I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 100

Rain Guardian, whose faith had been touched, raised an eyebrow and glared at her with considerable displeasure, saying:

"Do you think Mr. Kitahara is like the villain in TV dramas who puts his hand under a female student's skirt? Don't project those dirty thoughts onto him."

"Don't, don't be angry."

Sakurako felt as if the conversation had suddenly veered into a taboo topic, and quickly tried to stop it, saying...

"Rain Guardian, it's not as serious as you say...:"

Saito Harutori wasn't angry; she just smiled and said:

"It hasn't come to that, it's just that I feel Kitahara-sensei will be more biased towards Eri today, everyone knows that, right?"

He spends almost every morning with Eri.

At that moment, the sound of an oboe finally came from the first music classroom, causing the four people to look up and regain their composure.

The sound of the oboe, coming through the walls and doors, was still as beautiful and melodious as ever.

These are two excerpts from the theme piece and two excerpts from the free piece, as specified by Kitahara Hakuba for the oboe, consistent with the original audition selection, totaling four sections.

The three people inside finished playing their pieces, but the four people waiting outside couldn't hear any difference at all.

"I can't tell who came first or who came last."

Sakurako Yukawa gasped. She had never felt this way before. Were these three people really that close in strength?

Watanabe Hama's gaze as she looked towards the music room door was remarkably calm, her pupils as dark as the night sky.

"The first is Kanzaki, the second is Eto, and the third is Kirishima."

"You can tell?" Saito Harutori asked curiously.

“I’m the section leader, and I practice with them every day. Of course I can tell over time,” Watanabe Hama said matter-of-factly.

Inside the first music classroom.

Kitahara Hakuba flipped through the sheet music for the Free Movement, his gaze falling on the Soli section for the oboe and trumpet.

"Kuno-kun." He looked at Kuno Tachibana, who had been standing to the side for a long time, her legs slender beneath her skirt.

She stepped forward, carrying a small trumpet with a gold-lacquered finish, slightly bending her knees, and said with a smile:

"Hello everyone, I'm Kuno Kazui, the principal trumpet player of the brass band."

"No need for introductions, let's get started," Kitahara Hakuba interrupted her abruptly.

"Hmph, Kitahara-sensei really is..."

Kuno Tachibana stubbornly pouted, walked over to them, stood down, tilted his head, and asked, "Which pretty girl should I blow with first?"

“Eto-san, you don’t need to play the Soli part. Kirishima-san and Kanzaki-san, you two will play the duet with Kuno.”

Kitahara Hakuba first looked at Kanzaki Eri, who was sitting upright in the steel tube chair, her fingers hovering over the keys.

It was as if he was familiarizing himself with Soli's fingering techniques.

“Kanzaki-kun,” he said.

"Well."

Eri Kanzaki nodded, raised her oboe, and pressed her cherry-colored lips to the reed.

At the same time, Kuno Tachibana put aside his usual playful demeanor, put the mouthpiece to his lips, and used his tongue to play a continuous, smooth melody.

Eri Kanzaki's oboe and her work complemented and overlapped each other.

Long notes and vibrato lingered in the music classroom, transforming into the texture of human voices weeping, like sweet rain falling from the sky, soaking the land after the great war.

The sound faded, and the tones of the brass and woodwinds simultaneously dropped to ppp, fading into silence. "Alright." Kitahara Hakuba's face remained expressionless. "Kirishima-kun, it's your turn."

"Mm." Kirishima Mai nodded.

Actually, after the freestyle and theme songs were played, Kitahara Hakuba already had his choices in mind: Eto Kana and Kirishima Mai. There was nothing more to think about.

Insufficient training has led to Kanzaki Eri's lack of attention to detail. If compared to Eto Kana before her, she would definitely be able to win the A-level competition.

Unfortunately, Kana Eto came to see him last night and made up for the shortcomings in the details, while Eri Kanzaki was still practicing alone.

After today, he can no longer give time for selection, because the Hakodate regional conference is at the end of July, and it's almost the end of June now.

Not to mention that there are regular tests and exams for students in early July, during which all club activities are prohibited for a whole week.

At the same time, students' regular test scores directly affect their "internal application points," which are an important reference for university recommendations and public universities. Kitahara Hakuba dares not neglect their lives because of the brass band.

If there's plenty of time, it's fine, but the remaining ensemble time is very tight. If we keep changing the members, it will actually affect the coordination that we've worked so hard to develop.

A short while later, Kirishima Mai and Kuno Tachibana finished their SoIi section, and Kitahara Hakuba closed the sheet music.

The most nervous person was Kana Eto; it would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid.

She was terrified of not being chosen, wondering whether she should cry or laugh when she left the house.

Kitahara Hakuba sat in a chair, gently strumming the sheet music with his fingers, while the three girls holding oboes had different expressions.

Kana Eto wiped her flushed face with her sleeve, the intense feeling pressing on her chest making her unable to resist glancing at the two people beside her.

As always, Kirishima had an expression that said, "It's okay if I don't make it, it's okay if I do." She didn't hold back at all during her performance.

Kanzaki-senpai was much more serious than last time; you could see a thin layer of sweat on her temples.

Are you nervous? Like me?

"Teacher, please stop playing the sheet music. It's making me scared."

Kuno Tachibana complained from the side, bending down to pull up his slightly shifted black knee-high socks.

Kitahara Hakuba said with a solemn expression:

"Actually, in my heart, all three of you are very unique. Your mastery of the theme and free melody is higher than that of the members of other sections, so it is quite difficult to choose. But there is no other way, we still have to make a choice."

It would have been better if he hadn't said that; his words only made people more nervous.

Kitahara Hakuba said softly:

"The A-section cast is Kana Eto and Mai Kirishima. For the Soli section of the Freestyle Song, Mai Kirishima will also be cast. That's all."

His tone was relatively gentle, but Kana Eto suddenly gasped for breath. An indescribable excitement surged through her chest, like a restless hedgehog pricking her, making her pupils seem as if they were about to drip water.

After suppressing the warmth in her eyes and the joy in her heart, she subconsciously looked at Kanzaki Eri beside her.

The girl's profile was fair and flawless, her hands tightly gripping the tube like a rag doll, her expression revealing no emotion.

"Isn't this the same as before?" Kuno Tachibana's voice broke the tense silence.

"Is such that."

Kitahara Hakuba confirmed again,

"Alright, that's the lineup for this Hakodate regional tournament. Due to time constraints, there won't be any changes to the lineup unless something unexpected happens. Now, everyone can go back to your practice rooms."

As if to avoid favoring any particular girl, his words contained neither apology nor congratulations; he simply offered a single sentence from the perspective of a mentor.

Kirishima Mai stood up first and bowed to Kitahara Hakuba. Eto Kana quickly stood up and bowed as well, but did not say anything.

After all, saying "Thank you, Kitahara-sensei" at this time would seem too sentimental.

Eri Kanzaki slowly stood up, gripping her oboe with both hands, and bowed slightly to Hakuba Kitahara.

His tone was somewhat frustrated, as if he was frustrated with his own uselessness.

"Teacher Kitahara, I'm sorry."

Seeing her like this, Kitahara Hakuba's heart was also filled with complicated feelings:

"Kanzaki-kun, you have an earlier start than others, so make good use of that."

"That.

Eri Kanzaki's voice was muffled, and her clear eyes looked at him with a hint of expectation as she spoke.

Will Kitahara-sensei still stay with me?

“Yes, I will accompany you,” Kitahara Hakuba said without any room for argument.

"Hmm, Eri Kanzaki's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile as she turned around, oboe in hand, and found Mai Kirishima and Kana Eto waiting for her at the door."

The three of them exchanged glances for only a moment before leaving together.

Outside the first music classroom, as soon as Kawai Sakura and the others saw the three of them come out, they rushed up to them, as if to ask the doctor about the situation in the delivery room.

However, before Sakurako Yukawa could speak, Kana Eto, who had been suppressing her emotions for a long time, couldn't help but burst into tears. She covered her mouth with one hand and quickly ran away.

"W-What happened..." Kawai Sakurako asked from a distance, watching her skirt flutter in the corridor.

Saito Harutori looked quite somber and said with empathy:

"I guess I didn't get selected. This feeling of gaining something and then losing it is really unbearable..."

Watanabe Hama glanced at Kanzaki Eri, then ignored her and spoke directly to Kirishima Mai:

What is the current personnel arrangement?

Kirishima Mai blinked and said, "Teacher Kitahara said there's no change."

The unexpected lines left Yukawa Sakurako speechless, and Saito Haruka was almost the same, except she frowned, indicating that she was very unhappy with the result.

"Then why is she crying?" Watanabe asked, tilting his head.

At that moment, Kuno Tachibana came out of the music room carrying a trumpet:

"Of course it's because of the pressure that I cried. Oh, there are so many members of the brass band here, including Senior Amemori."

Yu Shou frowned slightly and said:

“I came because I was afraid you would run off to play in other parts again. Come with me and keep practicing.”

"alright."

Kuno Tachibana walked up to her, meaningfully pulled out a black pen, and said...

"Senior Rain Guardian, this is for you."

"I have many pens; you can keep them yourself."

"Oh well, this is from Kitahara-sensei. He said it was for me because I worked hard today~~"

Kuno Tachibana feigned helplessness as he placed the pen in his uniform jacket pocket, as if showing off.