Arc-2 SS-17

“Even though something like this has happened, we need to respond to the other side quickly, so please make your decision as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Gondou-san.”

“If Rina-chan turns it down, we are considering putting Kayanuma-san forward instead.”

“Yes…”

“Please think it over very carefully. The role itself is not difficult, and according to the trainers, Rina-chan should be able to handle it without any problems.”

“…I understand.”

“If things continue like this, I also believe that next year you may be overtaken by Kayanuma-san. We need to take action, don’t we? In any case, come to the office first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yes.”

“Make sure you rest your body properly. Good night.”

“Good night, Gondou-san.”

When the call ended, I tossed my smartphone beside my pillow and let out a deep sigh.

(A drama, huh…)

I picked up the manga tankoubon* that Gondou-san, who had practically become my exclusive manager, had given me, and flipped through it absentmindedly.

[T/N- collection of volumes of same manga.]

It was a currently popular manga that had become a hot topic, and although the official announcement had not yet been made, a live-action drama adaptation had already been decided.

The story is a romance set in the astronomy club of a certain high school. It is apparently popular among men for its artwork and among women for its story.

I had received an offer for the role of the vice president of that astronomy club. After reading it lightly, I could see why they would think that even someone with no acting experience could play this character.

She is expressionless, with little variation in her voice, and is described as the most beautiful girl among the characters.

She is only lightly an object of affection and never becomes deeply involved in romance, a role that seems unlikely to provoke backlash from fans when played by an idol.

Objectively speaking, it is not strange at all that the offer came to me. Even so, I still feel a strong resistance to acting. Until now, this is exactly the kind of job I would have turned down without hesitation.

If not for the popularity poll at today’s Reitaisai.

Certainly, in this year’s popularity poll as well, I came in first and once again proved that I am the most popular member of Sistema Solare.

But when it comes to next year, I cannot help but feel uncertain. The reason is Kayanuma Mikuri-chan, who placed second.

She is a beautiful girl on par with me, and even during her first popularity poll, I had predicted that she would join the internal group Sistema Solare.

However, I never imagined that she would surpass Uchikawa-senpai and take second place.

(The possibility was extremely small. At best, I thought third. More realistically, somewhere between fifth and seventh.)

Moreover, there was not much difference between our vote counts. That was probably due to her appearance in a drama during the voting period.

I watched it myself, and her presence as a beautiful girl stood out more than that of the other cast members.

As for her acting, since the role itself was not difficult, it has not been evaluated very highly by the public.

Even so, there are rumors that she is on par with the second-generation senpai who has long been said to possess the best acting ability in Sushu-Solare.

Once she finishes a year of studying and gaining experience, and begins full-scale entertainment activities, she will likely begin to show that talent more clearly.

If that happens, she will naturally have more opportunities to appear before the public than I will, since I do not take on drama or movie roles.

“…I thought I wasn’t obsessed with rankings.”

To be honest, I had always believed that as long as I remained within the top nine and stayed in the first string, the exact ranking of the popularity poll did not matter.

But now that the possibility of falling from first place has become real, the anxiety surging within me is far stronger than I had imagined.

The fear that I might simply continue to fall from there. Rationally, I know that will not happen. 

Looking at the seventh generation, it was clear that the rumors about scouting and auditions not going well were true.

For the eighth generation, it seems a promising younger sister slot from a Fortissimo employee family will join, but even taking her into account, there is no way I would fall below ninth place.

Even though I understand that logically, the seed of anxiety that has once sprouted continues to grow. The fear of steadily dropping in the rankings, just like that person who caused trouble after the Reitaisai.

Even when I tell myself that such a future is impossible, the anxiety wells up on its own, and I cannot stop it.

(At the very least, if the job goes to someone other than her…)

If I turn it down, there is a chance that the role will go to the rival who is meant to compete with me for the ace position. Thinking about that, I cannot bring myself to refuse easily.

And yet, if possible, I really do not want to take on acting work. Whether I should start or not.

My thoughts spin in circles, repeating the same loop over and over.

On this day, when I achieved consecutive victories and should be celebrating, I am instead worrying this much.

Feeling an irrational sense of resentment toward Gondou-san for bringing me the offer in the first place, I lay on my bed, unable to sleep, continuing to worry.

“Haaaa… I wonder what the right answer really is…”