After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

Yue probably knew that the two seniors Aine mentioned were the same two that Momoko and she had talked about before, but she couldn't figure out that they were in England. Could it be that her senior, who could play the guitar, was coming to teach Aine?

"So the seniors recommended their guitar teacher to me, who is also the guitarist for Popipa, one of the organizing bands for our performance this time."

Aine explained to Yue.

"The guitarist for Popipa? Is it Hanazono-senpai or Toyama-senpai?"

The images of the two men flashed through Yue's mind. Popin' Party had two guitarists: one was the senior guitarist Hanazono Tae, whom she had met at the music store before, and the other was the senior guitarist Toyama Masumi, whom she often saw in Ring.

She had met these two seniors more than once, but because she wasn't very familiar with them... or rather, because they had never spoken, she had never thought of asking them to help guide Aine.

Unexpectedly, Aine found her way back to them through a senior colleague of Seisho whom she had met in London. It was truly a wonderful coincidence.

"But why would Seisho's seniors go to Popipa to learn guitar?"

Yue was puzzled by this question, but unfortunately she didn't have the contact information for those two seniors, so the question remained unresolved.

"Nana-senpai and Hikari-senpai gave me their contact information, and they also promised to give us some guidance after we finish practicing."

"It's really nice! So, where is it located?"

Aine's message arrived a while later; it seemed she had gone to inquire with them.

"It seems to be a place called Meteor Hall, Yue, do you know where it is?"

"Ryuseido...I think it's near Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy, but that makes sense. Popipa and the others are all students at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy, so it's normal for them to be there. But I remember Ryuseido is a pawn shop, right? And it's not a live house, is it? Is there really a place to practice there?"

After searching her memory, Yue remembered the location. It was because Taozi had mentioned that she was considering pawning some of the strange collectibles she had bought at Meteor Hall to recoup some of the money that made her remember the shop.

"I don't know either, but since the seniors chose that location, they must have their reasons!"

Aine was equally puzzled by the location chosen by her seniors at Popipa. To be precise, she had no idea where the place was, since given that Aine's family could afford to send her to study abroad, a pawn shop should be quite far away from her.

"If we're next to the flower girl, should we consider asking Riki to come along?"

Considering that Meteor Hall was right next to Hana-no-O, Tsuki asked Aine if she should invite Riki, who was also studying at Hana-no-O, to come along. Riki, who was also studying at Hana-no-O and working at Ring, might be familiar with the seniors of Popipa.

"Hmm... I think it's better not to for now. After all, the seniors only agreed to guide my guitar practice, not to guide our band practice."

After thinking about it for a moment, Aine declined Yue's suggestion.

"Then why does Aine need me to go with you?"

Yue asked in confusion, "Aine has already said that the other party agreed to guide only her, so why does she need to go with me?"

"Moon, don't tell anyone, okay? Actually, it's because all the seniors at Popipa are from Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy that I wanted them to come with me."

Aine's answer puzzled Tsuki.

"Hana-onna? Why are all the Popipa seniors Hana-onna students? Aine, do you need me to go with you? Ryuseido is a pawn shop, it's for pawning items, not for kidnapping people."

Yue's answer also shocked Aine.

"Senior, haven't you heard of it?"

"What have you heard? The rumors about the flower girl?"

The moon is puzzling.

"Yes, I heard from a classmate from the next class a few days ago that they saw a bear walking upright wandering around Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy."

When Aine mentioned it, Yue remembered that when she and Riki were telling ghost stories in Hokkaido, Riki had mentioned this very story in the mysterious legend of Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy.

"It's probably just a regular mascot costume. If a bear actually appeared at the school, it would probably make the news."

"That's true, but I still feel that the Flower Girl is a bit scary, so I'll ask Tsuki-chan to come with me tomorrow."

Aiyin also sent over a pleading emoji.

"Okay, okay, I'll go with you."

Yue didn't know why Ai Yin was afraid of these urban legends. She didn't really believe in these superstitious and unbelievable campus legends. After all, if there really were bears roaming around the school, then wouldn't the second legend that Li Xi mentioned, about someone jumping off the third floor, also be true?

If that's the case, then isn't the story circulating in Haneoka Girls' Academy about the Afterglow band encountering ghosts at night also true?

"But come to think of it... since there are giraffes, it's not so surprising that there are ghosts, is it?"

Thinking of this, Yue tightened her pajamas in the dead of night. Even though the windows were tightly closed, she suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing in.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Forty-Two - The Legendary Band Popipa (Part 1)

Although Lixi promised everyone that she would no longer stay up all night composing, she actually didn't go to bed until after 3 a.m. yesterday after revising the score.

The next morning, Riki arrived at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy with dark circles under her eyes.

"Lixi, you're here."

Hai Ling greeted Li hope.

"Um……"

After answering, Lixi lay down on the table and fell asleep.

Not long after, the other students in the class arrived and saw Lixi fast asleep on her desk, and Hailing sitting behind her, looking at Lixi with "concern" from a classmate. Class 1-B, which already had some strange rumors because Hailing asked Lixi for leave yesterday, now had some more strange rumors circulating.

However, none of this had much to do with Lixi, who was drowsily catching up on sleep. At this moment, she seemed to be dreaming of something good, and a smile appeared on her usually icy beauty face.

"Lixi...you actually have such a happy smile...is being in a band really that fun?"

Looking at the smile on Li hope's face, Hai Ling thought to herself that she had always treated bands as a job, working as a support musician for various bands.

Obtain the sheet music, contact time, and performance location from the contact person. If necessary, take some time to attend a few rehearsals together, and finally perform with the band at a live house.

This is what Hachiman Kairei does as a support band member. Thanks to her superb performance skills and good looks, she has always been popular in the band. However, as a result, she has been moving between different bands for a long time, and each band does not last long. She has never felt that playing in a band can bring her happiness.

"Maybe I should try starting my own band?"

Seeing Shiina Tatsuki smiling in her sleep, Hachiman Kairin had the idea of ​​finding a band.

Although Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy is filled with legendary figures such as truant high school girls, children of conglomerates, bears, high school idols, and stray cats, it is rumored that the academy, which is financially supported by the Genmaki Foundation, still needs to carry out daily teaching.

Even when Shiina Riki was in class, she still gave the teacher some face, changing from sleeping directly on her bed to sleeping with her cheeks propped up by her hands. Even when Mika Mika, who was sitting in the last row, interrupted the class early to leave because of her idol career, she did not disturb Riki's sleep.

--------

As a qualified high school girl, Riki slept through the entire night in class, but during the afternoon training session, she miraculously recovered thanks to her youthful physical abilities.

However, you could tell from Lixi's face in the recording studio that she was very unhappy.

Why didn't the stray cats come?

She shook her legs unhappily with two drumsticks, glancing at the time on her phone; the agreed-upon training time had long passed.

“I already told Ryuna-chan that we should practice every day…” Suze was also surprised that Ryuna didn’t come to practice.

Yue didn't participate in the discussion. She was standing in front of her keyboard, looking at the information on her phone and recording the navigation route from Ring to Meteor Hall.

Ai Yin was focused on the new sheet music that Li Xi had sent them that morning. The part about her guitar had been modified a lot, making it much simpler now, but it also meant that all her previous practice based on the sheet music was useless.

"Shall we start practicing now?"

Seeing that their reserved time at the recording studio was about to end, Su Shi made a suggestion to everyone.

"Lanna didn't come. Is she practicing that new sheet music from this morning?"

Chihaya Aine confirmed with Shiina Tatsuki.

"...I need to rethink the arrangement."

Lixi rejected Aiyin's statement.

"Huh???"

Everyone turned to look at Lixi without prior arrangement.

"Lixi, what about practice?"

Yue asked Li hope.

"Tsk..."

Shiina Tatsuki also felt helpless, because the version she wrote last night that required Rana's participation was cut a lot, and Aine's guitar part was cut a lot. If Rana didn't come, their whole song would fall apart.

"No... I need to be prepared for Lena not to come. Should I prepare two sheet music tracks?"

"That's enough for today, let's go."

Lixi packed her things, called Deng, and left the recording studio together.

See you tomorrow, everyone.

Xiaodeng looked around at everyone, waved goodbye as she pushed open the door to leave, leaving only Aiyin, Sushi, and Yue in the recording studio.

"In the end, we still didn't practice anything..."

Aine couldn't help but complain.

"There's nothing we can do, because Renai-chan hasn't come yet, so the song that Riki originally changed because of Renai can't be used," Su Shi explained to Riki.

"But we haven't practiced even once yet. Can we really perform on stage like this?" Aine expressed her lack of confidence.

"It's alright, Aine. Let's trust Riki for now. All we can do right now is continue practicing our skills," Yue reassured Aine.

"That's all we can do for now. See you tomorrow, Aine, Tsuki." Su Shi glanced at the time and said goodbye to the two.

"See you tomorrow, Su Shi-chan."

See you tomorrow, Su Shisang.

Aine and Yue bid farewell to Su Shi.

"Alright, now we should go find the seniors of Popipa."

Seeing that the rest of the band had left, Yue said to Aine.

"But why did you tell me at noon today not to tell anyone else, Aine?"

Tsuki remembered what Aine had quietly said to her on the way to the Astronomy Club earlier that day.

"Senior Yue, could you please not tell the rest of the band that we're going to see the Popipa seniors today?"

Although Tsuki was puzzled at the time, she glanced at Takamatsu Akari who was not far behind her and nodded in agreement to Aine's request.

Now that only the two of them were left, Yue finally found an opportunity to ask Aine the question.

"Because...everyone is working hard for the concert right now..."