Chapter 420
"Is nobody here? Let me give it a try!"
A familiar voice reached Himemiya Chihaya's ears, and then Tanaka Asuka leaped over him and arrived beside him.
"Yo~! Himemiya student, we meet again!"
She smiled and winked, greeting us.
"Asuka- san, want to give it a try?"
His eyes relaxed slightly; finally, a familiar face had appeared!
"Well, but my skills can't compare to yours or Teacher Taki's, can they?"
"It's okay, as long as it's relatively good and you're emotionally engaged, that's fine! Relax~"
"Is she very emotional...?"
Tanaka Asuka muttered something to herself, then looked up at him. Her playful expression faded, and her look gradually became serious. "I understand."
Then, she looked at another person there. "Isn't this Nozomi? You and Himemiya student knew each other before?"
Taki Noboru is a new consultant who joined this year, so naturally he doesn't know Kasamaki Nozomi, but she is different.
Hearing her speak to her, Kasamaki Nozomi, whose feelings had been complicated since the beginning and who wanted to greet her but hesitated, pressed her arm. "Asuka- senpai... no, we just bumped into each other while watching the parade."
"I see..."
Tanaka Asuka nodded slightly, understanding why she was there, and said nothing, "Then, to avoid wasting everyone's time, I'll begin!"
After saying that, she stopped paying attention to her, picked Euphonium in her hands, and aimed it at the mouthpiece.
"???∮※..."
Like Taki Noboru's melody, the slow, lyrical, and serene Euphonium was played out little by little by her.
The melody was simple, and the pitch was not high; in fact, it required complete silence to hear clearly. But the profound meaning it contained was not much different from Taki Noboru's performance just now.
After glancing at her eyes, he wisely closed them.
After the nearly two-minute piece ended, as if feeling it was too short, too quiet and ordinary, she switched to another well-known piece that was more cheerful and more difficult.
Two or three minutes later, she ended her performance.
"How about it?"
Without a trace of regret for her performance, she hugged the golden Euphonium and grinned with a clear smile.
"Very good!"
Amidst the applause from below, he readily took out one—no, two— Yukichi from his wallet and handed them to her.
"Huh? Why do we need two?"
Amidst gasps of surprise from below, Tanaka Asuka accepted it with astonishment.
"Because I feel your performance has that value, and besides, you played two pieces."
After making a "V" sign with two fingers, he pulled out another bill and loudly proclaimed to everyone:
"Also, since I haven't heard your first song, I'd like to do what the previous teacher did: exchange this one for its name, is that alright?"
"Even if you don't need to give it to me, I'll still say so..."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and her tone was helpless.
"No! That's my pride—but you can only say it to me, since I'm the only one who paid!"
"Sh--!!!"
Such a stingy remark drew boos from the crowd below.
"Haha~ Himemiya student, you're really funny!"
Unable to refuse his insistence, she was momentarily stunned, holding the three brand-new coins in her hand.
Is this what it feels like to make money with music? It's her first time.
"It was a piece that someone I knew wrote for me; it's called 'Sound, Euphonium!'"
With a strange feeling, she put away the banknotes and smiled wryly.
"So, just like Himemiya student's song, you can't find it online either~"
Oh--
The audience below erupted in discussion again, surprised that there was another piece of gossip to share.
"I see. The melody is very beautiful; I like it very much. Thank you."
"Then I'll go down now~"
"Ah, wait!"
He called out to her, seeking confirmation. "Are you going straight back to school later?"
"Hmm? Yeah, because there's an event today, there's no practice this afternoon and tomorrow, but we still need to go back to school before we're dismissed... What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing, thank you."
His skin twitched mysteriously, and a knowing glint flashed in his eyes.
Tilting her head in confusion, she saw him calling for others to come up again, and then, perplexed, she returned to the group.
"As expected of Asuka- senpai! She's truly a role model for us all!"
"Hi! Desu's tone is absolutely beautiful!"
"Wow~ I actually got three Yukichi! Asuka, you're treating us to Asuka today!"
"I want one too! I want one too!"
"..."
As soon as she came down, she was surrounded by Ogasawara Haruka and the members of the Low Tone Section.
"Wow~ Extortion?"
Tanaka Asuka stared speechlessly at the group in front of her, then handed the instrument back to Kumiko Oumae. "Oumae-chan ~ Aren't you really going up?"
Because she is the team leader and doesn't need to perform, she didn't bring her silver Euphonium today.
"Hey, hey... no need, my strength is at most about the same as the previous ones."
Kumiko Oumae shook her head, her face contorted and her eyes closed.
"You really have no spirit of challenge at all!"
She crossed her arms and sighed, shaking her head at the incompetence of her juniors. "If you want to improve and become special, you need to challenge yourself at times like these."
"Okay, I understand."
"You..."
"..."
Tanaka Asuka's successful challenge briefly reignited everyone's enthusiasm for trying it.
Next, another group of fearless challengers stepped onto the "high platform".
But courage cannot immediately translate into strength, and the result was predictable, much like before.
Occasionally, a few exceptional individuals, such as Rikka and Luqiu, who were skilled players, managed to obtain a large, unappealing banknote from him, eliciting cheers and applause from their school friends and acquaintances.
People from other schools were not to be outdone and were even more enthusiastic about registering.
Himemiya Chihaya felt something was off; it was as if this was no longer the end of the performance, but had become an alternative overtime match between the schools... The school with the most successful students was considered the most powerful.
As his banknotes dwindled, another person he recognized appeared.
Hello, nice to meet you.
"Oh... hello."
Looking at the familiar face before her, Himemiya Chihaya was both surprised and unsurprised.
The ice-cold beauty with long, Black Long Straight Hair holding Trumpet in front of me is none other than Kumiko Oumae's CP, Kōsaka Reina —although their relationship doesn't seem that close right now.
Given her personality of seeking the extraordinary, she would most likely not miss such an opportunity, especially since Taki Noboru and Tanaka Asuka had already passed the test.
However, for others who don't know her, the focus is obviously on other things.
"Wow~ She's just as pretty as that girl with the Euphonium!"
"They're all wearing the same team uniform, right? They're from the same school?"
"Damn! There are so many cute girls in Kitauji? I should have gone to Kitauji too!"
"Don't even think about it, it's impossible."
"..."
Ignoring the chatter behind her, Kōsaka Reina nodded to him, then used her long, slender fingers, hidden inside her white gloves, to press down on the Trumpet and raise it in front of her.
After taking a deep breath, he fearlessly blew a loud horn!
The long, hollow, and resonant sound of the Trumpet echoed under the clear blue sky, compelling everyone to listen attentively.
The nostalgia of Taki Noboru and the lonely longing of Tanaka Asuka, each with their own unique aloofness and stubbornness, were clearly conveyed to everyone present.
"Is this piece 'From the From the New World'?"
"Wow, this girl is amazing!"
"This level of skill is already on par with many Solo musicians from top universities, isn't it?"
"Is Kitauji this good this year? Their previous Marching performances were also quite good."
"It looks like there might be some upsets in this year's prefectural tournament."
"..."
As the song ended, Kōsaka Reina casually dusted off her Black Stockings, then shifted her gaze to his eyes, as if urging him to announce the result.
A round of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from below, praising those who dared to step onto the stage.
"Qualified."
After the applause, Himemiya Chihaya was about to give her one of the few remaining banknotes...
"Etc!"
Kōsaka Reina stopped him, quickly saying, "I want to do what Teacher Taki did and use something else instead."
"Oh?"
He paused, looked up at her, and sensed something was amiss. "You mean...?"
You deliberately waited until after it was approved to say it, Hajigoo, you rascal...!
Kōsaka Reina remained unmoved, clutching the ample fat on her chest that Kumiko Oumae envied, her expression serious. "I heard you're a third-year student. Can I see what you look like?"
She still couldn't believe that a high school student like them could possess such strength!
With that kind of performance ability, she'd believe he was a professional musician from somewhere; how could he just be a high school student?
"..."
No, the demands you're making are getting more and more outrageous!
"What? Are you saying it's a lie that you're a third-year student?"
She used a simple and direct provocation, paused, and then added, "Or is there some unspeakable reason?"
The audience below gradually started discussing, each one somewhat bewildered. If Kōsaka Reina hadn't mentioned it, they wouldn't have known that such a rhythm master was a high school student like themselves.
Are you kidding me?!
"No, I just don't understand the connection between appearance and whether someone is a high school student. Maybe I just look young or old?"
He tried to persuade her.
To be honest, if you judge his age by his appearance, his parents should only be around 20 years old.
Appearances are notoriously unreliable.
For example, the difference in demeanor between freshmen and sophomores can make them seem several years apart.
He was the same. The reason why Hiratsuka Shizuka and the others couldn't figure out his age before was because his experience, temperament, and maturity completely exceeded what one would expect for someone his age.