Asakura arrived backstage and first saw Yukinoshita Yukino, who had arrived at some point and was resting with her eyes closed.
Perhaps because of Amakusa Shino's strange remarks earlier, Asakura subconsciously looked at Miss Yukino's chest.
"Hmm, why does it feel… smaller than usual?"
He rubbed his chin and mumbled.
"Weren't you supposed to be greeting guests?"
Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to sense something, suddenly opened her eyes, and then stared sharply at Asakura as she asked.
"I ran into Yukinoshita Haruno, who was putting on an act as strong as a monster, and I gave it my all… Well, I could defeat her, but I can't lay hands on a guest in this setting."
Asakura spread his hands in resignation: "So Amakusa-chan told me to take refuge here first."
"Don't pay attention to anything my sister says, or you might accidentally be used by her. Her sweetness and gentleness are just a facade… She's much colder than you perceive her to be."
Yukino said softly, her beautiful slender eyebrows slightly furrowed. Against the backdrop of the princess dress, which was not seen in everyday life, the girl's contemplation looked like a sculpture, possessing a mysterious beauty.
After observing for a moment, Asakura finally realized: "So that's it, it's a pad…"
"Asakura-kun—"
A vein popped on Yukinoshita Yukino's forehead—so you didn't hear anything I said, did you—she said with a cold smile: "Please don't say irresponsible things, okay?"
"Alright, you're the princess, you're the boss."
Asakura grumbled, giving up on revealing the truth of the world: "Let's talk business… Is there anything strange backstage?"
"No, just a colorful light on the ceiling earlier seemed to have a loose connection, but it's back to normal operation now."
Yukino shook her head: "The Student Council members are surprisingly efficient…"
Asakura looked at the girl, and as if to echo her words, the colorful lights on the ceiling suddenly lit up. It seemed that the drama club members responsible for the controls were making final adjustments. The lights reflected in the girl's eyes like colorful specks of light, giving the illusion that her eyes were glowing at first glance.
Actually, at first, the Student Council members weren't as nimble as they are now. It could be said that although preparing for the Founders' Festival was troublesome, many people gained ample experience from it. Perhaps this experience might play a small role in their future careers, which is probably what Amakusa Shino wanted to see.
...Hmm, that person, they wouldn't just want to hold a festival without thinking about anything, would they?
"More importantly, why hasn't that guitarist you mentioned arrived yet?"
Yukinoshita Yukino came back to her senses and asked Asakura: "Didn't you say they were supposed to go on stage first to warm up the atmosphere?"
"Hitori might be lost on the path of life."
Asakura sighed.
As the saying goes, a hero cannot flee from battle, but as long as she makes a sacred separation from her alter ego, Hitori is not a hero, but just an ordinary introverted girl.
Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze became even more piercing.
"I don't care what your relationship is with her, or how excellent her skill is, but if she can't make it within the allotted time, then I can only say everyone's efforts will all be in vain…"
"If worst comes to worst, I'll go up and do some magic tricks—"
Asakura interrupted the girl, saying loudly: "I've practiced a few magic tricks as a backup before today… I'm sure some people will enjoy watching."
As he spoke, Asakura suddenly saw a few familiar figures walking in through the door.
It seemed he wouldn't need to perform magic tricks after all.
So he slipped out from behind the curtain and waved to them.
Then he saw Ijichi Nijika and Yamada Ryo escorting a forlorn-looking Gotō Hitori, who looked like she might melt at any moment, to their location.
"When we arrived here, we saw Bocchi-chan constantly circling about two hundred meters from the entrance."
Ijichi Nijika said to Asakura: "When Ryo and I went to talk to her, she almost ran away."
"I, I was just a little scared…"
Gotō Hitori mumbled in a tiny voice.
"Hitori, when did you arrive here?"
Asakura asked: "I mean, outside Soubu High School."
"Half, half an hour ago…"
The girl stammered softly.
So she'd been circling outside the school for half an hour?
Asakura couldn't help but feel a little ashamed; he hadn't even thought to check outside the door.
"Since you arrived so early, why didn't you just come in?"
He said to the girl.
"I, I didn't dare…"
The girl said softly, a little shyly.
"Hitori, do you think you attracted more attention by cautiously walking through the Soubu High School campus with your guitar, or by being escorted in by Nijika and Yamada?"
"The, the latter, I guess…"
After Asakura said that, the girl became a bit withdrawn. The result of her failed escape on the way was being held by one arm by Nijika and Yamada Ryo each. No matter what, she couldn't escape. All the way, she heard laughter around her and was pointed at as she was dragged into the auditorium.
Gah, just kill me…
Thinking about it, it did feel much more miserable than if she had just come in honestly…
"Speaking of which, you two actually managed to get leave."
Asakura changed the subject: "I thought Yamada would definitely be held back by the teacher."
According to information provided by Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryo is super single-threaded; if she practices bass, she forgets what she learned in school, and conversely, if she masters knowledge from books through studying, she will 'forget' some of her bass skills.
And after Kessoku Band had Gotō Hitori as the lead guitarist and the band prototype was formed, Yamada Ryo had been obsessed with playing together with everyone in the band (although the final result was a mess). It was said that her most recent exam results could only be described as disastrous.
Unexpectedly, even in such circumstances, her leave was approved. It seemed that the management of Ijichi Nijika's school was quite lenient.
"Ahaha… Actually, my leave wasn't approved."
Yamada Ryo said with a dry, expressionless laugh.
"Huh, it wasn't approved?"
Ijichi Nijika was stunned: "Didn't we submit the leave request together? The teacher approved it quite readily…"
"Because I'm not as well-behaved as Nijika."
Yamada Ryo said seriously.
"No, it's mainly about your grades."
The well-behaved blonde girl mumbled.
"And not as cute as Nijika."
Yamada Ryo said seriously again.
"I said it's about your grades! Don't avoid the real reason you were detained by the teacher!"
The adorable blonde girl, her face flushed, loudly retorted.