Arc-2 Ep-20
40
As the final stage by the internal group Sistema Solare began, the remaining members left the waiting room. Rina-san’s three songs and talk segment would end, followed by the group’s final number and the closing finale.
“Finally the ending?”
“But there’s tomorrow too.”
“Encore first.”
“Not for us, though.”
Besides me, there were Nozomi-chan, Chie-chan, Shion-san, and Mami-san. The other three had already left when Dwarf Planet’s set started.
“Oh, here you are~”
“Kanaya-san. How’s it going out there?”
“Just Sistema Solare heading out now~”
Our leader and Yuna-san chatted while we peeked through the curtain. Onstage, Rina-san, Tomomi-san, and Erika-san were singing and dancing in perfect sync.
“Three songs in a row first…”
“Then talk time—the curtain drops, and they’ll set up the opening stairs behind, right?”
“Yes. Positions will be reversed from the opening—watch carefully.”
Someone was confirming, and Taneyama-san replied. During the opening, my position had been near the stage-right column. For the ending, it would be the opposite—stage-left.
The third row stayed the same. Front and back didn’t change, but my neighbor, Naomi-san, would move from my right to my left.
Same task as before. No encore duty this time—just give it my all for the finale. Edge position or not, I had to stand out. No holding back. Easier said than done, though.
The first-tier Sistema Solare finished their last song and moved straight into the final talk segment. Rina-san’s group stepped to the front, while a half-closed curtain hid the rear of the stage from the audience.
From both wings, staff rushed out the staircase set from the opening. Once the stairs joined in the center, we hurried into position. At my mark, I took slow, steady breaths. Beyond the curtain, Rina-san’s voice rang clear.
『For our final song… the full Sistema Solare—Comet Traveler!』
The curtain split from the center, and a storm of cheers and spotlights poured toward the back. Rina-san’s nine-member team rushed to their marks, freezing in place for the intro.
The flow left no room to hesitate. The core Sistema Solare wore their dazzling, special costumes, while the rest of us had the standard outfits. If I didn’t push hard, I’d vanish completely in their glow.
The closing song, Comet Traveler, was gentle and mellow—unlike the fierce, high-energy Galactic Light Eternal that opened the concert. There wasn’t much intense dancing this time. Still, from my edge position, standing out was hard.
We all made the same moves—our difference had to show in expression, presence, energy.
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“Kyaaa!!!”
“Rina-chan~~!!!”
“Tomomi~~!!!”
Holding our final pose, the song ended—an explosion of applause and cheers poured down like rain. Honestly, we had less presence than in the opening, but I didn’t mind. We descended the stairs gracefully.
For the finale, everyone moved forward to the curtain’s edge, forming a horizontal farewell line. As one of the rookies, I stood at the stage-left edge with Sayaka-san, Sakiko-san, and Chie-chan.
We waved big, smiling, thanking everyone with all we had.
“Thank you for coming~~!!”
“Come to our mini-lives too~~!!”
“Sayaka~~~!!!”
“Mikuri-chan~~!!!”
“Chie~~~!!!”
“Mikuri~~!!!”
“Sakiko-chan~~!!!”
The cheers for the main stars mixed with our own names, echoing across the venue.
From this distance, it was impossible to tell where each shout came from—but all we could do was smile our brightest and wave cutely, full of gratitude.
“Thank you!!”
“See you next year too~~!!”
At Rina-san and Tomomi-san’s cue, the top members of Sistema Solare waved one last time as the curtain slowly closed from both sides.
We at the edges disappeared from view first, while the center lingered until the very end.
『Encore!! Encore!! Encore!!』
The standard encore chant began. Stagehands hurriedly removed the stairs as we retreated to the wings. Onstage, the nine Systema Solare members remained at center stage, ready for more.
『Encore!! Encore!! Uoooo!!』
The curtain reopened to explosive roars and piercing screams. Rina-san stood center as the group sang and danced once again for the encore.
We watched from backstage—then joined up with Sayaka-san’s group. Nozomi-chan’s group was already there, along with Taneyama-san and Matsuzono-san. All of sixth-gen had gathered.
“Good work, everyone~”
“You too~”
Leader and vice-leader exchanged their congratulations as I hurried over to Nozomi-chan.
“Nozomi-chan!”
“M-Mikuri-chan!?”
I grabbed both her hands, squeezing tightly as I spoke.
“Good work out there! How was your part?”
“Fine! No issues. You?”
“Ours too. I think we nailed it.”
Hands still clasped, the tension melted away into giddy chatter. Everyone was the same—smiles, laughter, conversations blooming everywhere.
“Yes, yes. Let’s head back to the waiting room. Encore seems almost done.”
“Ah, true…”
“If there’s another encore, what do we do?”
While we chatted, the encore performance ended unnoticed—and another chant began.
“Tomorrow’s the last one, so today should end here. But maybe one more encore?”
“Oh, it felt like the end, but since there’s tomorrow…”
“Don’t forget.”
“I haven’t, Matsuzono-san.”
“Ahah♪”
“Heading to the waiting room, then?”
“Yes.”
We laughed together as we finally started walking. I hung back a little—then suddenly felt arms wrap around me from behind.
“Uwa!”
“Mikuri-chan, good work♪”