I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 31

"That's it..."

This is absolutely not a self-deprecating remark by Kitahara Hakuba. The fact that Shin-Asahi High School hired a recent graduate from Sapporo University as the instructor for the brass band already shows their attitude.

“Shenxu High School is a private school, not a public school, so of course everything is geared towards making a profit and gaining honors,” Director Du said.

Kitahara Hakuba bowed slightly and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely bring them to Tokyo."

"Wow! So handsome!" Several young female teachers in the office cast admiring glances at him.

“Hey, Kitahara is dating my niece. All of you, stop having any ideas about him. And Kitahara, you need to be loyal. Don’t get cocky just because some girls think you’re handsome.”

After he said that, the office erupted in laughter.

Older people find male-female relationships to be a source of amusement, much like the intelligence department at the entrance of Kitahara Village.

"Director of the ferry crossing, I..."

Kitahara Hakuba wanted to explain that there was no romantic relationship between him and Shinomiya Haruka, and he was also very serious about going to Tokyo, without joking at all.

But explaining at this point would be risky, as it might offend the bald-headed director; it's true that a higher-ranking official can have a crushing effect.

Although it was partly to ease tensions in their future "family" relationship, he couldn't say for sure that he wouldn't date Shinomiya Haruka in the future; anything could happen.

Trump has already announced his second run for US president, so who dares to say he won't win? Maybe he'll win next year?

"How far has it progressed?" Watari asked with a smile.

"what?"

"How far have things progressed between you and Xiaoyao?"

Kitahara Hakuba was stunned for a moment.

What is he supposed to say? It's gotten to the point where he spent the whole night at your niece's house?

Who would dare say that in the office! There are female teachers there, and he still has to work here!

"It's alright, she's quite nice to me." Kitahara Hakuba gave an awkward smile and said ambiguously, "But I'll return the favor appropriately."

“I see—” Watari Eiji said with an expression that said, “I totally understand.”

"...If there's nothing else, I'll go now." No one knew what he was imagining, but Kitahara Hakuba just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"it is good."

——~——~——

Lunch break began with the ringing of the bell for the last period of the morning. Kitahara Hakuba had already cooked and eaten his meal in the home economics classroom before arriving at the first music classroom.

Thanks to the few hours of sleep he had taken in the morning, he felt much lighter as he walked down the corridor to the club building.

Upon arriving at the classroom, only Yuka Isomoto was adjusting her horn. She sat upright on the steel tube chair, the hem of her skirt subtly outlining the contours of her hips.

The euphonium, with its gold-plated surface, seemed quite mismatched with her petite figure.

Kitahara Hakuba was pleased that she had truly started studying seriously, but then he checked her skills—

[Instrument played: Euphonium LV8]

Why am I still at LV8?

No, little sister, you come to school so early every day, practice at noon, and practice until six o'clock after school, how come you haven't leveled up?

Just as Kitahara Hakuba was thinking that Kirishima Mai had already advanced two ranks while she was still stuck in the same place, he suddenly thought of something:

"The fact that individual effort simply cannot match the difference in talent is too cruel."

Kitahara Hakuba realized something in an instant.

That is because Yuka Isomoto knew that she was not as talented as others, and she must have felt disappointed in secret, but she still told herself to keep learning, so she stayed here.

The outcome of a person's life is already determined in many ways when they are born crying.

His one-sided comparison of the two, and even his earlier suggestion that she come to school early to practice, was merely a sign of disrespect towards Yuka Isomoto.

Thinking of this, Kitahara Hakuba's earlier frustration immediately vanished, replaced by shame, and he began to reflect on himself.

This is not the kind of thinking a teacher should have; he has wasted half his time studying music education.

“Teacher Kitahara—!” At this moment, Yuka Isomoto noticed Kitahara Hakuba standing at the door, but he was hesitant to come in.

His face was full of a thoughtful expression, like someone who had just eaten a piece of Fukui Prefecture's specialty sticky rice cake and couldn't bring himself to spit it out.

"What's wrong?" Yuka Isomoto asked worriedly, holding her euphonium. "Do you want some water?"

Kitahara Hakuba shook his head, a look of shame appearing on his face:

"It's alright, how's the practice going?"

Yuka Isomoto looked directly at him with her light brown eyes and said somewhat shyly:

"I've corrected all the breathing techniques as you suggested, and it's definitely much easier to play now, but I still feel like I can't get used to it when I'm playing the score."

"Here's what we'll do: bring your instrument to my house tonight, and I'll personally instruct you."

"Eh?"

Chapter 36. Kitahara, now an adult, has a simple mind.

Yuka Isomoto instinctively held her breath, lowered her head, raised her hand to ruffle her bangs, and said somewhat flusteredly:

"Is this...is this okay?"

She had knelt down and begged him last time, but Kitahara Hakuba still refused, saying it was because of his profession and that it was too dangerous.

But now, he's demanding that she come home with him at night.

Could it be... that he suddenly changed his mind? Does he think it's okay to be discovered?

Kitahara Hakuba had no idea what the girl was thinking. His idea was simple: to raise Isomoto Yuka's ability to level ten as soon as possible and obtain the "Gathering of Scriptures" ability.

Ten hours of practice is equivalent to only one hour, which is a huge improvement in efficiency for both oneself and team members.

As for his career, he can just buy a surveillance camera and install it later. Even if people nitpick, he'll at least have evidence, so he doesn't have to worry about rumors.

"It's okay, I'll just buy a security camera when I get back."

Yuka Isomoto couldn't help but squeeze her legs together, hugging the euphonium tightly, her face flushed red as she murmured:

"You...you also want to record it?"

“Of course we should record it, both for you and for me, and we’ll need to show it to others when necessary,” Kitahara Hakuba said solemnly.

"For me? And...and I have to show it to others?"

"Ah."

Upon receiving his acknowledgment, Yuka Isomoto immediately felt a tremor in her lower abdomen.

She had initially thought Kitahara Hakuma was a gentleman whose appearance matched his character, but she never imagined his heart was like this...

My mother back home was right. Many people in big cities are cunning and unpredictable. You have to take good care of yourself, or you'll get eaten alive if you're not careful.

Yuka Isomoto ran her fingertips along the cool tube, and the image of Haruka Saito appeared in her mind.

She was willing to do anything for Qingniao.

Even if she went home with him, as long as she could play the euphonium well, gain Nagase Tsukiyo's forgiveness, and return to the way things were before, everything else seemed insignificant.

“I…I do,” Yuka Isomoto said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, there won't be any ensemble playing for the next few days. Just practice in the section room. I'll be here the whole time. If you still don't understand after asking Captain Saito, you can come and ask me directly."

"Ah."

Yuka Isomoto rubbed her skin, and because of the slight sweat on her hands, she felt that the surface of her skin was very smooth.

"Still practicing scales?" Kitahara Hakuba asked, looking at the metronome she had placed on the table.

"Ah."

Yuka Isomoto's feet, encased in white ankle socks, moved, and her body turned towards Hakuma Kitahara.

"I feel like I'm almost there. I've been practicing for a long time."

"Yes, playing the euphonium requires a lot of endurance. One of the reasons you often play out of tune is because you run out of breath. You should have noticed that by now."

"Then what should I do?" asked Yuka Isomoto.

Kitahara Hakuba gave a bitter smile as he replied:

"To put it bluntly, your lung capacity is insufficient. The only solution is to exercise more; there's nothing I can do to help you with that."

Yuka Isomoto nodded slightly; she knew better than anyone what to do.

Next, Kitahara Hakuba turned on the metronome and had her play a series of C major scales, G major scales, and C major arpeggios.

She has indeed made some progress compared to before, but it's only to the point where she can brag about it properly. No wonder the system didn't classify her as an upgrade.

"It's much better than what you were bragging about before," Kitahara Hakuba said encouragingly.

"Um......"

After saying that, Yuka Isomoto smiled wryly. She knew that her playing was actually quite average, but Mr. Kitahara still said that it was better than before.

Thinking about how bad she was before, it's understandable that some people in the department would criticize her.

"I'll send you three melodies. Practice them whenever you have time. You can find the sheet music online."

Kitahara Hakuba took out his phone, found Isomoto Yuka's red apple profile picture, clicked on it, and sent three songs.

"Ode to Joy," "Serenade," and "The Nutcracker" increase in difficulty in that order, making them suitable for beginners.

Looking at the music list, Yuka Isomoto couldn't help but sigh deeply.

She's already a senior in high school, and she's still practicing songs like "Ode to Joy"...

But if people don't face reality, they just can't get by...

Thinking of this, she sighed again, her breath several times more tired than during her usual practice.

Kitahara Hakuba then left the music classroom and went to each section to distribute photocopied sheet music.

Although he had given a timetable beforehand, he did not require the members to act according to the time, so after walking around the section, he found that there were not many people.

Kitahara Hakuba comforted himself that a lunch break was fine, since everyone needed to take a nap to prepare for the afternoon's classes.

Upon arriving at the clarinet section, I found that Director Yukawa was alone in the classroom, holding a black clarinet with its silver keys gleaming slightly.