As the final note faded away, Sato could not help letting out a small sigh of relief. He set down the guitar in his arms and walked toward the girls, who still had not recovered from the performance.
As he approached, he smiled and asked, "So, what do you think of the song?"
"Sugoi! Did you really compose this all by yourself?"
"This song sounds so good!"
"What's the song called?"
After snapping back to reality, everyone excitedly began asking questions one after another. The song was simply too good!
"The title? It's called Wings Flying Side by Side. I'm glad you liked it."
Sato smiled as he sat down.
This was also one of his favorite anime openings. Its melody was broad and distant, carrying a faint sense of melancholy.
Listening to it felt like standing beneath a summer sky, gazing up at the endless blue above.
At the same time, Yosuga no Sora, the anime this song belonged to, was itself an excellent work. Even removing the H-scenes, it still remained a genuinely outstanding anime.
"Wings Flying Side by Side?"
"Tut tut tut."
Ritsu suddenly seemed to realize something. After clicking her tongue a few times, she gave Sato a meaningful look.
Sato calmly added, "This is also music I prepared for a galgame."
Although it was originally an anime theme song, there was no reason it could not be used in a game as well. Even as background music alone, this song was a rare masterpiece.
"Huh? A game?"
Ritsu blinked, while the others looked at him curiously as well.
Sato nodded seriously.
"Yeah, a game. You could also say it's a commission I accepted for our Light Music Club."
At this point, Sato rubbed his brow with a headache.
"If I remember correctly, someone once said our goal was to hold a concert at the Tokyo Dome."
Swish!
Everyone's gazes instantly gathered on a certain awkward club president, who scratched her head and laughed dryly.
"Ahaha... I guess I really did say that..."
"But don't you think our laid-back style completely goes against that goal?"
Sato spoke calmly.
"I just thought about it. Over an entire school year, we only created one song and performed on stage once!"
"With this level of effort, we probably couldn't even make it onto an ordinary live stage, let alone hold a concert at the Tokyo Dome."
A "live" referred to a live performance.
In an instant, the clubroom became frighteningly quiet.
Ritsu muttered, "There's no way anyone could seriously take something like that literally. That's the Tokyo Dome we're talking about."
"You can't say that!"
Mio suddenly stood up, looking unusually serious.
She stared at Ritsu and said firmly, "Whether we can achieve it is one thing. Whether we actually work toward it is another."
"You used that exact dream to trick Yui into joining!"
"Eh? I almost forgot about that!"
Yui laughed foolishly while scratching her head. The Light Music Club's wonderful afternoon tea and relaxed lifestyle had long since corrupted her. The dream of performing at the Tokyo Dome had already been thrown completely out of her mind.
"Yosh!"
Ritsu suddenly became fired up again. She planted one foot on a chair and waved her tightly clenched fist passionately, her eyes shining with determination as she shouted:
"Let us steel our resolve once more and charge toward the Tokyo Dome!"
"..."
The clubroom was silent.
Not a single person cooperated with her.
After holding the pose for a while, even Ritsu herself started feeling embarrassed and quietly lowered her foot from the chair.
"Why is nobody even trying to play along with me?!"
Ritsu complained resentfully.
"Because you're the very reason I started doubting that goal."
"Besides, since it's you, no matter how many times you shout about determination, there's no way you'll actually follow through."
Sato and Mio calmly delivered the finishing blows one after another.
Critical damage dealt to Ritsu!
Total destruction!
"Wah!"
Ritsu nearly burst into tears on the spot. These people were way too cruel. She was still the president of the Light Music Club, alright? Was she really that untrustworthy?
Sob sob sob...
Meanwhile, Mio looked toward Sato with concern and asked about what he had mentioned earlier.
"Sato, what did you mean by accepting a commission?"
"Ah, that..."
Sato thought for a moment, mainly because he was making up an excuse.
"Not long ago, I saw an online recruitment for music submissions for a galgame."
"During the preliminary submission phase, my song passed the final review and got selected. But what they needed was a complete finished work."
"So they gave me two options. One was to sell them the composition directly, and the other was for me to provide the finished product myself. I chose the latter..."
After he finished speaking, he realized the room had gone quiet.
Looking up, he discovered the girls all staring blankly at him. Confused, he waved a hand in front of them.
"Sugoi!!!"
Suddenly, Ritsu jumped up excitedly and grabbed his arm.
"Sato, your song got selected by someone?!"
"That's amazing!"
"Music for a game?"
"Yeah."
Sato nodded awkwardly with a dry laugh. Though the game itself did not even exist yet, and even if he really made it, he honestly would not dare show it to them...
He felt a bit guilty inside. After all, while Yosuga no Sora was excellent in many ways, it also touched on certain ethical issues.
"Oh right!"
Sato suddenly added, "Once it's completed, there'll be a little bit of money involved. Split evenly, everyone should get around several tens of thousands of yen."
"Huh?!"
Everyone was instantly shocked.
Mio hurriedly said, "N-no, how could that be okay? This is your..."
"Don't worry. That's separate from the composition itself. I'm talking about the payment for the performance portion."
"Can we really do it?"
After relaxing slightly, Mio still looked somewhat nervous.
"We definitely can."
Sato smiled. After all, he was the final boss behind the scenes. Whether it worked or not would be obvious during rehearsals.
Naturally, he would only submit it after he himself was satisfied, pretending to go through the proper process.
"So that means... I can finally pay off my debt..."
Meanwhile, a certain someone revealed a blissfully foolish smile. Because of buying musical instruments, her allowance was still being cut in half...