Aspiring to be a girl in a band

She rested her chin on her hand and carefully observed the situation in the classroom.

"Hmm...it's too noisy over there...and a bit too serious over here..."

In order to quickly integrate into the class, Ai Yin is choosing suitable friends.

"And here..."

Aine's gaze slowly shifted to Arakawa Kirika.

Although Aine really wanted to get to know Arakawa Kirika, after all, the other party was so outstanding, and being able to become friends with such a person would greatly satisfy her vanity.

But the unease she felt inside made her shake her head decisively the next second.

"No, no, if we challenge ourselves with a high-difficulty level right away, we'll get stuck... Let's choose a safer route first..."

So she chose the trio that seemed the most friendly and went straight up to them to start a conversation.

As she approached her goal, Aine also saw...

Arakawa Kirika seemed to say something to Takamatsu Akari, and then the two of them walked out of the classroom together.

"Hmm? The relationship between those two seems a bit strange."

Aine had some doubts, so she thought she should first build good relationships with the people in her class, and then casually ask them.

……

After a little time, Ai Yin finally managed to get along well with several classmates. After thinking that it should be about time, she asked her question.

"Um, I've always been a little curious about what kind of person Arakawa-san is. He seems a bit unapproachable?"

"Well... even if you ask, Chihaya-san... we wouldn't dare say we know Arakawa-san well. Actually, Arakawa-san transferred schools only three days before you, and she's only been in the class for a short time."

"Huh??"

The classmate's answer deepened Ai Yin's doubts.

In addition, during the self-introduction, the teacher's ambiguous attitude when talking about Arakawa Kirika...

Aine increasingly felt that this Arakawa-kun was no ordinary person.

"By the way, Chihaya-san, do you know Akari? I saw her talking to you earlier, that's really rare."

A classmate asked Ai Yin curiously.

"Oh... I just ran into Takamatsu yesterday picking up stones, nothing special."

Ai Yin smiled and waved her hand.

"Oh, I see. Lamp does often go and pick up strange things."

One of the students nodded in agreement, with a doting expression on his face.

"As expected of our class mascot, it's so cute, it feels like a little animal."

mascot?

Ai-yin blinked, thinking to herself, "So this is how Takamatsu Akari is positioned in the class..."

But... I'm the new transfer student, so could you talk more about me?

Ai Yin felt a little upset when she saw the topic suddenly veer off course.

"Oh right, Chihaya-san, it's such a shame. If you had transferred schools a couple of days earlier, you probably would have been able to see that."

One of the students seemed to have suddenly thought of something and said to Ai Yin with a regretful look.

“Oh… indeed, it’s such a shame that Chihaya-san didn’t get to see that scene.”

Another student also shook his head regretfully.

ha?

Aine admits that at that moment, her curiosity was successfully piqued.

So she quickly pressed for an answer.

"What do you mean by 'unfortunately'?"

"Hehehe, that's definitely Arakawa-san's super cute side, she's even cuter than a lantern! Although Arakawa-san is usually cold and aloof... that super soft and adorable Arakawa-san that day still deeply touches my heart."

"Yeah, yeah, even though Arakawa-san looks a bit scary now, Chihaya-san, she was so cute back then, you just couldn't help but want to protect her, hehe..."

As he spoke, the student gave a slightly lewd smile.

...What is all this nonsense?

Ai Yin frowned because she couldn't understand what her classmates were saying at all.

That Arakawa Kirika classmate certainly left a terrible impression on her... but...

cute?

Ai Yin found it all rather unbelievable.

Is this an adjective that could be used to describe Arakawa Kirika?

……

On the other side...

Arakawa Kirika returned to the Astronomy Club with Akari.

As soon as she entered, she saw that her lunch had been neatly arranged on the table by someone.

Having learned from her first day at the new school, Arakawa Kirika vowed never to repeat that mistake.

Deng also took out his own bento box.

The two did not interact much and instead began eating on their own.

The lamp was enjoying the moment.

This moment has even become the moment she looks forward to most every day.

Even without much interaction, she felt at ease just being with Arakawa Kirika.

"Light, you apologized to that new kid before, right? What happened?"

Arakawa Kirika's question broke the silence in the activity room.

Deng hurriedly put down his chopsticks, and then, as if to prove his innocence, said in a very urgent tone.

"No...it's nothing at all...Chihaya-san just saw me picking up stones...and then I ran away...it's really nothing."

Arakawa Kirika simply smiled at the lamp's overreaction.

Why are you so nervous?

……

yes……

Why am I so nervous?

Of course, Deng didn't know either, so she didn't answer the question. She just silently picked up her chopsticks again, took a piece of meat pie, put it in her mouth, and mechanically began to chew.

Then, the lamp, which had been keeping its head down and not saying a word, suddenly noticed a pair of chopsticks entering its field of vision.

Judging from the carved patterns on those chopsticks, one can tell that they are quite valuable.

Arakawa Kirika gave all the fish-based food from her lunchbox to Akari.

"I don't want to eat any of these... and this too. Can you take care of them for me, Deng?"

Deng stared blankly at the extra food in her lunchbox.

It was all kinds of fish meat that looked very expensive.

So she naturally thought of a question.

"Arakawa-kun...don't you like to eat fish?"

"Ah."

Arakawa Kirika answered very quickly this time.

Akari was naturally happy to help Arakawa Kirika resolve her troubles, but she still felt it was a bit of a pity.

Born in an island nation like Japan, how could someone not like eating fish... Doesn't that mean that at least half of the country's cuisine is excluded from Arakawa Kirika's recipes?

Thinking back to that day, she didn't touch any of the snacks her classmates fed to Arakawa Kirika.

……

The lamp's expression suddenly became relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on its face.

As expected of Arakawa-san... even her picky eating is exceptional.

Book 1: Chapter 39 A Little "Help"

Time quickly passed and it was afternoon.

The school bell always rang on time.

Aine was just packing her things to go home when she suddenly discovered...

In this class alone, there are a lot of students carrying guitars or basses.

Hmm... Is Yugaoka a school with a strong musical atmosphere?

Ling Meng Yi San Er Leng Yi San Er Ling Qi Si Ba Na... how about I try playing in a band too?

In that case, we'll have to start by recruiting members... Joining someone else's band will definitely not get you a good spot.

I absolutely have to be a guitarist and vocalist...hehehe...

As Aine thought this, her eyes narrowed into slits with a smile.

Then she looked around the classroom and saw Takamatsu Tō, who was doing his duty in front of the blackboard.

I don't think Takamatsu has a band... But today is the first day of his transfer, so we can't rush things... Should we make plans tomorrow?

Having convinced herself of this, Aine picked up her bag and prepared to leave.

But at this moment, Arakawa Kirika, who had already left the classroom, inexplicably returned to the classroom.

Aine, who was very interested in Arakawa Kirika, paused her efforts because of this. [Making contact with Arakawa Kirika] was a goal that Aine had never given up on, so before officially making contact with her, Aine naturally would not give up any opportunity to observe her.