Two Worlds, Starting with Kaguya of Penglai Mountain

Speaking of which, Saigyouji Yuyuko invited him to the city tomorrow to formally meet with the family representatives of Heian-kyo. They should give him, a "strongman" stationed nearby, some extra gifts.

"Go to sleep early."

Lying in bed, he murmured this to himself.

However, he closed his eyes for a short while.

Jingle bells ~ jingle bells ~

A crisp sound rang out from the phone placed on the bedside table.

Kurokawa Kazuya picked it up and looked at it, only to find that it was a somewhat unfamiliar video call from the End of the Band. The profile picture was of an old-looking guitar and a girl's hand playing the guitar.

After the video call was connected, the image of the girl on the other end appeared before Kurokawa Kazuya's eyes.

—Yamada Ryo

Ichi Nijika's best friend.

　 In Goto Ichiri's words, she is always alone but enjoys her solitude.

Kurokawa Kazuya's deepest impression of the other should come from Goto Ichiri's words, which were relayed from the other: "Once you give up your individuality, it's no different from being dead."

Kurokawa Kazuya doesn't know how much of that statement is true, how much is false, and how much is just him trying to look cool.

But he did manage to form a clear image of the other person in his mind.

"Moses Moses ~ Moses Moses ~"

A handsome girl with short blue hair and a beauty mark near her eye appeared in front of me.

The top is long-sleeved, and the clothes and skirt seem to have been specially trimmed. Compared to Goto Ichiri and Iji Chi Nijika whom Kurokawa Kazuya met, Yamada Ryo's outfit is more fashionable and individual.

It's not the kind of fashion that involves wearing brightly colored clothes, but rather a combination of styles based on one's own ideas, that suits oneself and makes one look handsome, good-looking, and has a unique temperament.

It's clear that the other person is someone who pays attention to their appearance.

According to the information provided by his little spy, Pochi-chan, Yamada Ryo seems to frequent secondhand clothing stores, which matches what he was wearing when they met.

"Is there a problem?"

Seeing that Yamada Ryo had remained silent on the other side of the screen as well, Kurokawa Kazuya took the initiative to start a conversation.

"I wanted to ask about Hongxia."

Yamada Ryo got straight to the point, his voice as cool as his name suggested.

"Oh, nothing much. I mainly talked to her about your band's work. Yamada, if you..."

Kurokawa Kazuya maintained a businesslike attitude before finishing his sentence.

"Please do not spy on Hongxia."

With a clear voice, Yamada Ryo interrupted Kurokawa Kazuya's words halfway through.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "???"

Ryo Yamada: "She's been distracted when she cooks for me lately, and when the ribbon on my collar is messed up, Nijika doesn't help me fix it. She hasn't had time to iron my clothes lately either."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Is it alright for you to have Ijichi help you with things like this?"

Yamada Ryo: "It's okay, it was all Nijika's initiative, it has nothing to do with me."

As he raised his hand, the quirky girl on the other side of the screen exuded a nonchalant aura.

It's confirmed. Although this guy also has blue hair, he's a completely different type of person from Banami.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "I think it's more likely that Ijichi is too busy lately to talk to you. Yuyuko has already passed on the title of 'Singing Saint' to you guys, right? As the drummer who guides the rhythm of the whole band, Ijichi has a lot of skills to learn."

It belongs to the lineage of the legendary singer, which is the father of Yuyuko, Sato Yoshikiyo.

The extraordinary world contains things that are behind the modern world, but it also contains things that surpass the modern world.

Superior physical abilities and superior power control skills allow them to adjust their voices in more subtle ways than modern people.

Not to mention, the extraordinary world allows for a more direct perception of others' emotions.

They also took a completely different approach from modern music in how to use sound to guide human emotions.

There is very little instruction on the techniques of modern instruments such as guitar and bass.

But Ichiji Nijika's drumming technique, which involves striking the drums, can be directly applied without much skill.

Recently, the other party has been learning the relevant operations.

Ryo Yamada: "Oh, that's really amazing. Actually, the main reason I came here was to ask if you have any more sheet music. I need to improve my bass playing too."

The handsome blue-haired man with the beauty mark under his eye suddenly became serious.

She even grabbed a bass guitar from the side and gave Kurokawa Kazuya a short solo performance.

Ryo Yamada: "This is something I learned by imitating drummer techniques. How does it feel?"

The handsome young woman asked Kurokawa Kazuya a question.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Are you here to show off?"

Ryo Yamada: "If I played it for others, it would definitely discourage them. There's nothing I can do about being too talented."

The girl, acting as if it were perfectly natural, gave Kurokawa and Mi a small gift.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "It's really good, isn't it?"

Even a layman like Kurokawa Kazuya could sense the strange feeling of his own emotions being rapidly stirred.

Ryo Yamada: "Unfortunately, many more skills can only be truly learned in another world."

The legacy of the Singer includes not only simple playing techniques, but also, and more importantly, the ability to create a variety of wondrous sound effects through the energy within one's body and through one's powerful physical attributes, using methods far beyond imagination.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Yamada, you seem a little excited."

Yamada Ryo: "Just call me Ryo."

She nodded to Kurokawa Kazuya: "I really look forward to the possibility of using music to influence the real world."

Seemingly inspired, the girl on the screen immediately performed a bass solo for Kurokawa Kazuya.

However, this time, instead of the initial amazement, Kurokawa Kazuya sensed something else.

The bass solo, well, it just felt like something was missing.

Ryo Yamada: "Without a band, a bass solo would sound monotonous. Similarly, without the bass's low register, a band would feel like it's missing something."

As if he could see right through Kurokawa Kazuya's mind, Yamada Ryo continued.

Then Kurokawa and Mi arrived here and finally understood each other's subtext.

At the same time, he was also somewhat certain of the other party's purpose in suddenly coming to see him late at night.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "From my perspective, it's better to discuss whether the band is ending or remaining a band."

After careful consideration, he gave his opinion.

Yamada Ryo: "Okay."

She nodded to Kurokawa Kazuya.

This actually makes him look like a respectable person.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Let's call it a day then. I have some things to do tomorrow."

I made an appointment with Saigyouji to go to Heian-kyo tomorrow. He's not the type to break a promise, so I need to go to bed early tonight.

Yamada Ryo: "No problem, oh right..."

The cool girl holding the bass on the other side of the screen nodded to Kurokawa Kazuya: "I remember that the band always received a fixed payment after each performance."

Kazuya Kurokawa: That's true, but it has to be a formal performance, not practice in front of Yuyuko. There should still be about half a month until your first formal performance.

Yamada Ryo: "Can I get an advance on my salary?"

Kazuya Kurokawa: "?"

Ryo Yamada: "I'm almost at my breaking point from just eating grass lately, and there's a bass I really want to buy."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "May I ask Ijichi about this? If she agrees, then I agree."

Yamada Ryo: "Please don't."

Ms. Yamada Ryo put her bass aside and assumed a kneeling posture with a serious expression.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "So, are you still going to borrow money?"

Ryo Yamada: "Please give me an advance on my salary without telling Nijika."

The girl emphasized it without hesitation.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

This shamelessness is completely at odds with your initial cool and eccentric personality as a loner, okay?

I mentally made that comment.

Kurokawa Kazuya considered his relationship with Yamada Ryo and decided that it wouldn't hurt to take a shortcut.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "I'll give you a phone number. You can contact Yoshiki, but I can only get an advance for one month."

Yamada Ryo: "Thank you very much."

Yamada Ryo remained kneeling with a serious expression.

The video exchange between the two parties has now ended.

The room returned to darkness, and Kurokawa and Mi...

After ending the chat, he casually scrolled down the chat window and found Kita Ikuyo's profile picture.

At this moment, he felt quite happy. In fact, before Yamada Ryo, Kita Ikuyo had already come to see him.

Clicking on the energetic girl's profile picture will show a considerable amount of chat history.

Thank you for what happened with Nijigasaki. Even after the band ends, we'll still be a band together. (Go Nijigasaki! Go Nijigasaki! Go Nijigasaki!)

However, compared to Yamada Ryo's subtle expression, the energetic girl was much more direct.

With a slight smile on his face, Kurokawa Kazuya, feeling that everything was going in the direction he wanted, happily closed the window.

And just as he put down his phone and prepared to go to sleep.

"Hey~ You seem to be having a great time chatting with those pretty girls?"

Kaguya Houraisan was sitting on the windowsill at some point, the moonlight shining on Princess Moonlight's face.

A breeze blew in from the window, causing the princess's waist-length hair to flutter in the wind.

Although he thought he had gotten used to Kaguya's appearance, he still couldn't help but feel a little dazed when he looked at her on the windowsill.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "..."

Kurokawa Kazuya: "Your Highness, you came at this time knowing I'm going out tomorrow. You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

Seeing this, it would be difficult for him to fall asleep immediately; he'd probably dream about it all the time.

Kaguya Houraisan: "Well, who knows?"

The princess, sitting on the windowsill, looked up at the moon outside the window.

Kaguya Houraisan: "Would you like to go out for a stroll with me? I'm planning to come and watch you take your medicine."

She turned around and extended her hand to Kurokawa Kazuya.

Long before the story of "Tales of Kaguya" began production, Kaguya Houraisan gave two pills to Kazuya Kurokawa.

This is the real reason why Kurokawa Kazuya cooperates with Kaguya's chaotic game storyline.

—"The Elixir of Immortality from Penglai"

Legend has it that the elixir that Chang'e consumed transformed her into eternity, frozen in that moment until the end of the universe.

No matter what kind of injury you suffer, even if you are crushed into dust, you will recover in the next moment.

As long as he takes this pill, Kurokawa Kazuya's life will be guaranteed no matter what.