Hoshino Miru finally managed to suppress this physiological reaction. Ever since tasting the sweetness, his body had become increasingly disobedient.
If this continued, Kasugano Sora might even develop a conditioned reflex in him—just touching her would trigger a reaction.
Hoshino Miru made himself calm down. This kind of hypnosis technique was nothing impressive. At worst, he could fiercely retaliate in kind.
Afterward, Hoshino Miru tried to read for a while but couldn't focus, so he simply gave up.
When he took out his phone, he found that Toyokawa Shoko and Nagasaki Soyo had sent him messages quite early.
Toyokawa Shoko had sent a video. The camera was positioned rather close, showing the girl in frame with a slightly upturned nose and features as beautiful as a painting, sitting very properly.
Although the girl's small chest only bulged slightly, even that swelling sensation was quite tantalizing.
When the camera pulled back a bit, the girl's waist would be revealed, with slender, delicate curves. She sat on the stool pressing down her skirt, her pair of legs wrapped in white mid-calf socks placed together. Her hands rested on the black and white piano keys.
The piano music began. Hoshino Miru watched for several minutes, carefully comparing it with the video he had seen last time, then sent his impressions to Toyokawa Shoko, praising her good teaching.
Without waiting for Toyokawa Shoko to reply, Hoshino Miru had already opened Sumita Mana's chat interface. After thinking for quite a while, he directly forwarded the video.
「Hoshino Miru: The new uniform looks very nice.」
She was probably playing with her phone, as Sumita Mana quickly showed as "read."
「Sumita Mana: Thank you for the compliment. Mana also thinks she looks very good (〃ﾉωﾉ)」
「Hoshino Miru: I was complimenting your school uniform.」
「Sumita Mana: Hmph, you definitely stared at it for a long time. Mana knows, okay?」
「Hoshino Miru: I watched for a few minutes. Toyokawa-san says your level has improved a lot.」
「Sumita Mana: So surprising—are you two still using surnames?」
「Hoshino Miru: That's not the point, is it?」
「Sumita Mana: Then what is? Anyway, you won't come see Mana. What good does playing piano well do (▼皿▼＃)」
「Hoshino Miru: Don't sound so resentful. Who was it that almost created a scandal with me before? If not for your manager, that would have been real trouble.」
「Sumita Mana: It's because they're too nosy. Isn't it normal for good friends to play together?」
「Hoshino Miru: Because you're too cute. Being with a guy would cause a national sensation.」
「Sumita Mana: Damn it, I'm clearly being sweet-talked but still a bit unhappy (;≥皿≤)」
「Sumita Mana: But this sentence, Mana will save it, Mana adds.」
Before long, she sent over a screenshot. Hoshino Miru didn't know what meaning this had, but she herself enjoyed it immensely, even showing a bit of a sly fox's smugness at successfully tricking someone.
Finally, what came over was her selfie. The girl wore her brand-new school uniform, posing in various ways before the camera, lifting her skirt hem and asking Hoshino Miru if it looked good.
Even when Hoshino Miru said it looked good, she would continue asking which photo looked even better.
Hoshino Miru had the feeling of dealing with a girlfriend. Fortunately, Sumita Mana was easy to please—just chatting with her was enough. She didn't care how Hoshino Miru replied.
Because Sumita Mana would praise herself for being pretty and cute. This was a beautiful girl's confidence.
Hoshino Miru chatted with her while taking the opportunity to look at Nagasaki Soyo's messages.
「Nagasaki Soyo: I was very happy to meet Hoshino-senpai today. Please take care of me from now on.」
A very ordinary greeting, though it seemed like he could hear her gentle, pleasant voice and that smile like a spring breeze.
Leaving it on "read" without replying would be somewhat rude. Hoshino Miru also very politely replied with "please take care of me."
However, the other side quickly showed as "read."
「Nagasaki Soyo: Has Hoshino-senpai had contact with bands before?」
「Hoshino Miru: No, I've only recently become interested.」
"Nagasaki Soyo: Is it because of Mutsumi?"
「Hoshino Miru: Why do you say that?」
「Nagasaki Soyo: Eh, isn't it? I saw Hoshino-senpai and Mutsumi have a very good relationship, so I was wondering if it was because Mutsumi played in a band that Hoshino-senpai became interested in bands.」
「Hoshino Miru: There's a bit of that, but more of it is my own reasons.」
「Nagasaki Soyo: If Hoshino-senpai wants to start a band, I personally highly recommend it. Being able to work hard together with everyone is the happiest thing in this world. Don't look at how Mutsumi is now—she was actually quite happy before.」
Hoshino Miru felt something was off. She seemed a bit too proactive.
「Nagasaki Soyo: This is a video from our first practice session. Hoshino-senpai can take a look.」
The other side sent over a video. Hoshino Miru clicked in curiously.
First, he saw Nagasaki Soyo flash past the camera. In the background, he could hear people talking.
When Hoshino Miru could see the scene clearly, he found this video was filmed in a practice room. Toyokawa Shoko was bringing Wakaba Mutsumi to where she should stand. Shiina Ritsuki sat behind the drum set, while Nagasaki Soyo looked toward the girl serving as lead vocalist, seeming somewhat worried.
Hoshino Miru froze because he had seen this girl serving as lead vocalist before.
After watching the entire video, Hoshino Miru was silent for a moment.「Music Theory LV2」just happened to help him understand this band's true level, including the song they were practicing.
So Hoshino Miru asked what song they were practicing. The answer was just one line.
—"Spring Shadow" (Harukaage).
...
The next morning.
Hoshino Miru came to the classroom early as usual, greeted Yukinoshita Yukino as always, then sat down in a daze.
Actually, it wasn't really a daze. He was still thinking about last night's events—why had Nagasaki Soyo sent him that practice video?
What surprised Hoshino Miru even more was that he had seen that lead vocalist before. She happened to be the girl he'd seen on the overpass. In the video, Nagasaki Soyo called her Tomori.
In other words, Hoshino Miru had unknowingly collected all the hero fragments and could summon a girls' band called CRYCHIC at any time.
The problem was that this long-fragmented girls' band had no meaning to him. Even if he collected all the hero fragments, Hoshino Miru felt he couldn't do anything.
He just wanted to learn some music theory, preferably to compose some nice tunes.
However, their "Spring Shadow" left a deep impression on Hoshino Miru.
It wasn't that it was especially good, a hall-of-fame level work. Rather, Hoshino Miru could understand what this song was expressing, which surprised him greatly.
Especially that girl serving as lead vocalist—her level was far inferior to Sumita Mana's. Her voice was extremely raw, she didn't even know basic techniques, yet there was a feeling of shouting with all her might.
She was serious—seriously singing out her own emotions. Just this alone was moving enough.
Besides the desperate lead vocalist, Hoshino Miru also thought of Toyokawa Shoko, because this "Spring Shadow" was Toyokawa Shoko's composition.
Damn, this girl's level might not just be ordinary LV3. Perhaps she was already approaching LV4 and could break through at any time.
Hoshino Miru felt ashamed of his previous thoughts. He had thought he could catch up to Toyokawa Shoko soon, not expecting this little lady had hidden her hand.
But on second thought, he couldn't be blamed for this. He had never heard compositions written by Toyokawa Shoko and could only judge her true level from their conversations.
Hoshino Miru took out his notebook and began imitating Toyokawa Shoko's style, attempting to write a composition.
Because he really wanted to fulfill the promise he had made to Sumita Mana back then.
For advanced Chapter for Please Don't Be Cringe!
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