Hearing the girl's voice, Aoki turned toward the entrance of the live house, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
He froze for a moment.
Then, as he got a clear look at the girl's face standing at the doorway, a wave of surprise spread across his own.
Takanashi Rikka?
Never mind the fact that she somehow memorized the random chunibyo setting he'd made up on the fly... Why was she even here?
Still puzzled, Aoki Kei was just about to ask when, unfortunately, Rikka gave him no such chance.
"Sealed One! My search has finally led me here... I knew you were hiding in this place!"
Wearing her signature eyepatch and holding her ever-present umbrella, the girl declared dramatically.
Her voice paused momentarily when her gaze landed on Yamada Ryo and Kita Ikuyo beside him.
"Ah! The Demon Bassist and the Demon Guitarist are here too! Is this your secret base?!"
Ryo, who had just been spacing out with her chin in her hand, suddenly perked up with interest.
She glanced at Rikka briefly, then decisively shifted her attention to Kita Ikuyo beside her.
As for Kita... The moment she heard herself being called a "Demon Guitarist," her body stiffened for just a second.
Then, without hesitation, she quickly lowered her gaze and turned her head, pretending like she had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.
Aoki didn't dwell on the reactions of the two girls.
Instead, hearing Rikka's chunibyo nonsense, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
With so many people around, he felt too embarrassed to respond with the same level of theatrical role-play as before...
So after a moment's hesitation, he decided to speak like a normal person.
"You said you tracked me down? Takanashi-san, how exactly did you find this place?"
Rikka blinked, slightly puzzled by the question—but it didn't bother her for long.
She kept going in her usual tone:
"After I failed to reach you through our spiritual communication device, I refrained from repeated contact. Instead, I decided to seek you out myself...
Eventually, I spotted the Sealed One in a concert video from the surface world. I followed the clues... and with the Evil Eye of Insight, I uncovered the location of this secret base!"
Aoki Kei fell silent for a moment.
What she meant, in plain terms, was probably this: she had messaged him on LINE, he hadn't replied, and later, by coincidence.
She spotted a concert video online—maybe of Kessoku Band or suki-san and noticed a comment mentioning STARRY.
Then she used a map or something to track the place down.
Wait—did she really message him?
If so, why hadn't he replied?
He paused to recall.
Half a second later, a blurry memory surfaced.
Back when they were busy with band practice, Rikka had messaged him.
But she only sent a sticker, and he'd been so swamped that day that he told himself he'd reply later... and then totally forgot.
So yeah—this one might actually be on him.
Another awkward pause passed.
And just like that, the sudden appearance of the "Evil-Eyed Queen" brought a thirty-second silence to the live house.
Eventually, Seika, the STARRY manager, cast Aoki Kei a look that clearly said: 'Who is this kid?'
Aoki understood immediately.
After thinking for a moment, he broke the silence—not by following the current topic, but by offering a quick introduction instead.
"She's... uh, kind of a friend of mine."
They had only met once, so Aoki wasn't quite sure if "friend" was the right word.
But it seemed harmless enough to go with.
He continued:
"We met in Shibuya. Ryo-san and Kita were there too. I just didn't expect her to actually find this place..."
As soon as he finished, Rikka stepped in to "clarify":
"The Sealed One helped me retrieve my Dark Zechs Proto-Type II from the jaws of a hellhound! Then, with the Demon Bassist and Demon Guitarist, we escaped the misty illusions of the surface world!"
"O-ohh—"
Seika, sitting at the bar, nodded in understanding—even if she didn't quite understand.
Then she went quiet for a moment, her eyes becoming thoughtful.
And the next moment, her gaze drifted subtly to her younger sister.
Nijika, usually the heart of any conversation, hadn't said a word.
But Aoki didn't notice.
After Rikka's theatrical "clarification," he thought for a second and decided to address her properly.
"Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I was busy and forgot. But, uh... Evil-Ey—cough, I mean, Takanashi-san, did you come all this way just to find me?"
Rikka fell silent, thinking.
The truth was—she hadn't really come with any particular purpose.
It was summer break. She had more free time.
Yesterday, she happened to see a comment under one of suki-san's old performance videos that mentioned this live house.
On a whim, she decided to ride the train and come find him.
So now...
"No special reason! I just came to see you, Sealed One!"
That answer... left Aoki Kei in a bit of a bind.
If he remembered correctly, Rikka lived a good distance away from STARRY.
Since she'd come all this way, it felt wrong to just send her home...
But they had ensemble practice soon—for Uchiage Hanabi.
He really didn't have time right now.
He hesitated, glanced over at Rikka, who now stood awkwardly by the door.
Then, looking away and thinking for a few seconds, he realized he had no perfect solution.
So instead, he turned to Seika and made a modest suggestion.
"Manager, would it be alright if Takanashi-san stayed here for a while?"
Then, worried she might say no—or that Rikka hadn't brought enough money—Aoki quickly added:
"I'll pay her cover charge. She just needs a place to hang out for a bit."
Seika glanced once more at her unusually silent sister.
Then, without looking back at Aoki, she turned toward her laptop and waved a hand.
A casual gesture that clearly meant: Do what you want.