I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 47

Kitahara Hakuba said gently:

"No, I just feel like I owe you something."

Shinomiya Haruka said with a smile:

"Doesn't it resemble a villainous woman in a TV drama, using snacks and cash to lure a naive virgin into his trap?"

“Then you’ve gone in the wrong direction. I am an upright and incorruptible man of the Heisei era who regards money as dirt.”

"Wait, no, did I say that person was you?"

"Could it be that besides me, there are other innocent virgins in Hakodate City?"

"You're pretty amazing to be able to say the word 'virgin' in a train carriage," Shinomiya Haruka said with a smile.

"You're great for calling yourself a bad woman."

"Am I not bad?"

"You are a good woman."

"That doesn't sound nice at all."

Haruka Shinomiya raised her fist and playfully punched his shoulder like a cat.

◇

It's Monday again, and Kitahara Hakuba still gets up at six o'clock.

The weather was clear, as if someone had boiled a few bright blue flowers in the sky to create the appearance of a sunny day. He raised his hand, and his fingers were blue.

When he arrived at the school gate, he saw Saito Harutori standing there, carrying her schoolbag in both hands, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

The other person seemed to have spotted Kitahara Hakuba from a distance, but immediately looked away, only greeting him when he got closer.

"Good morning, Kitahara-sensei," Saito Harutori said with a smile.

Her voice is very distinctive, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it shy.

"Waiting for someone?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

“Hmm.” Saito Harutori said almost subconsciously, playing with a strand of hair on her chest, “Waiting for the moonlit night.”

Upon hearing this name, Kitahara Hakuba felt a bad premonition.

"She's here so early too?"

"Yes, Tsukiyo is very diligent. Even though she's no longer in the brass band, she still comes very early."

"Oh... I'll go in first then."

"Wait, Kitahara-sensei—"

Saito Haruka, her feet clad in black loafers, turned to face Kitahara Hakuba, who was walking through the school gate, and said...

"Can Yueye come to the music festival with me?"

Come again?

Kitahara Hakuba frowned and said:

"Putting aside the fact that Nagase-san isn't in our club, and besides, she herself wouldn't agree to this, have you really tried to communicate with her properly?"

Saito Haruka's thin lips curved into a gentle smile, as always:

"Yes, everything will be fine today."

"There won't be any problem, right? Where does your confidence come from? Or do you have some good ideas?"

“I have no objection, but I have to pay for the trip myself,” Kitahara Hakuba said, “especially the accommodation.”

Putting aside the second and third-year students, the unfamiliar first-year students must be unhappy about Nagase Tsukiyo's free trip, since she's not the one who's working hard to go to the music festival.

“No problem,” Saito Harutori said with a smile.

Just as Kitahara Hakuba was about to leave, he turned back and asked:

"Saito-san, why are you so obsessed with Nagase-san?"

Saito Harutori paused for a moment, then quietly lowered her eyes, her hands clasped behind her back, her schoolbag covering her tender buttocks.

"Because Yueye and I are bound by a lifelong destiny, how can I be on stage while she's not? Isn't that betrayal? I can't do that."

Kitahara Hakuba was stunned for a moment. The word "betrayal" was far too heavy.

"I wish you all the best," he said before turning to leave.

Ah, the moonlit night—

Saito Harutori suddenly shouted and ran up to her.

Kitahara Hakuba turned his head and saw two people walking from one side of the street. They were clearly Nagase Tsukiyo and Kanzaki Eri.

Chapter 53. She actually succeeded.

"Sorry, I'm waiting for you here because I've sent you so many messages but haven't received a reply."

There weren't many students coming and going at the school gate at this time. Saito Harutori stared at the person who appeared, her throat trembling slightly with tension.

Nagase Tsukiyo stood there with her bags in both hands, her brows slightly furrowed, but she noticed that Saito Harukori was looking at her earnestly, without any unease in her eyes.

"What is it now?" Nagase Tsukiyo asked calmly, standing straight with her alluring breasts and hips clearly visible.

Saito Harutori looked at her with a loving expression, rubbing her thumbnail with her fingertips as she said:

"Actually... I want to go to the Sapporo music festival with you, Tsukiyo."

"Didn't I already say that I would no longer get involved in anything related to the brass band?"

Nagase Tsukiyo opened and closed her eyes with a sense of irritation. Her solid and mellow voice was enough to make one blush and their heart race just by listening to it.

"No, I didn't ask you to go on stage or anything. I just wanted to go to the music festival with you."

Saito Harukori gave a cryptic smile.

"This is the last time I'll go this year, and I want to spend it with you. You think Eri feels the same way, right?"

After she finished speaking, she looked at Kanzaki Eri beside her. Her words, which seemed to be wrapped in rice paper, made Eri lower her head and stare at Saito Haruka's fingers, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"I... also want to be with the moonlit night."

Nagase Tsukiyo stared at her profile; the shadows cast by her bangs were filled with traces of melancholy.

Saito Haruka's heart pounded, and she gazed at Nagase Tsukiyo's cool and beautiful face as she said:

"Hey, Tsukiyo, I won't ask you to do anything. It's just that with you here, Eri and I will feel more at ease on stage. Let's not talk about anything else, just support us as friends, okay?"

Her gaze wandered aimlessly in the air, her fingers rubbing together nervously as if she were scraping dust off her nails.

Nagase Tsukiyo was speechless for a moment, her throat, which traced a smooth curve, moving up and down.

"I know, I'll go."

"Great!"

Saito Harutori's cheers mingled with her breath as she pulled a sheet of music from her bag.

"for you."

"First trumpet notation? What do you mean?"

When Nagase Tsukiyo saw that it was the trumpet score for "RYDEEN," specifically the first trumpet, he immediately frowned.

She had played the trumpet score of "RYDEEN" before, but this was the first time she had seen the revised version. However, the revisions to the trumpet score were not extensive and it was not particularly difficult.

"I just think it would be better if you knew a little about Tsukiyo."

Saito Harutori answered with a shy, bashful smile.

"This is the revision made by Mr. Kitahara. I want you to know that Mr. Kitahara is not useless. He can not only play the piano, but he is also very good at the trumpet. He can revise the score quickly and accurately. He is a real genius."

"Well--"

As Saito Haruka praised Kitahara, Nagase Tsukiyo's face grew even redder, recalling in her mind her sharp comments about Kitahara Hakuba back in the confectionery shop.

“I… I think it would be better for Tsukiyo to accept it,” Kanzaki Eri said softly.

"Of course I know!"

Refusing would seem like disrespecting Kitahara-sensei, while accepting would suggest that he still has ambiguity towards the brass band.

Caught in a dilemma, Nagase Tsukiyo still put the trumpet sheet music into her schoolbag.

She moved quickly, and Saito Haruka thought her hesitant yet decisive expression was beautiful; she was always so beautiful.

"Is there anything else?" Nagase Tsukiyo asked.

A gentle smile appeared on Saito Haruka's lips:

"never mind."

Nagase Tsukiyo walked inside and, as she passed the security booth at the school gate, she found Kitahara-sensei sitting inside chatting with the security guard.

She couldn't hide her surprise.

The two quickly met eyes, and his gentle smile made Nagase Tsukiyo blush and her forehead break out in a light sweat.

What's going on? Why is Kitahara-sensei here?

The bird handed me the sheet music for the first trumpet; could it be his idea?

He wanted to understand that he wasn't as bad as he thought.

If I hadn't accepted it, how bad would my relationship with this teacher have become?

Countless thoughts, like strands of hair lingering at the shower drain, made Nagase Tsukiyo quicken her pace and head towards the school building.

Kanzaki Eri, who was behind her, almost couldn't keep up.

Kitahara Hakuba gazed at the girl's fair and beautiful legs beneath her skirt, her inner thighs also captivating.

He thought to himself, "How beautiful!" and "Saito Harukori actually did it!"

Although I couldn't hear what they were saying, judging from Nagase Tsukiyo putting the sheet music into her bag and Saito Harukori's extremely joyful expression, it was a success.

“Kitahara, let me tell you, this place, and that place, are all mine.” Asumi, who is 45 years old this year, said, pointing to a row of residential houses in front of the school gate.

Kitahara Hakuba wasn't really interested in the uncle who came to experience life; he wanted to leave a long time ago, but the uncle kept talking.