LoveLive / The Girls Make Progress

"Excuse us." ×4

"You brat, you're back."

The moment Luo Yu and the others arrived in the hall, Luo Xingchen and Luo Qingqiu appeared together.

"Dad, you're slacking off again? Isn't it still work hours? Why are you still at home?"

"You think I don't get May Day off?" Luo Xingchen shot his son an irritated look before shifting his gaze to the Light Music Club girls. "You're this brat's club members?"

Hearing Luo Xingchen's words, the girls hurriedly introduced themselves.

Meanwhile, Luo Yu had already picked up Vanilla and started petting her. Chocolate lay sprawled across Luo Yu's shoulder.

The moment the two little ones sensed Luo Yu's presence, they had rushed over impatiently. Seeing that his parents—mainly Luo Qingqiu—were getting more and more engrossed in chatting with the girls, Luo Yu could not help saying, "That's about enough chatting, right? If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving first."

At that, Luo Qingqiu asked, "Little Yu, you're not staying at home tonight?"

Luo Yu picked up Chocolate from his shoulder as well, held the two little ones up for them to see, and said, "I came back this time to take these two with me."

Seeing this, Luo Qingqiu did not try to keep him any longer.

After saying goodbye to his parents, Luo Yu took the girls into the car and set off for his home. Unlike before, there were now two adorable little ones in the car with them.

Once they got into the car, the three girls, who had been tense the entire time, immediately let out sighs of relief. Seeing that, Luo Yu teased, "What's wrong? Not nervous anymore?"

"Luo Yu, you've got some nerve saying that. Didn't you say your dad wasn't home?" Ritsu Tainaka looked at Luo Yu resentfully.

"I only said it was possible. Besides, my dad isn't scary, is he?"

"It's not that he's scary. It just feels like Uncle has this... imposing presence? Whenever I spoke to him, I couldn't help sitting up straight."

Mio Akiyama voiced her impression of Luo Xingchen. Ritsu Tainaka and Yui Hirasawa nodded along like pecking chicks.

"But Auntie is such a gentle person." Thinking of the auntie who had fed her snacks, Yui Hirasawa could not stop drool from forming at the corner of her mouth. Who knew whether she was thinking about Luo Qingqiu or the snacks in Luo Qingqiu's hand.

"Well, whatever. Luo Yu, are these two kittens the ones you're taking home?" Ritsu Tainaka stared fixedly at the two kittens. The other three girls looked at them with equally eager expressions.

"Yeah. The black one is Chocolate, and the white one is Vanilla. Do you want to hold them?" As he spoke, Luo Yu handed the two little ones to the girls.

The girls accepted the kittens with sparkling eyes, then immediately became engrossed in cuddling them. During this time, Luo Yu also told them about what the two little ones had gone through. As a result, the girls looked at them with even more pity and affection.

And so, the girls cuddled cats and chatted away. Before long, the car arrived at Luo Yu's front door.

After getting out of the car, the girls discovered that this place was not far from their own homes either. It would not take long to walk back.

So, the girls decided that they would come over to Luo Yu's house to play whenever they had free time.

Luo Yu opened his front door and walked in first. The girls picked up their things and followed him inside.

They were no longer all that surprised that Luo Yu lived in a villa. After all, they had already seen the estate.

The instant Yui Hirasawa and Ritsu Tainaka entered the house, their eyes lit up as they looked around in every direction. Then they tossed their things aside and began wandering around the house.

Luo Yu did not stop them. He knew just how strong those two girls' curiosity was, and even if he tried to stop them, it might not work.

No one lived on Luo Yu's first floor. Aside from the kitchen, all the other rooms had been converted into places where Luo Yu could grind skill experience.

For example, the room Ritsu Tainaka and Yui Hirasawa had just opened was filled with drawing tablets and art supplies. Before Mashiro arrived, Luo Yu had always drawn there.

Ritsu Tainaka promptly opened the door beside it. But when Yui Hirasawa and Ritsu Tainaka saw what was inside, they were instantly dumbfounded.

What had they seen? Instruments! The room contained every kind of musical instrument imaginable. There were so many, in such a wide variety, that he could open a shop with them.

They knew Luo Yu was the Luo Family's eldest young master, but did he really have to be this loaded?

LoveLive

Seeing all the different instruments in the room, Ritsu Tainaka suddenly remembered Luo Yu saying, on the day he joined the Light Music Club, that he knew a little bit of every instrument.

So this was what you meant by knowing a little bit of everything!

While grumbling internally, the two opened the next room. It contained some fitness equipment and looked like a gym.

Uninterested, the girls moved on to the next room. They went through room after room, and their expressions gradually shifted from shock to calm. They were practically numb by now.

When they reached the final room, the girls discovered that it was actually a home theater. Still, it only surprised them a little. The earlier rooms had already shocked them too much.

After touring the first-floor rooms, the girls gained a profound understanding of just how rich Luo Yu really was. Their other impression was that Luo Yu truly knew an incredible number of things.

After looking around the first floor, the girls headed for the second floor. Luo Yu did not stop them. Aside from his and Mashiro's rooms, the rest of the second floor consisted of empty rooms and vacant guest rooms.

After hearing Luo Yu's explanation, the girls did not inspect the other rooms and headed straight for Luo Yu's room.

When they entered Luo Yu's room, the other girls were still marveling at how neat it was when Ritsu Tainaka charged straight for the bookshelf and began rummaging through it.

Seeing this, Mio Akiyama grabbed Ritsu Tainaka from behind and said, "Ritsu, what are you doing?! That's so rude. How can you just go through someone else's things?"

"Ahaha~" Ritsu Tainaka scratched her head and laughed. "Don't boys all have those kinds of books in their rooms? I just wanted to see if I could find any."

"I don't have that kind of stuff here. If you don't believe me, go ahead and look. Just don't mess up my room."

Luo Yu was extremely confident about that. Besides, who even bought physical copies of that stuff these days? Weren't they all kept in study materials?

But Luo Yu's study materials really were just study materials. In this life, Luo Yu had never touched that kind of thing.

Having received Luo Yu's permission, Mio Akiyama stopped restraining Ritsu Tainaka. Ritsu Tainaka began searching, and Yui Hirasawa, her eyes shining, joined in.

Unfortunately, they searched the entire room and did not find what they were looking for.

In the end, Ritsu Tainaka could only look helplessly at Luo Yu.

"Seriously, you don't look at that stuff?"

Luo Yu looked at Ritsu Tainaka as though she were an idiot. Even if he really did look at it, there was no way he would let her find out.

Since they had failed to find the amusement they wanted, and it was getting late, the girls decided to take their leave after accomplishing their goal of touring Luo Yu's house.

At the door, the girls waved goodbye to Luo Yu and agreed to come over again next time.

And just like that, this May Day holiday came to a complete end.

Inside the clubroom, Luo Yu was drinking the black tea brewed by Tsumugi Kotobuki as usual, while the girls gathered together and chatted.

A month had already passed. It had been nearly a month since the May Day break. During that time, Luo Yu had not experienced anything else. Every day, he went to school, came home from school, practiced with the Light Music Club, drank tea, then went home to write.

He lived the same regular life every day. The only change was that, after a month, the girls had become very proficient at "Blue Bird" and "Hero."

Also, Luo Yu had finished writing the fourth volume of Flame Chasers. Its release date was in two days.

In this volume, Luo Yu had written about the defeat of the Eighth Herrscher. Su was going to have a major appearance in this volume.

It was time for readers to understand the true value of the Lady of the Lake: if a certain someone were female, there would be no place for Mei!

Knock, knock!

A burst of knocking broke the clubroom's usual leisurely atmosphere.

"Come in."

In the end, it was Ritsu Tainaka, the club president, who said it.

Then everyone saw Teacher Hiratsuka and Sawako Yamanaka enter the room.

After the two teachers sat down, Tsumugi Kotobuki served them tea as usual.

"Thank you, Tsumugi. You all are as relaxed as ever." Teacher Hiratsuka accepted the tea and thanked her.

"Little Sawako, what is it?"

The girls directed their question to Sawako Yamanaka, whom they were more familiar with.

"Ah... um... well..."

Seeing Sawako Yamanaka stammering, Teacher Hiratsuka took over.

"I'll explain."

As she spoke, Teacher Hiratsuka took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Luo Yu. Though Luo Yu was not the club president, Teacher Hiratsuka felt that he was the one truly in charge of the Light Music Club. Even she did not feel reassured about Ritsu Tainaka, the club president.

Luo Yu took the paper and began reading it, while Teacher Hiratsuka lifted her black tea for a sip. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily. She had to admit that the Light Music Club members really knew how to enjoy themselves.

After reading what was in his hand, Luo Yu was somewhat interested in what was written on it, but he still asked Teacher Hiratsuka, "Teacher Hiratsuka, are there no other clubs in our school that can go? Logically speaking, this shouldn't fall to the Light Music Club."

Hearing Luo Yu's words, the Light Music Club members looked over curiously. Even the three members of the Service Club were no exception; they looked over as well.

Teacher Hiratsuka laughed outright at Luo Yu's question. "No! You're the only club in the school with anything to do with this."

"We're not the only club, are we?" Though he was interested in the contents of the paper, Luo Yu was not so interested if he had to participate himself.

The exchange between Luo Yu and Teacher Hiratsuka left everyone nearby completely confused. Ritsu Tainaka finally could not hold back any longer and snatched the paper from Luo Yu's hand.

LoveLive! School idol project.

When Ritsu Tainaka saw those words in English, she froze, then could not help turning to Teacher Hiratsuka and asking, "Teacher Hiratsuka, are you sure you want our Light Music Club to register for this?"

Hearing Ritsu Tainaka's words, the other three girls from the Light Music Club crowded over to look at what she held.

"Yep. It's required by the school. They said it could raise the school's profile. Though I think our school is already well-known enough, the higher-ups said there was no harm in trying, so the task landed on me." Teacher Hiratsuka drank her tea with an unconcerned expression.

"So you came looking for us."

Luo Yu stared at Teacher Hiratsuka, wanting to know what exactly she was thinking.

"Well, your Light Music Club doesn't normally do anything serious anyway. Aren't you all usually just drinking tea? If this keeps up, you'll practically become an afternoon tea club."

The three Service Club members nodded unconsciously at Teacher Hiratsuka's words. They had to admit she was right. The people in the Light Music Club only practiced for a little while each day and spent the rest of their time drinking tea.

The Girls' Progress

The girls had no rebuttal to Teacher Hiratsuka calling the Light Music Club a tea-drinking club, because they knew what they were normally like.

"This event requires school idols, right? Can the Light Music Club really participate?"

Luo Yu spotted a loophole and attempted one last struggle.

Teacher Hiratsuka gave a crooked smile, as though possessed by some Dragon King. "Seems you know a bit about this event. You're right. In the past, only school idols could participate."

"In the past?"

Everyone caught the key phrase in Teacher Hiratsuka's words.

"That's right, in the past. The organizers have decided to expand the scope of this year's event. Participation is no longer limited to school idols. School bands like your Light Music Club can participate too."

She wasn't leaving any loopholes at all!

Seeing that he could not get out of it, Luo Yu decided to hand the choice over to Ritsu Tainaka. After all, she was the Light Music Club's president.

When Luo Yu fell silent, Teacher Hiratsuka knew the hardest one to deal with had been handled. All that remained was persuading the other four girls.

Seeing that the four Light Music Club girls were somewhat tempted, Teacher Hiratsuka pressed her advantage. "The school is giving you the green light on all fronts. They've even prepared an account for you. And if you take part in this event, it'll be easy for you to take leave whenever you need to. Just make sure your grades don't slip. The school is quite generous about that."

After saying that, Teacher Hiratsuka took out a slip of paper and handed it to Luo Yu.

Luo Yu took the slip and looked at it. Sure enough, it was a string of numbers, clearly an account. It seemed Teacher Hiratsuka had not been lying—the account had already been registered.

Come on, Shizuka-chan, this was utterly unfair. You came so thoroughly prepared to deceive—no, to ambush—a few young comrades aged sixteen or seventeen. Was this appropriate? It was not!

After hearing Teacher Hiratsuka say that, Luo Yu knew the Light Music Club could not escape this event. Sure enough, all four girls from the Light Music Club looked at Luo Yu expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"Don't look at me like that. Ritsu's the president. If she says we go, then we go." Luo Yu took a sip of tea and handed the choice to the girls. Though he did not particularly want to participate, he respected their choice. If they wanted to join, he would follow along.

After a round of discussion, the girls ultimately decided to participate in the LoveLive! School idol project competition.

However, after making the decision, one particular girl had already started steaming from the head. After all, participating in this event meant recording videos.

Once the girls had made their decision, Luo Yu handed the slip in his hand to Ritsu Tainaka. Since she was the Light Music Club's nominal president, it was more appropriate for her to have the account. Though the real reason was that Luo Yu found it troublesome and did not want to manage the account.

Although they had decided to participate, Luo Yu still asked curiously, "Teacher Hiratsuka, are you really so sure we can place? If we don't get a ranking, won't that mean the school's original goal won't be achieved?"

Teacher Hiratsuka looked extremely pleased at those words. "It doesn't matter if you don't place. We never expected a bunch of people who drink tea every day to get a good ranking anyway. As long as you show your faces, that's enough. After all, the Light Music Club members are all beautiful girls. And you, the only male member, are pretty good-looking too."

"..."

No one had anything to say in response to Teacher Hiratsuka's words.