Episode 79 – After the live……

At any rate, that concert was a success.
I could say so with confidence.

“Yeah yeah, ooooo”

The people who came to the concert were probably the source of the information, and I felt a palpable sense of relief as I checked the information being posted on the Internet.

“God Live.”
“It’s a legend.”
“Won’t there be a live DVD or something like that?”
“I’d like to go again.”

There was a lot of good feedback across the board, mostly from each of the artists, mainly from Mia san’s show.
I think it is fair to say that there was a lot of Mia san, but it was nice to see a lot of other impressions as well, and that there was no bias. Everyone would have properly gotten other fans and made it their own.

However, the most common comment was about the last collaboration.
They were singing different parts of my song, you know, the one.

“The last one gave me goosebumps.”
“It’s here to make you cry.”
“Nagishiro Rin, you’re a genius, aren’t you?”

……No, these comments are more about making me cry …… .
Well, it was mostly comments like [thanks to the artist], and yes, that was the part I agreed with, so I ignored it for now.
–No, I mean, I should pat myself on the back a little bit, right?

Speaking of which, what happened to the game that was being played there?

“Well, let’s call it a draw this time, shall we?”
“That’s a statement from someone who thinks they are better than you.”
“To add to that, it’s also a statement from a shy person who doesn’t want to easily compliment the other person.”
“Irreverent.”
“Well, well, well, Mirei san, ……. Mirei san agreed with me, so that’s good.”
“Well then, let’s have the match another time, shall we?”

(((I knew she was the most competitive of the bunch.)))

There was a conversation like that, and it went off without a hitch.
Well, these people don’t get along until the very end, do they? Well, perhaps you have to have enough individuality and confidence to clash with each other that much to make it big in this world.

So, the gig was a success! Good luck next time!

…….I thought it would be……

Apparently, the reputation of that gig had spread to many places.
Furthermore, “Kazashiro Rei” had changed its name and had started taking on new work.
It seems that before they knew it, it had happened (to someone else), and the program producers were in a state of flux.

And as it is now, the job is getting to me, and that’s that.
Incidentally, I am almost certain that the story I just told you is based on information from Kotoha, who visited my house about a week after the concert.

The reality was that I had a huge amount of job offers coming my way.

A request to create a newly written song for a new drama via Kotoha, a request to provide the opening song for an anime via Shizuku san, Azusa and her friends’ “Shanponika!” to create a new song for a new drama, a request to compose an artist’s debut song for another famous actor, and so on. …… If you think I’m just going to get a bunch of work as a composer, you’re wrong.

I was asked to write an essay, to do an interview for a weekly magazine, and to appear on television in a documentary program. Many of these requests were clearly out of my job description as a composer.
To top it all off, I was even asked to be a regular on a music program.

What I mean is that …… it’s impossible.

“I wonder what I should do. ……”
“Shouldn’t you just have to clean them up one at a time?”

Azusa, who has just come to my room on Saturday and Sunday, replies in a light voice while frantically cooking lunch again.
By the way, today’s lunch is “Azusa’s special fried rice☆”. What is that last star? Is it suggesting that I will become a star? Stop it, it’s scary.

“You can’t just put them away one at a time with …… this amount of stuff.”
“Oh, really?”

Azusa responds as if nothing is wrong, even though I am in trouble because the amount of work is impossible to handle.
She seems to be saying that it is more difficult to make fried rice than to handle such a large amount of work. Oh, let’s pretend I didn’t see that, sugar….., and not salt. I’ll be the one suffering in an hour anyway. I don’t care about that now.

“Azusa, how long have you been doing this job?”

I tried to shift the conversation to distract me from the reality I did not want to see.
Then she counted as she turned on the IH.

“Well, I was a freshman in high school, so it’s been almost three years.”
“Three ……3 years, and you’ve been doing this amount of work?”
“Well, I didn’t start to become popular until right before Senpai gave me a song, so I didn’t work on it for the first six months.”
“No, no, no, it’s great enough.”

It was really amazing you can’t do this kind of work for two and a half years with half a mind.
I’ve already failed at it without even trying.

“Hey, do you have a solution that I can do?”
“Ummm, yes, I do. ……”

When I ask in a light-hearted manner, Azusa stops mixing the contents of the frying pan and thinks slowly.
It’s going to burn, but, well, the only thing that will suffer is the following after an hour.

“No, you don’t need to take it so seriously.”

I felt bad for Azusa, who was taking me seriously, so before I could try to follow up on my earlier statement, her mouth was open.

“Well, why don’t you just focus on your job?”
“Narrow down the job?

When I answered her question with a question, Azusa returned her attention to the fried rice again before answering my question.

“Look, if you just want to write songs, for example, you can refuse to do TV appearances and that kind of thing.”
“Oh, …….”

I see…surely, I should reduce my workload?

“But isn’t it rude to narrow it down? I’m just a beginning composer, ……?”

I thought, and when I mentioned it, Azusa turned her gaze from the kitchen to me.
I was getting a look like, “What are you talking about?”

“W-What……?”
“No…I’m just wondering how you can think that after all the work that you have turned down …….”
“is that bad! See, choosing is kind of a big deal! rejecting everything is kind of……”
“…..Well, if that’s true at a hundred steps, that’s fine. But Senpai, do you still think of yourself as a beginner?”

Azusa asks me a question with a different angle.
But it was surprising for me to hear her say that.

“Eh, I’m just starting out, you know? I just made my debut as a composer, and I’m still inexperienced.”
“I think it’s almost a scam to say that you just made your debut as a composer. I don’t know if you are inexperienced or not, though.”
“No, you call me a fraud.”
“Because isn’t that a scam? Azusa Ikuta, Mirei Tatsumi, Kotoha Shirakawa, Suzune Harushita, Shizuku Mizuno, and Mia Brooks. How can someone who has provided songs for so many artists be anything but a scam?”
“Uu…that’s”

It’s frustrating that Azusa has somehow broken the argument.
I was surprised that Azusa also hit me where it hurts.

“Well, I don’t care if you’re just starting out or not. Anyway, I think you have the right to choose your job.”
“Hmm.”

Still, I was somewhat unconvinced.
I thought my background and how many years I’ve been doing this kind of thing was important in this kind of industry.
I’ve only been in the business for a few months, so there’s a chance that I could be frowned upon from somewhere, or worse, I could even be dried out of the music or entertainment industry. ……?

Seeing me like this, Azusa brought me a plate of food with a scowl on my face, even though the food was ready.

“For example, Haa san.”
“Kotoha?”
“I think she’s not supposed to perform with idols shorter than her.”
“R-Really?”

What? Isn’t that going to cause quite a few idols to drop out?! She’s over 170 tall, and if she wore heels, she’d be about the same height as me. ……

“I mean, we all have those [NG]’s.” (Not good)
“Even Azusa?”
“I was requested by the office. 〇〇 san, for example, is NG.”
“That’s something I didn’t want to hear!”

I’ve been told something fishy.
Hey, I’m in shock.

“Anyway, that’s not enough to make enemies. I think the people who asked you to do this are just taking a chance.”

“No, but…”

I was so feminine that even Azusa got on my nerves.

She said one such word that blew my enthusiasm away.

“If Senpai had an enemy, I, Mire san, and Haa san for example would not keep quiet about it. To tell the truth, I don’t know what those two would do, and I don’t know what I would do if someone did something strange to Senpai.”

The words were very reassuring and dependable, yet they also brought a strange feeling that Azusa was a senior in this industry after all.
The person who said those words, Azusa, seemed unwilling to say them and frowned.

But on my part, I felt somewhat refreshed.
Though I still felt guilty for making Azusa say something nasty to me.

So, I, too, was unwilling to be a constant nuisance to Azusa, Mirei, and the others.
So, I made up my mind and made up my mind.

“All right, I’ll do it all!”
“Did you hear what I just said?”

Azusa said with a disappointed look on her face, but her mouth was smiling.
It was a motherly smile, like that of a mother caring for a helpless child.

I declare to Azusa.

“No! I’ll try everything once! And if it’s a job I don’t like, I’ll turn it down right away! This way I won’t complain, and it’s the most …… selfish thing I can do, right?”
“…… is a little bit manly, isn’t it ……!
“What do you mean “a little bit”? What do you mean, I am a man, but I am only a little manly?”

After a short laugh, Azusa scooped up some of her own fried rice with a spoon and began talking.

“…..Senpai, this fried rice.”
“What is it?”
“……, it’s so bad.”
“Dumb-ass. I know that.”

I was so proud of myself that I decided to try the fried rice, but it really tasted so bad that I was afraid of losing my spoon.
To be more specific, without juice, the taste was so bad that I almost lost my life, not to mention dropping my spoon.

I shouldn’t talk to Azusa while she’s cooking. Yeah.