“I-I’m sorry, but the reception is so bad that I didn’t quite catch you...” she said. I was still finding it difficult to hear on my end too.
This isn’t going to help... Even if we could hear each other better, cheering her up on the phone can only do so much.
“Minami, do you have a minute? Away from work, I mean.”
“W-Well, yes. If it’s just ten minutes or so...”
“Where are you?”
“In the dressing room near the stage...”
I checked the map of the venue and found the right dressing room, which was luckily not too far from where I was. It was also close to a restroom.
“In that case, can you head over to the restroom? The closest one to where you are.”
“If I ask my manager, I think he’d let me go...”
“Can you go there alone? I’ll meet you there for a minute, if that’s okay with you.”
“Really?! You’ll come see me?”
“Yes! I’ll be there in five minutes!”
“Th-Thank you so much!”
At first, I’d thought I’d just be a nuisance if I asked to see her in person, but since I was the one that she’d called in her panic, maybe she felt like I was reliable enough. Well, maybe that’s just because I’m the only one who knows her secret, but still...
“Okay! See you soon!” I said, hanging up the phone and walking quickly up to Kokoro. She was still talking to that cosplayer.
Maybe things are going well with him. I’ll have to ask her later.
“Ichigaya! Where were you?!” she asked as she saw me approach, despite still being in the middle of a conversation. The grin on her face was enough for me to figure out that it was going well.
“I’m sorry! It’s kind of an emergency. I’ll be back in around fifteen... twenty minutes, tops! I’ll text you when I’m heading back!”
“Huh?! What’s this about?” she asked, but I left her to her confusion and quickly made my way toward the correct hall.
I felt bad about not explaining the situation to Kokoro, but she seemed to be having fun chatting with the guy, so I figured that she wouldn’t mind too much. I couldn’t tell her about what happened to Elena anyway, since it was still supposed to be a secret.
There were so many people around by this point that running wouldn’t have been safe, but I walked as fast as I could to reach her. Elena was already there.
Now that I think about it, I really should have chosen a better place to meet... Oh well, at least it’s easy to find.
“Ichigaya!”
She was so cute and sexy in that costume that I had to look away, lest my heart explode. Ugh, it’s no time for something like this!
“M-Minami! Are you all right?”
She looked incredibly pale, and I couldn’t really blame her under the circumstances.
I looked around to see if anyone had noticed us, but fortunately that wasn’t the case. Even though her identity had been leaked online, she still wasn’t that famous.
“I know I have to do this,” she said. “It’s my job. I can’t let fear get in my way, but if I think of the fans... They could say that I don’t look anything like Emily, or that Emily would never wear a costume like this. They could get mad at me and tell me to give them their Emily back! I’m so scared...”
“Minami...”
We didn’t have much time. I had to cheer her up before the show started, and I needed to find the right words to do so. That’s why I was there.
“No one’s going to think that! I would know! I’ve been a fan of Emily’s for a long time now. All Emily’s fans know how seriously she takes her work. This is the first time you’ve cosplayed, but you’ve gone through so much trouble to prepare. You look so good I can barely believe this is your first time! Fans are only going to appreciate Emily even more for that!”
“I-Ichigaya...”
“And I’m a hardcore Emily fan. I’ve watched all her videos, and I even watch the live streams when I can, and I read all her tweets! I’ve been doing it since long before I met you.”
“Huh? O-Oh...”
Elena looked at me, dumbfounded.
“And when I met you and found out that you were the girl behind Emily Saionji, I was far from disappointed! When people imagine Emily’s voice actress, they think of a girl just like you.”
She continued listening without saying a word.
“As a fan, finding out that Emily is voiced by a girl as cute as you was great!”
“C-Cute...?!”
Up until now, I’d never found the courage to tell her something so embarrassing, but that’s what I’d always thought. It was nothing but the truth—she looked like her character, and she was just as cute. I couldn’t imagine many fans complaining.
Upon hearing it, Elena’s pale face turned red.
“N-Not only cute, but you also have the kind of style I thought you would, and you also have a great f-figure! Just as great as Emily’s! And with a costume like the one you’re wearing today, fans will notice that!”
“What?!” she exclaimed, blushing even harder.
Wh-What did I just tell her?! I must have sounded so sleazy!
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that in a weird way. What I meant is that you look and sound very much like Emily. Your personality, of course, is just like hers. So I think the fans are going to be glad to know that you’re the one behind her! I’m telling you this as a fan, so it’s probably... no, definitely right!”
Elena continued to stare at me, her face still glowing. I wanted her to know what a true fan really thought, but I was afraid that I might have come off as creepy. “You’re cute,” was one thing, but “You have a great figure,” was probably too much.
Just as I was thinking that I shouldn’t have opened my mouth, Elena let out a rather unexpected sound.
“Hehehe...”
Is she... giggling?
“You know,” she said, “I was so scared about the fans’ reactions after they found out. So much so that I was in no state to go on stage. But... it’s so weird. Now I don’t feel scared anymore.”
“Minami?”
“I don’t know what everyone will think. At least, I can’t know until the show is over. But right now, one of Emily’s fans... You told me those things. And that’s enough to give me the strength to go up there. So thank you.”
“O-Oh, I haven’t done anythi—”
“I should get going,” she said, looking at her watch. Then she looked back at me, her calm smile breaking into a beaming grin.
“See you later, Ichigaya.”
“S-See you later! Good luck!”
I stood there, watching her walk back to the dressing room.
Once she was gone, I took out my phone and saw that Kokoro had left me several messages.
“Where are you?! It’s almost time for Minami’s show!!!”
And later:
“I’m heading to the stage! I’ll save you a seat, so call me when you’re finished!!!”
I hurriedly did as I was told.
“I’m sorry, Nishina! I’ll be there in a second!”
“The show’s about to start! Where are you?!”
“Really close by!”
“I’m in the third row from the front, on the seat farthest to the right!”
“Got it! I’m coming!”
I ran right there and took my seat next to Kokoro, who promptly asked me where I’d been.
“I’m sorry! It was just... you know...”
“Wait, did you come from that direction? The restrooms are that way. So you were the one who needed to go to the toilet!”
“Well, haha, I guess so...”
Since I couldn’t tell her about Elena, I lied my way out of it. Thankfully, I didn’t have to explain any further because it was time for the show to start.
“Hi, everyone!”
Elena stepped confidently onto the stage. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.
“Thank you all for coming! Today we’ll be introducing I Became the Strongest Paladin in Another World, a new anime that will begin airing in July. I’m Elena Minami-Williams, a debuting voice actress and your host. I hope you all enjoy the show!”
And to think that a few minutes ago she looked like she was going to cry...
Elena didn’t look the tiniest bit nervous. She was so bold and energetic that you’d believe she was a professional host who’d been doing this kind of thing forever.
“Wow! She’s great!” Kokoro whispered.
The comment made me snap out of my Elena-induced trance, and I looked at the people sitting close to us.
There are people here who have come to see Emily’s voice actress... and there are even some who are going to try to take pictures...
A big sign on the stage read “NO PHOTOS,” and I wondered if anyone was really going to go against that. At the very least, I couldn’t see anyone with cameras or phones in their hands.