Arc-2 SS-16
25
Side Story
Uchikawa Tomomi 3
2026
When I return to my apartment room, which is also my home, I casually toss the bags I am holding and slump down onto the sofa. For now, I do not want to do anything at all.
"Haa..."
When I open my mouth, only sighs come out of me. That cannot be helped, I suppose. Today, the fifth Sistema Solare Reitaisai was held.
In other words, it is the day when the results of everything I worked hard on this past year come out as a ranking. And those results were simply different from what I had hoped for.
"...No way~"
At last year's Reitaisai, I, who had dropped from the top to second place, worked hard to the point where even I thought it was my limit.
I wanted to seize back first place while the two people who seemed likely to compete for the top were still not fully able to exert their abilities.
I crammed in schedules for those two, including dramas that were not group work, movies, variety shows, and more, even cutting into sleep time.
In the end, my manager stopped me, and I had to hold back to a certain extent. The result of working that hard, to the point where even I thought I could not do any more, was third place.
The gap with Rina, who was first, narrowed quite a bit compared to last year. However, even if the vote count closed in, the impact of the ranking difference is greater.
I, who was the ace the year before last and second place last year, will be third place for the next year.
"If I am third this time, then next year second or higher is..."
It hurts that the one who came in second is a newcomer.
Since she can gather this much popularity in her first year since debut, it is obvious that her popularity will rise even further from now on as her exposure to the public increases.
Well, there was also the unexpected event of her appearing in a drama during the popularity poll and becoming a topic of discussion. There are also moves to have Rina start acting jobs as well.
It is unclear what she will do, but if she steps into the acting work that is one of my few strengths, there is nothing I can do. The two are a first-year high school student and a third-year middle school student.
If they prioritized their studies, then after I, who am currently a third-year high school student, graduate, the possibility of reversing in the entertainment world where they can focus fully would increase, but based on my experience, I can judge that such a thing will not happen.
Even if I try to increase work any further, the manager and management will put a stop to it.
In the first place, if there had been no work restrictions from the manager, I might have gone beyond my limits.
Even now, I do not want to move because of not only mental damage but also heavy physical fatigue. If I continue this kind of idol life, it is obvious that my body will eventually cry out in protest.
(...I guess it really is impossible anymore.)
Feelings of resignation well up from today's results. Because this is the result of working this hard, and next year the conditions will worsen even further. In this state, I cannot optimistically say that I will seize back first place next year.
It would not be strange at all if my public stance on stage and my true feelings at home were completely different.
"Fortunately, the gap with fourth place is large."
It depends on personal preferences, I think, but generally speaking, I am confident that in terms of facial attractiveness, I am superior to those in fourth place and below.
The other newcomer who entered Dwarf Planet is scary, but I should be able to compete sufficiently with her.
(Idols, after all. Looks are important too.)
I will try to avert my eyes from the fact that the faces of the two above me are overwhelmingly strong. Even in the entertainment world filled with beautiful women and girls, their level of beauty, which is among the rare few, is just too much of a cheat.
(I should change clothes soon.)
If I stay like this, wrinkles will form on my clothes.
I will settle dinner with food delivery and take it easy tonight. It seems there was some trouble after the Reitaisai ended, but my future schedule will not change. The new position in the formation, changes to singing parts.
There are many things I need to practice.
It is not difficult because of the accumulation up to now, but with a large number of songs, it will still take time.
It is impossible to do everything, of course, but to avoid struggling later, I want to finish as much as possible now.
I have no room to think about the member who caused a commotion after dropping in ranking.
~~~End~~~