We tried our hardest to relax for fifteen more minutes before walking back into the venue. Aki and the girls returned for the sound check, while I headed to the actual storage room to help Aya and Tomokazu check the merchandise.
It took more time than we expected since we had doubled the quantity compared to our previous concert. Luckily, everything looked good and, two hours before opening the doors to the public, the TOTOT staff assembled both their and our stalls at the entrance of the venue.
One hour remained when the sound check was done. Everyone returned to their green rooms to have one last meal before the concert. Aeryx and her band even called us to spend some time with them. Of course, the girls were ecstatic to do so, but it didn't feel the same for me knowing she was a robot. Even Aki acted somewhat off when she talked with her.
The thought wouldn't get out of my head. How could a robot act so independently and so emotionally? Humas had come a long way, but they couldn't be compared to the level of life Aeryx showed.
It could be seen as cheating. Maybe Ms. and Mr. Yoshida couldn't find anyone that matched their needs or maybe they were experimenting for something even bigger. Whatever the case, I didn't dare ask. Knowing that Chiharu now had such information only made me more anxious.
Finally, the doors were opened, meaning one and a half hours remained before Blostars got to go out. Meanwhile, the girls kept practicing as Aeryx watched them and gave them tips.
When thirty minutes remained, we returned to our green room so the girls could get into their costumes and, for the first time ever, get their makeup done by a professional artist, who TOTOT kindly sent.
Not only that but they also were going to lend us their transmission equipment and team so we could live stream to our social media. It also allowed them to test their equipment since they were going to do the same for their website where, unlike us, they sold digital tickets.
Ten minutes before starting, Tomokazu called to tell me the merchandise had been sold out and that the fans were sad or even mad about it. Although he was probably exaggerating, none of us could believe it. Not only was it double the quantity, but we had also almost doubled the prices as well.
After a couple of minutes, I made the decision to restock the stall. I was glad that TOTOT's staff helped. Luckily, there was enough time for us to make an extra order before the next concert, but I wasn't sure how much to order.
Only then did it me that the situation could've been alleviated if we had an online store where people could buy stuff without waiting in line or worrying about the stock.
Aya and Tomokazu had told me about having more online presence, yet I was hesitant to spend money on it. Now, the more time passed, the more I regretted that decision. So, I put a reminder on my glasses to talk with Haru after the concert to tell her everything.
Two minutes remained when a TOTOT employee came to our green room to call the girls. Aya and I followed them down the hallway until we reached the end of it and, before we realized it, it was time for them to go out.
The crowd clapped and cheered a little, something Aeryx had told us to expect since the great majority of people were here for an Aeryx concert; they were here to listen to rock and metal, not pop. Fortunately, our songs were heavily influenced by rock since that was Umi's favorite music genre, and it was the main reason why Aeryx wanted to collaborate with us, in addition to wanting to experiment with pop herself.
As usual, the girls introduced themselves and the concert began. Even though we were using Aeryx's equipment, Miki was still behind the lighting controls. It was shocking how much he had improved and how well he had adapted the routines to having a dozen more lights.
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It was also mesmerizing to see the girls perform with such enthusiasm and pride. Having Satō train them in the new gym had paid off. So had their practices and the experiences they had leading up to this moment.
By the time one song remained on the setlist, the girls had won over the crowd. They were now cheering for them, which was multiplied by ten when the curtain in the background was rolled up to reveal Aeryx's band's instruments. They walked on stage and, only twenty seconds later, they began to play Sakura Metaphors: the most rock-like song on our album.
As they had stated and as we had heard during the sound check, it sounded far different than the studio version, but that didn't mean it was bad. It gave the song and the performance a new feeling with more dynamism.
Three minutes later, the song ended and so did our concert. The crowd cheered even louder when Aeryx's band introduced the girls once again and the crowd kept clapping as they walked off stage.
As usual, the girls jumped at me to hug me, which was seen as cute by everyone around us, while for me it was a punishment to be soaked with their sweat. Aeryx waiting to praise them was the icing on the cake.
Finally, we could relax. The girls each missed ten minutes of Aeryx's concert since they had to take a shower.
We had to watch it through the live stream in the green room since going into the crowd wouldn't only have been dangerous, but it also would've been disrespectful to take attention away from the performance. However, that didn't mean we couldn't walk down the hallway and watch some of it from behind the stage.
Almost two hours later, the concert ended. We still were in the hallway when Aeryx and her band walked off stage. Despite her being exhausted, the first thing she did was to ask the girls what they thought about the performance, to which the girls didn't hold back expressing their joy.
Two hours later, we were brought to a hotel by the same bus we had taken to get to the venue. Butcher, Miki, Tomokazu, and I were going to sleep in the same room, while the girls were going to sleep in two other rooms.
However, practically everyone struggled to sleep. Most of them did because of the adrenaline, while I was still anxious about Chiharu.
Astra suggested that all of us meet in one of the rooms to chat and play some games, but I had to turn her down since we had to rest for the concert several hours later, although it was being held in the same venue.
The night passed by slowly, but in the blink of an eye, we had performed another successful concert.
Before we realized it, we had traveled all the way down to the south end of the country. We took advantage of the little free time we had between each concert to wander around the cities we could and we even worked on our next album.
As I had noted, I talked with Haru about putting together an online store and selling digital tickets for our concerts, to which she agreed instantly. Despite it sounding complicated, it was fairly simple to look for a platform to use, but it was hard to choose since there were hundreds.
We ended up choosing one based on TOTOT's recommendation which, although they were using a different one now, they had worked with in the past. Although the simplicity of setting it up was great—most of the work Aya did—the cost and fees to run it weren't cheap, but we all agreed it was worth it, including our accountant.
One-quarter of Aeryx's tour had flown away. The venues we performed at varied a lot in their capacity. Some were smaller than the first one, while others were double the size, reaching a capacity of up to three thousand people.
The next one we were about to perform at was located in a coastal city and had a capacity of two thousand people. As much as we wanted to visit the beach, we didn't have time to do so. As soon as the concert ended, we were going to leave since we had to cover half of the country as we headed back north.
We arrived at the venue in the morning. Everything was going perfectly until I received a call from an unknown number. My stomach dropped to the floor and time stopped. I didn't know how much time had passed before I ran outside to answer.
"H… Hello?" I stammered.
"Kaito, long time no see!" Chiharu replied.