After a while, we finally finished eating. And at that moment she asked something. "So how was it?"
I looked at her in confusion. "Huh? How was what?" Anyone would be confused by such an ambiguous question, but maybe she was asking about the food.
"No, I'm just joking. Of course it was good." I quickly changed my answer.
Hearing that, she smiled happily. "I'm glad you liked my cooking. If you have time, you can come over and eat here again, Hiromu-san."
"Eh, really?" I was quite surprised to receive a free meal ticket from her.
She nodded. "Mm."
"Well, if you don't mind then I guess it's fine." I said with a slight awkwardness clinging to my words. "I think I should thank you, so if there's anything you want, you can ask, as long as I can do it, I'll do it."
She seemed surprised when I made such a promise. "If possible, Hiromu-san… I want you to call me by my name."
"Eh? Just that?" I was quite surprised because she asked for something so simple.
She puffed her cheeks and said, "What else? Besides, Hiromu-san kept calling me 'you' or 'hey' earlier."
"Well then, Mahiru." When I said that, I could see her face turning red. Hm, maybe because I called her directly by her given name instead of her family name, which usually indicates closeness.
But unfortunately, I'm not a protagonist, so I'm not going to blush just because I call someone by their name.
With her face still shy, she said, "Thank you for today, Hiromu-san."
I smiled and replied, "Yeah, me too."
I stood up and took my guitar bag, then said the farewell line I had prepared earlier. "Mahiru, thank you for the food. Even though I want to stay here forever, life isn't like that, so it seems this is our farewell. But don't worry, we'll meet again if fate allows it." I said, a friendly smile decorating my face.
Hearing me, she just giggled. "Hiromu-san, you're too dramatic, you know?"
My smile turned awkward. "Well, you know I'm just trying to make it sound good, but if there's something I want to say, it's 'see you later, Mahiru.'"
"Mm, you too, Hiromu-san." She replied with a smile that would probably make any protagonist fall in love.
Well, that only applies to a 'protagonist,' because I'm a nobody and will never be anyone either.
After that, I left her apartment, went down through the elevator, and exited the building.
Then I decided to return to the live house right now.
The day was already late, maybe around 3 PM, but I wasn't sure.
Yeah, that's also because I forgot to ask the time.
While walking, I thought about her, the girl I had just met.
She left a good impression on me, basically I didn't dislike her.
Haah. A sigh.
But even so, there would never be a possibility for me to fall in love in the future. Why? Because I simply can't.
And also, I don't want to feel it. Because feelings like that will only bind me, and I don't want that.
Maybe what I'm saying sounds nice, but honestly I'm just a coward who wants to avoid forming deep relationships with others.
I looked up at the sky that was starting to brighten.
Then let out a tired sigh. "Even so, I wonder what it feels like."
…
After passing that road, I finally arrived in front of the live house.
I went downstairs, and on the wall below was the name of this live house, "Starry." And right under it, there was a signboard that said "Closed."
I opened the door, then once again went down the stairs to reach the performance area.
Inside here was quite spacious, my gaze swept across every corner of the room but I didn't see the owner, maybe he was out.
I decided to go to the studio, because I thought I left my bag there.
…
As I headed there, I heard the sounds of instruments, maybe someone was playing inside.
I entered the studio and saw three people there. One was the younger sister of the owner, one was the sister's friend, and the last one I supposedly shouldn't know who she was.
But as a transmigrator, of course I should know. Even if I forgot a bit, I still remembered some parts of the anime.
It was an anime about music, and there were four girls who formed a band.
Even though I forgot who the protagonist was and who the red-haired one was.
But I knew the other two because they often appeared here.
So I approached them and greeted, "Yo, practicing?"
Seems like I surprised them.
The blue-haired one, Yamada Ryō, greeted me back. "Yo, Hiro-san." She stayed expressionless as usual.
"What are you doing here, Hiromu-san?" said the younger sister, Ijichi Nijika.
"Oh, I think I left my bag here so I came to get it." I said, before asking, "So this is your band?"
"Yeah." she answered shortly, then added something. "Oh yeah, Hitori-chan, this is Hiromu-san. He's the freeloader living here." Her words were so sharp.
"That's rude, I'm not freeloading here, more like I'm working here." I emphasized the last part. "So don't listen to her." I said while pointing at the one who should be the protagonist of the anime.
She looked really nervous. "Y-yeah." She answered shortly, maybe a shy type.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Worker, now quickly get your bag and get out of here." Damn, she was really annoying. If she wasn't the owner's sister…
I took my bag from the corner of the studio, then left for the stage area.
…
A few hours later, the live house finally opened. A place that was empty earlier started filling up even though not by much.
I saw some high school girls now, rare isn't it? Don't most of them not know music? Well, I don't know, I even forgot where I heard that from.
Not long after, the band performing got onto the stage, and yeah, it was the owner's sister's band. And what the hell is that cardboard box doing there.
Then the sister began introducing themselves. "Nice to meet you all, we are Kessoku Band." Yeah, that was it, very short as an introduction.
From below I watched their performance. So what did I think? It was a mess, they made a lot of mistakes.
But that's fine, I think. They're still beginners, they'll continue to grow from now on.
After Kessoku Band's short performance, there were some other bands but I didn't care about them, besides I was too focused on working at that time.
Not long after, it finally closed. People began leaving this room, and I was left here alone.
I started cleaning the place, arranging tables, cleaning the floor, equipment, washing glasses, I did everything.
And after I finished, suddenly someone's voice was heard. "Oh, you're done cleaning."
I turned my gaze toward the voice, and standing in front of me was the manager, the owner of this place. "Yeah, I've cleaned everything, Manager." I said, smiling a little.
"Alright, this is for you." She extended his hand, holding a plastic bag.
I accepted it. "Thank you, Manager, you're very kind."
"It's fine," she said briefly. "Eat first, then sleep." After saying that, she walked away.
Even though she seems cold, he actually cares for me a lot. I even consider him like an adoptive sister.
I looked for a place to sit, pulled out a chair, and sat down. I took out the food from the bag.
Inside there was a bento and regular water, she must have bought it from a convenience store.
I opened it and started eating. Honestly, it tasted really bland, especially since I was eating this alone in the dark at night.
But I was hungry, so I kept eating.
After finishing, I threw away the trash and sat in the same chair.
I lowered my head onto the table, closed my eyes, trying to sleep.
Really. Today was exhausting.
---