Episode 3

I Kept Silently Supporting the Lowest-Ranked Idol in the Popularity Rankings, Before I Knew It, I Was in a Shuraba

To my surprise, it was Rena-chan, who had just been dancing on stage at the live concert venue, who was talking to me.

I was so surprised that she called me by my first name. I am really sorry.

But why did she come here? Idols eat ramen.

“May I ask why you ignored me?”

“…No, I don’t have any friends, so I thought it was impossible.”

“I wanted you to understand at once if you are my fan.”

“I’m sorry about that. I can’t imagine Masumi san coming to a place like this.”

“I eat ramen too. I didn’t expect Akito san to be here though. I guess we are all connected in some way.”

　
We didn’t want to sneak around in a ramen shop, so after we finished eating we went to a nearby park, where we could talk without worrying about the people around us.

“The concert today was great, too. I was looking at Masumi san the whole time.”

“Phew, I’m so glad.”

I’m not a fan of the whole group. My purpose is just to see my favorite. I like a lot of their songs so I listen to them, but I only see my favorite live.

I don’t mind. There are a lot of people like that in this world.

“You practice every day, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I practice hard every day so that Akito san can see me whenever he wants.”

“Not me, you have a lot of fans, and I’m glad you say that, but you have to work hard for them.”

“Well, that’s true. I’ll leave it at that for the time being.”

”For now?..”

Now that I think about it, Rena-chan is a little off. I’ve been supporting her since she started her idol career, so I’m happy that she recognizes me, but she seems obsessed with me? Or something like that. I’ve been feeling a bit uncomfortable about her lately.

I don’t mind if she does the same to other fans, but I’ve never heard of anything like that, and I wonder if my presence might become a hindrance if she makes her major label debut or something.

As a fan, I want her to rise to the top with her friends and not be held captive by anyone.　

I don’t blame her if she thinks I’m just an ordinary person, but if I think it might interfere with her activities, I might have to cut back on the handshaking sessions.

I’ll keep that in mind.

“Akito san, are you thinking about something that doesn’t make sense?”

“No, I think it’s just your imagination.”

“Really? If you try to leave me, I won’t forgive you, okay?”

“N-No, of course not.”

Hmm, maybe it’s too late than I thought? I felt an incredible pressure, or rather, I sensed an aura as if I was caught in a spider’s web.

I’ll think about how to deal with it as soon as possible…

“I knew you were thinking something strange, didn’t I?”

“…”

Silence passed between the two of us.

“I’ll take silence as an affirmation, okay? And Akito san. What were you doing this morning?”

Even I, who am not very perceptive, know that it would be a bad idea to say that I was at a handshake session with Sherbet.

“Oh, by the way, did I mention that there is a handshake session with Sherbet today? Akito, when you and I first talked together, you said you were a fan of Narimiya-san of Sherbet, right? Did you shake hands with Narimiya-san?”

Maiasa