"How could there be a problem with the playback equipment?!"
At a place as important as the Magic City Exhibition Center, the odds of an audio equipment failure weren't zero, but they were still lower than blindly firing a sniper shot into a smoke cloud in a shooter and instantly killing five people at once!
By all rights, nothing should have gone wrong.
"Could it be because of me?"
Chen Xiao couldn't help wondering.
After all, he was practically a novel protagonist, and protagonists tended to be magnets for trouble.
They ran into something wherever they went.
Previously, even when he'd stayed home doing nothing, merely watching a news report about a superpowered crime had brought the criminal to his doorstep. This time, he was helping a classmate out and letting his girls sing onstage, only to run into equipment failure. No difficulty? Just add some!
What a classic!
"What exactly happened?"
Ding Jiafang, Chen Xiao, and the others followed the staff to the edge of the stage, where they found a crowd gathered around the playback equipment as though it were a crime scene.
A closer look revealed that the problem lay with a badly chewed cable and a Jerry who had attempted to ascend to the electrician realm, only to perish midway.
"Where did this mouse come from?"
Ding Jiafang asked.
Everyone else shook their heads blankly.
"There shouldn't be any mice in the venue, let alone one that just happened to chew through a cable for the audio equipment."
The young female staff member beside them couldn't make sense of it.
This was way too much of a coincidence!
It almost made them wonder whether someone with superpowers was targeting the event.
After all, why had nothing happened in any other area, while a mouse had chewed through the audio cable for their stage?
"Isn't there a spare cable?"
Ding Jiafang continued asking.
"The one that got chewed through happens to be the one we don't have a spare for."
The staff member spread her hands helplessly.
If they could have replaced it, they would have done so already instead of waiting around for someone to repair it.
"Hmm... there's definitely something fishy here."
Chen Xiao, who had followed them over, scanned the area for possible suspects.
Then he spotted a young man standing outside the crowd. The guy was planted there like Light Yagami, with an expression that suggested he could barely hold back his laughter.
Was he counting down thirty seconds in his head before declaring victory?
"Jiafang, do you know that guy?"
Chen Xiao pointed at the "Light Yagami" stifling his laughter.
"What do we do... huh? Who?"
Preoccupied with the problem, Ding Jiafang froze at the question, then followed Chen Xiao's finger to the man.
"We've met once, sort of. All I know is that he's a content creator on AC Station, like me. I think he goes by [Today's Flower City Rich Boy]... and he's also participating in this anime convention."
Hearing that, Chen Xiao took out his phone to dox him...
No, wait, to search for his creator account.
He discovered that the guy posted videos very similar to Ding Jiafang's: anime-related content, including anime reviews. Their opinions on the same series often differed.
"This guy looks like the prime suspect..."
Of course, he might not actually be the culprit. He could simply be gloating over their misfortune.
But Chen Xiao wasn't some great detective. Rather than turning into a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and playing deduction games, he might as well find a way to get through the performance onstage.
Were they really going to make Ikuyo Kita sing without accompaniment?
"A-Xiao, A-Xiao..."
While Chen Xiao was thinking, Nijika Ijichi, behind him, tapped his shoulder lightly with an eager expression.
"What is it?"
His thoughts interrupted, Chen Xiao turned around.
"Could you ask the staff if they have guitars, a bass, and a drum kit? Let us go up and play a song. Leaving Kita chatting with the host this whole time is way too awkward!"
Nijika Ijichi's words surprised Chen Xiao a little. He leaned close to her ear and asked quietly:
"Nijika, are you planning to have Kessoku Band... make its official debut here?"
He'd thought Nijika Ijichi and the others would spend a little longer laying the groundwork, waiting until the household had more money before publicly announcing Kessoku Band.
"Y-yes..."
Feeling his warm breath and hearing his voice beside her ear, Nijika Ijichi first shivered, then lowered her head and turned it aside, answering softly.
On closer inspection, her cheeks and the tips of her ears had already flushed red. She looked utterly adorable.
"All right, I'll go ask."
The corners of Chen Xiao's mouth lifted slightly, and he turned to approach a nearby staff member.
Only then did Hitori Gotoh, who had been staying in a corner, register what was happening.
"H-huh? I have to go onstage?"
As Hitori Gotoh said that, her expression looked just like a meme Chen Xiao had seen before transmigrating.
-Do I have to die too?
"Of course you do, Bocchi!"
Having recovered a little, Nijika Ijichi nodded.
"Bocchi, this is our first concert in this world. Give it your best."
Even Ryo Yamada offered Hitori Gotoh some rare encouragement.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope!!!!"
One glance at the dense crowd below the stage made Hitori Gotoh's legs give out. She collapsed onto the floor, shaking wildly as though she had activated a Sandevistan.
Meanwhile, onstage, the host and Ikuyo Kita were filling the gap left by the canceled performance with conversation. Thankfully, Ikuyo Kita was a total extrovert, as pretty as she was cute.
Even without a singing performance, she didn't leave the audience bored or annoyed.
"Miss Ikuyo Kita really is adorable~"
"Hehe~ Thank you for the compliment."
Although she was all smiles on the outside, Ikuyo Kita was nearly out of things to say and getting desperately anxious inside.
Fortunately, backstage staff began coming onto the stage just then. They not only brought out a drum kit but also connected all the cables needed for the performance.
Nijika Ijichi and Ryo Yamada followed.
Oh, and Bocchi, who kept her head lowered, not daring to look at the audience.
"Ijichi!"
Ikuyo Kita was overjoyed to see her.
But she had forgotten she was still holding a microphone, so her cry immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Whoa... why are the organizers being so generous this time? They invited so many cute, pretty girls."
"Yeah, yeah... each one has her own charm!"
"But how come I've never seen them before?"
"They're probably newcomers... are those other two holding guitars too?"
"Three guitars?"
Ryo Yamada: It's a bass!
As the audience murmured among themselves, Nijika Ijichi handed Ikuyo Kita a guitar and nodded at her.
"Got it! We're doing it right here!"
Ikuyo Kita immediately understood.
"Everyone, although a playback equipment failure has forced us to change this segment of the program, we're fortunate to have the members of Kessoku Band here to perform for us."
By then, the host had also received instructions from the staff through her earpiece and explained the situation to the audience with a smile.
Kessoku Band?
That was a name they'd never heard before.
Even the audience's most seasoned otaku looked bewildered.
"Everyone, let me introduce myself again. I'm... Kessoku Band's guitarist and lead vocalist-Ikuyo Kita!"
Now in performance mode, Ikuyo Kita winked at the audience.
"I'm Kessoku Band's drummer, Nijika Ijichi! It's great to meet you all~!"
Nijika Ijichi gave a very earnest bow, then sat down behind the drum kit.
"I'm Kessoku Band's bassist, Ryo Yamada. Nice to meet you."
Ryo Yamada spoke in a calm voice.
Someone: Huh? Isn't she holding a guitar?
"Ah... guitarist... Hitori Gotoh. Nice to meet you."
Last came Hitori Gotoh, who worked desperately to keep her voice from trembling and never dared to raise her head.
And with that...
Kessoku Band made its grand debut!
Before you continue