You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

"No, I want to go to SPACE."

"There's no one performing at SPACE, so what's the point of you going there?" said the old man.

"I can play the guitar." The girl replied instinctively.

"I've transferred all of SPACE's instruments to RiNG," the old man said slowly. "Even if I gave you a guitar, the last time you touched it was two years ago. After such a long time, do you think you can play it to your satisfaction?"

The girl's thin lips parted slightly.

Only then did she realize that she hadn't touched her beloved guitar for such a long time, ever since SPACE, which she regarded as her home, closed down.

If you don't practice guitar for a few days, you'll lose your rhythm.

Not to mention such a long span of two years.

Just when she was feeling depressed, she saw the American Shorthair cat that had walked away actually came back quietly. It walked in front of her, sat down and meowed softly.

"You want me to go?"

Seeing the American Shorthair cat nod, the girl looked towards SPACE again, her eyes full of reluctance.

Finally, she squatted down and picked up the American Shorthair cat. The American Shorthair cat nestled comfortably in her arms and meowed at the girl, as if to express gratitude.

"...RiNG, will it be closed in the future?"

A rare sight.

The girl asked questions that seemed like normal human beings would be concerned about, so much so that the old man was a little surprised.

In just a short moment, many thoughts flashed through the old man's mind, such as whether letting her pick up the guitar again would delay her studies, whether the estimated turnover after opening the store would meet the target, and so on and so forth complicated issues. However, the old man did not care about these this time, but spoke in a tone as if he was coaxing a child.

"Not this time."

"Then, will there be a wonderful performance?" the girl asked softly again.

The old man did not reply immediately.

She thought of the two young men she saw yesterday, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

She walked forward.

The girl followed closely behind, holding the cat.

Facing the girl's inquiring gaze.

The old man smiled in a different tone.

"Have."

--------

"Boss, and Lenai-chan, welcome!"

A vibrant female voice came from the front.

The person who specially ran to the store door to greet him was RiNG's store manager, Shinji Rinrinko, who is a veteran employee of Tsuzuki Poetry Ship.

She used to work part-time when SPACE was still open, and now that RiNG is about to open, Tsuzuki Shifune has handed over this store, which she has high hopes for, to Rinrinko.

Rinrinko heard from Tsuzuki Shifune yesterday that he would bring his granddaughter over this afternoon, so when she saw the old man and the young boy appear at the door, she immediately put down her work and ran over to greet them.

"What about the two children?"

Tsuzuki Shifune glanced inside the store but didn't find the person she wanted to see.

"As for Shiina-san and Toyokawa-san, they are preparing at the cafe on the second floor," Rinrinko replied.

(Rinrinko actually called Riki Taki-chan, but considering they just met, she changed it to calling her by her last name)

"cafes?"

Tsuzuki Poetry Boat was a little surprised.

After the interview yesterday, she informed Rinrinko that the cafe could be opened to the public. The first cup of coffee would be free, and the number would be limited to 300 cups. This was to generate some popularity and lay the foundation for the official opening in a few days.

The reason for doing this was to prepare the stage for the second interview of Toyokawa Sho and Shiina Riki. To be more precise, it was to let them go up as store clerks to liven up the atmosphere and set the pace.

Other store employees will also go up to play the songs in turn according to the groups arranged in advance. In other words, it is a simple promotional activity.

But in order not to put too much pressure on them in advance, Tsuzuki Shifune did not tell them the news that day. She just asked them to wait in the room and give them time to prepare when she arrived.

So they actually went to the cafe?

"Did you tell them?" asked Tsuzuki Shifune.

"No, no, it was Toyokawa who figured it out himself. He saw the cafe open for business and everyone was playing with their instruments, so he asked me if I wanted them to play on stage too. He said if so, they would go change into their work clothes and get ready to play."

Rinrinzi quickly shook her hand.

"This kid is so smart?" Tsuzuki Shifune asked curiously, "So they've finished playing?"

"Don't worry, boss. I've put them at the back of the queue, just waiting for you to come! Look, the timing is just right. Now is the time for Toyokawa and the others to go on stage." Rinrinko said with a fist.

"If you put them in the main position, aren't you afraid that they will be under too much pressure?" Tsuzuki Shifune said with a smile.

"what……"

Rinrinko realized later why she felt that Shiina Ritsuki was a little weak when she saw her that time.

"What the hell, what the hell, what should I do, Boss! If Toyokawa and the others fail to perform because of my arrangement, I will definitely feel guilty for the rest of my life!"

"If jade isn't polished, it won't become anything useful. If they can't even handle this little bit of pressure, then they're nothing special," Tsuzuki Shifune said, calming the flustered Rinrinko. "Those two kids aren't that fragile."

"Huh... If the boss says so, then I feel relieved," Rinrinko breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems that you, the boss, really value Toyokawa-san and the others."

Tsuzuki Shifune turned around. She would not respond to this sentence, but when she turned around, she found that her granddaughter who was standing next to her just now had disappeared.

What about people?

She looked up and found that the other party had already run to the second floor.

"Let me help you up!"

Rinrinko immediately came over to support Tsuzuki Shisen.

Tsuzuki Shifune said no, but didn't chase the other person away. He just walked all the way to the cafe on the second floor. The cafe was packed, like a grand concert.

Rinrinko gestured to Tsuzuki Shifune to sit at the front desk, but Tsuzuki Shifune shook his head and his eyes swept around like a dragon until he saw his grandson in the front row and felt relieved.

"No, this angle is just right."

They all built poetry boat roads.

“As an ordinary guest, you can judge whether the performance is good or bad.”

As she said this, she walked to a place where she could lean on, took the hot coffee that Rinrinko prepared for her in one hand, and stood at the edge of the outermost end of the cafe with her crutch in the other.

Next to her, there was a blue-haired girl wearing a student uniform, a simple long-sleeved white shirt with a dark blue skirt, and a black ribbon tied into a bow at her collar. She was holding a cup of the most expensive coffee on the menu and staring at the two people on the stage.

When Tsuzuki Shisen saw that Toyokawa Sho and the others were still tuning their instruments, he asked the girl next to him and prepared to do a brief customer survey.

"Did you just get here?"

The blue-haired girl turned around and saw Tsuzuki Shifune with a kind and gentle smile, and replied calmly and confidently.

"No, I've been here for half an hour."

"Really? Then what did you think of the previous performance?" Tsuzuki Shifune asked with a smile, but this friendly look really made Rinrinko next to him feel deeply out of place.

boss……

Why can't you just smile at us like this normally?

"Very good. I'm really interested in the combinations of 2-3 people in a group. Sometimes it's guitar, bass, and keyboard, and sometimes it's keyboard, guitar, and violin. The novelty of not knowing what the next combination will be is very nice.

"What's even more surprising is that each group can basically play for ten to fifteen minutes. Sometimes it's improvisation, sometimes punk, sometimes R&B, and there are even electronic music and ballads. It's a pity that the time is too short to listen to enough. The overall performance quality is maintained at a very high standard. It can be seen that the staff are all experts who have carefully selected them."

R&B: Rhythm and Blues (R&B) is a musical style that incorporates elements of jazz, gospel, and blues.

"Also, the quality of the instruments sold by the store clerk is generally very high. The cheapest ones can be sold outside for around 3 yen. Take the guitars that appear most frequently, for example. All the guitars I've seen on the stage so far are all solid guitars, such as the Yamaha FG28 and Martin D200. Well, the guitar held by the boy on the stage right now is even better, a Gibson SJ. I'd also like to buy that. The last time I saw it, the price seemed to be around yen. Unfortunately, my budget is not enough, balabalabalbala——"

Surprisingly.

Although the blue-haired girl has a cold and pretty face like a flower from the mountains, she talks incessantly.

"Originally I just wanted to come here for a cup of coffee, but the overall quality of this shop is really good. I will patronize this shop with a religious attitude in the future."

...This girl seems to be a weirdo...

Rinrinko next to her complained again.

"Interesting. You can analyze so much. It seems you are very passionate about music." Tsuzuki Shifune nodded in appreciation.

Out, appeared!

The boss’s appreciation mode…!

And it even triggered that super hard to trigger [Interesting] line! ?

It's like the obsession of RPG players to unlock all achievements, or the obsession of collectors who can't walk when they see treasures.

Once the boss shows this kind of look and says these three words at the same time, it definitely means that the boss is attracted by talent and will poach that person to the store and train him as a junior (niu)!

The last person to trigger these two conditions was Toyokawa-san. I thought no one would trigger such harsh conditions after Toyokawa-san, but it's the next person's turn so soon...!?

Rinrinko was greatly shocked.

"Actually, I'm the owner of this shop. I'm glad you like it. This is my business card. From now on, whenever you come here to shop, whether you want to book a practice room or get a cup of coffee, this card will give you a 50% discount. Of course, you can also use it to buy musical instruments, but it can only be used once."

Tsuzuki Shifune smiled and took a business card from Rinrinko, then handed it to the blue-haired girl next to her.

Rinrinko next to her tried to shout in her heart.

Don’t pick it up, don’t take it!

Don’t take it!

Run away!

If you take it, you are the boss's man!!

Run away now!

"Really? Thank you so much. I will correct my previous wording. From now on, I will come to your store with a pilgrimage mood instead of a pious one. Boss, you are so kind."

Unfortunately, the blue-haired girl is not a New Type.

She had not developed the ability of telepathy, nor was she aware of the dangers of the world. She did not know that this little rabbit with a tail had been targeted by the big bad wolf. She just took the business card and put it in her school uniform.

Tsuzuki Shifune smiled without saying anything, and together with the blue-haired girl, turned their gaze back to the two people on the stage.

I saw Toyokawa Sho, dressed in a black work suit, holding the microphone, in full business mode. His refreshing profile and generous smile were like a wonderful painting, firmly attracting the gazes of countless young female audiences in the audience, which seemed to be able to draw lines.

If the previous staff performances still had some of the resemblance of a cafe, then since Toyokawa Sho came up, the cafe has completely turned into a small live house, and almost everyone's attention is involuntarily attracted by the dazzling light emanating from him.

Looking at him is like looking at the most perfect work of art bequeathed by God to the world. He stands beside a lake in spring, beneath a poplar tree covered with frost and dew. The pure white in his eyes reflects the boundless blue sky, inspiring endless reverie.

"He's very suitable to be the lead singer." The blue-haired girl commented. There was no love in her eyes as if she had been bewitched by a succubus. She was really just analyzing from an objective perspective.

"He's just a guitarist." Tsuzuki Shifune shook her head. She didn't know what surprise Toyokawa Sho would prepare for her next.

"Really? But he's already got the microphone." The blue-haired girl pointed at Toyokawa Sho who was sitting close to the microphone on the stage.

Tsuzuki Shisen looked at the stage and it was true. Were they going to play some popular song?

She frowned a little worriedly.

In her idea, she wanted Toyokawa Sho and the others to give the guests a little impromptu shock based on the level of yesterday's interview.

But if we change to pop songs, not to mention that the guests will feel that the style will be lowered a lot, musical instruments and singing are two different branches.

Just because you play the guitar well doesn't necessarily mean you can sing well.

How many guitarists are forced to switch to lead guitar because their voices are not good enough, and give the C position to the lead singer whose guitar skills may not be as good as their own.

Am I really lucky?

Did we discover an all-around genius who can play guitar and sing well?

While Tsuzuki Shisen was thinking, he heard Toyokawa Sho on the stage had already started plucking the strings of the zither.

Unlike yesterday's fast-paced, distinctive improvisation, this time the start was far less intense...

If yesterday was a figure skater's wild and restless dance on the ice, then this beat is like a person walking on the beach beaten by waves, humming a song in a leisurely manner.

Very soothing.

Very concise.