Chapter 374

"Huh?!?"

The one who exclaimed in surprise was not Tanaka Asuka, but Kumiko Oumae had been eavesdropping nearby.

The loud shout attracted even more attention.

Under the helpless gaze of Tanaka Asuka tapping their shoulders with her Conductor's Baton, they tightly covered their mouths and noses again.

Tanaka Asuka crossed her arms in exasperation. "Your lie is so lame. If you don't want to tell me, fine."

"Huh? Is it a lie?"

Kawashima Midori exclaimed in quiet surprise.

"Don't worry about it so much, Sophia Kawashima."

She waved to her.

"It's Kawashima Midori Desu..."

Kawashima Midori let out a cute, mournful cry, like a squirrel.

[Note: Kawashima Midori's name, Ryokuki, is written as Ryokuki but pronounced as Sophia. She feels ashamed of this and prefers to be called Midori (meaning "green"). Asuka, finding it amusing, likes to deliberately pronounce foreign names backwards.]

"Well, I won't ask about the mask, but I can still tell you my name, right?"

Tanaka Asuka poked his chest with the end of her Conductor's Baton, then smiled broadly, "I'm Tanaka Asuka, a third-year student in the Kitauji Wind Ensemble Club."

"Certainly,"

The suspicious white-haired young man returned the same smile, "I'm Himemiya Chihaya, a third-year student just like you."

"What a feminine name!"

Kumiko Oumae couldn't help but complain.

"Oumae sauce!"

Tanaka Asuka gave her a disapproving look.

"Oops~ I'm sorry!"

Kumiko Oumae bowed her head and apologized.

Himemiya Chihaya glanced at her, then simply pursed her lips and said, "It's nothing, people often say that."

"I see..."

Seeing that he didn't seem to care, Tanaka Asuka loosened up a bit. "Haha~ Well~ Actually, I had the same thought as Oumae. Just to confirm, you're probably a boy, right? You're not the kind of cute girl who likes to use boyish verbal tics, are you?"

"Well, let's say that for now."

"Hey, what do you mean by 'for the time being'? You're really funny."

"Because in Asuka's eyes, I should be considered a cute guy who likes long hair?"

"Hey~ We've been found out?"

Tanaka Asuka tapped her head with her hand, then pointed at him seriously, pouting and frowning, and said, "But boys aren't exactly cute to me! You're just mysterious at best!"

"Thank you so much..."

"But calling me by my name right away, are you just naturally friendly?"

"I'm often told that..."

"That,"

Seeing that he seemed quite friendly, Kumiko Oumae mustered up her courage and went up to him, "Are you also interested in Wind Instrument Music, Himemiya student -san?"

Himemiya Chihaya smiled simply, "It's less about being interested in Wind Instrument Music and more about being interested in music in general. You're Oumae, right?"

"Ah, yes, Kumiko Oumae, a first-year student in the Kitauji Wind Ensemble Club."

She nodded and asked curiously, "Does Himemiya student also learn to Wind Instrument Music? Which one?"

"That's more complicated, but compared to traditional Wind Instrument Music... I prefer rock!"

"Rock?"

X N.

"Ah, I know!"

Tanaka Asuka raised her right hand, cleared her throat, and then made a drumming motion with her gloved Hands. "It's something like boom boom! clang clang! rip--, right?"

"More or less..."

Himemiya Chihaya twitched the corners of her mouth, barely managing to suppress her urge.

They're only a world apart.

"Don't you guys know? That really popular Girl Band lately—what's it? Livehouse—what's it?"

"Have no idea..."

Kumiko Oumae answered honestly.

What is that?

Added by Kato Hazuki.

"Hmm~ Young people in Tokyo are just different~"

Tanaka Asuka nodded thoughtfully, her face conveying a feeling different from ours, that of us country folk.

"..."

Himemiya Chihaya remained silent.

Has the winds of Girl Band not yet reached Kyoto?

[Note: Uji City is one of the 15 cities under Kyoto Prefecture. The two cities are only ten to twenty kilometers apart, similar to the relationship between Fuchu City and Tokyo. Although prefectures are equivalent to provinces in terms of administrative level, their areas are too small. Most prefectures, except for Hokkaido, are only about the size of a prefecture-level city.]

"I know rock and roll! It came from America in the last century. It started out very radical, but gradually became a more popular and gentler music genre, right?"

"Ah~ I know that too, but it doesn't seem to be what he was talking about."

"I know about Girl Band too, you know, the ones that are super popular right now, with lots of talented young female musicians forming bands to play rock, right?"

Kawashima Midori stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"What was it called again? The Great Girl Band Era?"

"Yes! That's the one!"

Himemiya Chihaya slapped her thigh and looked at the curly-haired music fanatic with tears streaming down her face.

As expected of Kitauji music fan, I really have to rely on you when it matters!

That's great, Comrade Kawashima Midori. If you ever want to study fashion design in the future, I'll give you a hand!

[Note: Although Kawashima Midori is a very skilled Double Bass and Aine, her goal for Mirai is to study fashion design, not music. (Tanaka Asuka: I understand)]

Hmph, as a rising star and titan of the fashion world, does he even understand the true value of his work?

Kanau had just said a few nice words and acted a little more coquettishly, her mother could have realized her dream much sooner.

"Asuka-- "

Not far away, Club President Ogasawara Haruka called out, "Time to straighten out the formation!"

"Ah, it's almost time."

Tanaka Asuka nodded at her and asked quickly, "So, Himemiya student, you're lost? If you want to see the parade later, you can go to the tree-lined path over there now. All the schools will be taking turns to line up and perform."

She pointed to the path leading out of the playground.

Chapter 387 marks his official debut against Liz.

"Although I did come to see the performance, I'm standing here for another reason."

He held up one finger and placed it on his chest.

"Huh? What?"

"Actually, I felt the call of destiny from here..."

"Wait a minute!"

Tanaka Asuka quickly raised her hand to interrupt, "Because we don't have much time, and our advisor is still watching, can you keep it short?"

"All right..."

Himemiya Chihaya regretfully agreed, explaining simply, "I came down to the playground in order to find someone special among all these high school students who would catch my eye."

"What a strange reason! So? Did you find it?"

Her expression was strange.

"Found it!"

Himemiya Chihaya narrowed her eyes, a playful smile on her face as she pointed at the group in Kitauji, "Aren't there a bunch of them here?"

"..."

X N.

The people gathered around fell silent, surprised that he had come for this reason.

"If we're talking about special cases, it would be Rikka or Luqiu. You didn't go to their side; your taste isn't very good either, waaaaah..."

Kumiko Oumae muttered to herself, her eyes narrowed to slits.

Tanaka Asuka, her face dark, pulled and pinched her cheek, scolding, "Oumae-chan ~ you mean~ we're not as good as them? Saying such discouraging things before we've even started... huh?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Snort!"

Himemiya Chihaya smiled at their amusing interaction and answered her question, "Because the traditional top schools are too boring, I've already heard plenty of good things about them along the way."

"It's more interesting to bet on rising stars than on schools with a long and established history."

"Well, you really have a lot of faith in us."

Tanaka Asuka released Kumiko Oumae's hand, which she had used to punish her, and adjusted her glasses with a gleam in her eyes.

"I have more confidence in my intuition."

He approached her like a gentle breeze, and their eyes met.

"Tomorrow the fragrance will be sweet--!"

Ogasawara Haruka frowned and urged him again.

Although Tanaka Asuka is the best third-year student in Kitauji, or rather, the best student in the entire school, she has no interest in being a club Club President, and she is even reluctant to be Vice President. She is completely independent and free-spirited.

However, due to her outstanding abilities and reassuring leadership qualities, most people still believe that she is more suitable to be Club President; sometimes, her words carry more weight than those of a teacher.

Therefore, even Ogasawara Haruka couldn't do anything about her.

"Hi hey! I'm here~! Club President ~!"

She quickly and enthusiastically replied, "We can't wait any longer! Goodbye then~ Himemiya student, enjoy watching Kitauji's dance!"

"Yes! I'll be looking forward to it!"

After saying goodbye to him, the others jogged together to their designated spots.

Ignoring the bewildered looks from the student advisors, he put his hands in his pockets, turned, and walked offstage to find a good spot—or perhaps he should climb a tree later?

Before leaving, he turned back and surveyed the entire playground with unbridled abandon, only to find that there wasn't a single person he could fight!

Ah~ It's so nice to be away from the monster's lair; even the air is so fresh.

The scenery is beautiful, with mountains and green trees everywhere.

Although there are students there who are good at playing musical instruments or have excellent grades, compared to that awful place, Tokyo... well, it's incomparable.

The most outstanding one among them should be Tanaka Asuka, whose musical instrument skills are top-notch, reaching the level of a prestigious school, and whose academic performance is also among the top 30 in the country, right?

Unfortunately, even she only barely passed the test of those monsters in Tokyo...

The All Japan High School Wind Orchestra Competition? Isn't that a competition only for people who can't play in a band?

While students here and elsewhere are still struggling with questions like whether they can qualify for the National Competition or get into a music university.

Meanwhile, the monsters from the same year have already begun to crush a group of Music University, shining brightly in the professional and semi-professional fields.