CHAPTER 8
Seriously. Who wants to see a guy blushing and stuff?!
“♪ ♪ ♪”
The band started to seriously practice once they discussed issues and came up with a setlist, and ever since then, the five band members had been borrowing the music room day after day to practice.
Alya never ceases to impress me. She has already pretty much perfected her parts.
Masachika once again found himself admiring Alisa for her hard work while he watched the band perform. They had only just decided on a setlist three days ago, and she was already nailing her parts. Prior to that, she had never even heard these songs, to boot. It was hard to fathom how much she must have listened to them and practiced, since she was hardly ever off pitch. In fact, her voice was filled with so much feeling that the songs were almost transforming into her own arrangements. Masachika couldn’t help but feel somewhat overawed by her beautiful, transparent, and yet sometimes intimidating voice. Meanwhile…
“Oh, sorry! I messed up!”
There was also a member who couldn’t keep up with Alisa’s perfection. Takeshi kept messing up during the same part, bringing their practice to a sudden halt.
“My bad, guys… Can we try that part again?”
“How about we start from Until now ♪?”
Practice resumed after Sayaka’s suggestion. However…
“Ah! Dammit! My bad!”
…Takeshi messed up again. Of course, a lack of practice was part of the problem, but it was hard to be upset with him, because this was his first time playing this song, too. Besides, that wasn’t the only issue.
This was a performance put on by members who still didn’t know one another that well. To make matters worse, both Alisa and Nonoa were considered two of the most attractive girls at school, and Sayaka was kind of difficult to approach in general. Those facts alone would make anyone feel self-conscious. Plus…
Sigh… Alya’s really frustrated…
As the face of the group, Alisa was silently putting a lot of pressure on him. It wasn’t hard to understand how she felt, either, since she had essentially nailed all her parts despite being a beginner. Meanwhile, Takeshi, who had experience playing in a band and asked her for help, kept making mistakes, so you wouldn’t even have to be a perfectionist like Alisa to feel frustrated.
But this is just going to make Takeshi feel more timid the longer it goes on… Maybe the silver lining is the fact that nobody is yelling at him. I guess it’s time I do something about this.
But right as Masachika was about to chime in as the manager…
“Takeshi, how about we play through the song all the way this time without worrying about small mistakes? This is the first time we’re practicing this song together, so today we should focus on simply pinpointing where the mistakes are. We have plenty of time to fix them later.”
Alisa’s unexpected advice made Masachika’s eyes widen in astonishment. Even Takeshi blinked in silence for a few moments, as if he couldn’t process what he was hearing.
“Th-thanks. I’m seriously sorry about all this, though. I should have practiced a little more,” replied Takeshi, flustered.
“Then make sure you can play it flawlessly next time we practice, okay?”
“Errr… I’ll see what I can do…”
“I’m kidding.”
Alisa smirked, catching Takeshi off guard. After his jaw dropped in a flash of confusion, he slapped his cheeks and fired himself up.
“Let’s do this! From the top, please!”
“…Okay, is everyone ready?”
Once Sayaka shot Hikaru a quick glance, he began to click his sticks, starting off the song once more. While there were still a few minor mistakes, Takeshi…and even Hikaru…seemed to have loosened up quite a bit. No matter how many times Takeshi messed up, he didn’t let it bother him, thus allowing them to play through the whole song. When the song came to a close with Alisa holding the last note as Takeshi’s final chord rang out, Masachika immediately started to clap, giving the silence not even a second to breathe.
“Nice. That was so good that I actually found myself instinctively dancing to the beat.”
Masachika’s genuine praise curled Alisa’s lips.
“Yes… We still have several issues we need to fix, but that was really nice,” added Alisa, immediately planting smiles on both Takeshi’s and Hikaru’s faces.
“Yeah, that was so much fun! I still made the most mistakes, though! My bad!”
“Ha-ha. Well, I’m in no position to criticize anyone for making mistakes, either. Sayaka and Nonoa sounded really comfortable, though. You guys did far better than us, and we’re in the music club.”
“Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve played this song, so…
“Yeah, like, the keyboard part in this song isn’t that hard, either. Plus, there aren’t any solos.”
“Guys, can we just take a moment to appreciate Alisa’s singing for a moment? That was incredible! I feel bad ya have to be accompanied by my terrible guitar playing!”
“…I can’t play any instruments, so I have no idea how hard it must be for you. But I know it isn’t easy, so don’t be so hard on yourself, okay?”
Alisa’s comment instantly unraveled Takeshi’s tension until he became a bumbling dope, bashfully scratching his head. He seemed even more pumped up when they resumed practice.
Masachika couldn’t help but feel impressed while he watched them perform.
Alya… You did it. You did it all on your own. I didn’t even need to say a word.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Alisa to not only make Takeshi feel better but to crack a joke to lighten the mood as well. What changed? It was hard to believe this was the same Alisa who despised working with others a short while ago.
Maybe Alya’s time in the student council has helped her grow.
Masachika’s original plan was to have Alisa get used to working as a team in this band before her work for the school festival shifted into high gear, and if possible, he wanted her to work on her leadership skills, too. Therefore, this was an extremely welcome, heartwarming surprise.
She’s going to have no problem as a member of the school festival committee at this rate.
Takeshi, who was overenthusiastically strumming his guitar…
Hikaru, who was telling his buddy to calm down with a wry smirk…
Nonoa, who was somewhat more energetic and excited than usual…
Sayaka, who was secretly having the time of her life…
And Alisa, who was having so much fun singing her heart out with a look of serenity on her face…
Surprisingly, they looked far more like a real band than Masachika had originally expected. There was one thing bothering him, though…
Is it just me…or is Alya being nicer to Takeshi than she has been to me lately?
This feeling.
Uh…? This is weird. She looks a lot more relaxed around him than she does when she’s with me, too…
And it most likely wasn’t just his imagination. However, when Masachika carefully thought about why she seemed to be in such a bad mood when she was with him…
…Yeah, it’s my fault.
After reflecting on his actions, he realized that he was the only one to blame, and he began to grimace.
I should try to be a little nicer to Alya…
Masachika continued to reflect upon his mistakes while he watched them practice.
“A taste test?”
“Yeah, do you think you could give it a try for me?”
A week had gone by, and classes were over for the day, so Masachika decided to check up on his class as a member of the school festival committee. However, once he got there, the class president and a school festival committee member asked him to try a drink they were considering selling at the festival.
There were a decent number of students in Masachika’s class who couldn’t contribute to this year’s attraction, whether it be due to student council obligations or club activities, so after discussing it among themselves, they decided to go with something that didn’t require much time or effort.
They named the attraction Café from Another World, and it was actually Masachika who came up with the idea, inspired by the collab café he met Sayaka at the other day. The idea was to have the class dress like they were in a fantasy world while serving all the classic drinks like potions and elixirs. Obviously, they were planning on serving ordinary drinks that only resembled potions or elixirs.
Cooking food was both troublesome and time-consuming, but with drinks, they could simply mix a few already existing drinks to create their own. It was normal for classes to sell authentic black tea or coffee at the school festival at this school. The only difference with this was that they needed to do a few measurements, make a few large batches, and have some paper cups to pour the drinks into. Their costumes were simple as well. All they planned on doing was putting on a pointed hat and a robe over their school uniform to make them look more like wizards. After that, they simply needed to act like they were students at a wizarding school who made magic potions. Students who wanted to put more effort into their costumes were free to do so.
At any rate, Masachika found himself in the classroom on the day they decided to do some trial runs for the potions…
“Everyone else is already filled like a water balloon… We tried to make small batches, but when you’re testing different types of combinations, you soon find yourself with way too much to drink.”
“Yeah, that makes sense…”
Numerous drinks in paper cups—that looked like they were made for a hazing—were lined up on a table.
Yeah, there’s no way that one wasn’t made as a prank.
Masachika was tense as he stared at what appeared to be a cup of sludge with tiny red balls floating on top.
You’re free to make whatever you want, but you better drink it so it doesn’t go to waste, asshole.
“…Hold up. I thought the idea was to only mix drinks, so why do I see something that’s clearly not for human consumption floating in that one?”
“O-oh, that? We thought maybe normal drinks would be too cookie-cutter, so we might have used a little seasoning to spice things up.”
“…Like what?”
“Uh… Like a little harissa…and some gochujang…”
After the class president trailed off while refusing to make eye contact, the other nearby students swiftly averted their gazes as well, as if they were feeling just as guilty.
“…Well, as long as you stay within budget, you’re fine,” Masachika assured them, searching for a relatively safe drink. “All right, I’ll try this one.”
He grabbed a paper cup that was filled with a grayish-brown liquid but was at least free from floating solid matter. It didn’t smell particularly weird, either, so he figured the taste probably wouldn’t kill him, at the very least.
“Ah…” The class president seemed to unconsciously grunt, making Masachika immediately look up to find every other one of his classmates staring with their mouths agape.
“…What?”
“Nothing…”
“All right, then…”
“Ah…”
“Seriously. What?”
Right as he was about to take a sip, they gasped as if they wanted to say something, making Masachika furrow his brow. Nevertheless, nobody attempted to explain anything to him, so he decided to take another hard look at the liquid and then took a little sip.
Hmm…? Wh-what is this?
The liquid swishing around in his mouth seemed to be mixed with vegetable juice…but it had somewhat of a tea leaf–like quality to it as well, and there was a hint of cacao in the fragrance. But underneath that was a taste of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. And to top it all off, the offensive bubbles from an unidentified carbonated beverage could not be ignored.
It isn’t completely disgusting…and it does taste kind of like medicine. So it is potion-like, maybe?
After swallowing, he tilted his head and made an uncomfortable expression. Although it was in no way good, it wasn’t bad enough to make him spit it out, so he was having trouble thinking of how he should respond.
Eh, I guess I’ll finish drinking it first.
Masachika had already put his mouth on the cup, and he wasn’t one to waste, so he chugged the rest in a single gulp. The less-than-stellar flavors made him frown. He poured a cup of oolong tea into his empty cup before chugging that to get the bad taste out of his mouth.
“Well, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had…but it wasn’t good, either.”
“O-oh…”
“What did I just drink anyway?”
“That’s…a company secret.”
“Sure, but I technically work at this ‘company.’”
But the class president averted her gaze once more, and the other classmates followed suit.
“What in the world was in that thing…?”
The class president hesitantly glanced at Masachika, who was clearly starting to worry, and timidly asked:
“Hey… Do you feel okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I?!”
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. There’s nothing to worry about if you’re feeling okay. There’s nothing to worry about…”
“Okay, that’s enough! What was in that drink?! You’re starting to scare me!”
“It’s okay. There wasn’t anything in it that could make you sick…?”
“Why did that sound like a question?!”
“But if you do start to feel like something’s wrong…you should probably get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“I wish I never asked!”
“If there aren’t any side effects within two hours…then you should be fine.”
“Side effects?!”
Masachika continued to press them for answers for a while after that, but he never got any more details in the end. In fact, the conversation only progressively got worse and worried him more, so he left the classroom behind and decided to head back to the student council room to work. But after thirty minutes went by, he could tell there was something wrong with his body.
Uh… Why am I feeling so horny all of a sudden?!
…This was genuinely the last thing he expected to happen.
Huh? What? What is this? Shouldn’t this usually happen to girls? Like a girl who’s usually calm and collected is suddenly overcome with these unfamiliar emotions? Everyone would love to see that. Seriously, who would want to see a guy all riled up?! Nobody wins here!
But despite his protests, the situation did not change. Yes… The train was ready to depart, and there were no brakes to stop it!
Dammit! What the hell is this…?! Those punks didn’t put an aphrodisiac in this to prank me, right?!
Even though he was doing paperwork for the student council, he couldn’t stop cursing his classmates in his mind. Of course, he knew it was his fault for even drinking the unidentifiable liquid, but that didn’t change a thing. At any rate, all he could do right now was keep himself solely focused on the documents in his hands… Suddenly a voice called out to him.
“Master Masachika, can I ask you something?”
“…?! Yeah? What?”
He reluctantly looked up from the papers in the direction of the voice to find Ayano looking 30 percent more attractive than usual.
Ack! The guilt…!
Masachika gritted his teeth to bear the pain of his stomach tightly twisting with guilt. He was disgusted with himself for even getting close to feeling lust for his pure, good-natured childhood friend. Therefore, he used every bit of power he had to maintain eye contact with her so that his gaze wouldn’t accidentally wander toward her chest or butt. However, despite his efforts, he soon noticed that his eyes were already stealing glances of her faintly pink lips, causing the guilt to twist his stomach even more.
“—So I was wondering if you had any ideas.”
“O-oh, we could borrow some from the middle school if necessary.”
“But how are we going to get them all the way over here?”
“I’m sure we could ask the janitor to carry them in his truck for us. Obviously, we don’t want to bother the guy, and it’d be safer to load the truck with everything at once, so if we’re going to ask the janitor for help, we should probably wait until we have everything we need ready to go.”
“Oh. ♪ You can do that?” Maria asked suddenly from across the table, making Masachika swiftly bite down on his lip.
“…Yeah, I actually borrowed a lot of the high school’s equipment in middle school this way.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. ♪ Maybe we could ask the janitor or someone else to help carry stuff for our attraction, too.”
“I don’t know about that, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
Even though they were having a serious conversation, Masachika’s mind couldn’t help but wander.
Guh! Seeing Masha in the new summer uniform…is mind- blowing…!
Even though he tried to keep his eyes on her face, his increasingly overpowering instincts as a man were trying to force his eyes to focus on something less wholesome. Compared to when she was wearing a blazer and jumper, every part of her was more emphasized, making their presence and enormous size known.
“It’s really reassuring having someone with experience like you around!”
Maria smiled innocently and clapped her hands, pushing her chest together from each side. A button could pop right off her shirt, and nobody would bat an eye.
Gahhh!
Blood started to leave Masachika’s brain, rushing toward his lower body, so he swiftly looked back at the sofa behind him.
“Wh-what about you, Alya? Anything on your mind?”
“…? Like what?”
Alisa looked up from her accounting documents on the table and shot him a quizzical stare.
Oh, gosh. She’s simply too good-looking.
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