After that, we returned to the studio and practiced Ichikawa's new song without lyrics for a while before heading to the cafeteria for dinner.
“I'm hungry~”
“Yeah.”
When we opened the door, four-seater tables were lined up side-by-side.
The Cherry Boys were at one table, and at the next table, the newly appointed demon manager was sitting alone.
“Ah—, Takuto-kun! Sakoshu! Amane-chan! Over here~!”
Erina-san called out to us, pointing to the seats where she was sitting.
Sako glanced at me and Ichikawa (What's up?) before sitting across from Erina-san, and Ichikawa sat next to Sako.
When I sat in the remaining seat next to Erina-san, Sako clicked her tongue. (What's up?)
The food was already served at the table, and there was some delicious-looking curry.
“Erina dished it out for you guys~!”
Eh, really? This person is actually really nice. Who was the one calling her a demon?
“Seriously? Thanks.”
“You're very welcome~!”
Erina-san made a peace sign in front of her face. How calculatingly cute.
“Erina-chan, thank you! Wow, curry! I'm so happy! Let's eat!”
“Let's eat.”
Following Ichikawa, we all gave our greetings for the meal.
Perhaps she was happy about the curry, but Ichikawa was smiling and saying, “This is delicious, Konuma-kun!” Seeing her like that from across the table made me feel secretly warmed and relaxed, when—
“““Let’s eat!!!!”””
A loud voice from the Instrumental Music Club echoed from the other table.
“Wow, they really are like a sports club...”
Ichikawa whispered softly, with a mix of half-admiration and half-awe.
“Is that so?”
Then Sako chimed in with a genuine question.
“Brass band clubs are always like that. Right, Takuto?”
“I guess so...”
Perhaps happy to have my agreement, Sako looked at Ichikawa with her signature smug face. And so, the next song begins...
Ichikawa gave a wry smile and asked,
“I see, Konuma-kun and Sako-san were in the same brass band club, weren't they? Come to think of it, why didn't you two join the Instrumental Music Club?”
“I intended to keep the fact that I was doing music a secret in the first place. I didn't even go for a visit.”
“Is that so? What about Sako-san?”
“Me...”
After saying that, she glanced at me and said,
“Nothing special.”
“Nothing special?”
When I asked, Sako looked down and replied in a small voice.
“Shut up, stupid.”
Why...? Ichikawa laughed, “Tahaha.”
As we continued eating while making small talk, Erina-san, who had already finished her curry, leaned into me from the side.
“Hey, hey~ Takuto-kun~ Erina is sooooo bored~”
She was leaning all her weight on me. What is this all of a sudden!?
“I-I-I... If you're bored, why don't you drink some water or something?”
I ended up sounding like a suspicious, laughing witch.
“No, no, I don't mean right now, I mean during the day~. Won't you teach me an instrument or something~?”
Saying something like “Fuhee~”, she leaned even more of her weight on me.
“I mean, why did you even come to the training camp, Erina-san...?”
Still leaning on me, she looked up and pouted her lips.
“I thought I explained it to Takuto-kun though...?”
No, no. When I tried to meet her eyes, I realized her doll-like lips and white skin were right in front of me, and I hurriedly looked away.
Erina-san, what kind of distance are you talking to me from...?
No, I get it. Erina-san's 'love' has only just begun, right?
Then, I thought she should just have Hazama teach her something in the meantime, but at this close range, I couldn't even say that. Or rather, thinking about it, Hazama is a vocal specialist, so he might not be able to play an instrument.
Then, I heard a 'Ahem' from across me.
“Our Konuma-kun is busy, so he might not have the leisure to teach Erina-chan an instrument, you know?”
The Archangel was smiling with a twitching grin. 'Our Konuma-kun.' ...Could you say that one more time?
“Erina, you're good at singing, so why don't you just sing? You get really high scores at karaoke.”
Sako suggested quite calmly.
Come to think of it, she mentioned something about going to karaoke when we first met. I mean, Sako goes to karaoke too. That's unexpected. ...I've never been.
“Ah, I might like singing. I used to take piano lessons, so it seems I have a sense of pitch~. But a younger kid at the same school was too good, and the teacher was only focused on them, so it stopped being fun and I quit.”
“I see.”
Erina-san really is an attention seeker...
“That kid came in after Erina, you know~? But they became better than Erina in no time. Even when I was little, I thought, 'So talent really exists'.”
“Talent, huh.”
Unconsciously, I repeated that word.
“...Takuto-kun, what's wrong?”
“Hm? What is?”
I tilted my head.
“You had a scary face just now~?”
“Eh, really?”
“Yeah, yeah. I'm looking at you from this close, so I can tell~”
No, no, there's no need to look from that close. While saying that, I'm the one who doesn't push her away. I'm really sorry.
“If you did piano, why don't you play the keyboard? The Cherry Boys don't have a keyboardist, so it might be good if you're experienced.”
Sako was naturally talking about the Cherry Boys and being experienced.
“I mean, if Erina joins the Cherry Boys, they won't be 'Boys' anymore~. What would it be... Cherry Boys & Vir—”
““Hold on, Erina-san.””
Sako and I stopped her in harmony.
What is this person trying to say with such good pronunciation? I mean, Erina-san...?
“Takuto, if you think about it any further, I'll kill you.”
Sako was glaring at me with a voice full of anger. Scary. Sorry. Also, don't read my mind.
“Ahaha~ Sakoshu, sorry~? Well then, maybe I'll try playing the keyboard tomorrow. But, was there a keyboard in 'Cherry'?”
I mean, she's talking about 'Cherry' so naturally, so they really are doing 'Cherry' again this time... Are they going to play 'Cherry' for 25 minutes at the school festival? That would be interesting in its own way. ...Have they been practicing 'Cherry' all day long?
While my head was filled with nothing but 'Cherry',
“I wonder.”
Sako looked into the air, trying to remember if there was a keyboard in the original track of 'Cherry'.
“It's in there plenty. An ele-pi comes in as accompaniment at the start of every measure, and there are strings-like sounds in the second half, so you could do those.”
“Ele-pi? Start? Strings?”
Question marks were floating above Erina-san's head.
“Also, there's a synth sound in the intro and interlude. Like 'Too-wee-roo-roo'.”
“Pfft!”
The moment I sang it, Erina-san burst out laughing.
“Ahaha, 'Too-wee-roo-roo'! Takuto-kun, you're as lame as ever! Ahaha!”
No, you don't have to laugh that much, do you...?
“You were lame back then too. Suddenly starting to talk about love and stuff.”
““'Back then'?””
This time, Ichikawa and Sako harmonized.
“Ah, it's nothing~”
Erina-san shrugged and stopped talking.
She told me 'I said too much, tehe!' with eye contact, so I replied, “What are you doing?” Ah, crap, I said it out loud.
“...I'll go ahead.”
Ichikawa, who had finished her curry without me noticing, stood up with a clatter.
“There's no practice tonight because we're doing fireworks. Gather in 30 minutes. You should finish eating quickly.”
She spoke with a cold voice and left the cafeteria, carrying her tray of dishes.
The sound of Ichikawa's sandals hitting the floor echoed with strange roughness.
“...Did I overdo it~?”
“...Did what?”
Erina-san stuck out her tongue while saying “Tehe!” again. So calculatingly cute...
“Amane-chan has become quite honest, or should I say, blatant...”
I'm asking, about what?