I became a girl group idol for my sister.

Chapter 55 Hasegawa Subaru's Comfort

"Ms. Kayano, thank you so much!"

Miyamoto bowed to Ms. Kayano and arrived at the theater around 11:00 AM. Unexpectedly, Ms. Kayano was still awake and caught him looking for clothes. After learning that he planned to record an otaku dance and post it online, Ms. Kayano, as the costume manager, immediately offered to help.

“It’s no trouble at all, I haven’t finished packing yet anyway.” Ms. Kayano said, taking out a cute-looking gothic outfit and handing it to Miyamoto Sei: “You can try this on, since it’s otaku dance, this kind should be more suitable.”

Taking the clothes from the other person, Miyamoto asked with some curiosity, "Working so late, is it for recent fashion design?"

"Yes, we need to prepare costumes for the new performance. Everyone has their own unique characteristics, so we need to put in a lot of effort in terms of costumes so that everyone can showcase their individuality. After all, they work so hard on stage, and if I, as the costume designer, don't do a good job, wouldn't I be letting them down?"

Ms. Kayano smiled and sat back down in her seat. On the table in front of her were clothing design sketches, which she had drawn by hand, perhaps because she was not very familiar with computers.

"I'll design clothes for you once you become a full member."

As Ms. Kayano spoke, she lowered her head and began to work.

"Then I'll need to trouble you again, Ms. Kayano. Please continue with your work; I'll go record the dance now."

"Keep it up! I'm a fan too!"

"Hehe, thanks!"

Holding the clothes given to him by Ms. Kayano, Miyamoto went to the restroom to change. It has to be said that the clothes Ms. Kayano chose were more suitable for the otaku dance he was going to perform than the clothes Miyamoto had chosen himself. Even if it was just an otaku dance, he couldn't be careless. Only when the clothes and the song were matched properly could it be more attractive.

Inside the dance studio, Miyamoto adjusted the camera position slightly and then began filming.

There are still some otaku dances online, but not many, and not many are famous. Moreover, the main platform for otaku dances is still 2ch, which is quite different from the situation when otaku dances rose and fell and then rose again in Miyamoto Sei's previous life.

As Miyamoto danced to the rhythm of the music, he watched the recording again after finishing. Dissatisfied, he deleted the recording and started recording again.

……

Subaru Hasegawa walked inside the theater. Although he had already finished get off work, he had come back specifically because he realized he had forgotten some things.

"Huh? The dance studio lights are still on?" Subaru Hasegawa paused, looking at the light emanating from the dance studio from a distance. "Don't those guys know to turn off the lights when they leave?"

Muttering to himself, he walked over intending to turn off the lights, but as he got closer, he heard music coming from inside.

It wasn't SKR's music; it was some upbeat music. Subaru Hasegawa remembered that it was the ending theme of a recently aired anime.

"What's going on?" Subaru Hasegawa wondered, so he went over to see what was happening.

He was a staff member who had worked in the idol industry for many years. Instead of shouting, he first opened the door to see what was going on inside, so as not to disturb others by making a sound.

Then I saw Miyamoto Sei dancing inside.

Why is it Miyamoto? And why is she dancing this kind of dance... which isn't exactly SKR? The camera is on, is she filming?

Some thoughts flashed through his mind, but he didn't speak. Instead, he continued watching until Miyamoto Sei finished dancing and walked over to the camera to watch. Only then did he speak.

"Miyamoto, what are you doing?"

"Ah, Mr. Hasegawa!" Miyamoto turned to look at the door, and was somewhat surprised to see Hasegawa Subaru: "Aren't you off work yet?"

"I came back to pick something up; I forgot to bring back the gift I promised my daughter," Hasegawa Subaru explained, then asked, "And you? What are you doing?"

"I'm recording otaku dances. I don't have the equipment at home, so I came to the theater to record them." Miyamoto honestly explained what he was doing. "I was thinking that if I posted some otaku dances online, I could help promote Unit, so I came here to do it."

"You really are... wanting to be both an idol and a publicity planner. Actually, you don't need all that. Once the new anime comes out, there will be enough people to watch it." Subaru Hasegawa said, "There will definitely be publicity for the new anime. Do you think the budget for each episode is just for production? Actually, no, publicity costs are included as well."

"Huh? Does that mean the production budget for each episode will decrease?"

Subaru Hasegawa rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "Do you think that all the production costs for anime series, which you found out from who-knows-where, are used for production and that advertising costs are separate?"

Miyamoto Sei didn't say anything, he just chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Subaru Hasegawa knew he was right when he saw the other party's reaction, and could only sigh: "Actually, those are just the cost per episode calculated by adding up all the expenses and dividing by the number of episodes, so don't worry, the budget per episode that Amagai-sensei gave you is definitely very high."

"Since there's been no publicity, I'm still a little worried..." Miyamoto sighed as he honestly voiced his concerns.

"I'm just a small idol who hasn't become a full member yet. Although I have a bet with Teacher Amagai, and I'm confident I can fulfill it, if this bet can't be fulfilled in a short time, then we'll have to stay in our graduate student positions..."

Subaru Hasegawa looked at Miyamoto Se. This usually carefree, always smiling girl, who seemed to never worry about anything, now had a worried look on her face. He remembered that he had never seen this expression before, and in fact, no one had ever seen her show such an expression.

He's still just a teenager.

Subaru Hasegawa looked at that face and couldn't help but think to himself.

But he quickly rejected this idea.

No, even an adult would feel a lot of pressure facing such a bet. You can't use being a child as an excuse. Rather, her mindset is much better than that of many adults.

"Remember to go home and rest early. Have you ever had a sudden death while driving like this?"

As Hasegawa Subaru spoke, he turned and left, but stopped halfway there.

"Actually, with your abilities, even if you can't achieve the goal in the first month or two, I think it's still achievable in about six months. The most difficult thing is the BD sales, but with the added boost of being idols, and believe in your fans, they will also want you to become official members."

"But if it's like this, it feels like coercing fans to pay..."

"It's just fans supporting their idol. If you feel you've let your fans down, then what should you do? I don't think I need to tell you, do I?"

Miyamoto was taken aback by these words, then laughed.

"Mr. Hasegawa."

"what happened?"

"So you can comfort people too."

"How did I give you the impression that I can't comfort people?" Hasegawa Subaru retorted. Seeing the smile on Miyamoto Se's face, he knew that the other party had relieved his worries, so he waved his hand: "I have to go back. My daughter is still waiting for me. Remember to pack your things when you leave."

"Okay, Mr. Hasegawa, see you tomorrow!"

Miyamoto waved to Subaru Hasegawa and watched him leave before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, that's right. Whether we achieve our goals through normal means or by having more fans buy more, there's only one thing I need to do: strive to be an idol... As long as I can still stand on stage and bring joy and hope to those people, that's enough..."

He silently clenched his fist, then relaxed it. Miyamoto watched the recorded dance moves again, and seeing himself moving his body in the video, he suddenly smiled.

If it were my past life, I probably would have just stayed in front of the computer watching a girl like that dance...

Unlike now, when people are used to dancing on stage, and even choreograph some relatively simple dances, and record and upload dance videos themselves.

With my current level, I wonder if I can make it into the top 100.

Haha, actually, compared to being in the top 100, becoming the pinnacle of idol status is definitely more challenging!

After confirming that there were no problems with the dance, Miyamoto transferred the dance video to his phone, did some minor editing, and then uploaded it online.

In addition to NicoNico, it was also sent to YouTube.

……

Even though it was past midnight, Yu Shanliang was still awake. He was in bed looking at his phone and browsing the forum.

As for the content they watch, it's naturally related to their idols.

[The appearance of the 10th generation of trainees is a lifesaver! If it weren't for them, I don't know how long it would have been before we saw Nana and the others perform.]

[However, I didn't expect Rika Kusunobu to return, but now she's there as a tenth-generation graduate student. I heard she came back with her mother's support.]

[Rika worked really hard, you know. If she hadn't left, she might have been one of the promoted ones. I wonder who will be left behind.]

[Now that you mention it, it's true. Her temporary departure meant that there was no need to even consider who should stay; exactly sixteen people were promoted.]

[The newcomers in the tenth cohort are pretty good too. I initially thought they might be a bit reserved, given that there are three senior members who are quite famous, but they got along very well.]

[Because these people are so approachable, right? And isn't Nana-chan quite good at interacting with people? She also likes to take care of people; she's probably good at helping newcomers relax and fit in.]

The content wasn't anything new, and there hadn't been any new developments recently, which made Yu Shanliang shake his head helplessly.

"The biggest thing right now is the new anime, but I heard they're recording the voice acting, so it definitely won't be released yet. I wish time would just fly by and it would be January next year, then we could see Nana-chan's new anime..."

Muttering to himself, he opened a video website and suddenly typed in the name Miyamoto Nana to search.

I don't know if NicoNico has uploaded any related videos. If they have, maybe we can see comments from like-minded people, which would be a kind of fun.

As Yu Shanliang thought about it, a slight smile appeared on his face.

Seeing others praise your idol is a happy thing. Even if you encounter haters, you don't think there will be that many haters in your home arena.

After glancing at the videos that appeared in the search results, and then skillfully clicking to sort them by time, Yu Shanliang was slightly taken aback.

There really is a new video!

Judging from the time, it was just released not long ago. Is it a new edit?

Wait, this name...

The uploader of the video is called "Is Miyamoto Nana".

It's a very cute style, but isn't this the kind of title that only the person using it would normally use?

And why is the video titled "Otaku Dance"? And it's even the ending theme dance for a July anime series.

Somewhat puzzled, I clicked on the video and read its description.

[Although I've danced quite a few dances before, this is the first time I've choreographed and performed a dance for otaku. Please forgive me if it's not good. Although I rarely say it, I actually really enjoy watching anime!]

The introduction is written in a style that is clearly the kind of thing you would write when talking about the person in question, and there is no mention of it being a reprint.

The video's cover features a photo of Nana Miyamoto, and Ryo Uyama remembers having a copy of that photo in his collection.