Tokyo: Oreimo

He wrote "No, Thank You" for her; he told her not to give up; he sang that song into her darkest night.

He was also the one who never belonged to her.

"Let's go." Shizuka stood up and picked up the prop rapier hanging on the back of her chair. It was a performance prop used on stage to accompany the climax of the chorus. It was modeled after Asuna's sword "Shining Light" from SAO. The blade was made of lightweight plastic plated with silver, and it would gleam softly under the lights.

"They've gone on stage."

She pushed open the door to the cubicle and walked towards the waiting area on the side of the stage, her footsteps drowned out by the rustling of her performance dress.

.....

The stage is located at the deepest part of the Aniplex exhibition area and is one of the few large stages in the corporate area equipped with a complete lighting and sound system.

The curtain hadn't been drawn yet, but you could see a huge crowd of people outside through the gaps. The staff were counting down in their headsets, and the speakers on both sides of the stage started playing SAO's background music as a warm-up.

Shizuka stood in the waiting area, holding the prop rapier in both hands, her palms slightly sweaty.

Her gaze swept across the audience area below the stage, from left to right, from the front row to the back row, three times.

No.

He was not in the audience area.

I did catch a glimpse of familiar blonde hair.

The person standing next to the other person wasn't that person; instead, there was a group of people I'd never seen before.

Didn't Takashiro-kun come?

"No, he should be here by now, right? Hououin-san said he'd be at the booth..."

Maybe he's backstage, or in the demo area, or talking to people from Kadokawa. He's the president, so he must have a lot to do on the first day of Winter COMI.

She mentally came up with several reasons for Ryosuke, then lowered her eyes and took a deep breath.

It's ok.

It's okay if he's not here.

She came here to work, to sing.

The moment the curtain rose, a cheerful prelude began, and the stage lights simultaneously exploded into a dazzling golden beam.

"Everyone--!"

Shizuka Hayakawa raised her prop rapier and flashed a standard idol smile at the audience.

"Are you ready!"

.....

At the same time, next to the display wall at the back of the exhibition area.

Ryosuke leaned against the wall, holding an unopened bottle of green tea, gazing at the stage in the distance.

The distance was about twenty meters, with several rows of crowded audience members and a pile of peripheral cardboard boxes taller than a person in between, but Asuna's side ponytail and the prop rapier that gleamed with silver light could still be clearly seen.

The spotlights on the stage shone on her, the hem of her battle dress billowed in an arc as she turned, the red ribbon at the end of her hair fluttered, and a bright smile graced her profile.

She remains unchanged, just like the radiant girl on stage in my memory.

“They’re really popular right now. There’s a lot of speculation online that this group has a private relationship with the founder of Aniplex,” Saori’s voice came from beside her.

Phoenix Inu Saori leaned against the display wall, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the stage.

"After all, they are the ones who sing the music for almost every production. These girls are practically the company's go-to singers."

Ryosuke glanced at her. "When did you get here?"

After strolling around for a while, the two parted ways briefly because Saori needed to check the performance details to ensure there wouldn't be any problems.

He waited alone backstage.

“Just now.” Saori’s lips curled up slightly. “Anyway, it wasn’t when you were peeking at other people.”

“I am watching my own company’s performance openly and honestly.”

“Yes, perfectly aboveboard.” Saori nodded, a hint of teasing in her voice. “By the way, Hayakawa Shizuka, if I remember correctly, we’ve known that team leader for a long time, haven’t we?”

Ryosuke paused for a moment, then asked, "How did you know?"

“How did you know?” Saori repeated his words, chuckling. “Who do you think manages the company’s business records? The cooperation agreements with SP Agency, the arrangements for voice actor auditions, and the contracts for music production are all under my management.”

Seeing Ryosuke's somewhat helpless expression, Saori turned her head away and turned her gaze back to the stage.

"She likes you, right?"

Ryosuke didn't answer immediately. On stage, Shizuka had just finished singing the first chorus and was waving and interacting with the audience below, with flashes of light going off in the crowd.

"how is this possible?"

Ryosuke chuckled. The two of them hadn't met many times, and besides, he hadn't felt that kind of atmosphere at all when they talked.

Phoenix Inu Saori stared at him for a while, then sighed with a sense of helplessness.

"That's true. After all, Shi Yuze, you're quite slow on the uptake. If you don't play it straight, you won't even realize it."

“…”

Ryosuke suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded.

His girlfriend was far too sensitive.

He's not some kind of succubus, so why are there so many beautiful girls who like him?

Chapter 252 Because they are high school alumni

Saori answered a phone call.

She glanced at the caller ID, her brow furrowing slightly. She walked to the other side of the display wall, whispered a few words, and hung up. She then returned, her expression somewhat helpless.

"There's been a sudden issue with Kadokawa; the joint event needs to be reconfirmed, so I have to go there."

She paused, then turned her gaze to Ryosuke.

"Please handle the reception at DC for me. After the performance, take them to the backstage dressing room. I've already arranged the media interviews; the schedule is on the front desk."

"Me alone?"

“You’re the club president.” Saori gave him a half-smile. “Besides, the team leader has been looking for you since before the event started. It wouldn’t be right for you not to show up, would it?”

Ryosuke paused for a moment, then nodded.

Saori turned around and took a few steps, then turned back.

"Don't keep her waiting too long. You can invite Ling Nai along. I'll allow that."

Ryosuke watched her walk through the passage at the back of the exhibition area and disappear around the corner.

The music on stage was just coming to an end, and the final chorus exploded from the speakers, eliciting cheers from the audience. He carried the unopened bottle of green tea and walked towards the waiting area on the side of the stage.

.....

In the connecting passage between East Fourth Hall and East Fifth Hall, Misaki Asakura held the takoyaki she had just bought and blew on it to warm it up.

Ayumi walked beside her, flipping through a fan art book she had just bought from an illustration club booth.

Ling Nai followed behind the two, her hands in her coat pockets, her gaze casually sweeping over the stalls along the way.

"Ling Nai, did you see the line art from that stall just now?" Ayumi closed her artbook and turned her head. "The style is a bit like Rumiko Takashiro's, but the details are much worse."

“I saw it. That person’s perspective skills aren’t very solid, and the proportions of the building background are off,” Ling Nai replied casually. “However, his sense of composition is not bad. With two more years of practice, he should be able to get into a business magazine.”

Ayumi nodded thoughtfully, while Misaki Asakura listened intently, seemingly understanding but not quite, though she still nodded along attentively.

"Speaking of which, where do we go next?" Asakura Misaki asked vaguely, taking a bite of takoyaki. "We've pretty much finished exploring the doujinshi section, but we haven't been to the corporate section yet."

"The president isn't back yet, let's wait for him to come back before going together." Ayumi took out her phone and glanced at the time. "He should be back at the print shop soon..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the passage, growing louder as they approached.

Tian Zhongxue, carrying a bulging paper bag, his glasses perched on his nose, rushed up to the three of them, panting heavily as he bent over.

"All done! Print another 800 copies! Deliver them to the booth tomorrow morning!"

"President, why are you running so fast?" Ayumi frowned. "Your glasses are crooked."

"I was worried you'd have to wait too long!" Tian Zhongxue straightened up, adjusted his glasses, and his face was full of excitement. "The print shop owner said our order speed was one of the fastest on the first day of Winter COMI, and he even asked if we were selling like crazy. I said of course we were selling like crazy!"

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Ayumi took a pack of tissues out of her bag and handed it to him. "Wipe your sweat."

Tian Zhongxue took the tissue, wiped his forehead haphazardly, and then suddenly seemed to remember something, standing up abruptly as if a switch had been flipped.

"That's right, that's right, that's right!"

"What is it now?" Ayumi was startled by him.

"Corporate Zone! DC is performing in the Corporate Zone this afternoon!"

Tian Zhongxue grabbed Ayumi's shoulder, his eyes shining behind his glasses, "Didn't I tell you guys before? It's that idol group that sang the theme song for Aniplex! They're having a live performance at the Aniplex booth today!"

Misaki Asakura tilted her head. "DC?"

"Dream Chaser! They sang 'No, Thank You' for FSN, the theme song for Madoka Magica, and an insert song for Clannad. Don't you remember them? That idol group whose lead singer is Shizuka Hoshimi!"

Tian Zhongxue's voice grew louder and louder, "I've been following their activities ever since I went to university! It would be such a shame to miss it today!"

Ayumi felt dizzy from being shaken and slapped his hand. "Let go! Go see what's going on, but don't shake me!"

When Ling Nai heard the name "Hoshimi Shizuka" from the side, her eyelids twitched.

"Takashiro's sister! You should come too!" Tanaka turned to Ling Nai, her enthusiasm bordering on a sales pitch. "That song, 'Unreachable Love,' is amazing! She's my favorite Aniplex's go-to singer!"

Ling Nai remained silent for a moment.

"Okay."

She curved the corners of her mouth into a perfect, flawless smile.

Ayumi glanced at Ling Nai, feeling that her smile was a little strange, but she didn't ask any further questions.

Tianzhong Middle School is Tianzhong Middle School; nothing can stop him from wanting to go to the corporate exhibition area to watch the performance.

Kobayashi and Okubo weren't interested in the performance, so they stayed at the booth.

After discussing it, only the four of them remained. Tianzhong led the way, followed by Ayumi and Asakura, with Lingna at the very back.