"—Why did you play Haruhikage?!"
Soaking in the bathtub, Anon Chihaya stared up at the bathroom ceiling.
But in her ears, the hoarse scream from Soyo Nagasaki at the end of the live performance kept echoing.
Why did things turn out like this?
It was supposed to be the first time she seriously tried to form a band.
Their very first live show.
So why did it end so awkwardly?
In the end, Haruhikage was just a song.
Why was Sakiko Togawa so heartbroken?
Why was Soyo so angry?
…She couldn't understand it at all.
"Ugh, this is so annoying."
Letting out a long sigh, Anon Chihaya brushed aside a handful of foam.
She sank her hands back into the bathtub, washing away the bubbles, then patted her cheeks.
"Forget it. I'm reading the diary!"
She reached out her hand.
And the diary appeared in it.
This diary had appeared about two months ago.
Which meant—
It appeared when she was still studying abroad in England.
At first, Anon thought it was just a hallucination caused by stress.
After all, she couldn't understand what her classmates were saying over there, and the pressure was overwhelming.
But when she tried opening the diary, she realized…
Maybe it wasn't a hallucination after all.
A faint scent of ink drifted from the pages.
Whenever she opened the diary, even if she pretended not to understand the English her classmates were speaking, no one would question her.
As long as she lowered her head and looked at the diary, everything she did somehow seemed perfectly reasonable in other people's eyes.
…Even though she didn't really understand the diary's contents at first.
But that effect alone made her incredibly happy.
Maybe she had been chosen.
Sometimes she thought that.
Of course, as the diary continued updating day after day—and she gradually figured out what it was actually writing about—
That thought disappeared.
The ones who were truly chosen were the students who enrolled at Advanced Nurturing High School.
Those… "geniuses."
Not someone like her.
Someone who had confidently decided to study abroad in England, only to struggle even with basic communication.
Still, although she was a little envious of those students at first, as the diary entries kept coming…
She realized she wasn't that jealous anymore.
If she had encountered a teacher like that, she would probably want to die.
Thinking about it that way, maybe she was actually pretty lucky.
Her friends were nice.
Her teachers were nice.
…The only problem was that since she studied abroad in England, she couldn't see any of her friends.
Maybe she should be glad she finally gave up studying abroad and ran back from England.
If that hadn't happened—
She wouldn't have met Tomori Takamatsu in her class.
She wouldn't have formed a band with her, Taki Shiina, Soyo Nagasaki, and Raana Kaname.
And she definitely wouldn't have performed on stage.
Today had been their band's first live performance.
There were a few small accidents at the beginning, but overall the performance should have been a success.
…Well.
If you ignored the situation with Soyo and Sakiko.
"All right, all right. I said I'm reading the diary, so stop thinking about that stuff!"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Anon focused on the diary.
Whether diaries were interesting or not depended on the person.
But for most people, the greatest joy of reading a diary was peeking into someone else's life.
Through the diary, she could see a completely different high school life.
Meet all kinds of interesting people through words.
Feel the writer's emotions—their experiences, thoughts, and impressions.
So even without the diary's cognitive filter, Anon would probably still read it every day.
Even if she didn't know how long it would keep updating.
"Hehe… I wonder what today's entry will say."
Muttering to herself, she opened the newest page.
[Greetings everyone. Today, I left the school.]
The diary began with an unexpectedly shocking sentence.
Wait—what?!
Isn't Advanced Nurturing High School supposed to be a fully closed boarding system where students can't leave campus?
Shocked, Anon quickly continued reading.
[After two months, I finally left the campus.
Outside hasn't changed much. Which is normal.
After all, it's been two months, not two and a half years.
Even though this crappy vocational school is fully closed, we still have internet access.
With online news, you can keep up with everything happening in the world without leaving your room.
I like that feeling.
But I still think it's necessary to walk around and experience the world personally.
For example—has rice gotten more expensive again?
I've long believed that certain people exist only to drive up rice prices. Seems like I was right.
Anyway, since I rarely get to leave campus, I should think about what to do.
Maybe sneak into Shuchiin Academy and see the camerawoman?
Or steal the indoor shoes of the young lady from Sobu High?
Or…
Ah, looks like there's a LIVE happening next door at RING. I might as well check it out.
Just now I saw a blue-haired girl crying as she ran out of RING.
She must have been moved by the live performance.
Sounds like it must be a great show.
I've decided. I'll go watch the live.
Oh? It runs until 8:30 PM.
LIVE. Nice.
But five and a half hours is still too long.
Maybe I'm already past the age where I can enjoy an entire live performance from start to finish.
Sad.]
Seeing this, Anon's eyes widened.
She immediately sat up straighter in the bathtub.
"Wait, wait, wait—he came to RING today?!"
"Did he see our performance?!"
Seriously?
Was the person behind the diary actually in the audience?
…Wait.
A crying blue-haired passerby?
That couldn't be referring to Sakiko, right?
Moved by the live performance…
If that were true, that would be nice.
Anon's mind raced with thoughts.
But the diary entry wasn't finished yet.
[The atmosphere is way too lively, and I can't really immerse myself in it.
Forget it. I'm not watching this live.
…Definitely not because I just realized that points can't be used for payment outside the school.
Haha. I don't have any cash.
Damn it. So this is the school's strategy to stop students from leaving campus.
I clenched my fists. Very unhappy.
Especially when I saw a timid girl on the street clutching a notebook.
That made me even more unhappy.
So I went up and beat her up and snatched her notebook.
Seriously—while I was grabbing it, she kept crying and saying she needed the notebook to hold a live performance or something.
I flipped through a few pages. The only thing I understood was 'Haruhikage.'
The rest was just messy nonsense.
I'll throw it in the trash later.]
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