Chapter 431

Tanaka Asuka crossed her arms and said matter-of-factly.

Hehe~

Nakasako Kaori smiled gently and explained to the two of them, "We agreed to come together, and we only arrived a little earlier than you."

"I see..."

Kumiko Oumae understood, glanced back at the two who seemed to have completely ignored them and were still busy with their own things, and then returned to the main topic.

"Um, what's that over there...?"

"It's very regrettable, as you can see."

Tanaka Asuka sighed with her eyes closed, equally speechless.

"How could this be...?"

Kumiko Oumae collapsed to her knees, feeling utterly hopeless and utterly desolate.

While she was still struggling to improve her Euphonium six or seven years of learning in the Wind Ensemble Club, someone else was able to master so many instruments at the same time... How could anyone else compete?!

"And it's Oboe..."

As is well known, the Oboe is one of the most difficult instruments to play in Wind Instrument Music.

While others learning other instruments can already play them, those playing the Oboe may only be just getting started.

Kōsaka Reina, standing beside her, had a lifeless look in her eyes, her eyes devoid of light, and she began to doubt herself about her pursuit of a "special" goal.

Compared to everyone in the Wind Ensemble Club, it's one thing, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't reach this level...

"Well, I understand how you feel, but you don't have to compare yourselves to him."

Tanaka Asuka patted them on the shoulders, comforting them.

"After all, there probably aren't many people like him in the whole world... probably."

"Probably..."

Kumiko Oumae mechanically raised her head, staring at the white figure's retreating back, then clutched her head in anguish, "How terrifying! Tokyo are so scary!"

What are you arguing about?

At some point, Himemiya Chihaya, who had stopped playing, removed the reeds, and returned the Oboe to Tsuruzuka Mizore, came up to the group and complained to them.

In fact, he had been teaching Tsuruzuka Mizore for over an hour.

He only gave her demonstrations during her break after practice.

"Himemiya student, is there any musical instrument you can't play?"

Ogasawara Haruka stared at him with helpless and resentful eyes.

"There are many, such as the erhu, water harp, theremin, conga drum, taiko drum... there are too many to count. I don't actually know many, just the instruments I know."

He explained it to her in a serious tone, but it only left the others speechless.

"..."

X N.

"By the way, why are you all carrying bags?"

Noticing the items they were carrying, he asked them, puzzled.

"Oh, this? Because we were busy practicing the past few days, we didn't do much homework. We were planning to come over today to find time to hold a study session..."

"Write, do homework? Oh, I see..."

Upon hearing this inexplicably oppressive word, he couldn't help but feel a surge of tension.

Besides that, there was also a hint of—guilt?

After all, he hadn't done any homework since the start of the school year... The last time he did homework was at home in New York, which was several years ago.

Even he had to do homework when he was a child. Although he later started to choose what he was interested in and study independently, no one assigned him any more tasks.

"Do you need my help?"

Having nothing else to do, he suggested.

"Eh? You want to add more homework to your assignment? Himemiya student is really a weirdo..."

After saying that, Kumiko Oumae quickly covered her mouth and nose, "Sorry!"

Pfft!

Kōsaka Reina, standing next to her, covered her mouth with the back of her hand and couldn't help but laugh, her body trembling.

But soon, she couldn't laugh anymore.

"It's okay! It's good to review what you've learned since it's a rare opportunity to do homework!"

Himemiya Chihaya waved her hand dismissively.

"..."

X N.

"Don't you usually do your homework?"

Tanaka Asuka, also dressed in a sailor-style school uniform, crossed her arms and frowned, as if looking at a delinquent.

Regardless of whether it's a holiday or not, you have to wear the school uniform when you come to school.

"Ha... You can't expect someone who hardly ever goes to school to do homework they don't even know what the content is."

"You're really something, saying that with such certainty? How dare you say you'd help us? Don't mislead us!"

"You underestimate me?! Today I'll show you what a true academic genius is!"

Kumiko Oumae waved her hand dismissively. "If we're talking about academic geniuses, then it has to be someone like Asuka- senpai... Her grades are incredibly, incredibly good!"

"Really? And what about your grades?"

"Uh... Kousaka student is in the college entrance exam preparation class!"

Don't drag me into this.

"Are you alright, Oumae-chan? Midterms are coming up soon, you know?"

"Hmm~ It should be fine, right..."

"..."

Ignoring his Oboe practice and without even greeting his seniors, Tsuruzuka Mizore followed the others into a random classroom.

After the others sat down and got into the zone, he took the main character's seat, leaned against the wall by the open window, and took out his phone to process the morning's information tasks.

There are... 7 unread messages this morning?

There are far fewer people than usual. Since it's a holiday, everyone's slacking off; some haven't even gotten out of bed yet?

A dozen minutes later, after quickly ending the chat, he started to idly idly play a rhythm game.

Perhaps because it was just the beginning and no problems had been encountered, no one spoke for half an hour.

The classroom was very quiet, save for the rustling of Sasa's pencil lead sliding and the sound of turning pages.

It must be said that study sessions with a few people are quite effective; participants are much more focused than when studying at home, especially when experienced colleagues are present.

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At one point, the first voice rang out in the classroom.

Her voice was soft and gentle, so it wouldn't disturb others.

"You're also interested in rhythm games?"

Himemiya Chihaya looked up and saw Tsuruzuka Mizore, who had paused her practice and was staring down at her phone screen.

"You play too, Mizore?"

The students who were writing stopped writing at the same time, as if they had agreed beforehand, and glanced in surprise at the corner of the classroom.

It wasn't that they were surprised by his calling people by their first names—after all, he had started doing it yesterday—they just wanted to see Tsuruzuka Mizore's reaction.

In their minds, Tsuruzuka Mizore had always been a very aloof and quiet girl. Their initiative in talking to him could be attributed to practicing instruments with him before, but what would their reaction be if he called them by their names directly?

As expected, Tsuruzuka Mizore frowned, but considering that he had already called Nozomi by her first name, he didn't say anything.

"Um."

"Then play a game for me and see."

Before she could refuse, he shoved the phone into her hand, then put the other earphone in her hand and put it on her.

"..."

Tsuruzuka Mizore opened her mouth, then realized she shouldn't have spoken to him.

"Wow, that's amazing! You're so skilled. How many games have you played, and for how long?"

Watching her flawless, nimble fingers flash across the colorful blurry images on the screen, Himemiya Chihaya praised her.

"..."

Tsuruzuka Mizore remained silent, engrossed in playing on her phone.

"It's a pity they used up all the snacks yesterday, otherwise I would have given you one as a reward."

He glanced sideways at the group of people in the study group, and when he saw that they were all looking in his direction, he paused.

"... Sorry, was I too noisy?"

"No, that's alright..."

The group looked away, feeling inexplicably awkward, unsure of what to say.

"Halftime!"

Tanaka Asuka clapped her hands, breaking the silence, "So you and Mizore both play rhythm games! And you're both so good at them. Does playing rhythm games improve your instrument skills?"

He hesitated before answering, "I don't know, why don't you try it next time?"

Reason told him that there shouldn't be any necessary connection between the two, but considering that Udagawa Ako and Tsuruzuka Mizore were all rhythm game experts, it wasn't impossible...

"I'll try it next time!"

After saying that, she immediately brought up another matter, "By the way! The guitar in the hallway outside is yours from yesterday, right? You seemed to have said that you prefer playing rock music, right?"

"I looked it up last night and found that rock bands these days are really amazing, with lots of great songs... Why don't you perform one for us now?"

"Ah! I agree!"

Nakasako Kaori immediately echoed.

"I want to hear it too!"

I second that!

"If possible."

Even Tsuruzuka Mizore, who was playing a rhythm game, looked up and left a long string of "Miss" letters on the screen.

Do you take me for Piano in a restaurant?

Himemiya Chihaya complained, but didn't refuse, and got up to go outside.

A short while later, he returned carrying his guitar and stereo.

Connect the guitar and speaker with the power cord, turn the volume up to a moderate level, carry the chair to the middle of the back of the classroom, hold the guitar, and sit down with his legs crossed.

Scan the six people once, then start with zero frames:

"Where You Going?"

"Nights that are not bright yet are boring to watch"

"..."

"つになったをして(Leave a shadow that turned into two)"

"Tell Me What Is Inside You Inside You Now"

"..."

The guitar doesn't play a large part in this song, but thankfully the vocals are the most important part.