I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 26

Under this atmosphere, Sakurako Yukawa, who was called out, trembled and gripped the body of the clarinet tightly.

Kitahara Hakuba wanted to laugh, but then felt it was inappropriate, so he simply asked with a cold face:

"Did you rarely play together before? No, how many times a month do you play together?"

"......"

Seeing that Yukawa Sakurako was blushing and dared not speak, Kitahara Hakuba turned and asked:

"Saito?"

Saito Harutori blinked her bright eyes, gently rubbing a strand of hair on her chest with her fingers, and said with a wry smile:

"Because everyone is usually quite busy, we rarely get to play together."

Although she didn't explain it many times, the answer was already clear.

"If everyone feels that playing in an ensemble is a burden, then what is the purpose of joining the wind band?"

No one dared to answer Kitahara Hakuba's question first. A sticky silence filled the air, clinging to people's skin and impossible to remove no matter how much they wiped it away.

"Kirishima-kun, why did you join the brass band?"

"Eh?"

Mai Kirishima, who was lamenting the awkward atmosphere, was innocently dragged into the fray. She never expected that Kitahara-sensei would pick on her to answer the question, even though it was based on a B-shaped composition.

"I... I joined a department because the school required us to, and we happened to have an oboe at home..."

"Pfft—" Shinomiya Haruka couldn't help but chuckle softly beside her.

Kitahara Hakuba sighed dramatically, wishing he had let Kuno Tachibana answer the question; at least she would have been more accommodating.

This Kirishima Mai is so sincere.

However, the classroom was still filled with a tense atmosphere. Kitahara Hakuba tapped his palm lightly with his baton and said:

“Let me tell you what the problems are. The double bass is too low, the percussion rhythm is too fast and too slow, the saxophonist is playing at his own pace, the trombone vibrato is unstable, and the brass instruments are sometimes too loud, drowning out the delicate melodies of the woodwind and string instruments. Each part has problems, big or small. There is no sense of layering or richness. So far, only the main melody is in tune. You are really terrible. I am ashamed for you and the Hakodate branch.”

He reprimanded them mercilessly, startling the students below. Some turned pale from the scolding, while others blushed with rage.

Only one person was happy—

"Ah~~~"

The main melody of "sing, sing, sing" is the trumpet. When he hears Kitahara Hakuba's praise, Kuno Tachibana happily raises his V-sign, looking out of place among the other club members.

"Teacher Kitahara, please apologize for your words!" Kase Mizuno, a second-year clarinet player, shouted with a frown. "We've all been practicing very seriously!"

Kitahara Hakuba stared coldly at her, arms crossed, and said dismissively:

"Mizuno, you've missed two consecutive days of vocal practice, and Harumi, who's in the same vocal section as you, do you think I don't know? Among these people, you're the least qualified to ask me to apologize."

"I... I just had something come up!" Mizuno Kaze's face turned bright red.

Kitahara Hakuba squinted and slowly adjusted his crossed-leg stance:

"Since you have so many things to do, I think you can leave the department, or go to the B division. Of course, I will explain the situation to your homeroom teacher."

"I......."

Kaze Mizuno wanted to stand up for some people, but ended up getting herself into trouble instead.

The advisors of student clubs have a lot of power, especially the advisors of sports clubs. They can decide who plays in a game with just a word.

Many students don't even get a single chance to play during their three years of high school.

The brass band is also a semi-sports club. As long as the skill gap isn't too large, Kitahara Hakuba can easily arrange personnel transfers. There are plenty of reasons to send her to the B group.

Mizuno Kaze subconsciously looked at Saito Haruka, her eyes filled with a hint of anticipation, hoping that she could say something on her behalf.

However, Saito Haruki was merely observing the bass horn closely, seemingly giving his tacit approval.

"Do you have any other opinions?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

"I......."

Kaze Mizuno's eyelashes trembled slightly, her slightly rounded chest rose and fell with her breath, and finally her eyes reddened as she put the clarinet aside.

“Hmm——!”

"Mizuno-senpai!"

The girl ran out of the music classroom crying under the gaze of more than eighty people. Only Sakurako Yukawa spoke up. She hurriedly looked at Hakuba Kitahara, only to find that his usually gentle face was now full of coldness.

The surrounding students were angry but dared not speak out.

Kitahara Hakuba let out a soft sigh, walked to his laptop, and adjusted the metronome connected to the speakers.

Soon after, a rhythmic "click-clack" sound came from the speakers.

"If you really want me to apologize, then produce some results."

He said out of the blue,

"We still have plenty of time. While everyone is here, let's listen to each part once."

Listen to each part once?

The students then realized that he was going to publicly execute each vocal part.

Chapter 31. 31. You guys do as you please, I'm going to the toriyaki shop.

"The clarinet part begins first, listen to the metronome, get ready—"

Sakurako's clarinet section raised her instrument, and for some reason, she felt more nervous playing in front of all the members than ever before.

He wasn't nervous at all when he was being stared at by thousands of eyes at the opening ceremony...

It took her a while to realize why she felt this indescribable emotion.

She didn't want to be seen as the one who held everyone back.

"One, two, three, four—"

The clarinet's tone followed the rhythm of the metronome. The first round was fine, but it quickly became uneven, as if each member had their own metronome in their heart.

"Alright, what's everyone's opinion?" Kitahara Hakuba asked the remaining members.

Sakurako remained silent, her long, thin braid, like a black cat's tail, clinging to the back of the steel tube chair.

In the past, everyone would rot together, but today, this kind of isolated rot is truly unbearable.

"In my opinion, they are all very bad, and so is the minister."

Yukawa Sakurako: "——!"

"Should we move on to the next voice part, or should you go back to your small classrooms and practice in groups?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

The tense, sticky air, accompanied by Kitahara Hakuba's sarcastic words, clung tightly to the ears of the club members.

The other members of the section who hadn't started playing yet immediately showed signs of unease, and one could even faintly hear the girls sobbing.

"Minister Yukawa."

"exist."

"It's almost 4:30 now, so the ensemble performance ends here. Today is Tuesday, and there will be no ensemble performances this week. Each section can practice on its own, and we will have a ensemble performance in the music room next Monday to check our performance."

"Ah."

Seeing that more than eighty people dared not move, Kitahara Hakuba forced a stiff smile and said:

"If this is all the strength everyone has, then we have no choice but to skip the Hokkaido parade. Going there would be embarrassing, and I wouldn't be able to explain it to the school."

As if frozen by Gru's freezing rays, no one responded.

Kitahara Shirama drew back the curtains and discovered that the setting sun cast a large expanse of orange-red light over Hakodate Bay.

"I'll say it again: basic practice is very important. After all, there are just too many people in our wind band. There are more than thirty new first-year students this year."

Although his tone did not contain any dissatisfaction, the warning in it was somewhat unsettling.

"That's it for today, I won't stay." Kitahara Hakuba put his notebook and sheet music into his bag and walked out of the classroom.

Shinomiya Haruka remained silent, like an outsider, simply following in his footsteps.

Compared to the adults who headed straight to the toriyaki restaurant, the minors in the classroom remained silent for a few seconds.

But soon some people stood up to express their dissatisfaction, and others ran out to find Harumi Nozomi who was "whimpering."

"No way, how can he be so arrogant! A teacher shouldn't talk to someone like that!" The third-grade girl playing the trombone hugged her classmate who was already crying.

Having probably never been treated like this by a teacher before, the girl in her arms had tears in her eyes and was sniffling.

"That's right! And what do you mean by 'a lot of babies were born this year'? Doesn't that mean that even if you leave the department, someone will replace you?"

"One day I'll bite him to death, bite him to death, bite him to death, bite him to death, bite him to death, bite him to death—!"

Various complaints rang out in the crowded music classroom, like waves gradually rising and falling.

Sakurako Yukawa wanted to stop this atmosphere from spreading, but she only felt severe dizziness, as if her whole body was made of heavy clay.

Even if I wanted to make a sound, all I could do was let the air pass through my throat in vain, and my fingers felt as cold as if they were pressing keys.

As a minister, having her skills demonstrated in public and being scolded made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

"Everyone, Mr. Kitahara is doing this for our own good, we shouldn't do this—"

Seeing so many people having opinions about Kitahara Hakuba, Isomoto Yuka suddenly felt an urgent urge to protect him.

He was clearly a very gentle and kind teacher.

"Isomoto, shut up! You were clearly the worst player. The low notes were off-key most of the time because of you. What right do you have to lecture me?" a euphonium player said discontentedly.

"I......"

Yuka Isomoto bit her lower lip nervously, and after a moment of pain, she could taste the rust.

"Everyone, be quiet! It's fine to complain a little, but if you really want to go to Sapporo, you should start practicing now."

As the vice-captain, Saito Harutori stood up, clapped her hands, and her stern voice drowned out the noise of the club members.

As soon as she spoke, the members lowered their voices, picked up their instruments, and left the classroom, filled with resentment.

Saito Harutori walked to Isomoto Yuka's side, a gentle smile on her face, and raised her finger to brush aside the bangs on her forehead, saying:

"It's okay, Yuka, you can correct it next time."