"A new song..."
As soon as the topic came up, everyone unconsciously turned to look at Mio with rather strange expressions.
Mio blinked, then suddenly widened her eyes as she realized what was happening. She hurriedly waved both hands while shaking her head.
"N-no way!"
She backed away in panic, only to bump directly into the table behind her with a bang.
Perhaps because the table was especially hard in the winter, the girl quickly clutched her backside and bit her lip, revealing a pained expression as she softly whimpered about how much it hurt.
Everyone: "..."
Ritsu rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Seeing Mio like this somehow makes her feel even cuter!"
"Mm!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Mio looked so wronged she was almost about to cry. Her teeth bit tightly against her lower lip while tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she stared at her friends.
"What kind of friends are you people?!"
she cried out.
"Uh... she's really about to cry."
"Yeah, she is."
"Sato, what do we do?"
"How should I know?"
Sato and Ritsu bantered back and forth like a comedy duo, calmly watching Mio while tossing the conversation between themselves.
"How about..."
Ritsu's lips suddenly curled upward into a devilish grin.
Turning toward Mio with a smile, she said, "How about letting Sato massage it for you?"
Mio froze, then immediately began waving her hands frantically with a bright red face.
"N-no! Absolutely not!"
Ritsu instantly shrugged and spread her hands helplessly.
"See? You won't let anyone help massage it, so what else are we supposed to do?"
"Oh! Is it because Sato is a boy, so it's inconvenient?"
Ritsu suddenly looked enlightened.
Sato's mouth twitched slightly beside her. Isn't that obvious? What normal girl would agree to something like that?
"Then let me help you massage it instead, hehe!"
As she spoke, Ritsu revealed the grin of a shameless pervert and stretched out her claws as though preparing to pounce.
"Huh?!"
Mio was so frightened that she immediately covered her backside.
Very quickly, she reacted and roared angrily at Ritsu.
"That's enough, Ritsu! If you keep this up, I'm really going to get angry!"
"Hmph!"
Mio sat down huffily, glaring fiercely at the frozen Ritsu before her.
Ritsu instantly became awkwardly stuck in place.
Yet those outstretched claws still flexed restlessly.
Are you practicing the Dragon Claw technique or something?
Sato could not help laughing.
"Alright, let's talk about the new song instead."
At that moment, the thick-eyebrowed young lady spoke with a gentle smile.
As the provider of snacks for the whole group, although Kotobuki Tsumugi usually did not say much, her words actually carried quite a bit of weight.
"Then the lyrics and everything..."
Tsumugi looked toward Mio.
"N-no, I can't!"
Mio's face was filled with rejection. She looked at Tsumugi with firm determination.
This time... absolutely don't pick me!
Writing lyrics was simply way too embarrassing!
She once again remembered Fuwa Fuwa Time, and somehow felt like it would become the greatest black mark of her life.
[When I look at you, my heart always goes thump-thump.]
[This shaking feeling is fluffy-fluffy, like a marshmallow.]
[You're always so persistent, You don't even notice.]
[...]
Ahhhh!!!
The embarrassment level instantly exploded past the limit!!
Mio's entire face suddenly turned bright red as she recalled last year's school festival performance.
Singing lyrics she had written herself in front of a huge crowd was simply...
Maximum embarrassment!
"Absolutely, absolutely not again!"
Mio nearly gritted her teeth as she said this with a flushed face.
Everyone exchanged looks.
Alright then, pass the problem to the next contestant!
Then in the very next second, Sato noticed everyone's gazes shift toward him.
Sato: "..."
A new song, huh...
Sitting in his seat, he fell into thought. Seeing this, the others did not disturb him and simply watched quietly.
Honestly, there were plenty of songs in his mind, but being forced to choose one on the spot made it unexpectedly difficult.
After thinking for a long time, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Sato's mind. He remembered the song he had hummed the other day.
His spirits lifted as he stood up from his seat.
"Got it!"
"Got what?"
"The new song, obviously!"
Sato smiled at everyone.
"A new song?"
Yui's eyes widened instantly as she asked in shock, "Y-you already thought up the lyrics that fast?!"
"Not just the lyrics, the melody too!"
"Nani?!" ×4
Facing the shocked girls, Sato coughed awkwardly twice before explaining, "Well, I didn't make it just now. It's an idea I've had for a long time already."
Phew...
The girls sighed in relief. So that was it.
Ritsu patted her flat chest and grinned.
"You scared me to death. I thought you were a genius or something!"
Sato's expression became slightly strange.
What do you mean, "thought"?
"I think I should at least barely count as one. After all, people usually call the guy sitting firmly at first place in the grade a genius."
He decided to defend himself a little. Even without the system, his memory and learning ability were still excellent.
"I meant a musical genius!"
Uh... alright then.
Sato admitted that he did not possess extraordinary talent when it came to musical composition.
But that did not mean he could not produce outstanding music.
After all, he was basically cheating.
"I'll play it for you first."
Sato walked over to the performance area and picked up his guitar. After adjusting the strings, he quietly recalled the song in his memory.
Everyone in the clubroom focused their attention on him.
Once he finished recalling both the melody and lyrics, Sato plucked the guitar strings in his hands. A light and flowing prelude instantly poured out like a clear spring.
"Pouring down through the crevices of the distancing clouds..."
"Upon whom does the radiance shine?.."
"My thoughts, about to fly off together..."
"..."
As Sato's distant yet refreshing singing voice slowly spread through the room, the girls gradually widened their bright eyes...
The song [1]was called [Wings Flying Side by Side] from Yosuga no Sora...
[1] https://youtu.be/CiaSeFbbvAg?si=C_osD3qbCQOVVnUS