At a certain izakaya in Shimokitazawa.
"No problem, she agreed."
Asakura put down his phone and said.
Just after Kessoku Band's live performance ended, he was invited by Ijichi Nijika to attend the band's celebration banquet.
Asakura naturally agreed.
After all, his feelings toward Kessoku Band were quite complex.
If he had to put it into words, it was probably a feeling of "I watched these children grow up!"
That was why he planned to call Kawaragi Momoka over. After all, she could be considered an industry insider and, as the former backbone of a band, she should be able to provide many useful suggestions to Kessoku Band.
Asakura originally thought Gotoh Hitori would be afraid of such a gathering and run away halfway, but to his surprise, she was unexpectedly enthusiastic—though her specific manifestation was crouching in a dark corner with a "Hehe~" suspicious smile on her face.
She was probably imagining some scene of achieving fame and success in the future.
Considering the buff of the Curse [Song], honestly, it wasn't something impossible.
"Oh! The big meal is here!"
Yamada Ryo folded her hands together, looking at the food the izakaya waitress was bringing to the table one after another with a sparkling, moved expression.
"Ryo, your drool is about to fall."
Ijichi Nijika spoke with some disdain, but she still subconsciously pulled out her handkerchief to wipe the corner of the other girl's mouth.
From such details, one could see how much she was already used to taking care of the other in their daily lives.
"Why are you here?"
As the older sister, Ijichi Seika looked toward the other side, at Hiroi Kikuri, who was banging on the table and shouting, "Where's the booze? How can there be no booze at an izakaya celebration banquet!"—and showed the same look of disdain as her younger sister.
"Of course I'm here for a free meal!" Hiroi Kikuri puffed out her pitiful chest, saying these words that were unexpectedly devoid of confidence in an upright manner.
"Get out!" Ijichi Seika's forehead veins bulged.
"Slip of the tongue! I'm just here as the leader of SICK HACK to congratulate Kessoku Band! This is an official diplomatic exchange between two bands! On the contrary, there's absolutely no need for a senior to appear on such an occasion!"
Hiroi Kikuri doubled down on her path to death.
"Oh, is that so?" Ijichi Seika crossed her arms, looking down at the person who was already looking like a mess even before drinking. "Then you can pay for today's meal... No, even going Dutch is fine."
"...Please show mercy."
Hiroi Kikuri slumped on the table in a posture similar to a prostrate kowtow.
"Even though your band's live ticket sales are decent, why do you act like you're broke every time we meet after a couple of days?"
Ijichi Seika, who was already somewhat familiar with this old friend's thick skin, couldn't help but sigh and speak.
"The cost of equipment lately has been unexpectedly high..." Hiroi Kikuri replied.
"You're actually paying out of your own pocket to add effects pedals for the band?" Seika was a bit surprised.
"No, it's to pay for the equipment I broke during the live."
"..."
The level of disdain in Ijichi Seika's eyes shifted from looking at a cockroach to looking at a water flea.
"Ababa... is it really okay for me to be in such a sparkling place? I feel like I'm polluting the happy celebration banquet..."
Nearby, Gotoh Hitori's inferiority complex flared up again, and she began to squirm gloomily.
Before she could quietly retreat from the room, Asakura grabbed her small braid.
"Ah, it hurts!" The girl looked at her boyfriend with teary eyes.
"What do you mean by trying to escape right after the greatest hero has just been acknowledged?"
Asakura looked at her helplessly.
"The greatest hero? Me?" Gotoh Hitori muttered somewhat incredulously.
"That's right, Bocchi-chan is the biggest hero of this successful live! Come, here's a reward~" Ijichi Nijika also leaned over and stuffed a piece of fried chicken into the girl's mouth.
"Mmph, is this the taste of success? It's so sweet and delicious..." Gotoh Hitori's moved eyes were filled with tears.
"Huh? But I put spicy sauce on mine?"
"So hot?!"
The "greatest hero" clutched her mouth and rolled around on the tatami.
Asakura glanced at Ijichi Nijika, who showed a cute, mischievous smile.
This kid is also quite black-hearted.
But it doesn't matter because she's very cute.
Asakura thought to himself as he watched his official girlfriend crying and rolling around.
"Speaking of which..." Yamada Ryo, who had tomato sauce on her mouth and seemed to have finished a round of eating, finally had the leisure to notice her surroundings and said, "Bocchi, your humming is great, but it'll get tiring if you keep going like this. Lyrics are an important part of rock; can't you really open your mouth to sing? Just like that time at Shinjuku LOFT before."
Gotoh Hitori took a cautious glance at Asakura.
The latter shook his head imperceptibly.
The Curse [Scale] could isolate the power of the Curse [Song] to a certain extent, but if one wanted to completely discard the influence of the [Song], one would have to isolate the sound as well.
A young girl's singing voice was the essence of the Curse [Song]; isolating the power of the curse without isolating the sound was almost impossible to achieve.
Moreover, during the live just now, Asakura had noticed that Gotoh Hitori's magic power had increased again, and along with it, the potency of the curse had also improved to a certain degree.
This rapid progress undoubtedly further increased the pressure on the Curse [Scale] and the difficulty of the girl mastering the curse herself.
At this rate of progress, perhaps one day the child's singing voice could truly bring peace to the universe...
But not now.
So Gotoh Hitori shook her head desperately: "Impossible!"
Yamada Ryo's face sank, seemingly lost in thought.
"Today is a celebration banquet, let's not talk about unhappy things. Everyone should just be happy together!"
Ijichi Nijika seemed to realize something and immediately smoothed things over.
Gotoh Hitori also gave Yamada Ryo a worried look, fearing the other might suddenly walk into the practice room in the rain and say something like, "I'm here to quit Kessoku Band."
Hiss, why does it feel like I'm telling a cold joke?
Just as the atmosphere turned slightly tense.
Clap!
Asakura lightly clapped his hands, breaking the subtle mood among Kessoku Band.
"If you feel like Hitori can't sing normally, then it's no good..." he suggested. "Then why not find another lead singer? Hitori's accompaniment-like humming could actually become Kessoku Band's secret weapon, couldn't it?"
"That's right! That's it!" Ijichi Nijika's eyes suddenly lit up.
But then she looked at Gotoh Hitori with some concern: "But if we do that, Bocchi-chan..."
"I-I have no problem! Or rather, having everyone's eyes focused on me right now feels too heavy. I feel like I can't take it anymore. If it continues like this, I feel like I'll throw up out on stage at any moment, and then my life will be completely over—"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Eat something and relax."
Asakura stuffed a french fry into her mouth.
The girl then calmed down, swallowing the french fry bit by bit like a small hamster.
"It should be here, right?"
Accompanied by a familiar voice, the paper door of the room was pulled open, and finally, two people arrived at the celebration banquet private room.
"Oh, you're finally here?"
Before Asakura could introduce his two employees to the others, Ijichi Nijika stood up first, pointing at a figure frozen behind Kawaragi Momoka and shouting.
"Ah, Guitar!"