Volume 12 Chapter 44 Shirogane Aqua, Hinamatsuri At Beryl
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Today is March 3rd, Friday, and there’s a Hinamatsuri event happening near the Beryl headquarters, turning the area into a pedestrian paradise. An event on a weekday? I thought, but apparently, Hinamatsuri is a holiday in this world.
Moreover, the students have a long spring break, and it really makes me realize that this world is quite different from mine in various ways. Upon arriving at the company, I was immediately made to change into a real hina doll costume for the Hinamatsuri event.
”Oh wow!”
If I do say so myself, I think I look quite presentable. After thanking the staff who helped with the dressing, makeup, and hair, I headed to the hall where everyone was waiting.
”How do I look?”
As I entered the hall where everyone was, I had changed into a bodyprotector’s outfit, and I revealed my male hina appearance to Shintaro, Tenga-senpai, and the others.
”Yeah! It really suits you well.”
”Tenga-senpai, you look great in the bodyprotector outfit too.”
”Of course!”
Tenga-senpai proudly holds a bow.
Hmm. In the world I came from, each of the three protectors held a daikasa, a platform shoe, and a standing umbrella, but it’s not the same in this world. Not only Tenga-senpai, but Toa had a naginata, and Shintaro was given a sword. Maybe the Hinamatsuri I know and the Hinamatsuri of this world are quite different. I had a question, so I asked Toa and Shintaro about the Hinamatsuri.
”Come to think of it, is Aqua an amnesiac? I had forgotten because I was getting used to it, but I remembered after a long time.”
”Aqua, it’s Beryl’s original that we have weapons.”
”Junior… the protectors are not in the fifth platform. The three protectors protecting the male and female Hina dolls are in the second platform!!”
Huh? Is it because of the Heaven’s Sword that you were debating whether to give Shintaro a gun? Then should I also carry the spare Caliburn that’s in the dressing room? Oh, I was told to stop because it really doesn’t suit me? Understood.
”Everyone, are you finished changing?”
Oh, Ai and the others dressed as musician came into the hall.
”That looks great, everyone! It suits you all so well!!”
”Thank you. Director Hongou looks great too!”
”That’s right!”
When I replied like that, Ai and Nico-san, who were nearby, exchanged glances.
”No no, why am I dressed like this… Did everyone choose this as a joke?”
”Yeah yeah, I have no idea how this happened… I’m just a behind-the-scenes person.”
”Oh, I’m actually having fun! Look, both of you, let’s be passionate about everything, passion!!”
”Well, it’s not so bad once in a while. And… somehow, this kind of thing isn’t too bad either.”
”That’s right, just like MojaP said! It’s all about experience and challenge~!”
”Oh… crazy!”
”Ugh! It’s a shame I can’t take pictures of the Hina Matsuri myself.”
The seven people who will serve as the musician for the third platform are Ai, Nico-san, Misumin, Moja-san, Nobu-san, John, who came to Japan for the runway meeting, and Director Hongou. It’s no exaggeration to say that these seven people truly support Beryl from behind the scenes. Ai and Nico-san may be feeling shy, but I’m genuinely happy.
However, I can understand why John and Nobu-san are in high spirits, but seeing Moja-san, who doesn’t usually get excited, so cheerful, makes me feel happy too.
I exchanged smiles with Shintaro, Toa, and Tenga-senpai.
”””Excuse me!!”””
Oh, I thought I heard an energetic voice, and then Maruo, Kujaku, and Hajime, the first three officials entered dressed as court officials rather than court ladies. Everyone looks incredibly cool! When I complimented them, all three looked a little bashful and smiled.
”Listen up, stand up straight!”
”Y-Yes! Like this?”
”Yes! That’s it!”
At first, Hajime is confused, but he responds to instructions from his kind senpai, Tenga. I heard from Tenga-senpai that he apparently got along well with that girl at first.
Actually, I would like to give him love advice, but I was told that Aqua-senpai’s advice is not helpful. can not understand! After all, what part of me is not helpful? So, I glanced at Shintaro, telling him that I was always available for advice.
”Ugh…”
”Shintaro, what’s wrong?”
”Well, suddenly I’m feeling intense chills…”
”It’s still cold, so be careful.”
That’s it. As I said, take care of your health! But that’s not something I can say as someone who collapsed from overwork…
”Hmm… I-Is this okay?”
”Maruo, if you say it like that, you sound like a robot…”
”Ugh… Well, Kujaku, you look like you’re up to something bad!”
”This face has always been like this!”
The atmosphere here is really friendly, isn’t it? I’ve heard that Tenga-senpai’s move to the share house is going smoothly, so maybe I’ll visit once things settle down.
”Is everyone ready?”
”Ugh… why me too…”
Ako-san and Kotono, dressed as ministers, enter. Wow! Both of you look really cool!! It seems Kotono was chosen because she received a lot of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but she resisted until the end. However, Ako-san, who was also embarrassed, seemed to get involved because of it.
”Everyone, that’s so cool.”
Oh, there was Kaede looking envious in the corner. Kaede is the emcee, right? Hmm… it might be nice to dress up Kaede like a court official as well. When I proposed that, the idea was immediately accepted.
”Hehe, thank you, Aqua-kun.”
Wow, that looks great on you. Kaede, let’s take a picture together with everyone later. And then, a little while later, the main hina doll of the day arrived.
”Oops, sorry. Did I keep you waiting? Looks like everyone else is already ready.”
Kanonnn!
I almost keeled over in ecstasy at her overwhelming cuteness. I felt like asking if I could just take this hina doll home with me. As I was fawning over Kanon, another hina doll appeared from behind.
”Offu.”
I couldn’t help but let out a sound at the sight of Emily-san in her hina doll outfit. It seems that today’s event will be held with two hina dolls in consideration of Kanon. She said she’s fine, but in case she feels unwell midway, she’s allowed to leave.
”Wow, Kanon’s sister-in-law, you look so beautiful.”
”Lapis-chan is so cute too!”
Oh, Lapis and the others are ready too. Aside from Maruo and Kujaku, the audition members will also be participating in court lady costumes this time.
”Emily-san, so beautiful!”
”Um… Can I take a picture?”
”Oh… Sure…”
Meanwhile, Emily-san was surrounded by Subaru-tan and former student council president Natsuki. I directed my gaze to Hisui-san, who was among them. She was supposed to pass away in the future due to a certain illness, but thanks to an early discovery in this world, it could be dealt with.
”Hisui-san, how are you feeling?”
”Oh… Aqua-sama. Um, thanks to you, I’m fine.”
”I see, that’s good then. Let me know if it gets tough.”
”Okay!”
At first, I noticed a little late, not only about her age but also her name that I knew, but I immediately realized that Hisui-san was the Myojo Lily I admired when I saw her singing and dancing.
I was also surprised that Akio-san had become Akiko-san, but there are these subtle discrepancies. Nonetheless, I was genuinely happy that I was able to save her because of that. However, if that’s the case, I wonder if the people I knew from my previous life are somewhere in this world too? For example, the person from my previous life who became the trigger for me to like big sisters…
”Long time no see, Aqua-kun! Ah, I guess it’s better to call you Aqua-senpai or AquaP, right?”
”Oh no, I still want to be Summer King’s junior.”
”I see, I see! Then let’s stick with Aqua-kun from now on! But… I’m starting to feel a little embarrassed being called Summer King-senpai…”
Seeing Summer King’s embarrassed expression, my switch flips.
”Oh no, Summer King-senpai is still Summer King-senpai. Or maybe you don’t like being called Summer King by me? Ahh, I was happy because I felt like I was getting closer to Summer King-senpai. It’s sad that you won’t be just my Summer King-senpai anymore. I wanted to call you Summer King-senpai even more.”
”Wow! Wow! Aqua-kun, you’re definitely enjoying this, aren’t you!?”
”Haha, busted.”
I watched as Summer King turned bright red, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. After all, when a girl gets embarrassed and her face turns red, it’s sweeter than any honey.
”Jeez! Aqua-kun, you don’t tease Kanon-san like that, do you?”
”Huh? How did you know?”
”…You’ll definitely get payback for that someday, you know?”
Hahaha, no way! But, the other party is Kanon, you know? No, no! There’s absolutely no way that would happen. If something like that happened, I’d boil water in my belly button. I exchanged a smile with Emily-san who was nearby.
”Aqua and Emily-san, I think it’s best to avoid setting up those kinds of flags.”
”Yeah, Toa-chan is right.”
”I agree too.”
And what about you, Toa and Kotono? No way… Huh? Surely not, right?
”Well, even if something happens, Aqua will just cry, so it’s not a big deal.”
”Emily-san, I won’t help you if the same thing happens, okay?”
Huh? What’s going on with Kotono? Are both of them going to abandon us? Well, I guess it’ll be fine. Just in case, today is the Hinamatsuri, so after Kanon goes home, I’ll spoil her a lot at my place…
”Everyone, please start moving!!”
”Yes!”
We were guided by the staff to the wings of the huge Hina stage. At first, the host Kaede stepped forward and called out the names one by one.
”Kujaku-kun, nice!”
”Looks wickedly good!!”
”What do you mean by ‘looks wickedly good’!? Are you guys also like Maruo!?”
Hahaha, Kujaku’s comeback made all the fans who came to see him laugh. That’s nice. Kujaku can respond quite normally to women, so it’s easy for his fans to make jokes.
Yeah, Kujaku can handle things skillfully, and he’s quite handsome, so if he takes on the idol route and does some actor roles, he’ll be popular, but I feel like his personality could create some good photo opportunities if he interacts more with the fans. Maybe I’ll consult with Ako-san next time.
”Maruo-kun looks cool!”
”Maruo-kun, look this way!”
”Ah, thank you.”
On the other hand, Maruo still seems a little shy. But even though he looks embarrassed, he still interacts with the fans properly, so I don’t think I need to give him any advice.
If he was extremely nervous and couldn’t pay attention to the fans, then I would need to guide him. But he responds with eye contact, gestures, expressions, and words. And looking at it from a different perspective, his shyness adds an element of innocence, which is nice.
”Hajime-kun, I watched Zandam!”
”I’m a fan of Tan!”
”Ah, thank you very much.”
I can see that he’s also nervous. There’s a contrast between his calmness and Tan Lyuuren’s passionate nature, so fans who see him for the first time think he’s cute. Even though Hajime is usually like that, he can produce a really cool voice when he becomes a voice actor.
In that sense, it might be more about learning from the beginning rather than me teaching him. The veteran voice actors who come to the Zandam set find it interesting and help train Hajime, so now his voice acting skills are better than mine.
”Hey Nee-san, you’re here!”
”Nee-san! I came to see you!”
”Nee-san is here!!”
Even though Kotono is also called “Nee-san” by Kanon and the others, it seems like the fans also call her “Nee-san.” I called her “Nee-san” once before, and I was scolded that it’s bad for the heart, so I must absolutely stop. I thought she could play the big sister for a bit, but it’s incomprehensible…
By the way, aren’t the cheers too loud!? Huh? Shouldn’t she be a talent rather than a manager… Well, it’s definitely not going to happen because she would be absolutely embarrassed.
”President Atori!”
”Thank you for the wonderful event today!”
”Everyone, thank you for coming today.”
Even though Ako-san looks shy, she bows politely to the fans with a happy expression.
”Hakuryuu-sensei, where’s No-Rinnn!?”
”Sensei, we’re still waiting for more No-Rin!!”
”””””No-Rin! No-Rin!”””””
”Hey, don’t put pressure on her, everyone!!”
Hahaha, everyone, please don’t bully Ai so much. Well, Ai understands and is laughing, so it’s fine.
”Dogeza! Completely nak*d dogeza!”
”Wait, who said that? Someone just brought up my embarrassing past!”
Huh? Did I just hear something about nak*d? Maybe it’s just my imagination. Following Ai, the other six people also go up on stage. While the women look embarrassed, Moja-san, Nobu-san, and John take commemorative photos on stage and have a great time.
”Toa-chan, you’re amazing today!”
”Thank you, everyone!”
Toa is already used to it. It’s reassuring to watch, or rather, there’s no need to worry because she’s always reliable.
”Kyaa!”
”The performance is starting!”
Toa shows off his spear skills that he trained with the Butterfly Mask using a naginata. The audience erupts with excitement. Nice. I really like these improvised performances that entertain the fans.
”Tenga-senpai!”
”TENGA! TENGA! TENGA!”
”Heh, be pierced by my arrow!”
Oh, Tenga-senpai, without shooting any arrows towards the audience, only pulls his bow to perform. The fans in front of his trajectory show a dramatic fall to match his movements.
”Tenga-senpai, shoot through my heart too!”
”Akira-kun, me too!”
”Haha, leave it to me!”
Nice. But if we keep it up for too long, the host Kaede intervened. Haha, it’s really rare for Kaede, who is usually instructed to intervene, to actually intervene. The audience burst into laughter at this.
”Mayushin-kun!”
”Mayuzumi-kun, give it your all!”
”Thank you, everyone. But unfortunately, today’s only got swords… Maybe I should have brought a gun after all.”
Shintaro’s witty response prompted laughter and teasing from the audience. In return, Shintaro responded with a wry smile.
”How about this instead?”
Shintaro joined his hands together like a gun and made a gesture as if shooting into the audience.
”Whoa!”
”Mayushin, me too!”
After repeating the performance several times, Shintaro climbed onto the platform, saying that he would get scolded like Tenga-senpai if he did it more. Upon hearing this, the fans burst into laughter. Yeah, Shintaro has gotten good at banter. I’m so happy I could cry.
”Alright, it’s our turn next. Let’s go!”
”Yeah!”
”Here we go!”
In response to Kaede’s call, the three of us, Kanon, Emily-san, and I, took the stage.
”Aqua-samaaa!”
”Whoaaa!”
”Kanon-sama looks amazing!”
”Wow, Emily-sama is too beautiful…”
When I go on stage, I wave to everyone. Then I took my smartphone out of my pocket, turned my back to the audience, and took a photo. Of course, I will upload it to social media in real time. It’s a standard performance for streamers, but I wanted to try taking a commemorative photo with the fans from the stage.
The second photo also included Kanon and Emily-san, and this time I changed the angle and took a photo with all the fans. Of course, this one was also uploaded right away.
”I mean, this is one step higher! Is Kanon okay?”
”Uh, yeah. I think it’s okay because they’ve made the scaffolding wide enough.”
It’s designed so that it won’t fall over even when the wind blows, and it seems like there’s a handrail on the top and safety devices to prevent it from falling. Is it okay then?
We made it to the top and the three of us lined up next to each other. I wonder if it’s okay for me to be in the middle since it’s Hinamatsuri…
Well, it seems like all the fans are happy, so I guess.
’Alright, let’s take a commemorative photo now! Fans, feel free to take pictures, okay!!’
Fans who were in the corridor in front of the stage move around in circles.
I see. So it’s divided into several blocks, and they move from one partition to another. That’s a good idea.
’We’ve completed one round, so we’ll conclude the photo session here! Cast members, great job with the shooting! Oh! The event is still ongoing, so please don’t leave yet, everyone!’
We descend from the stage and head towards the tent set up next to it.
’Now, cast members. Beryl employees, please help us make Chirashi-zushi!’
This is a collaboration project between my Aqua Kitchen and Kaede’s Daily Meals. Using a large amount of prepared vinegared rice, we all make Chirashi-zushi together. Even someone who’s not good at cooking can do the decoration, so this kind of project is great.
”I was a little anxious before doing it, but Aqua, this decoration isn’t bad, right?”
”Actually, that’s how it is, Kanon-sister-in-law…”
Huh? Kanon? Lapis? Is something wrong? As the cast, we make our way towards the lane where chirashi-zushi is being distributed after reaching a certain point.
’Well then, everyone, please step forward one by one slowly. Don’t worry, there’s enough chirashi-zushi for everyone!’
With Fuu’s words, the fans enter their respective lanes. Unfortunately, due to various issues, the lanes are assigned randomly by security personnel. I apologize if you’re not my fan.
”Oh, yes! It’s Aqua-sama!”
”Haha, you’re really my fan, huh? Thanks for coming today!”
I hand the chirashi-zushi to the first fan.
”Aqua-sama, I’m always cheering for you!”
”Thank you! Please continue to support me from now on!”
This person is the one who waved a glow stick at me during the summer festival.
”Aqua-kun, I came to see you!”
”Sorry, I couldn’t come to see you first.”
When I replied like that, the fan girl exclaimed with joy.
”Ah, ah, ah, umm…”
”Calm down. Everything’s okay.”
I held the girl’s hand and smiled gently.
”I… like you.”
”I also love all the fans. Thank you always.”
The fan girl who was about to collapse was caught by the fan behind her.
Oh, nice catch!
”Sorry. Thank you for catching me.”
”N-No problem. Can I take a picture with you instead?”
In that case, I leaned closer to the girl and took a selfie together. Then the girl almost collapsed again and was supported by the person behind her.
”Aqua-kun, give me a high-five! Yay!”
”Sure. Yay!”
Having a high-five with enthusiastic fans, but oh no, I forgot about the Chirashi-zushi! Phew… she’s such a scatterbrain, always reminding me of Kaede.
’Great job, everyone in the cast!’
We wave goodbye to the fans and head back to Beryl’s headquarters. Ah, that was nice. Interacting with fans at events is always fun.
”Kanon, are you okay? Are you tired?”
”Jeez, Aqua, you worry too much. Emily-senpai took care of my part, Kaede-senpai and Nee-san were there too, so I barely did anything. I’ll be fine, really. I’d feel more down if I just stayed home after this.”
Hmm, is that how it is? I thank Emily-san, who was sitting next to me. When we returned to the dressing room, we enjoyed our time eating the remaining Chirashi-zushi that we made together.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.