Uneasy daily life

No matter how many times.

"I've had similar experiences before, and I'll laugh about it."

Kita Ikuyo faced the audience, her smile radiant as she sang, the lyrics, though somewhat melancholic and heavy, taking on a touch of playfulness.

You can hear Kita's voice, the sound of the clarinet, the guitar, the bass, and the drums.

I can also hear the lyrics I wrote myself, and I fantasize that my precious school days can shine brighter, be more popular, and become... more youthful.

Then, pessimistically thinking about becoming a shut-in and embarking on a bleak life, I unconsciously used words of reminiscence and nostalgia...

Goto Ichiri unconsciously smiled, and played even more smoothly and naturally.

Gently lift your chin slightly to let more light fall on your face.

offstage.

"Oh my, it's rare to see Pochi-chan in such a good mood, except for her extreme joy or sorrow."

Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head in surprise and saw Yukino Yukinoshita Haruno carrying a guitar, and Toyohama Kazuha being hugged by Yukino Yukinoshita Haruno.

"What do you think, Yukino-chan?" Yukinoshita Haruno asked with a grin. "Are you planning to perform a show for the school festival? I can help out for free!"

"Let's talk about it then."

Yukino Yukinoshita didn't want a third person to suddenly appear in their performance, which was meant for two people. Even so, the only musical instruments she could think of at the moment were pianos and guitars...

"Huh?" Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly paused, looking at the stage with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked. "It's strange that Haku-kun didn't cause any accidents?"

"I always feel like the guitar sound..."

Just as Yukino was about to listen carefully, the first song was already coming to an end.

Ichi Nijika was a little confused. Huh? There were no surprises? That white figure, there were no surprises? The recorder was perfectly orderly throughout, it didn't suddenly turn into a suona, nor did it transform into a saxophone on the spot, nor did it loudly chant the Rebirth Sutra.

He even plays the recorder in a wonderful way, with a volume that can keep up with the band's performance while maintaining a unique timbre to match the band's playing... wait, I almost forgot that this guy is doing beatboxing.

"Everyone! Did you enjoy it?"

Bai Ying's shout broke the lingering charm of the performance.

Below the stage, the pink-haired girl was the first to jump up and down in support, shouting in her awkward, childish voice, "Onee-chan! Daishik!"

A cheer and applause followed.

"Drummer! How much longer are we going to have to wait? Start playing now!"

The white figure turned around, raised her hand, and shouted at the somewhat dazed Ichiji Nijika.

"What's with the rush? I'm the team leader!"

Nijika Ichi replied with a hint of excitement, raising her drumsticks: "Yo-ho! Let's all give it our all!"

The drumsticks struck each other, producing a crisp sound.

"The pointer is about to point to six."

"The planet Venus is about to rise in the sky."

"Stepping on shadows."

"The journey home seemed to be mixed with the darkness of night."

"Search for that one and only star with all your might."

"Shining so brightly from billions of light-years away."

Kita Ikuyo sang with a smile, "It's so nice that everyone loves you so much."

These lyrics, so full of envy and longing... Ugh! I have a feeling Goto wrote them for Shirokage! Goto, calm down, Shirokage is clearly a prankster!

Hmm? Why does Goto's guitar playing sound a bit messy?

Goto Ichiri, who writes lyrics, is currently in a major crisis!

Something's wrong! My guitar, my guitar, the tuning is weird, like it's suddenly throwing a tantrum, and the feel of the strings is strange too.

Calm down! I've heard that when things like TVs and radios malfunction, just tap them a few times and they'll be fine again, so just keep your hand firmly on the string...

The string broke.

During the ensemble, one guitar sound disappeared.

Goto Ichiri's pupils dilated in shock. She instinctively tried to adjust herself, but the broken string was simply insufficient to support the guitar solo she had brought back.

Guitar mishap → Performance failure → Becoming a 'celebrity' at school → Staying at home → ...

No! Now is not the time to think about this. We can't let everyone's cultural festival performance be ruined by my mistake!

Guitar, guitar... Ah! Yang Nai-nee has a guitar?!

Goto Ichiri subconsciously raised his head.

The white figure put away the recorder, leaped off the edge of the stage, and continued to make recorder sounds to accompany the performance. So much so that when the audience got close, they noticed that the person's expression was a bit strange.

The crowd instinctively parted to make way, and the white figure rushed to where Yukinoshita was in the blink of an eye.

Yukino quickly put down the guitar she was carrying, unzipped her backpack, and handed the guitar over in perfect unison.

"Wait! Bai Jun..."

Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively reached out, but the white figure had already picked up a guitar and gave a thumbs-up without turning around.

Yukinoshita Haruno smiled and pumped her fist in encouragement.

Does Bai Jun really have very little knowledge about musical instruments?! Changing instruments mid-performance is simply impossible...

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't stop her in time and could only watch as the white figure dashed and leaped, only to land silently back on the stage, like a nimble and agile cat with paw pads on its feet.

It's Yang Nai's guitar!

Goto Ichiri's eyes almost lit up. He apologized to his father for the guitar he had passed down to him, put it aside, and quickly took the guitar from the white shadow. He grabbed the instrument strings and brought it close to the amplifier.

There's still time! Quickly switch to your guitar and start your solo...

Calm down! Pochi! No!

The three band members, who were watching this side but couldn't stop performing, subconsciously widened their eyes.

Oh dear, this is terrible.

Ijichi Seika, sitting in the audience, helplessly covered her ears with her hand.

Sizzle, crackle, bang—!

This sound will kill your eardrums!

The moment Goto Ichiri unplugged the instrument, a piercing electronic sound filled the entire venue, leaving her frozen as if struck by lightning.

It seems, perhaps, possibly... that hot-swapping a loudspeaker can cause noise?

The other three players also stopped playing amidst the jarring noise, momentarily panicking.

This seems to be considered a performance accident, right?

The recorder continued to play freely for a few seconds, then sounded intermittently, as if calling out, "Where's the bass? Where are the drums? Where's the song?" before finally turning into a casual whistle that swept away.

The white figure crouched down, reached into the almost melting pink object, pulled out the instrument string, and naturally plugged it into the amplifier.

Sizzle and crackle, a second time!

"The tide has turned, where are the heroes?"

The white figure glanced at Goto Ichiri in his melted state, then stood up with interest, facing the audience who might soon cause a commotion, his expression becoming inhuman.

The drumbeats sound first, followed by the bass, which is barely noticeable yet allows the music to bounce like a wall, then the lead singer's guitar, and the clear sound of the recorder...

The slightly quieter ensemble returned to the stage in an instant, and Bai Ying spoke with an unpredictable expression. Aside from singing, she really couldn't sing, but she managed to perform the ensemble piece almost perfectly, which fooled everyone else.

In the few seconds of flowing rhythm, a piercing buzzing sound suddenly cut off all sound.

It was as if lightning tore through the rain curtain, an eagle leaped off a cliff, a wild goose left its reflection on the lake, and intense and joyful guitar music soared into the sky.

The white figure slightly turned to the side and bent over, giving the stage to the protagonist at this moment.

She is passionate and unrestrained. Even when she lowers her head slightly, she doesn't give the impression of being afraid or timid. Instead, she appears aloof and indifferent, with a particularly rock-and-roll demeanor.

The stunning solo performance successfully erased the audience's memory of the stage mishap. The moment the solo ended, Ichiji Nikka suddenly pounded the drum kit, Yamada Ryo took over, and Kita Ikuyo sang into the microphone again.

Bai Ying paused to the side of the stage, rubbed her face, stuck out her tongue, and raised her hand to the audience—"I'm taking a break, you can do as you please."

Ugh! In theatrical performances, only one person can play multiple roles. The band tried to simulate it, and I almost had a tongue cramp! Damn it! I really want to learn the Shadow Clone Technique!

Even if I cannot become the full moon that illuminates the night.

"So let them all come together and become constellations."

"Radiating a dazzling array of colors."

"Do not untie the connecting wires."

No matter how dazzling you become.

The performance was unexpectedly polished to reveal a unique brilliance.

Kita Ikuyo sang the last syllable with lingering enthusiasm, and the melody gradually subsided into silence.

boom!

Ichi Nijika tapped the drum kit once, then, sweating profusely, raised the drumsticks and shouted with suppressed excitement, "Well then, the last song is for everyone—!"

"Oh dear, don't they give people any time to rest?"

Yamada Ryo raised his hand to fan himself.

"Don't rest until you've finished performing, the audience is waiting!" Ichiji Nijika called out, turning her head. "Hey you over there, the clarinetist who's been slacking off, stop squatting!"

The white figure lay down on the spot, trembling as it raised its hand to indicate that it was merely still alive.

However, in the last song, the sound of the recorder rang out clearly again.

When the song ended, the entire audience gave it a warm round of applause.

"Sister is so cool!"

The little pink-haired girl bounced around, making her stand out.

"Yili has grown so much!"

Goto's father, tears streaming down his face, held up the camera.

Goto's mother looked at her two children, one big and one small, with a rather helpless expression, and then cast a thoughtful glance at her eldest daughter and Bai Ying on the stage—it seemed that there would be many topics to talk about during dinner tonight.

"Everyone! Thank you for watching our performance!"

Kita Ikuyo, holding the microphone and taking advantage of her home-field advantage, waved to her friends as she spoke: "Although there were some unexpected events in the match..."

"The End Band! The End Band! Resident performers at the Shimokitazawa Shinsei Performance Hall. Everyone is welcome to purchase tickets and watch the show. Please remember, it's the End Band!"

The figure in white walked naturally to the microphone and expertly launched into an advertisement: "Me? I'm just a temporary worker. My performance schedule is currently undecided, I don't have a script yet, my light novel is still being written, and all my earnings are paid to the landlord. I'm currently unemployed..."

Since it was something that really needed to be said, Kita Ikuyo waited until Shirakage had said half of it before excitedly grabbing the microphone and rushing toward Goto Ichiri.

Goto Ichiri seemed to still be immersed in the performance, with half of her pink soul floating around on her head.

"Goto-kun! Come and say something to everyone!"

Huh? What did you say? Have you eaten?

Half-souled, Goto Ichiri was suddenly jolted back to her senses. Looking at the microphone in front of her, she resembled a concubine banished to the cold palace who had been granted a white silk ribbon by the emperor.

Kita Ikuyo's eyes sparkled with admiration as she excitedly urged, "Come on! Tell me!"

"what……"

Goto Ichiri stared blankly at the audience outside the stage.

I almost couldn't breathe.

After narrowly escaping death, the audience lost their faces, turning into shadows that merged together, becoming indistinguishable from one another...

The stage is an isolated island in a black ocean.

I am Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island.

Who—will—save—me?!