Chapter 422

If it weren't for Taki Noboru's request that she wait until Himemiya Chihaya finished playing the third piece, she would have already sent the students back to school.

"Yes!"

Ogasawara Haruka quickly agreed, and then led the Kitauji team to issue more detailed instructions.

The situation was similar elsewhere; after a brief period of confusion, the crowds were quickly dispersed under the guidance of their respective school teachers.

In just over ten minutes, the crowd in the Parking Lot had mostly dispersed.

Standing high in the trees somewhere in the forest, watching the school buses drive away one after another, Himemiya Chihaya breathed a sigh of relief.

Well, I've achieved my goal, and it's about time I left. It's time to head to the next destination.

Hmph! Controlling multiple schools for over an hour with just a musical instrument and a speaker... How impressive!

The atmosphere on the moving Kitauji bus was as quiet as when it arrived.

However, what they arrived with was an uneasy and tense, deathly silence.

Now, I feel a deep curiosity about that mysterious, Elf -like white-haired boy.

"Asuka- senpai~ You guys have talked to him, tell us, who exactly is he?"

"That's right! Just tell me!"

Do you have his contact information?

"Hey! That's enough! I only exchanged a couple of words with him, how would I know that much?"

Tanaka Asuka stood up, her eyebrows furrowed, and loudly defended herself to the group of people who were all looking at her with the same gaze.

Matsumoto Michie forehead in exasperation, but didn't scold her to sit down, since they had indeed performed quite well today.

If that person hadn't appeared, the car would probably be filled with joyful celebratory songs right now.

"Red bean paste? I clearly received the biggest reward from that person..."

"He already explained the reason for that, didn't he?!"

Tanaka Asuka struck the same pose as Matsumoto Michie.

Sure enough, extra benefits aren't so easy to come by.

All I know is that he's a tourist from Tokyo, nothing else!

Seeing that they couldn't get any useful information from her, who was puffing out her cheeks like a pufferfish and had a resolute attitude, the girls in the Wind Ensemble Club turned their attention to Taki Noboru.

"Teacher! What do you think?"

"Huh?"

Taki Noboru was stunned for a moment. After confirming that he was being called, he reluctantly got up and stood in the aisle, pressing his Hands together.

"That's true, um... I think Himemiya student is a very capable person."

He gave a safe and ordinary answer.

With him stepping forward, the atmosphere inside the car immediately improved.

"Does the teacher also think it's amazing?"

"I knew it! I told you that person was amazing, right?!"

"Don't tell me! I'm still in a state of self-isolation!"

"Haha~ Compared to them, you guys are all useless, not a single one of you is good-looking!"

"Nonsense! Compared to them, you don't even have a shred of femininity!"

"What did you say?!"

"How about it!!"

"..."

The atmosphere was escalating, threatening to turn into an argument. Matsumoto Michie, unable to bear it any longer, turned around and shouted, "Quiet down, all of you!"

"Yes..."

X N.

The crowd, which had just been so defiant and confrontational, immediately lowered their heads and transformed into a flock of ostriches.

But the silence didn't last long, and someone couldn't contain themselves and continued to ask:

"So, the teacher thinks that's the correct name for the Hinomiya?"

"Asuka -Asuka senpai said her name is something like Himemiya Chihaya, what a cute name!"

"Shouldn't it be a more feminine name?"

Some boys complained.

"So what? Don't you think it's appropriate?"

"..."

"Sigh~ And the Hinomiya' sounds really nice too! It feels like something from Old Noble!"

"You think so too? Me too!"

"..."

Chapter 393 Blocking the door isn't new, but it works.

"How amazing does the teacher think Himemiya student is?"

Someone then asked the same question again.

"Um..."

Taki Noboru smiled seldom, knowing exactly what they wanted to know. "Very impressive."

"Is he even better than the teacher?"

The student who had just thought the Saxophone was better continued to ask questions.

"How is that possible?!"

Kōsaka Reina couldn't help but stand up and retort, her delicate face full of indignation.

This was not only because she had a crush on Taki Noboru since childhood, but also because subconsciously she was unwilling to admit the fact that he was so strong as a high school student...

"Forehead..."

The person asking the question was startled by her, and the people around her stared at her blankly, not expecting that she, who was usually so taciturn, would suddenly have such a big reaction.

"Kousaka student..."

Kumiko Oumae was also taken aback and silently watched her.

Ever since her school won the Wasted Gold at the Kyoto Prefecture tournament in her third year of junior high, and she said to the heartbroken and tearful Kōsaka Reina, "Do you really think we can advance?", it took her two weeks this semester to finally strike up a conversation with her—even though the other girl didn't seem to care much about it.

[Note: In each level of the Wind Instrument Music competition, the awards are divided into three grades: gold, silver, and bronze. Only a portion of the schools that Gold Prize can qualify for the next level. Gold Prize that do not qualify are called "Wasted Gold."]

A month has passed since the start of the school year. Because they are in different classes and sing different parts, the two haven't talked much. This includes scenes where they were caught by Tsukamoto Shuichi when he was talking badly about Taki Noboru's strictness to his childhood friend, Tsukamoto Shuichi, and they apologized to each other at school the next day...

We only bumped into each other at the Wind Ensemble Club every day, and occasionally ran into each other a few times on our way home.

Although she knew that Teacher Taki admired her, she didn't expect her to act like this in front of everyone—she thought to herself, staring at Kōsaka Reina's profile.

Taki Noboru glanced at Kōsaka Reina, smiled and nodded at her, not thinking much of it, assuming it was because of their old friendship.

"Thank you, but Himemiya student is indeed more talented than me, and probably even more talented than the average professional musician. Her composition and performance are both impeccable."

"Although people haven't heard of him yet, he may Mirai become a well-known musician."

"Among the people I know, he's probably the most Talent, so losing to him isn't a big deal... Well, that's still a long way off for everyone. We should just focus on the National Competition."

"Wow..."

The passengers in the carriage were all utterly astonished, their expressions varying.

They knew their opponent was very strong, but they didn't expect Taki Noboru to give such a high evaluation.

Kōsaka Reina clenched her fists tightly, her heart filled with a complex mix of frustration, resentment, and longing.

At that moment, she understood, or rather, only now admitted—if there are such things as "special" people in the world, then it must be someone like that person.

However, that place is far too far from where she is now...

No, not necessarily! I still have two years; I might be able to reach their current level if I practice relentlessly!

"Even the teacher says so, that person is just too perfect..."

"Is he really a third-year student? Ha... have mercy on me."

"Are there really a lot of people like that in Tokyo? Is it true?"

"There are actually people in this world more outrageous than Asuka- senpai?! I'm going to die~"

"Hey! Just say what you want to say, why are you dragging me into this again?"

"We'll probably only get to meet someone who exceeds the limit once in a lifetime, and then we won't see them again."

"Asuka- senpai~ Don't you really have his contact information?"

"No, no~ How many times do I have to say it before you understand!"

"Kumiko?"

"Eh? Me?"

Startled by the sudden conversation, Kumiko Oumae quickly turned around and waved her hands, exclaiming, "No, no, no! How could I possibly have such a thing!"

"That's a real shame... Do you think you'll have a chance to meet again in the future?"

"Haha~ I think it's impossible... You might only encounter this kind of chance a few times in your lifetime, right?"

"That's true."

"..."

But as it turns out, chance encounters are ultimately no match for the scheming of those with ulterior motives.

An unintentional encounter is called a chance meeting; what do we call an intentional one?

I've traveled thousands of miles to see you.

Twenty minutes after the school bus from Kitauji entered the school, a boy carrying a huge travel bag, with long, straight silver hair divided into two strands hanging down his chest, and wearing a simple mask arrived at the school gate of Kitauji —it was Himemiya Chihaya.

After navigating to a nearby Parking Lot, he carried his bag and came over, ready to proceed with the next step of his plan.

Simply getting to know someone isn't enough; we need to deepen the relationship.

But the problem is that he can't come to Kyoto Tokyo, so he needs to make the most of his time.

About ten minutes later, the already empty Kitauji Village, which was on holiday, began to see groups of people emerging from inside – members of the Wind Ensemble Club who had just returned from outside.

Upon returning, they needed to recount the number of people, move the instruments back to the activity room and storage room, change their clothes, and go back to the activity room to listen to the advisor's explanation of the upcoming activities.

Only then did they go back to their own homes and find their own mothers.

"Wow! I'm so tired and hungry, I can't take it anymore!"

"Me too! I was starving back in Yamashiro... Let's hurry! Let's go to a fast food restaurant for lunch!"

"Wait for me! I can't walk anymore..."

"..."

"Hey~ We have the afternoon off, what's a good thing to do?"

"I don't know, but right now I just want to get some sleep."

"After such a long vacation... crying!"

"After all, I had to come to school to practice every weekend before. There's still one more day tomorrow, and then it'll be another long period of practice... Suddenly I'm thinking of quitting the club."

"Haha! If the seniors hear this, they'll beat you up!"

"..."

"By the way, have you finished your homework?"