Yamada Ryo and Ichiji Nijika, who had practiced before, were fairly relaxed, and Yukino Shita Hiyori, who had chosen the song, had no issues either. The problem was the others...
"Shizuka, okay?"
"Who do you think I am? Something like this can't stump me."
"That's good."
"Mr. Talent, Kanau, are you two all right?" Drawing her gaze back from Hiratsuka Shizuka, Ichiji Nijika frowned as she looked at the two of them, worried.
"No problem. I've heard this song before too." Sakurakoji Talent played a short passage to show that he was good to go.
Kanau said nothing. After reading through the sheet music, she immediately hugged her guitar close and let her tiny fingers dance rapidly over the strings. The trembling notes shook the entire room as she improvised a solo from one of the song's climactic sections.
Even after she stopped moving, everyone seemed to still hear the lingering echoes.
"Isn't this kid kind of incredible?" Yukino Shita Hiyori widened her eyes and nudged the equally stunned Hiratsuka Shizuka beside her.
She had thought she was already a genius, able to learn anything at a glance. She never expected this girl to be even more monstrous when it came to instruments!
"That was amazing, Kanau! You played so well!"
Ichiji Nijika rushed over, excitedly grabbing Kanau's arm and shaking it up and down.
"Had you played this song before?" Even Yamada Ryo was astonished.
Who would have thought that this cute kid, who usually only seemed to care about eating, had such ability? She had completely misjudged her!
Kanau shook her head and pulled her hand from Ichiji Nijika's grasp with some displeasure. "No. Today was my first time."
"Huh? You could play it that well on your first try?!"
"You're kidding!"
"Did you memorize the score too?!"
The people adjusting their instruments all looked at her in shock, their eyes full of disbelief.
Kanau held her guitar and tilted her little silver-haired head slightly. Her expression remained entirely calm under their gazes. She did not understand why they were so excited. Wasn't this normal?
Sakurakoji Talent merely sneered inwardly and remained silent.
See! He had said it! This world was absurdly insane!
Was this even human?
What kind of normal person could recite a score backward after seeing it for the first time, then smoothly solo through it on their first performance without even pausing or stumbling?
And you still dared say you weren't cheating?!
What was even more infuriating was that she not only had absurd musical talent, but also several popular performance halls waiting for her to inherit. She had an excellent family background and no weaknesses whatsoever.
And aside from Kanau, which of the others was ordinary?
One was the heir to vast wealth, a major corporation, and local landed estates. She had been intelligent and capable since childhood and could quickly pick up anything she learned;
One came from a family that ran hospitals, had been doted on since childhood, and was an exceptional bassist. Aside from loving to borrow money, she had no other flaws;
One was obviously incredibly rich, with enough allowance to buy several luxury cars, and could fight and play music, excel in both academics and martial arts, yet insisted on becoming an ordinary teacher;
Even Ichiji Nijika, who looked the most ordinary, was an excellent student, skilled at all housework, and supported by an older sister who was secretly a wealthy siscon.
Most importantly, every one of them had looks far beyond ordinary people!
They were all one-hundred-percent gorgeous, wealthy genius girls! The moment they appeared, they were already several levels above everyone else.
Wasn't that infuriating?
He could casually gather a few people and they would all be at this level. The others out there were even harder to imagine... How were ordinary people supposed to live?
Without some special ability, he would be too embarrassed to establish himself in this world.
In a world like this, what was wrong with him having a little talent, a slightly unusual family background, and looks a little above average?
Why did this world have to keep picking on him?!
The more he thought about it, the angrier Sakurakoji Talent became. There were so many geniuses in an Omni-Anime world, so what was wrong with adding one more—him? (Minato, the author, had finally brought up the title. Whip him harder!)
Despite all the complaints in his heart, he still had to keep a calm, breezy expression on his face.
"All right, since everyone's fine, let's start rehearsing."
"Wait! What about the lyrics? Who's going to sing?"
Ichiji Nijika raised her hand and brought up the most crucial question. Their instruments were fine, but they had not decided on the most important role: the lead vocalist.
Or rather, there was no lead vocalist here at all!
"That's easy." Sakurakoji Talent, Yukino Shita Hiyori, and Hiratsuka Shizuka exchanged looks, their eyes conveying perfect mutual understanding, then answered together:
"We'll all sing." X3
"Huh?" Ichiji Nijika looked at the three of them in confusion.
"It's mainly for fun anyway. Whoever wants to sing can sing when the time comes. Think of it as a cultural festival performance! Got it?" Yukino Shita Hiyori closed one eye and gestured to Ichiji Nijika.
"Oh! I see!" Ichiji Nijika clenched her left hand into a fist and struck her right palm, realization spreading across her face.
"Then let's begin!"
"Ohhh!!" X N
Author: Ohhh! Time to sleep!
The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: First Stage Performance
Time passed, and the night outside grew deeper. Starry's show was also nearing its end.
Whenever a band finished performing, thunderous cheers erupted from the performance hall outside. After several rounds, it was finally their turn to go on.
During the intermission, the members of the previous band helped them move their instruments onto the stage—mainly the Drum Kit, since that thing was extremely heavy and difficult to carry.
"Good luck!"
"We'll be watching carefully from backstage too!"
"Don't be nervous. Everyone has a first time."
"..."
After helping move the instruments, the members of the previous band smiled and encouraged them, then skipped and jogged back toward backstage, waving as they went.
On the broad platform raised above the floor, only Sakurakoji Talent and the others remained, along with two conspicuous Drum Kits, a Keyboard, and several speakers and microphones.
The bass amps were an Ampeg SVT Classic and Ampeg SVT 810E, while the guitar amps were a Marshall JCM900 4100 and Marshall 1960AV 4x12. There were also several small monitor speakers for the musicians.
Together with the professional lighting and sound mixing, Starry might not have been a large live house, but it was undeniably professional. Its popularity was only natural.
"Hello, everyone. We're the final band performing tonight. Since we were put together temporarily, we don't have a name yet."
"Those two guests lost a game to me today, so I dragged them up here as punishment."
Sakurakoji Talent picked up a microphone and gave a brief introduction, then pointed at Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukino Shita Hiyori.
A vein throbbed at Hiratsuka Shizuka's temple as her lips and brows twitched. She felt as though she had been publicly executed. Yukino Shita Hiyori, on the other hand, stood up, spread her arms, and energetically blew two passionate kisses at the audience below, prompting a few soft squeals.
"Wow, isn't that guy one of the staff here? At the bar."
"Yeah! I didn't know he could play instruments too. I only knew that the food and drinks he makes are delicious!"
"More than that, aren't those two in the back the maid and the waitress?"
"As expected of STARRY's employees! Every one of them has hidden talents!"
"By the way, there are actually two Drum Kits!"
"But losing a game means this kind of punishment? What game was it? I've never heard of that part before."
"That's not the point! Don't you think they're all way too good-looking? Why are they all gorgeous? They could rival professional idols!"
"You're right, I hadn't noticed. Looking carefully, this is seriously dangerous."
"No, no, the guy hosting is still wearing a mask. We don't know if they're all beauties yet, right?"
"I have a feeling he definitely is too!"
"Ah! Isn't that silver-haired girl holding the guitar at the side ridiculously cute?!"
"..."
Before the performance had even begun, the stage had already stirred up quite a discussion below.
Sakurakoji Talent found that comforting. At least there was no awkward situation where the audience had mostly left as soon as an unfamiliar band came onstage.
"Since time is short, we only had time to prepare one song, so we'll be saying goodbye very soon."
"But we still hope to bring everyone a small auditory feast."
"So, let us begin tonight's final song!"
Sakurakoji Talent nodded toward PA, signaling that they were about to begin. PA gave her an OK gesture, indicating that she was ready at any time.
Sakurakoji Talent took a deep breath. At a certain moment, he suddenly raised his left hand high, giving the signal to begin, and started singing loudly.
His nimble fingertips began dancing across the Keyboard in sync, forming the song's prelude together with his voice.
"Even if the sky is impossibly high, even if my wings are torn apart, without fearing to take flight, I'll burn these immortal bonds."
"Fly to the sky fire bird."
His clear voice, accompanied by crisp keyboard notes, slowly unfolded the song's narrative. Through the speakers, the entire basement was once again enveloped in immersive sound.
After the prelude ended, powerful instruments and drumbeats suddenly erupted, forcefully driving the atmosphere toward its peak before detonating the mood of the entire space in an instant!
When the lyrics rang out again, Sakurakoji Talent was no longer singing alone. Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukino Shita Hiyori also joined in from time to time. Though they were clearly not professional-level singers, their blended voices carried a unique charm.
The other three little ones were not confident in their singing, so they only dared join in during the LALALALALA section in the middle.
The immense vibrations made the audience below go numb with excitement. Their mouths unconsciously opened into O-shapes, their pupils gleaming with watery light as powerful emotion rose in their hearts. This was the charm of a live performance!
Their two thousand yen had been well spent!
"Is that Fire Bird? Roselia's signature song!"
"Yeah! They're my favorite band! I didn't expect such a surprise tonight. This is heaven for someone who loves both!"
"I didn't expect them to perform this well. They're not worse than the earlier bands at all!"
"Exactly! When they said it was a punishment game, I thought it would just be an amateur improvisation. I never expected it to sound this good!"
"Mr. Dessert has such a nice voice! He and Yukina each have their own style!"
"..."
The five minutes quickly reached their end. After one final burst of dense drumbeats, the guitar closed things out with Vibrato, and the venue returned to brief silence.
Then—
"Wah—!"
"That was amazing, I love you all!"
"Just form a band already! I'll be your fan!"
"Encore! Encore!"
The quiet space was once again engulfed in cheers. Facing the enthusiastic audience below, the people onstage exchanged glances and smiled with relaxed ease. This feeling was not bad at all.
After waving goodbye to the audience below, they each left the stage carrying their instruments, declaring the end of the day.
"Shizuka! What did you think? Didn't it get your blood pumping?"
"Do you think I'm you? Still—it wasn't too bad."
"Right, right? Then—shall we do it again next time?"
"Even if I come again, I'll come alone. I never want to go out with you again!"
"Ehh, that's so mean!"
Yukino Shita Hiyori and Hiratsuka Shizuka bickered and shoved each other as they walked down the steps. Sakurakoji Talent, Ichiji Nijika, and the other staff worked with the other bands to clear the equipment from the stage.
Seeing that they had no intention of continuing, the audience looked somewhat disappointed. But since this had been an extra performance, there was nothing to complain about, and they gradually began leaving in groups.
"You were amazing! Was that really your first time forming a band and performing onstage?"
"At this level, you're not worse than us at all. In some ways, you might even be stronger. That's honestly kind of discouraging."
Before you continue