Whispering You a Love Song ch62: Explanations, Memories, and a Letter.

The rails leading to the place they're aiming for.

Hah~

Cute.
Cute!
Cute!!

I thought you looked cute in that video,
but it's a whole 'nother level in real life.
Hah~

Your manager's super cute too!
100 points!

The firmness of a high schooler's skin really is different...
I guess I've gotten old too...

E-...
Erm.
Hm?
Ah~
Sorry, sorry.
Got a little excited there.

Well then.
Once again,
I'm Chishiro of Queen Records.

Here.
My card.

See?
It's got the company's logo and extension number on it, right?
No scams here.

We weren't
doubting you at all.

That's no good...
!?

As an adult, you should be suspicious.
There's a lot of baddies in the showbiz world.
I mean it.

Properly evaluating whether you're okay working with someone
is the basics.

Well.
I do feel relieved that you seem okay with me.
Speak for yourself...

If you think I'm saying anything weird, feel free to doubt me.
If you have any questions, I'll answer as many as you need.

OK?
Yes.

Good.
I love honest girls.

Now then,
let's get down to business.

Would you like to try making your debut
with our label?

A...

A debut just like that...
Is that even possible?
Yep.
That's a good question.

Of course, it wouldn't be right away.

But the reason you're all here
is because I think you girls can do it.

It may be a steep climb
but do you have the desire...
to aim for it?

...We do!

Fu

Okay~
No problem with your motivation, I see.

First off,
I'd like to see you show off your skills.

The festival our artists perform at.
One song.
Wanna try showing your stuff?

F-...
Festival?
Where?

Zepp. [tn: A group of music halls located all over Japan.]

p10

Z-
Ze-!
ZEPP!?
Yep<3

You're not pulling our leg are you!?
How cruel.
I'm not the kind of adult who tricks people~

I-
It's so sudden.
A big stage like that...

Yeah.
Think you can do it?

Of course, if you're not brave enough,
we could always take it slow starting from a small box...

p11

Don't joke around.
We're obviously gonna be
on the big stage.

For us,
simply standing around isn't an option.

Right?

p12

I'll do my best.

Okay, that's good.

You okay too?

Yes.
Of course.

Okay.
Well then,
here you go.

p13

Since you're minors,
we'll need a letter of consent from your parents.

If you're planning on tagging along, Manager-chan, you'll need one too.
Just to be safe.
R-
right!

Well then,
I know it's a pain, but I'm counting on you.

Mm
I'll save explaining the finer details
for when I have your letters of consent.

That's all for today,
but do you have any questions?
Nope?
Okay.

p14

In that case,
give me a call when you've got everything ready.

I fully intend
to polish you to a shine.

Once again,
I look forward to working with you.

p15

Y'know,

that woman was more casual than I expected.
Yeah.
I thought producers would be more stiff.

But she seemed like a really nice person!
Your standards for "nice person" are pretty lax, Hima...
You should be careful too, okay?

I didn't think she'd be setting us up for a live performance just like that.

Yeah!
I'm still a little suspicious about that.

p16

I bet Mom...
will be surprised.

I know.
I'm sure my folks will cry tears of happiness...

..Wait.

Are you...
gonna be okay, Haji?

Hm?
...Well,
I mean,
y'know.

p17

Your family
um...
is pretty strict... right?

Yeah...

Well, I'm sure it'll work out.
Just relax, Shiho.
R-...
Really?

If anything!
If anything comes up, I'll go explain it to them!
So just let me know!
Haha
You're so reliable.

p18

Phew...

Nee-san.
Did you see that?

p19

I got
a signature just like that.

When I asked
"are you sure",
they just said I could do
whatever I wanted.

....
I guess

Mom and Dad
don't really
expect anything of me.

p20

Not like with you, Nee-san...

My sister was always
my idol.

p21

Better at the violin than anyone else.

Always smiling

and sparkling.

p22

What's more,
my sister used magic.

Magic
that guided me.

p23

When I wanted to play music,
my sister recommended I play the flute instead of the violin.
I remember feeling a little bummed out about that...
since I wanted to play the same violin as my sister.
But

I got used to the flute right away, as if we were always a set.
I won a lot of awards too.
That wasn't the extent of my sister's magic, though.

p24

Studies.
Accomplishments outside of music.
Making friends.

Whenever I followed my sister's advice,
everything went well.

p25

And
without exception,

my sister's magic has been cast
on my band activities too.

p26

G-
Guitar!?

Shh!

Hajime!
Not so loud!
Dad's gonna hear us!

S-
Sorry.
You just surprised me...

Didn't you
love the violin, Onee-chan?
I do love it.
Of course I love it!

p27

But y'see,
I saw a band performance on TV the other day
and it shook me to the core.

This is it!
I wanna do this!
Is what I thought.

Band performance?
Yeah!
You should watch it too.

I made sure to record it.

Select

p28

So cool...

...can do it.
Hm?

If it's you, Onee-chan,
I'm sure you can play in a band too!

I
want to see you in a band!
Hajime...

p29

Yeah.

Okay, just you watch!
I'll show you how your Nee-chan rocks on the guitar!
Alright!

On second thought,
I take back the guitar stuff!

p30

Eh?
But just last week...
You said you wanted to do it...
That was
more of a whim!

I still like violin the best!

I guess I'll save guitar from when I'm in my old age.
The heck?
And here I was looking forward to it.

Well, whatever.
Then you'll have to play a lot for me when you're old age, I guess?
Yep!
Leave it to me!

p31

Nee-san
really was a free spirit back then.

Of course she couldn't let go of the violin.
To her, that alone was her natural talent
and what out parents expected of her.

p32

But
I'm sure
she had always
admired the guitar.

p33

You're watching it again.
Wah!
You scared me!

Y'know...

p34

?

This
would probably suit you, Hajime.

...
What would?
A band.

Me!?
Yeah!

I'm clearly not fit to be in one.
No, no.

p35

Just imagine it, Hajime.
You playing rock
would obviously be cool.

I can't imagine it.
Well I can.

For starters,
you're the one who said I should play the flute, Nee-san.
Well yeah, I guess...

But
I figured you banging on the drums would be lovely...
Knowing you, Hajime, I'm sure
you could be successful.

p36

Say I did join a band.
So what?

Only a handful of band succeed well enough to make it into the major world, y'know?>
There's no way I could do that.

Don't be so sure.

If you give it your all,
I'm sure the world will find you.

p37

If you say so, Nee-san,
then you may be right.

Even now,

I'm riding on the rails Nee-san laid out for me.

p38

Her magic that I used to love,

even though she's gone now,

remains cast upon me.

Even though I'm not living by doing whatever Nee-san told me,
by the time I realised it, I was standing in the place she had imagined for me.

p39

It feels
just a little stifling.

In the end,

no matter how much time passes, I can never
surpass you, Nee-san.

In every...
little thing.

p40

Mm...

Momoka...

Mind if I come over to your place real quick right now, Hajime-chan?

Sorry it's so late.

Thanks for replying on such short notice.

p41

I just wanted to report to Kyou-chan as soon as possible,

and visiting her grave would've taken too long.

...
I guess so.

I'm sure Nee-san wants to hear from you right away too.
Come on in.
Pardon the intrusion.

Well.
I knew that already.

p42

...And also,

we're going
to take part in a festival.

I'd really like you to see us
on our first big stage.

Sorry for talking your ear off.
I'll be sure to visit your grave too.

Kyou-chan.
I love you.

p43

Ah.
That reminds me.

Hey, Hajime-chan.
I have a favor to ask.
Hm?

Kyou-chan once told me...
that she used to collect guitar picks as a hobby...
Are they still around?
Yeah.

I think
they should be.
I haven't thrown out any of Nee-san's things, after all.
Really!?

p44

Then...
would it be already if I borrow one?
I wanted to use it for our first live show...
Of course.
I'll go look for them.

Thank you,
Hajime-chan.

I'm going
to give this live show my best for Kyou-chan.

p45

Nee-san.
I'm coming in.

This room
hasn't changed one bit.

p46

...Wait.
That bit's... different.

Nee-san.
Did you see the expression
Momoka had today?

It's been ages since I've seen Momoka
look so happy.

I'm so jealous.

p47

It makes me feel like
you have everything that I want.

...No.
Never mind.
Sorry.

As the one who's still alive, getting to say that
is a luxury.

p48

...
Hmm~
Not here either, huh?

Maybe
in here?

Ah!

I-
I'm sorry,
Nee-sa-...

p49

?

...A letter?
Why would something like that be here...?

p50

N-
No.
I shouldn't be reading someone else's letter...

...

But what if
Nee-san had left it there
to give to someone.

p51

Dear Momoka,

p52

What...
is this...?

I want to end my relationship as lovers with you here. This is all my own selfishness. I'm sorry. -Kyou

Warning