"Holy crap!" Jhin couldn't help but curse aloud. He never expected that after helping Hitori Gotoh avoid the broken guitar string incident, it would end up happening to Kita Ikuyo instead.
Was this some kind of predestined event?
"!?"
Kita Ikuyo stared dead at the snapped guitar string, unable to accept this sudden accident for a moment, and stood frozen in place.
H-How could this happen? There hadn't been any problems during such a long period of practice; why did the guitar string have to break at a time like this?
Could it be because I practiced too frequently during this period?
Why didn't I pay attention to the guitar in my hands when Bocchi-chan was checking hers that day?!
Kita Ikuyo was swept into a vortex of regret and fear. Everything had clearly gotten off to a very good start, yet it was all going to be ruined because of her diligent practice. It was truly full of irony.
Although they hadn't yet reached the part that required both guitars to play together, relying solely on Hitori Gotoh to play the entire song alone was definitely not feasible. When Ryo composed the song, it was designed for two guitarists; she couldn't have possibly foreseen the accident of the lead vocalist's guitar string breaking during the performance.
The other three watched with anxiety in their hearts. They didn't have any good solution either. A sudden interruption in the performance would be something that severely affected the atmosphere.
Just as Kita Ikuyo had bitten her lip until it broke and was sinking deep into despair, Jhin carried a guitar, squeezed through the crowd, and rushed onto the stage. He tore the output cable off her guitar and plugged it into the guitar in his hands.
"J-Jhin!?"
Jhin blinked at Kita Ikuyo, who hadn't yet come back to her senses. "I am the hidden fifth member of Kessoku Band, you know. Don't space out, lead vocalist."
The reason he could save the scene at a time like this was that he worried Hitori Gotoh's guitar might still have other accidents even after being repaired. So, he had specially prepared one in his storage space. After Kita Ikuyo's guitar string snapped, Jhin released the substitute to stop time, making it convenient for him to take the guitar out of the storage space and run to the side of the stage.
All of this happened in an instant. The audience only saw Kita Ikuyo's guitar string snap, and then a boy walked onto the stage to take over her position as guitarist. Quite a few students from Shuka High School recognized this illustrious figure, Jhin.
"Isn't that Jhin-san?"
"He can play guitar too?"
"Wow, it's my first time seeing him in person. His sky-blue eyes are so pretty!"
Seika Ijichi only loosened her palm, which had been digging tightly into Kikuri Hiroi's shoulder, after seeing Jhin go on stage. Kikuri Hiroi complained while rubbing her shoulder: "Senpai, why are you so strong? My shoulder feels like it's been bruised by your pinching. By the way, Bocchi-chan's boyfriend has such good guitar skills?"
"Mm. Nijika said he's very talented in this area, but unfortunately, he himself isn't very interested in it."
"How is this just at the level of 'talented'? He's almost caught up to the shocking natural talent of me, the genius bass girl. Probably... he has this much talent." Kikuri Hiroi tried hard to spread her arms to measure out a length equal to half her height.
Seika Ijichi rolled her eyes at her. "Just keep talking nonsense. Jhin's talent is definitely better than yours. In these past few months, he only touched the guitar two or three times, yet he can play like this."
"What!? Two or three times?" Kikuri Hiroi was so surprised she forgot to drink the alcohol in her hand. Fortunately, she still maintained a shred of sobriety and didn't let go of the bottle, which was practically half her life.
Playing guitar was of the same nature as other things requiring proficiency. As long as you didn't play for a long time, there would definitely be a sense of unfamiliarity in touch and technique. How could it be possible to be like Jhin, who could completely keep up with the band's rhythm the moment he picked up the guitar?
What kind of monster is this...
Successfully resolving the performance crisis, Nijika and the others finally let down their suspended hearts. There was no need to worry about Jhin's guitar level at all; even without having gone through massive amounts of practice and coordination, he could perfectly accompany their performance.
In Kita Ikuyo's life thus far, there were two turning points she considered extremely critical. One was being persuaded to join Kessoku Band, and the other was the current Cultural Festival performance.
She yearned for the band members to strive together for the same dream, hoping that Hitori Gotoh—a girl who was both a teacher and a friend to her, who possessed super-high guitar skills but couldn't display her full strength due to social anxiety—would shine on stage.
Both of these crucially important turning points featured Jhin's presence.
Jhin... might just be my savior.
Kita Ikuyo tightened her grip on the microphone. Her eyes, like yellow-green amber, looked deeply at Jhin for a moment before she retracted her gaze. The emotions suppressed until now transformed from her burning chest into lyrics, turning into electric signals through the microphone to wake up the sound system.
"The clock's hour hand is about to hit six, the night sky has already lit up the first star."
"Stepping on shadows on the way home, really want to disappear into this night."
"It's so nice, so many people like you."
"That's not it, I've always been all alone."
"If I could become a constellation together with you."
This song... sure enough, it was written for Jhin.
Kita Ikuyo's line of sight crossed over Jhin to look at Hitori Gotoh, who had lowered her head to play in order to maintain her state.
Regarding the lyrics of this song, the band members all tacitly agreed that this was a love song she wrote for Jhin, because no matter how you looked at it, you could connect the two of them.
Kita Ikuyo took the microphone off the stand. The reason she chose to sing while playing guitar was that if she only sang, she would always feel like her hands were idle and couldn't calm her mind. Now that Jhin had temporarily taken over her position as guitarist, she had to adopt this method to keep her hands from being empty.
"We meet at that distant yonder."
"Because this is our fate, we will meet many times."
Nymph stood amidst the crowd. A space was cleared around her as if there were invisible walls. Due to Kazami Kazuki's request, Jhin was completely unaware that she came to record this time. After handing the recording to Kazami Kazuki, Nymph would notify her Master about this matter. Even if it was Master's sister, she couldn't hide anything from him.
However... it really is strange. This girl named Kita Ikuyo—according to my previous analysis with Kazuki, after knowing about Master's harem-building behavior, the probability of her falling in love with Master should be very small.
But her current appearance doesn't look like that. Could it be that this is so-called professionalism? Wanting to sing a song well requires integrating oneself into the lyrics?
Actually, Kita Ikuyo didn't reveal her inner emotions that bluntly. Based on her impression of a band vocalist, she held the microphone and waved on stage to interact with the audience. Only when she turned around did her gaze adhere to Jhin like sticky honey drawn into threads. The only one who could see this action clearly was Nymph, the almighty angel.
"I will absolutely not untie the thread tightly connected to you."
"No matter how dazzling you are."
____
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