I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 203

The emcee walked slowly forward. The concert hall was completely silent. Kuno Tachibana's hand was tightly clasped with Kirishima Mai's. Their hearts were pounding, and the barrier between them seemed about to be shattered.

Her handshake was too strong, making Kirishima look somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything.

"Next, the results will be announced."

As soon as the emcee finished speaking, the entire venue fell silent. The only sounds were the male emcee's breathing into the microphone and the sound of the folded list being opened.

"Number 8, Representative of the Hibiki Branch, Muroran High School Wind Ensemble, Silver Award."

Suddenly, a sigh came from somewhere in the audience, and the faint sound of a girl sobbing could be heard.

But no one here will offer sympathy. Everyone has put in the effort and is hoping for a reward, so they have no time to care about others.

The emcee's tone remained unchanged, continuing calmly as he spoke:

"Number 9, representative of Obihiro branch, Obihiro Municipal Iwasaka High School Wind Band, GoId Gold Award."

Cheers erupted from the front row as the girls in pure white uniforms excitedly embraced each other.

Yuka Isomoto cast an envious glance at them, then looked away and continued watching the stage.

"Number 10, Sapporo Branch Representative, Sapporo Municipal Asahikawa High School Brass Band, Gold Medal."

Another cheer erupted, and looking into the distance, the students from Asahikawa were embracing and celebrating, making the members of the Shin-Asahi Brass Band feel even more complicated.

The Shin-hsu Wind Ensemble has many connections with the school's advisors.

If they didn't win the gold medal, not only would they embarrass their own Kitahara Hakuba, but they would also feel hopeless and that they had let him down.

Kitahara Hakuba, unlike the students, was naturally less worried. He glanced over and noticed that Otaki Chikao did not seem very happy, his arms crossed as he looked solemnly at the emcee.

For him, the gold medal was just the first step; the most important thing was to win the spot as the representative of Hokkaido.

Nagase Tsukiyo hugged her legs tightly, curled up in her seat, closed her eyes tightly, and rested her forehead on her knees.

I was so nervous that my heart was pounding and my blood was surging through my veins at an unprecedented speed.

It has to be gold, it has to be gold, it has to be gold!

That was the only thought in her mind.

Sakurako Yukawa and Sayaka Akamatsu stepped forward under the guidance of the staff, the usually unserious girls taking repeated deep breaths.

The girl with the three braids gripped her skirt tightly, her legs trembling uncontrollably.

The emcee's gaze swept over the next person, his indifferent expression a stark contrast to the audience below:

"Number 11, Hakodate Branch Representative, Shin-Asahi Private High School Brass Band, GoId Gold Medal."

There was no celebration, nor loud weeping; it was as if everything had fallen into silence.

The team members only began to cheer enthusiastically when they saw Sakurako Yukawa and Sayaka Akamatsu step forward, one accepting the certificate and the other the trophy.

"Gold Medal! We are the Gold Medal winners!"

Tenkai So shouted in an unprecedented voice, "It was worth it for me to be forced by Teacher Kitahara to beat the war drum, and I was so tired that I almost turned into a dog."

The first and second year students were the most excited. Kuno Tachibana grabbed Kurosawa Maki's shoulders and shook him vigorously with joy, hugging and cuddling him.

Kurosawa Maki's brain was practically spinning, but the third-year students were polarized. One was so excited that he shouted like Amami Sora, and the joyous sound crashed against everyone's eardrums, causing people from other schools to turn pale.

The other group, however, became increasingly silent.

"Moonlit night."

Yuka Isomoto reached out and touched Tsukiyo Nagase's shoulder, noticing that her delicate body was trembling slightly.

"Moonlit night?"

Nagase Tsukiyo kept her face pressed against her knees, suppressing the burning sensation rising in her throat:

"It's not over yet... Please, Yuka, don't talk to me yet."

"Hmm::"

After a while, Yuuka Isomoto realized that Tsukiyo Nagase's goal was far more than that.

Kitahara Hakuba also breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere at the event was indeed different; he was captivated by the feeling of being on the brink of disaster.

The emcee was completely unaffected by the atmosphere in the audience and went on to read out the names of two more high schools.

Number Twelve:

Number Thirteen.

One silver and one bronze medal were awarded, and scattered sobs could be heard from the audience. The school that won the bronze medal was actually more accepting of the outcome than the school that won the silver medal.

The emcee continued reading the list in his hand, then slowly raised his eyes and said:

"Next, we will begin announcing the two schools that will represent Hokkaido at the national tournament in October."

This is the real key point: Hokkaido has few schools, and therefore only two schools have the opportunity to go to the national tournament.

Six schools have now received the gold medal, including the ever-victorious Donghai Affiliated High School.

In order of appearance: Donghai Affiliated High School, Yiai Girls' High School, Wakkanai High School, Iwasou High School, Asahikawa High School, and Shin-Asahi High School.

The emcee will determine the representatives according to the order of their appearance.

"Now we announce the first representative school, number three, Tokai University Affiliated Sapporo High School."

It was entirely expected. Strong schools truly live up to their reputation; I wasn't excited at all, and even felt that it was a foregone conclusion.

The schools that had previously won silver and bronze awards applauded and celebrated, but the schools that were about to win gold did not do anything, as they were under tremendous pressure.

Kuno Tachibana licked his dry lips and whispered:

"There's only one left..."

"

Nagasawa Miya and the others beside her nodded. They didn't even dare to turn around and look at Kitahara Hakuma's expression, probably because he was under even more pressure than they were.

Nagase Tsukiyo hugged herself tightly with all her might, her whole body was burning up, she didn't want to think about anything, and her heart was about to give out from beating so hard.

Kitahara Hakuma's hands, clasped together in front of him, were also exerting force in secret.

The emcee on stage continued:

"Now we announce the second representative school, number eleven, Shenxu Private High School."

Before Kitahara Hakuba could react, the members of the Shin-Asahi Brass Band filled the entire concert hall with ear-splitting high notes.

The members erupted in joyful shouts; the boys' cries were almost roars. The emcee was still speaking on stage.

As a result, the people in the audience could not hear it very clearly at all.

"Moonlit night!" Yuka Isomoto exclaimed loudly as she looked around.

At the same time, Nagase Tsukiyo looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and hugged her tightly, her tension still lingering.

Their bodies, pressed tightly together, were trembling.

“They’ve gone all over the country, they’ve gone all over the country…” Nagase Tsukiyo said in a sob, trying her best to keep her voice down.

Tears welled up in Yuka Isomoto's eyes, blurring her vision.

"Hmm... I've been all over the country."

Nagase Tsukiyo looked up at her. The girl's round eyes glistened with tears, and her long eyelashes fluttered like wet butterfly wings.

"That's amazing... It's so great to be with you all across the country..."

Her voice was squeezed out with great difficulty, and her fair and translucent skin was flushed.

The first-year students didn't cry, but even the usually aloof Amemori and Watanabe Hama couldn't help but shed tears.

Kuno Tachibana stood up abruptly and excitedly stomped his feet in small steps.

"That's great! That ...

"Hokkaido representative!" A melodious voice rang out from Kuno Tatsuka's throat, "We're only first-year students! And we're already going to the national tournament!"

After she finished speaking, she quickly squatted down and hugged Kirishima Mai's body.

"Zhenyi! National Conference!"

Kirishima Mai's gaze was fixed on her, and a quiet smile quietly bloomed on her usually tightly pursed lips:

"Yes, the national conference."

On stage, Sakurako Yukawa and Sayaka Akamatsu were bathed in the light, with golden trophies in their arms, giving one the feeling that "this dream is really long".

As Kawai Sakura looked at the cheering members of the Shin-Asahi Club, she clenched her teeth, holding back her surging emotions and refusing to cry.

“It would be so inappropriate for you to cry on stage, wouldn’t it?” Sayaka Akamatsu said to her with a smile.

"Of course I know."

Sakurako Yukawa uttered a choked sob, but quickly managed to suppress it.

It was achieved; in the final year, the promise made the year before was fulfilled.

Goodbye to that Shin-hsu Wind Ensemble that only knows how to use copper.

After the representative of the Hokkaido Wind Music Federation finished his speech, the students in the concert hall left in an orderly manner.

On his way out of the hall, Kitahara Hakuba could see students squatting in corners with their faces streaked with tears, as well as students who had achieved their goal of winning the gold medal, even though they hadn't gotten a representative spot.

But what reached their ears more often was "unwillingness to accept defeat".

Kitahara Hakuba did not leave with the members of the brass band, but went to the judging panel first.

After each competition, the judging panel would give the wind instrument department advisor a form with a score summary for each judge.

The judging panel for this conference consisted of seven people, and the scoring criteria were A, B, and C.

If four people give an A grade, then it's a gold award; but if even one person gives a C, no matter how many A grades there are...

That must be a bronze prize.

At the same time, it doesn't mean that everyone can get an A or B. For example, there are thirteen groups this time, so each judge can give five scores for A, five for B, and three for C.

Kitahara Hakuba arrived at the judges' room, showed his advisor credentials, and walked inside, only to find that the advisors from the other schools were all there picking up their "report cards."

They had only walked a few steps when they ran into Otaki Chikao.

He stared at the young man before him for a long while, then, as if he had come to terms with it, a bittersweet smile of relief appeared on his face: