Chapter 51: Difficulty

Finally, they reached the stairs leading down to STARRY. Seeing that there were much fewer people around, Kita breathed a sigh of relief and said to Hitori behind her.

“Gotou-san, we’re here. You can come out.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Hitori lowered her head in embarrassment and walked out from behind her.

“No, Gotou-san doesn’t need to apologize to me…”

Kita’s expression was a bit dejected, and she lowered her head, looking guilty.

Seeing Kita like this, Hitori tilted her head in confusion.

“Kita-san?”

Right at that moment, a distant voice from afar resounded, as if a long drawn-out note was being held down on a piano, was approaching them.

“Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan…”

The two looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Nijika running over, waving her hand, out of breath.

She stopped in front of the two, propping her knees and gasping for air. Behind her, Ryo also followed half-dead.

“Ijiichi-senpai, Ryo-senpai, what happened?”

Kita asked in a panic.

Nijika took two breaths, then stood up, leaning on a lamppost by the roadside.

“Now… now is not the time to chat. Hurry to the shop…”

Behind her, Ryo added.

“The battle… might… not be over yet.”

These two’s words completely confused Kita and Hitori. What exactly was the situation in the shop?

The two responded with blank stares… 

Nijika led the way with familiar and quick steps, walked down the stairs in a few steps, pushed open the shop door, and disappeared from the sight of the few people behind her.

...

“Sister, Hayato-kun!”

The three behind heard Nijika’s voice, which sounded like she was trying to stop someone, showed expressions of confusion or slight smiles.

But when they heard Nijika's voice stop abruptly halfway, the three were stunned.

They inexplicably felt that the dark STARRY was like the gaping maw of a beast.

They hesitated and looked at each other, not daring to speak for a moment. Then, after Ryo nodded slightly, indicating that she would lead the way, they walked in.

After turning the corner, they saw Nijika frozen at the bottom of the stairs.

The three walked down and saw the interior of STARRY, which had become much brighter, and Ishikawa Hayato sitting at the bar with Seika, drinking Good Kids 100% Apple Juice.

Ryo looked at this scene, her calm eyes like still water.

“Hypnosis?”

As soon as she said this, it startled the three girls beside her.

After Nijika tremblingly asked about the situation, Seika, with a very satisfied smile, pointed at Ishikawa Hayato.

“This guy is too useful! He cleaned up all those difficult places in an instant.”

Ishikawa Hayato stood up, walked to the side, placed his hand on his chest, bowed slightly, and looked directly at Seika with a very graceful smile, saying.

“If you were to say, ‘This guy is too much of a pervert,’ I would be very happy.”

Seika’s expression was a little cold, and she said in a very direct tone.

“No way.”

Nijika watched the two’s conversation, breathed a sigh of relief, and showed a relaxed smile.

“That’s great, the two of you have made up.”

Seeing Nijika no longer tense, the other three girls in the band also relaxed.

Only then did they have the energy to observe their surroundings.

Kita looked around and then smiled, saying, “STARRY today feels completely sparkling.”

Ryo: “Just like when we changed the light bulbs a year ago.”

Seika: “What do you mean?!”

Listening to their relaxed conversation, Nijika looked at the sparkling interior of the shop again.

She showed some surprise, which quickly turned into joy.

She said admiringly to Ishikawa Hayato.

“Hayato-kun is truly amazing.”

And Ishikawa Hayato looked at her with teary eyes.

“How about ‘pervert’?”

Nijika was dumbfounded, then quickly and indignantly replied.

“I won’t say it!”

The small talk ended. Nijika looked up at the time. She hadn't forgotten today’s task and said to her band friends.

“Then it’s about time to start working.”

The others also nodded in agreement.

Only Kita, while happy, carefully glanced at Ishikawa Hayato.

“Then Nijika, you assign the tasks.”

Seika looked at the agreeing young men and women, gave a some brief instructions, then turned her chair to face away from them.

As if washing her hands of the matter, she continued to work on her laptop.

What she asked these few to do were originally just some menial chores, simply to find an excuse to lend them the rehearsal room and to have them work under her supervision, so she wouldn't have to worry too much.

Moreover, it could also lighten her sister’s workload, killing multiple birds with one stone.

When she heard her sister’s pleading request, she accepted without a second thought.

Nijika had already guessed that her sister would throw the work arrangements to her. She didn’t pay much attention and turned back to look at the band members.

“So then…”

She looked at them and suddenly realized that one person seemed to be missing. She blinked uncertainly, reconfirmed the number, and then exclaimed.

“Eh? Where’s Bocchi-chan?”

“Gotou-san is in…” Kita awkwardly extended her hand.

Nijika followed the direction of the three’s fingers and saw a pink figure slightly wiggling under the table.

She walked over and bent down, then heard Hitori’s relaxed voice, as if she was soaking in a hot spring.

“I’m sorry, I want to rest for a while in a dark and narrow place.”

“It’s too early to rest!”

Nijika was shocked.

After a moment of helplessness, she looked at the others, preparing to assign their tasks first.

At this moment, Ishikawa Hayato clasped his hands to his chest, striking a delicate, girlish pose, and said to Nijika.

“Um, I also want to rest for a bit.”

Although Nijika had originally intended to let Ishikawa Hayato, who had just cleaned the shop, rest for a while, seeing him like this, Nijika’s eyes went blank. She sighed and said.

“Alright…”

With two people out of commission right at the start, even Nijika felt powerless.

Ishikawa Hayato beamed with joy when he heard Nijika agree.

“Yay, I’ve always wanted to experience the feeling of several beautiful girls bustling around me while I sit in a chair and point things out.”

“Also, everyone, please put on maid outfits, please!”

Immediately, the blood pressure of the girls present, as well as the adult woman nearby, rose to varying degrees.

Seika, who had been listening silently nearby, felt that if she didn’t intervene now, her sister would be bullied to death by this scoundrel.

She turned around, placed her hand on the smiling young man’s shoulder, turned him around completely, and stared directly at this rascal who was bullying her sister.

“You, go check tickets.”

Ishikawa Hayato tried to struggle a bit.

“Then…”

Seika didn’t give him a chance to struggle and said in a heavy tone.

“No work, no pay.”

Ishikawa Hayato put away his playful grin and said seriously.

“I will now wholeheartedly begin work until closing time arrives!”

Then he thought for a moment and nodded.

“Well, it seems it’s still the same as sitting and watching beautiful girls busy themselves.”

After speaking, he skipped towards the ticket booth, sat down on the chair at the front desk, crossed his arms, and gazed over with a brilliant smile, looking every bit the laid-back big shot.

After Ishikawa Hayato left, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t even know how many times she had sighed today.

“Sister, thank you…”

Afterward, she looked at Ryo and Kita. With the biggest trouble gone, she quickly decided on the work assignments.

"So, Ryo and Kita-chan, I'll leave the cleaning to you. Bocchi-chan will come with me to the bar to prepare drinks for the customers."

After finalizing the arrangement, she smiled relaxedly.

The cleaning duo had no complaints and readily agreed.

Ryo: "Mm."

Kita: "Understood."

After Kita finished speaking, she turned to Ryo beside her with a perverted, bright-eyed smile.

Her expression always made people worry she might do something strange.

Then Ryo took Kita to get the cleaning tools. Nijika lowered her head again to look at Hitori under the table and said to her with a gentle smile,

"Bocchi-chan, come over and write down the drink names."

Hitori nodded weakly in agreement, then obediently crawled out and walked to the bar with Nijika.