I can't afford to take it lightly," he said, bringing up the conversation at the dinner table.