20 The birth of the demon king
The sounds assaulting his ears were horribly dissonant. The rhythm was off, and the tempo was all over the place. The sounds coming from the band were utterly unrelated to the baton's movement.
Even if Mizuto wasn't that familiar with the concert band, he could tell that this performance was shit. Naturally, those who were unfamiliar didn't understand anything, and they just felt novel when they heard several musical instruments being played together. Moreover, their moods were high as they were about to become a high school student, and there was this illusion that they felt this performance was great.
"It's horrible..." He couldn't help but mutter with a frown.
"Huh? Really?" Yume was surprised by Mizuto's words.
"Shh... don't be too loud. What if I am being targeted for talking badly about their performance?"
No matter how bad their performance was, everyone who was in the performance was his upperclassman, so he needed to show some respect. After all, this was the social norm in this country: the older needed to be respected by the younger.
"I-I know."
Still, it seemed Yume wasn't the only one who heard his words.
The girl, who had met his gaze before, also seemed to hear his evaluation of the performance of this concert band.
"Ah, um..."
The girl seemed to be nervous when their gazes met again.
"My name is Mizuto Irido. Nice to meet you. Are you also a new student?"
"Ah, yes! My name is Kumiko Oumae. Nice to meet you, Irido-kun."
"Nice to meet you, Oumae-san." Mizuto nodded, then looked at Yume. "This is Yume Irido."
"Eh? Yume Irido?" Kumiko was in doubt since their family name was similar to each other.
A sibling?
"She is my stepsister."
"Stepsister!"
Kumiko felt strange since she wondered whether it was normal for stepsiblings to hold each other's hands, but she also somehow recalled that she often held her big sister's hand when she was a child, so this should be normal.
However, it was their first meeting, and it was rude to comment on their relationship.
Moreover, they were so good-looking, especially Mizuto, and while she knew that it was wrong, she also wished to hold their hands since she liked a good-looking person.
'YOU CAN'T BE SO RUDE, KUMIKO!'
Nevertheless, watching how Mizuto talked eloquently with a stranger, Yume had to say that she was quite jealous of his communication ability. Even though they were all introverts, why was this guy better in conversation than her?
"She might be able to become your new friend."
Hearing his words, Yume also woke up and realized that it was her chance to have a new friend. As she came from the same middle school as him, she knew that there were no people other than him who went to this high school. Unlike him, who somehow could get friendly with others, she didn't have friends here, so she knew that this was a good chance for her to make a new friend.
"M-My name is Yume Irido. Nice to meet you, Oumae-san."
"Ah, um, my name is Oumae Kumiko. Nice to meet you too, Irido-san."
"....."
Didn't you just repeat what I said before?
Moreover, why did you two suddenly become quiet?
Mizuto was speechless and helpless. "By the way, which middle school are you from, Oumae-san?"
"Ah, I am from..."
With that opening, the three started talking to get to know each other. Moreover, with him as the buffer, the three gained a perfect and stable relationship, which was a triangle.
Mizuto somehow felt like this was a perfect relationship, but he was sure that Yume would beat him if she knew what he was thinking.
"Did you play in the concert band in the middle school, Oumae-san?"
"How did you know?"
"No, I was just guessing, but I didn't expect that you were really playing."
"....."
Kumiko was speechless, but she nodded. "Yes, I played the euphonium."
"Euphonium..." Mizuto murmured. "It isn't a popular instrument, right?" After all, most people wouldn't play euphonium. They would either play a flute, a trumpet, or a saxophone.
"...you are right. I played it because no one played it in my elementary school..." Kumiko sighed helplessly; somehow, she had already felt comfortable with the presence of the two. If possible, she wanted to be with them as she was also the only student from her middle school who came to this school, so she was worried that she would be unable to make friends.
"Are you going to continue to join the concert band?" Yume asked.
"Hmm... probably, I am not sure. Their performance is horrible."
"..." 2x
"Ah, um, please don't tell anyone that I have said that!" Kumiko quickly said in a panic, causing Yume and Mizuto to nod, telling her that they wouldn't tell anyone.
By then, the three walked together and went to the announcement board to see where their class was.
"Class 1-1." Mizuto nodded.
"We're in the same class."
While Yume wanted to appear calm and collected, the excitement on her face betrayed her.
"Class 1-6..." Kumiko sighed helplessly.
While Mizuto wanted to comfort Kumiko somehow, he noticed a noticeable paradise pink color of hair that seemed about to be drowned by the crowd of people due to her short height.
"Yuu!"
He called Yuu without hesitation, attracting her attention along with the others.
"Mizuto!"
Yuu was happy to see him.
Still, watching their interaction, Kumiko murmured, "He is so popular."
"Yes."
"....."
Kumiko fell in silence and felt a little scared as Yume's expression was so scary.
Was this a brother complex?
Still, hearing that Yuu was going to be in 1-3, he knew that they would be in a different class. However, they couldn't have as much of a conversation as they needed to gather in the auditorium to attend the entrance ceremony.
As their class was different, they needed to be separated, but he and Yume would sit next to each other as they would be in the same class.
"Have you prepared yourselves?"
Yume knew that as the representative of the new student, Mizuto needed to give a speech, so she wondered whether he was ready.
"Who do you think I am?"
"A pervert who loves my legs."
"....."
"Or a playboy?"
"What do you mean?"
His love for legs aside, how could this girl say that he was a playboy?
Yume pouted, then looked away, ignoring him.
Mizuto felt helpless. Yume was good and all, especially her legs, but her jealous nature was quite worrisome. Yet, it didn't matter as he could teach her later when they went home.
Watching him, who had just ignored her and kept silent, Yume pouted again and moved slightly closer to his side as if trying to get his attention.
He glanced at her and smiled, causing her to blush.
Watching this smile, Yume wondered why she fell for this guy and wondered why she was so easy.
Annoying, playboy, and also a pervert.
Even if he appeared like he was listening to the speech of the principal, she knew that he was just faking himself, doing everything purposefully so everyone would gain a good impression of him, but even if she knew that, she just couldn't help but fall for him.
Nevertheless, Kumiko, who watched from a distance, wondered whether their relationship was really a stepsibling.
"Representatives for the new students, Mizuto Irido."
"Yes."
His voice was firm and resolute.
Standing up from his seat, he walked confidently to the podium, but he didn't forget to give a wink to Yume, who sat by his side.
Yume snorted, feeling this guy was trying to flex his achievement as the best student among the new students, but she hated herself for thinking that he was so handsome at that moment.
However, soon, his gaze wasn't on hers anymore, staring into the distance, a place that she couldn't imagine. Staring at his back, she just couldn't look away, and at the same time, she wanted to shout that he was her man. Feeling with admiration and happiness, watching his achievement, she felt her heart was full until she suddenly realized something.
'Wait!'
Yume glanced around and realized that everyone's eyes were on him, especially the girls.
'Wait!'
Yume wanted to scream, but she couldn't since his speech started.
"As the warm air of the spring greets us, so also we, the 240 new students of the Rakuro High School, greet new students!"
This was a moment that everyone had been waiting for as they started to become high school students, but Yume had to sigh since she knew that many stinky vixens were going to open their fangs, ready to jump into him!
---
It starts.
By the way, what do you think his 2nd job will be?
You can think of any job you want, or rather give me some advice.
