Chapter 319

I'm so curious, what exactly did she play on stage in junior high? She clearly wasn't even familiar with chords... Could it be?!

Is that the classic song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?!

"Um... I know I didn't play well,"

She twirled her pink hair with her fingers shyly, "Actually, when I picked up my guitar last week after coming home from school, even the strings were rusty."

"I see. It seems you need to start learning from scratch."

Ogura Asahi gave her evaluation with a gentle smile.

"Huh? Starting from the beginning?!"

Chihaya Aine grinned, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She knew her skill level was low, but was it really that low...?

"Alright, that's enough. Let's go to the Musical Instrument Store and buy some equipment."

After she finished packing her guitar, he led her away from the platform. "By the way, did you bring any money with you today?"

"Hmm, I don't have much cash with me. Can I pay by card or online?"

"That's all."

After walking for a while, the two stopped in front of a nearby Musical Instrument Store with a blue sign that read "EDOGAWA GAKKI" (the Romanized form of Edogawa Instruments).

"Senior Asahi, have you been here before?"

Chihaya Aine looked at the unfamiliar shop and asked curiously.

"No, I just found this shop's reviews were pretty good when I was searching online."

"I see~"

Without saying much, the two pushed open the door and went inside.

The shop is small and cannot be compared with a large shopping mall like RiNG. The overall decoration is a deep wood yellow, not only on the floor, but also on the ceiling and the walls, giving people the feeling of a wooden house in the mountains.

"Wow~ That's kind of peculiar."

Chihaya Aine looked around curiously.

Ogura Asahi is the same, but he focuses more on people than on shops.

Soon, he spotted the naturally aloof beauty with black hair and green eyes, wearing a blue apron.

Welcome!

The shop assistant noticed them and came to greet them.

After recognizing the white-haired figure, she covered her mouth and blinked rapidly. "Asahi?"

"Huh, Tae -Tae-senpai, what are you doing here?"

He asked the question knowing the answer already.

The person working part-time here is Hana-dono Tae from Poppin'Party; he came here because of her.

Thankfully, the other person doesn't often address people with "za-za-za," otherwise, the senior-student image he had painstakingly cultivated would have been completely destroyed.

"I work part-time here. Asahi, you came here to... look at musical instruments?"

Hana-dono Tae explained, then, as if realizing something, her expression changed in surprise, and she quickly corrected herself.

"Pastry Master! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No... even if you call me that today, I didn't bring the things you wanted, 01 Lin Yi's wife feeding the gulls and the long-lasting chair,"

He looked distressed and raised his empty Hands, indicating, "I'll do it next time."

What a pity!

A visible look of disappointment appeared on her stunningly beautiful face, which was as exquisite as Flower on High Mountain.

However, this Flower on High Mountain is actually just as goofy as Toyama Kasumi, Tsurumaki Kokoro, and others.

"Um, Senior Asahi, are you an acquaintance?"

Chihaya Aine, seizing the opportunity to interject, quickly spoke up.

"Yes, he's my senior."

"Huh? Could it be a college student?"

Chihaya Aine looked at Hana-dono Tae, her eyes sparkling; she was indeed a mature beauty.

Hana-dono Tae also looked at her, tilting her head slightly. Was this child Asahi's junior?

Are they middle school students? Kids these days are so mature...

"Um... let's not talk about that now,"

He changed the subject, cleared his throat, and said, "Tae-senpai, I'd like to find some books and equipment specifically for beginner guitarists. Could you recommend some?"

"If it's Tae-senpai who recommended it, then I'm relieved!"

"I see!"

Although she didn't get any snacks, Hana-dono Tae still enthusiastically went to the shelf next to her.

"Um, could it be that this senior is...?"

Chihaya Aine leaned closer to him and whispered her question.

"Yeah! He's also a guitarist, and he's incredibly talented!"

He nodded firmly.

When it comes to guitar skills, Hana-dono Tae is undoubtedly among the top in several bands, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she's a strong contender for the top spot.

"Sharp--"

Chihaya Aine's eyes widened. "To be praised like that by Asahi- senpai, she must be incredibly strong!"

"At least professional level."

He added.

"!!!"

Chihaya Aine nodded solemnly to indicate she understood, then took small steps to Hana-dono Tae's side and said with a fawning expression, "Tae -Tae-senpai ~ I want to learn faster~"

"Oh, I see!"

Hana-dono Tae responded with a warm smile, showing no discomfort at all from her overly familiar manner, and then struck a guitar-playing pose:

"So, do you want a speed like 'Jiang Jiang~' or a speed like 'Gong Gong~'?"

"???"

Chihaya Aine looked completely bewildered.

Chapter 348 One agreement is settled, another begins.

"Otae-senpai, could you please use your own standards to select the materials for Aine-chan? Thank you~"

After Chihaya Aine looked completely bewildered, Ogura Asahi added from the side.

[Note: Hanazono Tae is written as Hana-dono Tae(はなぞの)たえ and pronounced Hanazono Tae, but Toyama Kasumi and others affectionately call her Otae (Oh Tae), adding an O before Tae. Incidentally, this name and nickname both originate from the voice actress's former nickname.]

If it weren't for the goal of training her to become a professional guitarist capable of standing on her own, there would be no point in him bringing her here.

Regardless, Hana-dono Tae is not only a skilled musician, but also an excellent teacher. She taught Toyama Kasumi guitar from scratch, making her a veteran band teacher.

This even caused Ichigaya Arisa to get jealous...

However, she also stole Ichigaya Arisa's first kiss while she was in a daze—what a sinful woman!

"Hi~ I got it~!"

Hana-dono Tae made a cute face at him.

Before long, she skillfully recommended a whole bunch of things to Chihaya Aine based on her own judgment.

"Wow, so many parts!"

Staring at the large pile of items on the side table, Chihaya Aine's lips twitched and contracted.

"I had no idea you needed so many things to play guitar..."

In front of her were not only teaching materials that Hana-dono Tae considered good, but also a tuner, metronome, spare strings, string winders, capo, stand, cleaning cloth, and even a strap and picks.

"As your skills improve, you'll need to buy Effects Pedal, amplifiers, upgraded pickups, special strings, wrenches, rulers, fretboard oil, and even wireless receivers, high-quality audio cables, monitor headphones, non-slip footstools, fingerpicks for Glissando..."

Hana-dono Tae counted on her fingers, giving her a detailed introduction to her future partners and the long road ahead on the guitar. "But for now, this should be enough, right?"

Chihaya Aine's eyes were practically spinning; just listening to it gave her a headache.

Not to mention her, even Ogura Asahi's expression was indescribable.

Although he understands that every profession, when mastered, becomes an art, requiring a great deal of learning and memorization—even though this is considered relatively simple and ordinary—he still thinks every time. "What a hassle!"

All those items together would cost enough to buy several decent guitars, and many of them are consumables... Indeed, music isn't for everyone.

What kind of band can you play if you don't have money!

"I... I understand!"

Chihaya Aine swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly. "Excuse me, how much will all of this cost in total?"

He chimed in, "Otae-senpai~ You've bought so much stuff, can you give us a discount~?"

Okay~

Without further ado, Hana-dono Tae readily agreed, "Then~ including the biggest discount I can offer, plus the spending discount and my staff discount... the total will be this amount!"

"Wow, that's so cheap!"

After seeing the amount on the calculator, Chihaya Aine exclaimed in surprise and gratitude, "Thank you! Senpai!"

You're welcome~

Is this considered cheap...? Looking at the six-figure sum above, Ogura Asahi felt conflicted.

If it weren't for the fact that the object is Pink Milk Dragon, this price would probably scare away an average high school student, right?

However, compared to the original price, it is indeed much cheaper. That's the advantage of having acquaintances!

Huh? Could it be that Hana-dono Tae jobs just to save money on equipment by taking advantage of employee discounts?

And if I remember correctly, the recording studios in Circle's livehouses also offer employee discounts and referral discounts... Indeed, money is the original motivation for becoming Part-time Warrior.

To this day, he still can't forget the time when Shirasagi Chisato secretly went to the recording studio to practice, trying to keep it a secret from her teammates, and on the way, she bumped into her, walking happily to her part-time job in the rain without an umbrella.

After shaking her off, Shirasagi Chisato, who couldn't transfer trains, finally arrived at her destination only to find Hana-dono Tae worked there, already waiting for her. Later, when she secretly continued practicing at a different recording studio, she discovered that Tae was still working there part-time...

After Chihaya Aine paid the bill, he made another request to Hana-dono Tae: "Otae-senpai, could you please give us a live performance?"

"Perform a performance? Sure."

She didn't refuse again and readily agreed, "However, everything in the shop is merchandise, so you can't just play it."

"In that case, use mine!"

Chihaya Aine took off her guitar from behind her back, took it out, and handed it to her.

"Thanks!"

After taking the guitar from her, Hana-dono Tae carefully stroked the bridge, tenderly examining the instrument. "It's a nice guitar."

After she had her fill of hands-on activities, she looked up and asked, "Which song would you like to hear?"

"Um..."

After a moment's thought, he said with a smile, "How about <Returns>?"

"<Returns>... I miss it so much..."

Hana-dono Tae touched the guitar, a warm memory flashing in her eyes.

The background to the creation of this song is that when PPP was in a state of disarray due to her support for RAS, where Wakana Rei was, she wrote this song to express her feelings to her teammates.

Because it's her own composition, even a solo Electric Guitar Solo sounds beautiful.

[Note: I recommend listening to both the PPP ensemble version and the Tae-hye Electric Guitar Solo version of <Returns>, they are both very good. Also, this song corresponds to <Poem Beyond Bonds> written by Akari in MyGO, both are songs that call back friends.]