” Hearing that, Sumita Mana smiled helplessly.
As if she didn’t already know that.
“So, Ui-chan, do you trust me?” “It’s not that I don’t trust you.
I’m just…
worried…” Misumi Hatsune replied softly.
Then, as if realizing something, surprise flashed across her violet eyes.
“Don’t tell me…
Mana-chan, do you like Asai-kun?!” Sumita Mana froze for a moment.
A faint blush crossed her cheeks before she hurriedly explained, “No, you’ve misunderstood, Ui-chan.” At this point, she decided there was no reason to keep it a secret anymore.
She briefly told Misumi Hatsune about the day she had fallen into the water.
“Something like that actually happened?!” Just hearing the story made Misumi Hatsune anxious.
But seeing the girl in front of her completely unharmed, that worry immediately turned into gratitude toward Touma.
“I’m sorry, Mana-chan.
I misunderstood Asai-san!” Misumi Hatsune pressed her palms together and bowed her head apologetically.
“It’s alright.
I’m just glad you understand now.” Sumita Mana’s expression dimmed slightly.
“What I’m more worried about now is whether Asai-kun is angry.” “Don’t worry.
Please send me Asai-san’s contact information.
I’ll apologize to him personally.” Misumi Hatsune placed a hand over her chest, her tone completely sincere.
“…Mm.” Sumita Mana simply nodded softly.
In the end, Misumi Hatsune obtained Touma’s contact information.
Besides feeling guilty, she was now also extremely curious about him.
He really felt like a rather unusual person.
…
Meanwhile, Touma knew nothing about what had happened within Sumimi.
However, he was certain the two of them had already cleared things up.
After all, Misumi Hatsune had just added him on LINE.
She sent him a rather formal apology message and even asked to apologize in person, saying he could choose the time.
Come to think of it, two idols kept asking an ordinary guy like him to meet them offline.
Wasn’t that a bit inappropriate?
After thinking it over, Touma replied, “It’s fine.
There’s no need.
As long as the misunderstanding has been cleared up.” Misumi Hatsune: “But I still won’t be able to forgive myself.
Please!” “Alright.” Touma gave in.
“I’m free during the daytime these next few days.
You can decide the time.” Misumi Hatsune: “Then how about this?
Sumimi happens to have a performance two days from now.
If you’re interested, Asai-san, you can come watch.
You can even bring a friend.
I have plenty of complimentary tickets.” “And if you’re not interested in the performance, you can just come a little later.
I’ll apologize to you in person after it’s over!” Touma felt there was no need to stay so guarded all the time.
“Alright.
I’ll come take a look.
Just by myself.” Misumi Hatsune: “Then it’s settled.” She put away her phone and stretched happily.
“Great!” “How did it go?” Sumita Mana, sitting across from her, asked curiously.
“After my heartfelt apology, Asai-san agreed to come watch our performance.
This time he’ll definitely become Mana-chan’s fan!” Misumi Hatsune answered confidently.
“I see.” Joy flickered across Sumita Mana’s eyes as she picked up another donut and stuffed it into her mouth.
…
That night, Touma deliberately entered Sakiko’s body at 10:30 p.m.
The moment he arrived, he found himself sitting in front of a computer with composition software open on the screen.
“Touma, you’re here.” Sakiko sounded exhausted.
“Mm.
How’s it going?” Touma asked.
“Inspiration has been flowing pretty well.
As long as it continues like this, writing two songs within two weeks shouldn’t be a problem.” Sakiko replied.
“You’ve worked hard.
Relax for a while.” Touma stood up and left the apartment.
At this hour, there was no way he could run over to Wakaba Mutsumi’s villa to play the piano.
His only option was to find a piano studio.
Eventually, he found one that charged 1,500 yen per hour.
For Tokyo, it was fairly inexpensive, and the environment and soundproofing were both excellent.
“Do you really have to practice piano for an hour every single day?” Sakiko asked in confusion.
“You can’t even skip one day?” “You wouldn’t understand.” Touma answered without missing a beat.
“The important thing is consistency.
If I skip even one day, I’ll feel like life has lost all meaning.” That was actually true.
After all, every missed day meant losing out on valuable bonus experience.
“…How about I buy a piano in the future?” Sakiko said with some difficulty.
“Even an entry-level piano costs at least four or five hundred thousand yen.
Besides, where would we even put it in a tiny apartment?
Let’s talk about it later.” Touma replied.
Sakiko didn’t say anything else.
Whatever she was thinking remained to herself.
“First, listen to the song I’ve been working on.” Touma placed both hands on the keyboard.
“It’s the piano arrangement with the melody for the song I’m composing.” “Okay.” Sakiko’s heart instantly filled with curiosity and doubt.
Could this guy really compose a song that surpassed Haruhikage?
However, the moment the crisp piano notes began to ring out, her attention was completely drawn in.
The opening already sounded incredible.
As she immersed herself in the performance, the more she listened, the more beautiful the song became.
It felt as though her ears were being washed clean by a pure spring.
Even without lyrics or accompaniment from any other instruments, the piano melody alone already surpassed the complete version of Haruhikage in her eyes.
If the other instruments and vocals were added…
Sakiko couldn’t even imagine how good it would become.
A few minutes later, the slightly unfinished piano version of “Gunjou” came to an end.
“The arrangement isn’t finished yet.” Touma asked symbolically, “What do you think?” Several seconds passed before Sakiko finally came back to her senses.
Her voice was filled with excitement.
“It’s amazing!” “If it’s paired with a complete arrangement and lyrics, it’ll definitely become a huge hit!” Then she added, “I never expected you could actually compose…” “You’re…
really pretty amazing…” Touma didn’t respond to the compliment.
“Just focus on finishing your own two songs over the next few days.
I’ll finish the lyrics and the overall arrangement as quickly as possible.
Once you’re done with those two, we’ll complete this one, ‘Gunjou.'” “‘Gunjou?'” (Gunjou is “inspired” by BLUE PERIOD, a manga about a high school student who decided, one year before graduating, to go into fine arts as the high education of choice (in Japan the Arts university is extremely competitive to get into, even moreso than more commonly known universities like Waseda, according to the manga’s side note) – AlwaysStranger2046) Sakiko’s confidence had risen dramatically.
Even the exhaustion she had felt during the day seemed to disappear.
“So you’ve already decided on the title?” “Mm.” Touma nodded.
“It’s called ‘Gunjou.'” After that, he continued practicing difficult classical piano pieces.
Now he no longer needed Sakiko’s guidance.
He had already mastered all of the piano fundamentals.
What he needed now was simply continuous practice with all kinds of piano repertoire.
An hour later, Touma finished today’s bonus practice and successfully earned another twenty experience points.