Arc 3 Ep-06

Sunday, which I spent resting my body and finishing my summer homework, came to an end, and Monday arrived.

From this day onward, we were to dedicate ourselves to practice at the production office for the upcoming music festival.

That said, there were very few occasions when all members of the internal group “Sistema Solare” could gather at the same time.

For the most part, we practiced alone, working on the choreography for the songs we would perform at the festival.

We were the main act on one of the several stages and had a forty-five-minute slot on Sunday. Since that time also included MC segments, we decided to prepare nine songs with some leeway.

Depending on how things went, it might ultimately become eight, but we would not know until the actual day.

For reference, “Dwarf Planet” had a forty-five-minute slot on the sub-main stage on Saturday, and “Seven Satellite” had thirty minutes on the sub-stage on the same day.

Thirty minutes probably meant preparing six songs and actually performing five.

The members who had newly joined the internal group or who had been promoted or demoted must be struggling.

They had only about two weeks to perfect all the songs they would perform.

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Wednesday, with only one week left in August if we exclude today.

All nine members of Schus-Sola were available in the morning, so we spent that time focusing solely on full-formation practice.

Since there was footage of previous lineups available as reference, I could simply model myself after it and manage without any real trouble.

After we disbanded, I was heading toward the lounge to eat lunch and rest a little when I spotted a familiar figure further down the hallway.

“…Nozomi-chan!”

“! Mikuri-chan!”

A real, in-person Nozomi-chan after so long.

Because of unfortunate timing, this was actually the first time we had met face-to-face since the Reitaisai.

Even though we both came to the production office often, I never imagined that simply joining different groups would make running into each other so rare.

“It’s been a while♪”

“Yes♪ Though I hear your voice on the phone every day.”

She had looked a little tired, but now she was smiling brightly. That beautiful girl’s smile felt like nourishment for my heart, and I felt energized as well.

“What are you doing after this, Nozomi-chan? I was planning to take a break in the lounge.”

“Understood. Nozomi will join you.”

“Really!? I’m so happy. Then let’s go.”

“Yes♪”

We walked together toward the lounge area, chose an empty room, and went inside, just the two of us. Sitting across from each other at the table, I spoke right away.

“As we talked about on the phone, you really are busy, right?”

“Yes. There’s so much to memorize for the music festival. The same goes for you, doesn’t it, Mikuri-chan?”

“Yeah. Even though some of the songs were used as lesson material back in the 6th generation, they’re not exactly the same.”

The choreography experience helped, but the formation transitions were difficult because the number of performers was different.

I watched the old footage, imagined myself within it, practiced alone, and polished my accuracy that way.

“Schus-Sola rarely gets all members together, right?”

“Mm. There are a lot of us, after all. What about Dwarf Planet?”

“We have fewer individual jobs than Schus-Sola, and there are only five members, so we get plenty of time to practice as a full group.”

That was good for Nozomi-chan.

I could manage thanks to the god-cheat, but she did not have that luxury.

“…Nozomi-chan performs on Saturday, so that’s three days from now.”

“We can only practice tomorrow and the day after, so it’s pretty tough.”

“Dwa-Pla has the same slot length, so you’re also preparing nine songs?”

“Yes.”

She did not appear on Music Window, and since Dwarf Planet has fewer members, she probably had more practice time than I did, but it still sounded difficult.

“You’re working hard too.”

“I think Mikuri-chan has it harder. You also have the injury on your right hand… How is it now?”

“Mm. I think it’s healed quite a bit.”

The honorable wound on my bandaged right hand barely hurt anymore, and the bruising had faded significantly. It healed faster than predicted; even the doctor who examined it seemed a little surprised.

“There’s still a faint mark, but the pain is almost gone.”

“I see. I’m glad…”

When I moved my right arm to show her, Nozomi-chan looked truly relieved.

It seemed she understood that I wasn’t merely putting on a brave face.

“…By the way, have you seen Owada-san and the other 6th-generation members?”

“Only in passing here. They’re busy right now as well, so we just exchange greetings.”

The six members who made up the mini-live group had been split into three teams of two and were practicing intensely with the new members.

Chie-chan told me on the phone that during last weekend’s mini-lives, everyone was still pretty stiff.

“Once things calm down a bit, I want to go watch the new mini-lives.”

“Nozomi wants to go too.”

“Yeah. Let’s go together.”

“Yes♪”

Her bright smile was dazzling.

It was unfortunate that now that we were in different groups, I had fewer opportunities to see that expression. Even though Schus-Sola had Rina-san and the others, “that is that, and this is this.”

“…Oh, it’s already this late…”

“Time flies when I’m talking with Nozomi-chan. What are you doing this afternoon?”

“All five Dwarf Planet members can gather, so we’re doing full-formation checks… What about you, Mikuri-chan?”

“The afternoon is for individual practice. I’m planning to test whether I can physically handle running through the full forty-five-minute set.”

“I see. Do your best.”

“Thank you. You too, Nozomi-chan.”

“Yes. Shall we get going?”

“Yeah.”

We stood and left the lounge together, stepping out into the hallway.

She probably had a designated practice room since her whole group would be assembling, but for individual practice, I had to find an available room.

At this time right after the Reitaisai, empty rooms were in very short supply.