"What... what do we do now?"
Listening to the chants from the stage that showed no signs of fading, Anon felt completely at a loss.
"Should we go on stage now? Or wait a little longer?"
"Either option is terrible..."
Taki shook her head. She too had realized just how awkward their current situation was.
"It would be best if [Summer Zodiac] could give some kind of response."
"I'm afraid we can't wait for that."
Soyo shook her head.
"[Summer Zodiac] came here specifically to target us. Why would they possibly help us out?"
"..."
The group fell into a collective silence.
Ai's visit earlier was more than enough to prove her hostile attitude. To hope that they would extend a helping hand now was nothing short of a fantasy.
However...
"Don't be so absolute."
Suddenly, Uika's voice came from behind them.
When they turned to look in the direction of the voice, all of them froze—
"...A guitar?"
Looking at the guitar slung over Uika's back, Taki asked in an astonished tone:
"Uika, are you planning to..."
"Calm the audience's mood a little... and give you all some support."
At this, Uika suddenly turned her gaze to Anon and gave her a playful wink.
"Sorry, Chihaya's little sister. I couldn't stop Ai just now."
"...Eh???"
She... must be talking about how Hoshino Ai came over to pick a fight with me, right?
But what does that have to do with this Uika-san?
The completely baffled Anon had no idea what Uika was apologizing for.
Soyo, on the other hand, couldn't help but ask:
"Just you? Where did Hoshino Ai go?"
"Her... well, she's already on her way to see Tetsuya-san."
At the mention of Ai, a slightly troubled, wry smile appeared on Uika's face.
"You'll probably see her in disguise backstage any minute now."
"...She really is impatient."
From investigating Anon's SNS to stalking in disguise, it was all clear proof of Ai's extraordinary proactiveness. And from the actions she took and the plans she made, her obsession with her goal was far beyond that of a normal person.
Although there was still some time before the day of her plan, she would definitely take some sort of action when the two of them met in private later...
...
"Misumi Uika-san, please wait for me for a moment after the live."
With this in mind, Soyo slung her bass over her shoulder and said:
"I need to discuss something with you regarding Hoshino Ai and Chihaya Tetsuya."
"Okay."
Uika agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"But that's only if we can get through this live safely..."
With that, her gaze swept over the band members, finally landing on Raana, who had been looking bored this entire time—
"You must be the lead guitarist of this band, right?"
"Mhm."
"Can your songs accommodate a third guitar? Or would it be fine if I play unplugged?"
"...Whatever you want."
Raana said calmly.
"As long as you don't get in the way."
"Oh my, what a personality."
A look of surprise appeared on Uika's face.
"Even though the situation is this 'dangerous', you don't seem affected at all."
"...Doesn't matter."
Raana said in a monotone voice as she toyed with the pick in her hand.
"It's the same no matter where I play. Besides..."
She suddenly looked up at Uika.
"In the live just now, the only amazing ones were you and the purple woman. It had nothing to do with that backing band."
"Oh?"
This thoroughly piqued Uika's interest.
"So in your opinion, if you guys had been our backing band just now..."
"It would be even louder outside."
"...!"
Hearing Raana's words, it wasn't just Uika; all the other band members also showed expressions of utter surprise.
"...In that case, I'll have to see it for myself."
With that, Uika unslung the guitar from her shoulder, and instead asked a staff member nearby for a spare microphone.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, she smiled and said to the group:
"Forget the guitar. Forcing in a third guitar would just mess up the original arrangement anyway."
"So as not to get in your way, I'll be your MC and provide some harmonies."
...
Even after five minutes, the enthusiasm of the audience remained high, but as time went on, the fervent calls finally began to cool down.
The empty stage, with no one appearing, made the audience gradually realize that there would be no more performances from [Summer Zodiac].
It was a little disappointing, but that was how the program was scheduled.
But in that case, there probably wasn't much left to see in this live, right?
Just as this thought began to cross the minds of the audience, accompanied by a gasp from the front row, Uika, holding a microphone, suddenly returned to the stage—
"Eh?! Does that mean there really is an encore?!"
"For real!"
"I'm so glad I came here today!"
The crowd erupted in cheers once again.
Sakiko, seeing this scene, couldn't help but wear a look of astonishment.
"Uika actually came back out?"
Sakiko was quite surprised by this.
"Is she planning to save the day for Soyo's band with a solo performance?"
"...Doesn't look like it."
Mutsumi shook her head.
"The members of the last band didn't come back with her."
"Then what is she planning to do?"
And so, under the curious gazes of everyone, the noisy venue gradually quieted down.
Then, Uika raised the microphone, and with all eyes on her, she spoke with a smile:
"Thank you all for your support for us, [Summer Zodiac]. Unfortunately, Ai has other work to attend to, so our surprise performance has to end here."
Hearing this, the audience members all showed looks of disappointment.
However, Uika suddenly changed the subject, throwing out another topic that revitalized everyone's spirits.
"But, since this is such a rare opportunity, and to make sure everyone who came all the way out to see this live today can have an even better time, I'm going to reveal the answer to a question that everyone's been very curious about lately—"
"And that is, about Ai's stage costume! Who exactly was the designer?"