When Asakura brought Kessoku Band and Anon back to the Service Club's club room, the room was uncharacteristically crowded.
Aside from the Magic Club members, who usually didn't all show up at once, today everyone was present except for the two unofficial members, Gokou and Nukumizu Kaju. In addition, there were two outsiders, Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika, plus the quiet but strong-willed little Eriri, and the three members of Kessoku Band who arrived with Asakura, which indeed caused the average per-person floor space in the entire club room to drop to a historical low.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who had just been relieved from her task of helping the Student Council maintain order, was sitting in her usual spot with a stern face, exuding a chilling aura that pushed people away, much like a male protagonist in certain movies that start with an 'FBI Warning,' feeling helpless as her carefully maintained private territory was being used for a picnic by a group of people, yet she could do nothing.
Yuigahama Yui was trying hard to lighten the mood, but because she also had little Eriri to look after, she was somewhat distracted. Fortunately, little Eriri was quite well-behaved; from an observer's perspective, she even had a bit of a single mother's wife-like charm.
Yanami, who was rarely not eating snacks, or rather, whose right to eat snacks had been revoked today, was now showcasing her excellent friendliness, chatting very congenially with Fujiwara Chika. Even though Asakura didn't pay much attention, he could tell from the snippets of their conversation that these two were discussing where to find the best ramen shops in the Chiba area...
On the other side, Asagumo Chihaya was talking about something with Shinomiya Kaguya, but from Asagumo Chihaya's somewhat stiff expression, the conversation wasn't going very smoothly. To some of Asagumo Chihaya's ordinary topics, Shinomiya Kaguya seemed expressionless and somewhat distracted.
"Human observation?"
Yamada Ryo, behind Asakura, suddenly asked him as he silently watched everything.
"Not to that extent yet."
Asakura replied conservatively.
"I'm sorry, Asakura, Ryo sometimes says strange things."
Ijichi Nijika quickly apologized for her best friend.
"It's fine..." Asakura shook his head, "In a way, she's quite perceptive."
Gotō Hitori huddled behind the others, trying her best to reduce her presence.
However, the more timid she appeared, the more her 'please take advantage of me' aura intensified—fortunately, among those present, besides Shinomiya Kaguya, there was no one else with an S-attribute who would be attracted by the girl's aura. And Shinomiya Kaguya, due to her apprehension of Asakura's presence, would keep her sharp side well hidden, which inadvertently saved Gotō Hitori from a predicament.
"That broadcast just now, that's this child singing, right?"
Asagumo Chihaya seemed to have finally given up on trying to get along with Shinomiya Kaguya and instead looked at Gotō Hitori behind Asakura and the others, saying, "It's as amazing as it felt during the Founders' Festival."
"To be precise..." Asakura spoke up to save Nijika and the others some face, "it's the performance of these three, Kessoku Band."
Ijichi Nijika looked at Asakura gratefully.
Although Gotō Hitori's guitar skills were already outstanding within the band, at least then she and Yamada Ryo could barely keep up with her pace. But once Gotō Hitori sang loudly, let alone the stage-shattering abilities of "God Knows" and "Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet..." even the meaningless "You Are My EGUMI Legacy" could instantly steal everyone's attention, her presence overwhelmingly high. In comparison, Ijichi Nijika as the drummer and Yamada Ryo as the bassist became quite faint in presence.
"An excellent performance."
Shinomiya Kaguya commented simply.
"Hehehe, thank you for the compliment."
Even though she could tell that it was just a very formal compliment, Ijichi Nijika still said happily.
"Also, Miss Vocalist, are you interested in developing your career with the talent agency under the Shinomiya Family that handles multimedia strategies?"
Shinomiya Kaguya continued to ask.
"She didn't even pretend and went straight for Bocchi-chan! Kessoku Band disbanding crisis?!"
Ijichi Nijika, who had been very happy, was greatly shocked.
"Capitalists are like that."
Yamada Ryo nodded thoughtfully.
And Gotō Hitori was already too flustered to know what to do.
"Hitori won't be signing with any agency for the time being."
It was Asakura who smilingly refused Shinomiya Kaguya's invitation for her.
"Is that so? I just feel that such talent going to waste would be a pity..."
Shinomiya Kaguya said this, then suddenly frowned, looking at Gotō Hitori with some confusion.
This surprised Asakura a bit—the other party seemed to realize that Gotō Hitori's singing was not 'talent,' but some more hidden ability.
Although Shinomiya Kaguya knew about the existence of supernatural powers in the world due to the Japanese style pavilion alternate space incident, which was somewhat like an open-book test, her ability to react so quickly also indicated that the girl's logical thinking skills were quite strong.
And after realizing this, Shinomiya Kaguya no longer had any intention of trying to persuade Gotō Hitori.
"How wonderful, to be invited by a professional agency!"
Chihaya Anon, who was clearly a member of the Magic Club, had no idea about this deeper layer and was still saying enviously.
"If Anon is interested, you can also come to our Kessoku Band as a rhythm guitarist, you know."
Nijika said kindly.
"No need, really. It's not false modesty, but Anon, I know my own limits."
Chihaya Anon showed a somewhat dry smile and shook her head in refusal.
After all, the gap between her and Gotō Hitori was simply too vast, and to be honest, she wasn't very good at the guitar. If she really joined Kessoku Band, she would become a complete foil to Gotō Hitori, which clearly went against Anon's initial plan.
Rather, if she wanted to stand out in Kessoku Band, it would be much simpler to just find a random band on the street to join...
"Takuma-san..."
Shinomiya Kaguya looked at Asakura: "Could you grace the Shinomiya Family with your presence? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you privately."
"Unfortunately, I still want to enjoy the school festival."
Asakura looked at the clearly still unwilling Shinomiya Kaguya and showed a very professional smile: "If you have any business in the future, just contact me directly. Beyond that... I'm sorry, I don't think there's anything I need to discuss with you privately."