Arc-3 Ep-36

 The following week's mini-live once again featured both Nozomi-chan and me.

The handshake events went much as they always had. I greeted every fan the same way I always had, and once I stepped onto the stage, I wore my usual radiant smile and let my god-given, cheat-level singing talent do the rest.

Thanks to those efforts, management's analysis concluded that, despite the opposite-sex scandal, the damage to our popularity had been minimal. In fact, it was so slight that it was practically nonexistent.

I was relieved that being called up for the mini-lives hadn't been in vain.

By the second Sunday handshake event, my line had grown especially long, and it was utterly exhausting. During the first Sunday, many of the ticket holders had come primarily for the members performing in the mini-live, so my queue hadn't been quite as overwhelming as it normally would have been at a recent handshake event. Even so, out of the twenty-nine participating members, I still had the longest line and ended up shaking hands with fans until the very end.

Then, by the time the mini-live rolled around the following week, it was all but certain that Nozomi-chan and I would be appearing together once again, making competition for tickets even fiercer. Before the scandal, tickets had been fairly easy to get, but this time they sold out in under a minute after going on sale. Even after the organizers had scrapped same-day ticket sales and switched entirely to advance sales, that was the outcome.

The mini-live staff seemed ready to tear their hair out, wondering what all those past struggles with attendance had even been for. Once again, they were reminded of the drawing power that popular members like me possessed.

At this rate, management might start discussing a rotation system where members of the inner group, Sistema Solare, would take turns appearing at the mini-lives. That was a decision for them to make. I'd simply follow whatever they decided.

Amid all of that, I received the news that I had passed the high school entrance exam. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to celebrate wholeheartedly.

All I could do was hope that, by the time I actually enrolled, the opposite-sex scandal would have faded from people's memories.

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“…So, in the end, she was dismissed…”

“There were proposals to suspend her or let her retire voluntarily, but since this was the first incident of its kind, they decided to make an example of her.”

“I see… Well, it can't be helped. If they're too lenient this time, the same thing could easily happen again.”

“Exactly. …Still, every time I talk to you, Kayanuma-san, it's hard to believe you're only a middle school student.”

“Now that's just rude. I'm a fresh and vibrant middle school girl, you know?♪”

“Fresh and vibrant… huh.”

The one responding to my claim with a wry smile was a middle-aged man from the general affairs department.

He'd been explaining the disciplinary measures taken against the person responsible for the scandal, but that wasn't actually why I'd been called in today.

“By the way, the reason I was asked to come today is…”

“Of course. It's for the annual inspection of the Valentine's Day gifts. Chocolates, stuffed animals, and everything else.”

That's right. Three days had already passed since February 14th, and the initial round of sorting had been completed.

More gifts would probably continue arriving over the next few days, and there would no doubt be even more placed into the designated baskets during tomorrow's and the following day's mini-lives.

In other words, it had also been confirmed that I'd be appearing at those mini-lives as well.

“You can already smell the chocolate all through the office.”

“It's even stronger in the storage room. Anyway, please head to the large conference room. They're still sorting everything, so one of the staff members should be there.”

“Understood. I'll head over now.”

“Please do.”

The chocolates we received every Valentine's Day always ended up in the same place. There was never any chance of us eating them. The remaining gifts consisted of non-perishable items like stuffed animals.

If there was anything I wanted to keep, I could take it home after it had undergone a thorough inspection. In the past, people had hidden GPS trackers and listening devices inside gifts, so every single item was carefully examined to make sure there wasn't anything suspicious.

Anything I didn't want would be left with the production company. They'd most likely dispose of it, but even that came at a cost, making it yet another unnecessary expense for Fortissimo.

Even so, banning gifts at events where fans were meant to present them wouldn't exactly suit the image of an idol, so the tradition would almost certainly continue.

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“Excuse me.”

“Ah, welcome, Kayanuma-san. These are the gifts we have for you so far.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Inside the large conference room, several staff members and trainees were busy working, surrounded by a mountain of neatly stacked packages.

I headed toward the section along the wall that a female employee from HR, seated near the entrance, had pointed out to me.

(Of course… there are even more than last year.)

I couldn't remember the exact figures, but during last year's Valentine's Day, the entire 6th Generation had needed three cargo dollies to transport all the gifts.

This year, two fully loaded cargo dollies had already been set aside for me alone.

“As expected, there's a lot of chocolate. The rest are stuffed animals and small gifts… There are even a few luxury brand shopping bags.”

“Some fans really do have plenty of money. …By the way, is there anything you'd like to keep?”

“Let's see…”

First of all, I had no intention of keeping any of the chocolate or sweets. Setting aside the safety concerns, I wanted to avoid anything that might make me put on weight. The only chocolates I'd eat were the ones from my family, Nozomi-chan, Chie-chan, and everyone else close to me.

Having settled that, I moved over to the section with the non-perishable gifts.

I'd leave the luxury brand items to the production company and let them sell them to help offset the cost of disposing of everything else. As for the smaller miscellaneous goods, I could always buy anything that suited my tastes myself. Besides, if a fan who had given me one of those items ever spotted me using it, it could easily lead to awkward situations, so I passed on those as well.

“I guess I'll just keep a few stuffed animals… This one's pretty cute.”

“Ah…”

The moment I picked up two eye-catching rabbit plushies, one white and one brown, I heard a quiet voice from behind me.

When I turned around, I found a girl who looked younger than I was, probably a trainee from the training school, staring in my direction.