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"Excuse me, are you Ijichi-san's older sister? I'm the one she invited to save… ahem, a friend she invited to watch the Live."
Asakura said courteously.
"Is that so… There's still some time until the Live starts, don't wander around."
The enlarged version of Ijichi Nijika scrutinized Asakura.
Perhaps Ijichi Nijika had indeed invited her friends to watch the Live, so she didn't suspect much, only admonishing: "Although I don't mind, some band members dislike people wandering around… Rock musicians tend to be a bit… well, sensitive."
Asakura probably understood that she meant well, but what surprised him was that 'Big Nijika' was indeed just Nijika's older sister, not Ijichi's mother as he had initially assumed.
He didn't know if it was because this world was more two-dimensional or for some other reason, but in any case, some of his classmates' mothers he had seen looked quite young.
If you didn't tell people they had an almost adult child, judging solely by their appearance, you would probably mistake them for university students or newly married wives…
So, when he first saw this 'Big Nijika,' he habitually assumed she was the girl's mother, and then deliberately mistook her for 'older sister' to curry favor and make her first impression of him better.
It turned out she really was her older sister, so his charm was wasted on someone who wasn't fooled.
"Is Ijichi-san the owner of this Livehouse?"
Asakura asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
"If I had to say, having a Livehouse in a basement feels quite peculiar.
Why did Ijichi-san choose this location to open STARRY?"
Asakura casually inquired for information.
"Cheap rent."
Asakura: "…"
A very realistic answer.
"Then why did you decorate it this way? Using large blocks of black as the main base color—is it simply to represent the night sky as a backdrop for 'STARRY'?"
Asakura continued to ask.
"No, because this kind of decoration is cheaper."
'Big Nijika' said very honestly.
Asakura: "…"
Could it be that the Ijichi family's financial situation wasn't as good as he imagined?
Just as Asakura was about to continue subtly asking about Yamada Ryo, the other party spoke first.
"Rather than that, are you really Nijika's classmate?"
'Big Nijika' scrutinized Asakura again: "I don't think I've seen you before…"
"I met Ijichi-san when she was looking for a guitarist."
Asakura replied with a smile, not feeling guilty in the slightest.
"Oh?"
'Big Nijika' drew out the sound.
Although her movements were very subtle, Asakura still noticed her giving an inquiring look to a punk woman nearby, who was likely the sound engineer.
The latter also subtly nodded.
The sound engineer, with her lip and ear piercings, looked very rock and roll and had been staying in that corner with a very low presence since earlier.
However, she must have seen Ijichi Nijika bringing Asakura and the others to STARRY, which is why she nodded to 'Big Nijika' who was questioning her with her eyes.
So, 'Big Nijika' then put down her suspicions.
"Ijichi-san… I'm sorry, saying it like that makes it hard to distinguish between the two of you.
Could you tell me your name, Ijichi-san?"
Asakura asked, "Otherwise, I could just call Ijichi-san 'Nijika,' I imagine Nijika-chan wouldn't mind…"
"Seika, my name is Ijichi Seika."
'Big Nijika' immediately interrupted Asakura: "You can just call me Seika-san or Seika-sama."
It seems she's a sister complex with a strong sense of possessiveness.
"Alright, Seika-sama, no problem, Seika-sama.
"Oh, Seika-sama, I heard that coming here to see a Live requires paying for a ticket.
"Do I pay directly to Seika-sama? Also, Seika-sama, I actually have some suggestions for your monthly pass service.
"If Seika-sama doesn't mind, I could discuss it with Seika-sama for a bit.
"Seika-sama, your face looks a bit troubled, has something happened, Seika-sama…?"
"Enough!"
Ijichi Seika rubbed her temples, feeling like there was a tape Scribe in her brain constantly buzzing 'Seika-sama, Seika-sama, Seika-sama.'
She glared at the secretly smiling sound engineer, then said to Asakura: "Call me whatever you like… A ticket is 1,500 yen, and you also need to pay an additional 500 yen for a drink."
"…Mandatory bundled consumption?"
Asakura was shocked.
"Absolutely not."
Ijichi Seika emphasized each word: "It's because our business license is for the food and beverage industry, so just collecting ticket money would cause problems in various ways.
To prevent our business license from being revoked, we require the purchase of one drink."
"I see…"
Asakura snapped his fingers at the words: "Auntie, one cappuccino, please~"
"Firstly, we don't have cappuccino here, and secondly, I'm not old enough to be called auntie yet."
Ijichi Seika's veins pulsed on her forehead as she said with a forced smile.
"Didn't Seika-san say I could call you whatever I liked?"
"You clearly know how to address people properly! Or are you just trying to be annoying? If it's the latter, then I'll have to treat you as an unwelcome guest and kick you out."
"Oh, that bass sound on the stage looks great."
"Will you listen to me?!"
"I am listening," Asakura then leisurely said, "Seika-san, what do you think of Ijichi-san and their performance this time?"
"Mediocre."
Ijichi Seika said indifferently, but contrary to her words, the girl's expression clearly indicated, 'successfully finishing one song without a stage accident counts as a success.'
"You have so little confidence in them?"
Asakura said, "Could it be that the guitarist who ran away was the backbone, and so without them, the evaluation has dropped significantly?"
"No, it's the opposite. Although Nijika formed a band a long time ago, I've never heard them play together. Nijika and Ryo aside, that guitarist… Hmph, I don't want to say anything too harsh."
Ijichi Seika said vaguely.
It seemed her evaluation of the previous guitarist wasn't very high either.
"Anyway, this live performance is just like Nijika and the others filling in, just to get a feel for the stage atmosphere. It's best not to have too high expectations."
"Is that so? Then I think you can look forward to it."
After hearing what the other person said, Asakura shook his head, "Because the new guitarist they found this time might be a very impressive person."
"Hmph… Then I'll expect nothing and hope for something…"
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