“I’m sorry for making you go back and forth twice...!”
Azuma bowed her head as she climbed into the car of Sako-hasu’s mom, who had come all the way to the public bath to pick them up.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Yurisuke-chan, you’re just as reserved as Taku-chan. You two are quite alike.”
“W-we’re alike...?”
“Come on, it’s getting cold, Takuto, get in quickly.”
Urged by Sako, I climbed into the car behind Yuzu. Inside, the radio was playing.
“By the way, when was Pocky Day even established? It’s been a thing since I was a little girl. And you know, not just on Pocky Day, I used to eat them every day during lunch break back in high school. About one or two boxes a day. No, no, I’m not talking about cigarettes, I mean Pocky. I wonder why I didn’t get fat even after eating that much? I guess metabolism really is different back then... It’s terrifying to think about eating at that pace now...! Anyway, for me, it’s the taste of youth.”
I didn’t know what program it was, but a personality with a cute voice was talking about the upcoming November 11th.
“She’s a heretic of the Seishun Calpis Religion. She belongs to the Seishun Pocky Religion.”
“Wait, Sako-hasu, don’t go around inciting divisions.”
As the car started moving, Sako spoke in a joking tone, and Azuma replied like the vocalist of a band performing at Fuji Rock.
“There are quite a few followers of the Seishun Pocky Religion. It’s fine for everyone to have their own version of youth, right?”
“Well, I guess you can drink Calpis while eating Pocky.”
“Yeah, exactly... Wait, no, I mean, it’s okay, but isn’t that food combination a bit of a ‘no’?”
“It’s about the same as eating rice balls with Calpis.”
“Wait, seriously?”
Sako in the passenger seat and Azuma, who was sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, carried on their conversation diagonally across the car.
“And so, today we have a guest who is a current high school student! It’s the genius masked high school singer, IRIA-san, who is currently taking social media by storm!”
“IRIA!?”
At the mention of the guest’s name, Yuzu let out a loud shout.
“Don’t yell all of a sudden, you startled me... Yuzu, you know her?”
“Yeah, her MV is super viral right now! Honestly, Tak-kun, you don’t know her? Even though you do music?”
“Ah, well... Eh, Sako, do you know her?”
When I asked Sako from behind, she said, “I don’t.”
See, even Sako-hasu, who is well-versed in music, doesn’t know, I thought as I looked at Yuzu, only to be met with an exasperated sigh.
“No, no, don’t check with that ‘Oldies Music Lovers Alliance’ over there. Yuri-nee, you know her, right?”
“Yuri-nee...!”
Azuma let out a cry of joy at the nickname rather than whether she knew the singer or not. I mean, what even is this ‘Oldies Music Lovers Alliance’...?
“IRIA-san, it seems today is your very first appearance in the media! Wow, what an honor! Well then, could you please give a brief self-introduction to everyone listening to this program?”
While this was happening, the personality threw out a perfect conversation starter.
“Yes. I’m a first-year at Musashino International High School, Class 1-5—” “Awawawawa! You don’t have to say the name of your high school!”
“““Musashino International!?”””
This time, the three Musashino International students, including Sako, shouted in unison. Eh, she’s a student at our school?
“Ahaha...! N-no, wow, this really feels like a live broadcast! It’s got that live feeling! Director-san, are you okay? Ah, he has a look on his face that says he’s not okay...! Right, ahaha...!”
The personality was incredibly flustered. Well, of course she would be...
Even if the number of people listening to the radio isn’t that high, wouldn’t something like this spread instantly? I didn’t know much about it, but...
“W-well! Let’s pull ourselves together and talk about the music! IRIA-san currently doesn’t belong to any agency and is a complete amateur. Despite not having released any official records, the music video you uploaded to YouTube has an incredible number of views! As of right now... wow, over 40 million views!”
“Yes.”
“...Right! Wow, that’s amazing. You wrote the lyrics and composed this song yourself, right, IRIA-san? What was the process behind creating it?”
“I just put what I thought into a song.”
“...Ah, I see! Um, do you also play the instruments yourself, IRIA-san?”
“Depends on the instrument. For the vocals, it’s me.”
“...I see! Ahaha, how anarchic, a current high school singer-songwriter...!”
“Not really.”
...The personality kept the conversation going while struggling with IRIA, who gave nothing but blunt responses, whether she was just being herself or something else.
“I feel like I’ve heard this voice somewhere before...”
Azuma tilted her head, tapping her temple for stimulation.
“Um, well then, shall we listen to the song! ...Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
“...Yes! So, IRIA-san has brought us a rare track that hasn’t been turned into a recording yet! I’ll... do the title call! It’s ‘Youth is a Lie’! Here it is!”
“Go ahead.”
The song began playing after that curt prompt.
Along with a distorted electric guitar, the song started with IRIA’s husky voice.