Arc-2 Ep-11
31
“Here we go~! To Mami-cchi’s homeland!”
“…Is Mami-san’s family home close from here?”
“Nope. Still almost an hour by car…”
It was the fourth Saturday of November. The new Sistema Solare album CD—featuring the very first song we sixth-gen members recorded in a studio—had dropped this past Wednesday.
To promote it, we were now holding autograph events across the country. This morning, we’d flown out to Mami-san’s home prefecture. Travel party: five.
Sistema Solare members—me, Mami Ichihara-san, and Yuna Kanaya-san.
Plus sixth-gen sub-manager Matsuzono-san, and apprentice manager Takamori-san, handling all the odd jobs. Takamori-san was a second-year employee after university—tall, a bit over 170 cm, and otherwise pretty plain. Not much charm as a woman, but as long as she did her job, no complaints.
“…We’ve been expecting you. ff・Fortissimo team.”
“Ah, Mizunuma-san. A pleasure today.”
“Likewise. The car’s ready—let’s get moving.”
A store representative for our first event picked us up at the airport. They led us to a microbus—seven people including the driver—and we headed toward the venue.
This prefecture was split into three regions. We’d be holding events at CD shops in the central cities of each.
Today: morning and afternoon sessions. Tomorrow, one in the morning, then we’d fly home in the afternoon. The afternoon session today was closest to Mami-san’s hometown.
“Will your family come to the afternoon one, Mami-san?”
“Yuna’s curious too~”
“My parents won’t. They met everyone during the first mini-live.”
Right—at the debut mini-live, all the sixth-gen families had come and greeted one another. Mami-san’s parents had seemed pretty normal. Well, everyone’s families were, except Nozomi-chan’s.
“Didn’t you say you had a little sister?”
“Yeah, Yuna heard that too~”
“…She might come. Maybe with friends…”
Having your family see your idol self was embarrassing. Most of the members felt that way. I did too—so I hoped her little sister would go easy on her.
The venue was an event space on the upper floor of a CD store building. Bring the physical CD—get it signed, or have us sign a separate shikishi* board.
[T/N*- A shikishi board (色紙 / しきし) is a traditional Japanese thick, square card used for autographs, artwork, calligraphy, and messages.]
Bought digitally? Show proof, and we’d sign a shikishi instead. Handshakes and brief chats were allowed. The longer the line, the shorter the time per person.
“…Mikuri-chan. G-Good luck.”
“Thank you♪”
We sat behind a long table for the signing. All three of us were there—but I was clearly getting way more attention. My handshake line stayed the longest—tough work.
“Please keep supporting us♪”
“Ah, y-yes…”
A high-schooler-looking guy received the triple-signed shikishi from Mami-san, then left reluctantly. Personally handing out each one myself would’ve been overkill.
“Next… shikishi, please.”
Everyone wanted the shikishi boards. The album booklet cover featured only the nine core members of Sistema Solare—we sixth-gen girls weren’t pictured. So people usually had Rina-san or Eriko-san sign the booklet instead.
“Do your best.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Looking forward to more.”
“Thanks~”
Next came a college-aged guy with glasses. He shook hands with Mami-san and Yuna-san, then stared at me with burning intensity.
“M-Mikuri-chan!! I’ll vote for you in next year’s popularity poll!!”
“Thank you. I’m so happy♪”
As I gently returned his handshake, his face practically melted. Savor my soft, smooth hands all you like.
“…Please keep cheering for us♪”
“Y-Yes!”
Mami-san passed the shikishi along like, okay, enough already, and the fan left.
“Next… shikishi, please.”
And just like that, we efficiently processed about a hundred people.
“—More than expected.”
“Really?”
“What was the guess~?”
After the first session, we broke for lunch. The rep led us to a restaurant serving local specialties. As we enjoyed the regional dishes, we talked about the event.
“About a hundred twenty, I think. We only expected just over a hundred.”
“Taneyama-san predicted barely a hundred.”
“Haa…”
Matsuzono-san was the one with the numbers, while Mami-san, sitting next to Yuna-san, sighed softly.
“Mami, what’s wrong~?”
“…No, just… for us it’s special, but for Mami-san, this food’s everyday stuff.”
Right—locals ate these specialties all the time.
“N-No! I was just thinking about the next event…”
Ah, my bad. The afternoon event was in Mami-san’s home city CD store. Even if her little sister didn’t show up, old middle school classmates might.
“People you know are probably gonna come, huh?”
“Ugh…”
“Maybe someone you had a crush on back in middle school~”
Yuna-san teased, watching Mami-san’s face twist in panic.
“Stop! Please, no scandals.”
“M-Matsuzono-san!! N-No such person!!”
That reaction totally screamed there was. I caught Yuna-san’s eye—she shrugged, then smoothly changed the topic. She teased plenty, but knew when to pull back.
“One hour to the next venue~”
“Y-Yeah. Tomorrow’s is thirty minutes from there.”
“Airport’s under ninety minutes away…”
“Right. The schedule’s not too tight.”
Our first regional trip—plenty of buffer time built in.
“I checked the roads—no congestion. Tomorrow’s weather looks good too. Flights are fine.”
That was Takamori-san’s report. So far, no travel issues.
“But better safe than sorry—let’s head out early.”
“…Right. Let’s finish eating.”
“Roger~”
“Got it.”
At Mami-san’s cue, we polished off the rest of our food. We still had work ahead, so the portions were light anyway.