Does gravity make me stronger?

“I told him,” Shiina Tatsuki replied immediately.

"Tachiki-chan, why did you tell an outsider about our affairs?" Nagasaki Motoyo seemed confused and no longer hid her aversion to Hachiman.

Shiina Tatsuki turned away without saying a word, seemingly a little regretful.

"Well, thanks to Shiina-san's information, I was able to find out about this matter. But I'm sorry, I can't tell you the reason why Crychic disbanded... or rather, why Toyokawa Shoko left the group yet. But it's definitely not because of you."

As he spoke, Hachiman looked at Takamatsu Akari: "So, stop blaming yourself. It has nothing to do with your singing level. Takamatsu, you are definitely not a jinx."

"No, that's not how it is." Gao Songdeng still wanted to deny it: "Everyone who has ever been connected with me has encountered bad things, and the band must be the same."

"Have any of you in the company become unhappy because of Takamatsu?" Hachiman immediately retorted.

"As for the band, rather than saying it was because of Takamatsu that the band disbanded, it's quite the opposite. Without Takamatsu, the band would never have existed."

Hachiman's greatest strength is sophistry, and Takamatsu Akari is clearly no match for him. Therefore, even if it's only temporary, he must convince Takamatsu Akari that he is not the source of the band's collapse.

"Wasn't your first song, 'Spring Shadow,' born because of Takamatsu?"

"So, it's about time to wake up. The guy who ruined the band wasn't you, it was someone else!"

Takamatsu Akari stared blankly at Hachiman: "Wait a minute, Hikigaya-kun?"

"Hey!"

Shiina Riki suddenly raised her voice; she had sensed something was wrong earlier: "How could the guy who caused the band to fall apart? It was clearly that guy who caused Crychic to disband!"

The criticism was directed at Toyokawa Shoko.

In response to Shiina Tatsuki's sudden hysteria, Hachiman took a deep breath, preparing to deliver the most crucial blow: "If I'm not mistaken, Crychic is just a make-believe band."

"what?"

Nagasaki Motoyo staggered slightly: "Hachigaya-kun, are you saying that Shoko-chan left because our skills were too bad?"

"It's not so much that the skills are too poor, but rather that they lack ambition and are complacent."

There was no need for Hachiman to elaborate further; the three people present immediately understood.

“But…” Shiina Tatsuki bit her lip, this time not refuting Hachiman’s words: “We are also trying.”

"Playing house will only yield playing house results." Hachiman mercilessly exposes the wound.

"Then tell me what we should do!" Shiina Ritsuki roared. "We're not like Shoko. She's talented and capable, while we..."

We've finally reached this point...

After waiting for a long time, Hachiman said with a determined look in his eyes, "At least in Toyokawa's own opinion, you were all chosen by her because of your talents."

Shiina Tatsuki opened her mouth: "What?"

Nagasaki Motoyo reacted even faster: "Hachigaya-kun, you've met Shoko-chan, did she tell you this?"

"Well, more or less. I came here this time to convey Toyokawa's message: she wants to make a deal with you."

"trade?"

"She will form a new band in the future. If you surpass this band, she will apologize for the past and tell you the real reason for leaving the band."

The repeated shocks left the people present breathless.

Chihaya Aine, who was somewhat detached from the situation, felt a bit bewildered. She opened her mouth and exclaimed "Ah!" in disbelief.

Hachiman took in everyone's reactions: "So, you can choose what to do from now on. That's all I have to say."

"Wait a minute, that kind of thing!" Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly thought of something.

"I'm not going to worry about the rest. Goodbye."

After saying that, Hachiman quickly left the coffee shop, giving Nagasaki Motoyo no chance to stop him.

Outside the coffee shop, Hachiman called Toyokawa Shoko: "Hey, I've finished everything I needed to do. You guys can handle things yourselves from now on."

"Thank you, Hachiman. I'm sorry to have put you in the bad guy role. You're even kinder than I imagined."

"You're clearly the biggest villain here," Hachiman chuckled, and Toyokawa Shoko laughed along.

After a long silence, a lonely voice came from the phone: "Hachigaya-kun, I wonder what would have happened if I had met you before high school?"

"Please, stop digging up my past."

"Sigh, his dark history? Hachiman's past seems quite interesting."

"Whatever, that's all. Goodbye."

Hachiman put his phone back in his pocket and walked back to his dorm, ready to face the days to come.

IF :

Chapter 302 The Lighthouse Chapter: Takamatsu Lighthouse Forever Yearns for the Past (The End)

After Hachiman left, the several bewildered girls finally reached an agreement and decided to accept Toyokawa Shoko's "challenge".

The challenge was simple: to see whose band would be the first to get onto the Budokan.

Budokan is one of Tokyo's iconic buildings.

Many popular bands and idol groups have performed at the Budokan, and in the hearts of young people in Japan, the Budokan is also a top music mecca.

Although it's unclear how good the band Toyokawa Shoko formed afterward was, Hachiman felt it was still somewhat unrealistic to expect her to perform at the Budokan while still in high school.

At least, we should wait until after graduation, right?

Therefore, he temporarily set the transaction timeline for three years later, which is the time when they graduate from high school.

Apart from that, Hachiman never really intended to defeat Toyokawa Shoko.

This was merely a "despicable" delaying tactic, intended only to encourage Gao Songdeng and his men to unite.

As we all know, when a team has a common enemy, everyone will temporarily put aside their own thoughts.

In Hachiman's plan, this enemy is Toyokawa Shoko, and Takamatsu Akari and the others need to overcome difficulties within these three years to become a qualified band again.

however.

What happened a few days later proved that Hachiman had underestimated the power of an old nobleman.

While scrolling through short videos, Hachiman suddenly saw a really cool poster with a bizarre slogan on it, ending with "Masquerade Ball - AveMujica".

Just as he was about to launch a scathing critique of the outdated design, the progress bar slid over, revealing AveMujica's main lineup.

"Toyokawa Shoko?"

That's right, this is the Galactic Battleship assembled by Toyokawa Shoko.

The only daughter of a comedy star, a currently popular idol, a YouTuber with a large following, and the seemingly intimidating title of "bassist in dozens of bands"—all these monstrous titles left Hachiman speechless.

Before he could even process the information, the chat group started by Chihaya Aine had already exploded with activity.

Aine: Ah, I typed AveMujica?

Shiina Tatsuki: @Yahata, is this the band you said we'd beat in the future?

Hachiman: Uh...

Unable to refute it, Hachiman could only resort to the most despicable and shameless method of feigning death.

Unfortunately, while one can escape online, there is no escape offline.

When the second time they went to school, Chihaya Aine brought Takamatsu Akari to Hachiman.

"Hachiman, are we really going to have a match against AveMujica? Wouldn't that be a bit of a joke?"

To date, Gao Songdeng's band has not yet been formed, and the band name is still in the works. However, their opponents not only have a luxurious lineup, but even the date and location of their first performance have been confirmed.

The gap between them is not something that can be easily erased.

If we give up here, the band we've worked so hard to build will probably fall apart again, right?

Thinking this to himself, Hachiman coughed and forced a smile, saying, "You are still in your growth stage, while they are already in their complete form, so you can't compare them to them now."

"Hachigaya-kun, do you think I'm an idiot?" Chihaya Aine narrowed her eyes dangerously. "No matter how you look at it, there's no way we could defeat an opponent like that, right?"

Just as Hachiman was speechless, people suddenly gathered around him.

"What? Aine-chan, what did you say you defeated?"

"I just heard it! Aine-chan said she's going to defeat AveMujica, right?"

"Wow, does Aine-chan know the members of AveMujica? That's amazing!"

Amidst the jeers, Aine gradually lost herself. She had originally intended to blame Hachiman, but now she started bragging instead.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that I made a bet with the captain of AveMujica to see who gets into the dojo first."

"Amazing!"

Seeing everyone's bright, sparkling eyes, Aine's vanity was greatly satisfied.

Hachiman gave a cold laugh.

"Hachiman, it's okay, I won't give up." Takamatsu Akari clenched her small fists, showing no sign of being discouraged.

"Oh, that's great...wait a minute?"

What did Gao Songdeng just call him?

Did he mishear?

Meanwhile, seeing that she was getting more and more carried away with her boasting, Aine quickly grabbed Takamatsu Akari and ran away: "Tomorin, don't we have practice this afternoon? Let's go practice first?"

"Okay, Aine-chan, let's go. Hachiman, why don't you come too?"

Takamatsu Akari gently extended her hand to Hachiman. This time, not only him, but even Aine remained silent.

"When did you two become so close?"

...

Thanks to Hachiman's feigned ignorance, the issue of how to address him was barely resolved, but the crisis seemed far from over.

Upon arriving at the coffee shop, Shiina Tatsuki, dressed in an employee uniform, slammed an AveMujica poster onto Hachiman's table: "Explain yourself."

"Explain what?"

Hachiman took a sip of his coffee and had to admit that although Shiina Tatsuki had a sharp tongue, the coffee he brewed was actually quite good.

"It's about the band. Besides, that's instant coffee. Don't pretend to be so sophisticated."

"Cough cough!"

Hachiman wiped the coffee foam from the corner of his mouth and said calmly, "This is your own decision, isn't it?"

This one sentence immediately shut Shiina Tatsuki up.

"Well, as the one who guided all of this, I will also take some responsibility."

"Then tell me, how are you going to take responsibility?"

How good are your musical instrument skills?

"Don't you know nothing about music?"

Shiina Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, while Hachiman honestly admitted, "Well, I don't really know much about it, but at least being a listener is not bad."

"Stop with the smooth talk, I need a concrete plan."

During the argument between the two, Nagasaki Motoyo stepped in to calm them down, saying, "Tachiki-chan, don't worry. I know someone in the music industry who can give us some guidance."

"Is it reliable?" Shiina Tatsuki asked with some doubt.

"Probably, but the other party is an expert in orchestral music. I don't know about pop music, but music theory is universal, so there shouldn't be any problem!"

Nagasaki Motoyo herself wasn't entirely sure.

Hachiman interrupted, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Nagasaki-kun. Could you help us schedule a time with them? The sooner the better."

After that day, Nagasaki Motoyo's attitude towards Hachiman seemed to soften a bit: "Sure, but he's in Kyoto, so will it be alright if we take the Shinkansen there?"

"no problem."

This weekend, Hachiman and several girls from the band took the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

According to Nagasaki Motoyo, the other party is the advisor of the brass band at a high school. This high school is a regular participant in the National Brass Band Competition. Although it has declined somewhat, it has shown signs of resurgence in recent years.

Along the way, Aine raised her own question: why not ask the advisor of the Tsukimori Concert Club for guidance, instead of going all the way to Kyoto to find an advisor?

Nagasaki Motoyo simply smiled gently at the innocent girl.