Arc 3 Ep-13

On the television screen, a single girl is playing the piano.

She is wearing an off-the-shoulder dress that gives off a calm and composed impression, yet the attention of the audience is focused elsewhere.

Yes, it is her radiant and exceptionally rare beauty.

Because of that, her already high-level piano performance skills might be receiving even greater acclaim than her actual ability warrants.

Well, the transcendentally beautiful girl elegantly gliding her fingers across the piano keys is none other than me.

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Today is finally the airing of the final episode of the drama in which I made my first acting appearance.

The story is set around a piano competition, and since I am participating in it, the two main leads, who play my close childhood friends, have come to watch in the audience as part of the plot.

To be completely honest, the two of them are already essentially a couple by this point, so this particular scene does not feel absolutely necessary.

However, the scriptwriter, having learned of my piano skills, apparently forced it in because it would look good on screen.

Piano and violin are the extracurricular lessons I continued for the longest time, and as a result, my technical ability in them is quite considerable.

I dabbled in quite a number of other lessons as well, but most of them ended in the very early stages.

After all, my family was not particularly wealthy.

When you hear that all three of my older brothers went to fairly good universities, you can probably understand how many expenses there were.

Since I was the only daughter, my parents pushed themselves despite our tight household finances, but there were still limits to what they could do.

Incidentally, the expensive piano and violin lessons were apparently covered by both sets of grandparents, my father’s side and my mother’s side.

I learned about that when I passed the idol audition.

I visited both grandparents’ homes to give my thanks and report the news, but they did not mind at all and instead gave me celebratory pocket money.

Well, on both my father’s and mother’s sides, I am the only girl among the cousins in male-line families, so I have been thoroughly doted on by both sets of grandparents since I was little.

Moreover, since I was already famous as a beautiful girl across different schools from a young age, it is only natural that I would receive special favor.

It would not have been strange if the other cousins resented me, but since I am the youngest and there is quite an age gap up to my third-eldest brother, all I remember is being extremely pampered by the cousins on both sides of the family.

I am essentially the princess of both my parents’ entire extended families.

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“…So the drama is already over.”

Since it is the final episode, my father mutters this with a sense of deep emotion as we watch together.

“It really feels short once it’s finished.”

“Yeah. At first I thought three months would feel so long.”

“…I wonder when the next one will come.”

“Have any new job offers come in?”

The rest of the family also gazes into the distance as if recalling the broadcast period, but when my mother asks the question, everyone’s eyes turn toward me.

“It seems there are several movie offers, but since I cannot appear in all of them, they are apparently adjusting things.”

“So at least one looks likely? Mikuri.”

I nod firmly in response to my father’s confirmation.

Even though my workload is being managed, completely eliminating acting-related jobs would be unthinkable from the production company’s perspective as well.

“Well, unlike lead roles, I think they are parts that can be completed with relatively few shooting days.”

“I personally think you could handle a lead role just fine.”

“Indeed. It feels like a waste.”

“To not use such an adorable little sister in a main capacity.”

The three brother-obsessed idiots voice exactly what they are thinking in response to my words.

Of course, not everyone in the family shares only that kind of opinion.

“At the very least, I would like you to keep it moderate while you are still in middle school…”

“…Yes. Eventually you will probably become so busy that you cannot rest even if you want to.”

My mother feels that way as a matter of course, and my father also seems negative about me becoming overly busy with work from now on.

That said, it is highly possible they simply dislike the idea of having less time with their beloved daughter.

“…So, all the work related to this drama is finished now, right?”

“Yeah. The wrap-up party after shooting ended was held last week.”

It was a reserved-party event at a fairly nice restaurant. As a minor, once I finished greeting the relevant people, I was allowed to leave early.

Since the genarel manager Fujiyama-san stayed behind, there should be no issue.

“That means next you go all-out on the new songs.”

“That’s right. There will be an announcement event and television appearances too. After that, a nationwide tour is waiting.”

Even if individual jobs can be adjusted, the activities of the internal group “Schus Sola” cannot be reduced.

From October through November, weekends will be spent heading to concert venues in various locations.

“They said they can prepare tickets for the closest venue, so please come watch, everyone.”

“Of course. We’ll go to the other venues too!”

“If we can get the tickets, that is. The competition is going to be insane.”

“Even during the summer tour before the Reitaisai, the odds were apparently so bad it felt impossible to get them~”

And now that I am in it, the competition ratio will swell even further. Thanks to that, despite strict penalties against reselling, fools who still try to do it never seem to decrease.

Well, apparently the profit from reselling alone can reach roughly the equivalent of a regular office worker’s monthly salary, so for scalpers it must be an extremely lucrative product.

“…Don’t you dare get involved in reselling or anything like that.”

“Of course not. If we got caught, we’d be expelled from the fan club, right?”

“We’re in Mikuri’s family slot, so we can get tickets arranged for us.”

“There’s no need to take dangerous risks.”

Naturally, Schus Sola has a fan club, and there is priority sales for members. Even so, the chances of obtaining tickets remain low, and while few fans resort to reselling, some apparently do.

If discovered, they face forced withdrawal from the fan club followed by permanent expulsion, yet there are still people who give in to temptation.

This is a problem common to all popular artists, not just us. As nothing more than one idol, there is nothing I can do about it.