"Goodbye, Ogasa-sensei."

"Hiragawa sensei, goodbye."

After the practice of the wind club, Tetsufumi Hirakawa said goodbye to Ogasa-sensei.

Step out of the beautifully decorated concert hall, which has been empty after the students have left, and step into the dim sunset at this moment.

Behind him, after putting the instrument away, Shiori Shinohara slowly followed.

"Hirakawa-sensei."

"Hmm."

"Do you feel anything?" Can't wait to send out an inquiry.

If you want to talk about your impressions......

Faced with this kind of problem, Tetsufumi Hirakawa sighed helplessly.

"It's about the same as the sunset right now."

“……”

Shiori Shinohara glanced at the sunset that Tetsufumi Hirakawa was talking about.

It hung in the sky, with only a few rays of light left, dyeing the evening sky a very beautiful crimson.

Meanwhile, Tetsufumi Hirakawa continued to speak.

"The atmosphere is very good, the relationship between teachers and students is harmonious, and the concert hall is very beautiful.

It's like a sunset, it's beautiful.

"But ......"

It's also like a sunset, very weak.

"Shinohara-san, let me ask you a question."

"Teacher, may I ask?"

"How many people are in the wind club now?"

“…… Teacher, you are the instructor. ”

“……”

I know that if you don't say that, I know.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at Shiori Shinohara and smiled very badly at him, just a student, and actually sarcastically mocked the teacher.

But what is even more tragic is that he has no way to refute it.

Anyway, that's it, Tetsufumi Hirakawa was silent for a moment and silently looked away. Shiori Shinohara answered his question very seriously after satirizing.

"Last year, there were 87 members in the wind club, of which 52 were left after the third graders retired. As for this year, the wind club recruited 21 new people, and now there are 73 people in total. ”

"Did you retire 35 people, but only recruit 21 new ones?"

"Hmm. Because last year was only the bronze medal in the national competition. ”

"That's ......"

Can't attract more freshmen because of poor grades? Another piece of bad news.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was silent again. It was a long time before he spoke.

"So, how many people were present for this morning's voluntary practice?"

"Less than 30."

"About a third, right?"

"Yes."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa did the math, and he was really a little not optimistic.

"July is the official start of the Wind Tournament, right?" He asked again.

"Yes, the first qualifier for the Wind Contest."

"Then it's August, September, two more rounds of qualification, and then October, the national competition, I'm not mistaken, right?"

"That's right."

Therefore, there are only 3 months left until the qualifiers, and only half a year before the national competition.

Time is running out. However......

"Shinohara-san, I did the math when I was listening to it just now."

"The wind club was officially assembled around 3:40. Then, the next step to calm the students and calm them down took 10 minutes, although there was a factor for me. ”

After that, the students took their instruments, scrubbed them, stood in each part, and then quieted them down...... Various. ”

"By the time I started practicing, it was already 4:10."

"In other words, half an hour can be wasted on some of the preparation for the play."

"And the wind club only practices until 6 o'clock, right?"

"In the less than two hours of practice, I took a break, 15 minutes, and spent a lot of time adjusting to the students' condition after the break. Let's remember it as a 20-minute break. ”

"Then ...... for the rest of the practice time"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa paused when he said this.

During the remaining 90 minutes of practice, Ogasa-sensei had a relaxed conversation with his classmates...... It took a lot of time. ”

Presumably, flirting with Ogasa-sensei has become a classic activity in the wind club. Every time Ogasa-sensei asked the students to play alone, they had to do it once.

Before you know it, a lot of time is wasted.

"If you look at it by the standards of extracurricular interest classes, the gentle and patient teacher Ogasa, and there is no distance between him and his classmates, can easily mingle and joke."

"It's a really good atmosphere."

"But ......"

By the time they got to this, the two had already arrived on the first floor of the club building. Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked down the stairs, followed by Shiori Shinohara.

"What is the goal of our bandhouse?"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to Shiori Shinohara.

And Shiori Shinohara, the eldest lady with a terrible personality, answered his question with her extremely skillful sarcastic tone just for a moment.

"The goal of the wind club is to win a gold medal in the national competition."

“……”

Yes, it's a gold award.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa silently turned around and walked again.

From the perspective of a music layman, he can't evaluate Ogasa-sensei's musical level. However, from the teacher's point of view, he had to admit that Shinohara-san was right this morning.

Mr. Ogasa may be a great music advisor, but not a great instructor.

"Every teacher has their own teaching style, and Ogasa-sensei, because of her personality, makes her teaching atmosphere very relaxed."

"It's a nice easy practice."

"But ......"

The next comment, Tetsufumi Hirakawa is not easy to say.

But the girl next to him spoke for him.

"This kind of teaching method is not suitable for the wind club that aims for a gold medal in the national competition."

“……”

That is true.

So, that's why Shiori Shinohara asked him to come to the wind club, right?

Next, the two of them didn't say anything more, walked all the way to the shoe cabinet, changed their shoes, and walked out of the teaching building and towards the school gate.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was thinking.

He is the instructor of the wind club.

Last year, I was lazy and didn't go to the wind club...... But that's only because he's just joined this high school, and he doesn't think he knows anything about music.

So I haven't even seen a serious practice.

But now...... Now that we know that there may be a problem with the wind club, we can't turn a blind eye to it.

The responsibility of the instructor should be exercised to some extent.

Ah, but that's it.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa glanced at Shiori Shinohara suspiciously.

The eldest lady was stunned and asked, "Teacher Hiragawa, what's wrong?" ”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa thought for a moment and said.

"Shinohara-san, you should know, right?"

"Know what?"

"As the instructor of the wind club, as long as I know that there may be problems with the wind club, I will definitely take responsibility."

This sentence is said with a clear conscience. Tetsufumi Hirakawa is convinced that he is such a person.

And Shiori Shinohara looked at him several times.

"Mr. Hirakawa is such a person."

Yes, Miss Shinohara-sama certified.

"So...... There are no 'conditions', and the teacher will naturally take responsibility. ”

“……”

After saying this, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw Shiori Shinohara's face freeze for a moment, and the intelligent girl probably guessed what he was going to say.

"In other words, as for what Shinohara-san promised to help the teacher deal with Amamiya-san, there is no need to use this as a quid pro quo, and the teacher will consciously go to the wind club."

What else did the girl say this morning, "For the sake of the wind club, Shiori is willing to assist Hirakawa-sensei" and "In exchange, the teacher will not be lazy in the future".

Outcome...... I just admitted it, she knows, even if she doesn't agree to this kind of thing, as a teacher, he won't turn a blind eye to the wind club.

So Shiori Shinohara's words are just excuses.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at the girl beside him rather interestingly, watching the sunset sun shine on the side of her face, reflecting crimson.

Shinohara-san, it's not frank.

It's a normal thing, "Because Hirakawa-sensei helped me, Shiori is willing to help Hirakawa-sensei", so it's okay to say it.

As a result, I have to say something, "For the wind club." ”

Tut.

In this way, in the sight of Tetsufumi Hirakawa, the brilliance of the setting sun became more and more misty with time.

Until you arrive at the school gate.

"Mr. Hirakawa, I'll go first."

Shiori Shinohara left such a sentence, and hurriedly left him and walked away.

In other words, the sunset is really red.

Crimson and beautiful.