Band Girls’ Mixology Mission [178]

In the common perception, Haneoka Girls’ High School had always been characterized primarily by its extremely high university acceptance rate and emphasis on academic excellence compared to other schools.

But that didn’t mean Haneoka was merely some oversized cram school fixated only on academics, ignoring all other aspects of education.

In various inter-school competitions, whether in music, art, or sports, Haneoka consistently achieved top rankings, receiving widespread recognition and praise.

Within the school itself, these qualities were most visually expressed by the two club-activity buildings—buildings as impressively constructed as the main classroom buildings, thoughtfully designed to serve various club functions.

For example, the music club’s activity room, where Kyo and Sakiko were now, featured high-quality acoustic panels and a tasteful, classical-yet-modern decor.

For someone who genuinely loved music and wanted to practice properly, it was absolutely an excellent space.

When Sakiko first discovered such good conditions at Haneoka, she had never imagined being able to practice piano every day in such comfort. She’d come to cherish this music room deeply.

However, today this little sanctuary of music had been invaded by a certain someone who, though not disrespectful toward music, was still the sort of person in whose head musical vibrations simply couldn’t find a lasting home—someone not particularly destined for the art.

“This is my first time visiting a place like this at school. It’s pretty high-class, huh?”

Trailing behind Sakiko, Kyo casually glanced around the room. Compared to when she had left the Class B classroom, her arms were now burdened with several additional items:

A large collection of canned drinks—mostly fruit teas, along with a few carbonated beverages, sparkling waters, and milk.

Sakiko gave the pile of items cradled in Kyo’s arms another look. On the way from their classroom to the club building, passing a vending machine, Kyo had suddenly stopped, saying she wanted to buy “a few” drinks.

This was definitely not "a few"! Not even all of them were in Kyo’s own arms—Sakiko herself was carrying a few more cans that Kyo couldn't fit in her grasp.

Sakiko, following habit, went directly toward the piano in the music room. It was only after sitting down at the piano that she realized she was still holding several cans of Kyo’s drinks. Unsure what exactly she was supposed to do with them, she looked back at Kyo for guidance.

Yet Kyo was now standing some distance away. Despite several chairs conveniently placed next to the piano, she’d intentionally kept her distance.

“Oh, hold on just a second,” Kyo noticed Sakiko’s questioning glance. Her own arms were bound tightly by her towering stack of cans—so precarious that if Kyo loosened her grip even slightly, the entire pile threatened to collapse immediately.

“I'll help you with some of those,” Sakiko offered, placing the few cans she held onto a nearby chair before getting up to help.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Kyo certainly wasn’t the kind to get stuck over such a trivial issue.

If her hands couldn’t move freely, then her legs could still do the work.

Carefully keeping her arms still so as not to disrupt the drinks, Kyo slowly lowered herself, bending her knees into a half-kneeling posture, intending to simply place the cans directly onto the floor—

My friend, have you ever heard of absolute territory?

This phrase originally derived from the "AT Field" from Neon Genesis Evangelion—an invisible barrier that prevented intrusion by outside objects.

Yet, through the genius—or perhaps devilish—creativity of otaku culture, this phrase had gained another extended meaning: referring specifically to that subtly visible, mesmerizing space of bare thigh between a girl's short skirt and over-knee socks.

It was a beauty of balance, precisely poised between vulgar, blatant exposure and complete, disappointing concealment, forming a perfectly enticing equilibrium.

That glimpse of enticing skin contained a fraction of the human beauty Michelangelo himself longed to sculpt. As the saying goes, small details reveal great beauty—it was precisely this limited, sacred region that made fantasies sparkle; truly deserving of the title "absolute territory."

Normally, Kyo wouldn’t be capable of exhibiting such territory—the fundamental problem being that she didn’t even own a single pair of over-knee socks!

Even though, due to the school uniform requirement, Kyo reluctantly wore a skirt she didn’t even particularly like, thus successfully achieving the absolute territory’s upper boundary, she lacked the crucial lower boundary that completed this perfect encirclement.

Yet today… on this very day, at this exact moment! The correct timing, the correct outfit, the correct location—the "absolute" had finally descended!

Due to Kyo’s half-kneeling position, one leg raised and one lowered, combined with gravity’s gentle pull, her skirt had subtly shifted into an exquisitely delicate position.

On the kneeling side, the skirt’s angle now concealed slightly more thigh than when normally standing. And, at the same time, the lower boundary—normally defined by socks—had finally appeared.

The floor. Yes, the floor!

Kyo, who clearly had no concern about the dusty floor, directly placed her bare knee onto it, thus completing the encirclement.

Yet this wasn’t even the entirety of the scene—simply having boundaries wasn't enough to claim beauty.

It was also the angle formed by her legs, one raised and one lowered; the subtle indentation created by her thigh pressing softly against itself; the faintly flushed skin of her knee pressed firmly to the ground; and the gentle slipping of her raised thigh, revealing even more skin.

Every detail, every subtle angle of concealment and exposure, together birthed an exquisite beauty of subtlety.

Yet among all these elements, what most strongly drew Sakiko’s gaze was the tension of Kyo’s skirt, seemingly just a single slight shift away from revealing garments that shouldn't appear…

“I still can't put them down…”

Even after kneeling, Kyo discovered that she still couldn’t quite manage to neatly set down her drinks. She gave up and lowered her raised leg as well, finally succeeding in placing her large pile of drinks safely onto the floor.

“Hm? Sakiko, what’s wrong? You look strangely disappointed.”

After finally setting down the drinks, Kyo stood back up, noticing Sakiko’s oddly dazed expression.

“I suddenly understood…” Sakiko murmured faintly, “something from the art lessons I took as a child… about how artists convey human beauty…”

“Huh? But aren’t you into music, Sakiko? Why the sudden switch to art?”

Completely oblivious, Kyo merely bent down to pat the dust off her knees, entirely unaware of exactly what her casual movements had unwittingly displayed moments earlier.

---

T/N: your honor shes gay

This is a fan translation of 乐队少女调饮行动 by 林明卿. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!