Arc-2 Ep-44

“““Uoooooh!!”””

“Kyaaaaa!!”

The fans in the audience were innocently going wild, but on stage around us, a prickling, tense atmosphere hung in the air. After all, Sistema Solare’s notorious problem child had finally fallen into the no-nickname zone.

With this, management would almost certainly begin actively pushing for her retirement. For the other members, that was something to celebrate. That said, even if she were to retire, it would not be official until next year’s Reitaisai.

Until then, she would remain in Sushu Solare.

If anyone showed even a hint of delight here, that troublesome Kae Higashiyama would definitely set her sights on them. I think that sort of awareness was what created the strange mood enveloping the stage. As I thought about that, I shifted my gaze toward the center of the line where we were standing.

Since she technically still belonged to Seven Satellite, she had been standing fairly close to the center; now, with a stiff smile, she walked forward to the middle of the stage.

She was desperately trying not to let anything show on her face, but it was painfully clear she was shaken by the result.

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“──I swear here and now that I will use this result as motivation and work even harder from now on.”

“Yes, thank you very much! That was first-generation member Kae Higashiyama-san!!”

“Kuh...”

She had been a little unsteady when her conversation with the MCs first began, but as it continued, she gradually regained her composure.

However, when her name was called at the end without her nickname attached, a strained sound escaped her and was picked up by the microphone.

She bowed as though to cover it, and the problem child who had just been formally demoted to the mini-live group returned to her original position.

Now, from this point onward, the flow of the event would shift slightly depending on the popularity poll results.

To prevent the middle portion from dragging this year, not only the rookie introductions and retiring members’ speeches but also performances by the internal units had been added to the program.

If the top twenty-one had been exactly the same as last year, the three units were supposed to perform one song each in turn. However, two members of Seven Satellite had already had their names called. So instead, Dwarf Planet would perform one song, and the inner group Sistema Solare would perform two.

Well, with Nozomi-chan and me here, it was impossible for the lineup above twenty-first place to be identical to last year’s. Still, the Shusu-Solare management had prepared a schedule under the assumption that the top twenty-one might remain unchanged. It ended up being scrapped, of course, but I understand their desire to avoid giving any hint of the rankings before the official announcements.

“Yes. With that, the announcement of places twenty-second and below in the popularity poll is finished.”

“From twenty-first place onward, that makes the seven members who will belong to Seven Satellite, right?”

“Yes. But before that, there is something we must not forget, isn’t there?”

“Of course. It happens every year, so we certainly won’t forget this year.”

“Then let us introduce them.”

“This year’s new members, everyone from the 7th generation!”

Naturally, the MCs had also been informed that the flow might change depending on circumstances. They skipped the Seven Satellite performance entirely and loudly announced the rookie introduction here instead.

““O, oooooh!!””

“Waaaaaaa!!!”

The fans seemed momentarily confused by the different sequence compared to previous years, but they quickly resumed cheering. When we debuted, the retiring members’ speeches had come first, but starting this year the order had been changed.

We existing members welcomed the eight girls, ranging from middle-school to high-school age, as they lined up on stage with applause.

In the end, not a single seventh-generation candidate had dropped out; every face I remembered from when they observed the mini-live was present.

“...Then, shall we go one by one and hear their greetings and a few words?”

“Yes. Let’s begin with you at the front.”

“Y-Yes! I will be debuting as a 7th-generation member──”

Once the rookie introductions concluded, Dwarf Planet performed their song. At that point, everyone except the five members of Dwpla temporarily left the stage for the wings.

Next came the speeches from the three retiring members, after which Sistema Solare would perform two songs in succession, and then the second half of the popularity poll announcements would resume.

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“““──We love you~~~♪”””

“Kyaaaaaa!!!”

“I love you~~~~!!!”

“““Uooooooo!!!”””

Thump!

Amid the tremendous cheers, the song ended and the dance concluded with a powerful final pose.

In other words, it was time for the second half of the result announcements.

“...That was Sistema Solare with ‘HOPE SUNRISE’!!”

“Thank you very much!!”

“Rina-chaaan!!!”

“Tomomoiiiii!!!”

“Erika~~~~!!!”

“Suzuka-samaaaaaa!!!”

Watching the audience’s excitement from the wings, I remembered the rumor that had circulated before the Reiteisai.

Originally, Seven Satellite was supposed to perform before the announcement of twenty-first place, Dwarf Planet before the fourteenth, and Sistema Solare before the ninth.

If that plan had been followed, any member whose unit assignment was about to change due to the popularity poll would have performed their final song with their current unit at that moment.

How would the fans feel about that?

Being promoted to a higher unit would be fine, but what about those being demoted, or those losing their nickname entirely?

They would be forced to go out on stage and sing even though it had already been decided they were being expelled from that unit. Whoever devised that plan might have thought of it as creating memories or something.

I think it is cruel.

Someone in management must have felt the same, which is why we ended up with the current flow instead. This way is unquestionably far better.