Chapter 61: Aggressive Progress (Part 1)

They arrived at the venue.

“Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan, Hayato-kun... Huh? Didn't Hayato-kun come?”

Nijika looked at the two coming down the stairs, greeting them cheerfully, but when she noticed one person missing, she paused in confusion.

Kita had also intended to say hello, but hearing Nijika's words, she looked back in puzzlement.

She only saw Hitori, who looked a little uneasy under their gaze.

Hitori raised her hand, pointing cautiously.

“Th-that, Hayato-kun is over there...”

The three looked in the direction Hitori was pointing.

Ishikawa Hayato had, at some point, bypassed the others from the back of the group and run over to Seika, sitting on the bar stool next to her, looking at Seika with a brilliant smile.

The three could feel something rising from Seika's calm back.

“Hayato-kun, don't bully my sister!”

Nijika rushed over and pulled him away.

Just as she pulled Ishikawa Hayato away, a drunken voice echoed from the venue entrance.

“Eh~~ It's really lively today, Senior~ Long time no see.”

A woman who looked very troublesome, completely drunk, was sprawled over the handrail that Ishikawa Hayato often leaped over.

Her rose-red long hair was styled into a side ponytail draped over her shoulder, and she wore a jacket that, due to her loose movements, revealed the camisole dress she wore underneath.

As if completely unconcerned about her slight exposure, she casually greeted the venue.

Nijika sighed, pressing her forehead, while Seika looked blankly at another troublesome person who had appeared in the venue.

Hitori and Kita noticed Nijika's expression, and Kita asked curiously.

“Who is this?”

Seika explained first.

“This is my junior from college...”

As she explained, the drunkard, Hiroi Kikuri, came down the stairs and directly put her arm around Seika's shoulder.

“I am Hiroi Kikuri, the genius bassist who loves bass more than anyone~”

She leaned on Seika's shoulder, swaying, and continued.

“But I forgot my bass at an izakaya yesterday, and I don't even remember which izakaya it was.”

Seika let her lean, but pinched her nose with a look of misfortune.

“You reek of alcohol... And first, go find your bass!”

Hiroi Kikuri looked up, her blurry eyes fixed on Seika's face, and she poked her cheek with a finger.

“Eh~~ I'll go later, Senior. Let's go for a drink together. The bass will come back as we drink.”

Kita and Hitori stared dumbfounded at this person.

Isn't this the bassist who loves bass less than anyone?

“There's a live show today, go by yourself.”

Seika flatly refused her.

Hiroi then turned to look at the others in the venue.

“Why is there also a young man here? Is he performing today?”

“I am here for love and peace, to save...”

Ishikawa Hayato crossed his arms over his chest, his expression serious, like a hero appearing in a tokusatsu show. He had just finished a sentence and was about to change his pose when--

“He is Ishikawa Hayato, our band's keyboardist.”

Ryo directly interrupted him.

Ishikawa Hayato turned his head in disbelief, looking at Ryo.

“Hayato-kun, this person is already drunk, don't make her even more confused.”

Nijika, uncharacteristically impolite towards someone, said, pointing at Hiroi Kikuri, whose mind seemed to have stopped working.

But Hiroi Kikuri, hearing the keyword, instantly snapped back to reality and shouted loudly.

“I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk.”

She said, pulling out a glass of alcohol.

“Just a little sobering drink... Senior, what are you doing?”

Seika snatched the drink from her hand, extending her arm.

“Go outside to drink.”

“Eh...” Hiroi Kikuri also seemed to sober up quite a bit from this.

She looked at the five again, “Ah, a band. Nijika did say she wanted to form a band before. Are all five of them band members?”

“Yes, we are Kessoku Band.”

Nijika responded.

The drunkard smiled, saying in a dreamy voice.

“That's great. Ah, then Ishikawa is like a harem protagonist.”

Ishikawa Hayato was quick to interject this time. He grandly waved his hand with a confident air.

“My surname is Ishikawa, but you're right, everyone here is part of my harem.”

He looked around at PA-san, who was hunched in a corner playing on her phone, as well as Hiroi Kikuri and Manager Seika, who was being leaned on.

Amidst the stunned expressions of the four band members, he spread his arms and declared loudly.

“And by harem, I mean all of you adults included, you are no exception!”

“I'm going to be the King of Harems!”

Hiroi Kikuri once again began to doubt reality.

“A dream?”

But Seika, who hadn't been drinking, was very sober. She had a menacing smile, as if to say 'you've got guts, kid,' and gritted her teeth.

“Quite bold, aren't we?”

PA-san, sitting in the corner, slightly raised her head, blinked in confusion, then showed an amused smile and walked over.

“Wow, I'm so happy, to be pulled into a cool and amazing high school boy's harem.”

She smiled, her eyes narrowed, and covered her mouth with her hand, pushing up her loose sleeve.

Amidst the others' incomprehensible expressions, she walked over to Ishikawa Hayato, who had suddenly started sweating profusely.

She leaned close to his ear and said.

“So, would you like to come to Big Sis's apartment tonight?”

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the lip piercing under her lips, shining in the light, and her seductive gaze, along with the faint scent of perfume. He could feel it.

She was serious!!

Ishikawa Hayato's expression instantly became serious. He took two steps back and bowed deeply at 90 degrees, saying.

“I apologize, I overstepped.”

PA-san's eyebrows suddenly drooped. She turned around, wiping the corner of her eye with her sleeve as she walked past Seika.

“I was rejected... Is it true that when you get older, no one wants you anymore...”

“Yes, yes.” Seika sighed.

Feeling the atmosphere instantly return to normal, Nijika also breathed a slight sigh of relief and stepped forward to Ishikawa Hayato.

“Hayato-kun, stop saying such strange things.”

Ishikawa Hayato turned around, his expression serious.

“Indeed, the age limit for the harem should still be set at 25.”

Nijika was helpless.

“You're saying strange things again.”

“No, no, it's not. I'm serious.”

As Ishikawa Hayato's words fell, exclamation marks seemed to pop up above the heads of Nijika, Hitori, and Kita, who were all stunned, looking at him in surprise.

Kita's mouth twitched as she exclaimed in surprise, “Huh?”

Ryo quietly looked at this person who she didn't know if he was talking nonsense or being serious.

...

Since there was still some time before work today, and also to prevent Ishikawa Hayato from getting entangled with those three adults again.

Nijika suggested they go to the rehearsal room to practice for a while.

They all agreed unanimously.

Inside the rehearsal room.

They naturally practiced the song they performed for the first time on stage. At least, until they had a song that truly belonged to their band, they could only use other people's songs to practice their coordination.

Nijika noticed that in the rehearsal room, the others had not changed at all because of Ishikawa Hayato's recent words, and her expression relaxed considerably.

However, after finishing one song, Kita squatted in the corner.

“I'm sorry, I made so many mistakes, I'm really sorry.”

“No, no, Kita, being able to persist until the end of the performance is already amazing enough.”

Nijika went forward to comfort Kita, her admiring demeanor feeling completely genuine.

Kita turned her head back, looking at her timidly.

“Hmm, although not as good as Hayato, she is still a rare talent.”

Ryo also agreed with Nijika's words, and the encouragement from the two instantly cheered Kita up.

She turned her head back in surprise, deliberately ignoring the guy who was showily playing the keyboard, and asked.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Ryo nodded.

Kita also didn't forget who taught her guitar. She attributed her achievements to Hitori, saying with a smile.

“That's all thanks to Gotou-san. Gotou-san taught very well.”

As she spoke, she saw Hitori looking lost in thought.

But Hitori quickly snapped back, recalling Kita's words as if reminiscing, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

Then she grinned.

“Actually, it's no big deal.”

She scratched her head, laughing foolishly in an exaggerated way, with an expression of smugness.

Kita looked at her awkwardly.

“Gotou-san really gets carried away easily.”

“Let’s just keep moving forward like this!” Ishikawa Hayato said, looking around at the four of them as the band gradually started to make progress.

“Ishikawa-kun, don’t talk like you’re the center of the band!” Kita complained to Ishikawa Hayato.

“Hahaha…” Nijika, who didn’t seem to care as much, let out an awkward chuckle.