[CH.26] It's better not to use future knowledge recklessly

I Reincarnated as a Beautiful Girl and Aim to Become a Top Actress! (WN)

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[CH.26] It's better not to use future knowledge recklessly

**TL Notes: So as not to confuse you all, I made a list of the characters that get mentioned in this chapter that you may have forgotten before.   Sumire Matsuda: MC Yoko Ando (Ando-san): Sumire's manager. **She will start being called Yoko-san by Sumire starting with this chapter. Azusa Oshima (Ms. Oshima): Sumire’s mentor. Ai Shinonome: Sumire's senpai at the dormitory.

"Sing, huh?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, I tilted my head in confusion. Ignoring my bewildered expression, Ando-san leaned in closer to me.

"Yeah, yeah. Remember when we all went cherry blossom viewing together? At that time, Sumire sang a song... Well, I actually recorded it."

Ando-san pulled out a portable tape recorder from her bag with a flourish. On the other hand, I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling in disbelief at my own blunder.

It was a rather large-scale cherry blossom viewing event, organized by Ms. Oshima just a little while ago. While I certainly couldn't drink, the adults in attendance indulged in alcohol and began to request performances from us talent agency members. These were people who wouldn't usually make such extravagant demands, but the power of alcohol is quite something. Since I didn't have many opportunities to drink even in my past life, I found it even more bewildering.

Amidst everyone dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments, I was struggling to decide what to do when my turn suddenly arrived. Perhaps thinking I was embarrassed by the situation, or maybe because they found it endearing, I could feel warm, almost affectionate gazes directed at me, making it even harder for me to step forward.

Ai Shinonome, who was pleasantly tipsy, forcibly carried me forward, perhaps as a way to encourage me, and then, with a wink, returned to her seat. It was a bit too much meddling on her part.

Honestly, since I was overwhelmed by various things since my reincarnation, I hadn't had the leisure to listen to music. Looking back now, maybe I should have stuck with the folk songs I learned in music class at school, but with absolutely no preparation, I found myself singing an anime song that had been a favorite of mine in my previous life, exposed to the gaze of many people.

Having mostly songs with female vocals on my smartphone and a scarce selection of male vocals is a common situation for male otaku, I think. I was no exception, with a plethora of anime and game songs in my collection. Gradually, I got into the spirit as everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it, and before I knew it, I had sung three songs.

The only problem was that, at this point, these songs didn't exist in this world. In other words, unintentionally, I ended up singing as if I were performing original songs. I was asked, "I've never heard these songs before" and "Whose songs are these?" But I just smiled vaguely and brushed off the questions because I couldn't explain it. After all, I couldn't say something like, "Oh, these are my favorite future songs from my past life."

You might think I could just sing songs that exist in the current world, but unless I had strong memories or feelings for a song, I wouldn't remember when it was released. I'll say it again, in the current world, I didn't have the luxury of listening to music.

With a click, Ando-san pressed the play button, and a somewhat noisy audio, to put it politely, with less than ideal sound quality, played. However, this cheapness resonated deeply with the part of me that had lived through both the Showa and Heisei eras. Those of us from the cassette tape generation probably had similar experiences, like getting frustrated when our family called us for dinner in the middle of recording a TV music program and exclaiming, "I'm recording right now!"

Leaving that aside, what came through the tape was the sweet and adorable voice of a young girl. It always sounds so different when you listen to your own voice on a recording. I had some confidence in my singing because I had practiced a bit back when I aspired to be a voice actor and took voice training lessons. In the precision scoring games of late Heisei era karaoke, I consistently scored over 95 points, so I guess overall, I was reasonably good, even though I was just an amateur.

"Actually, even though it's a song I've never heard before, it was quite well-made, so I had it played for some music industry acquaintances. And you know what? They said they'd like to meet Sumire once."

She asked, "What do you think?" but looking into Ando-san's eyes, I realized it was already a done deal. I nodded in resignation, and she told me to take a shower and change. After I finished getting ready, I was dragged into the car as if I were a ragdoll.

---

After a half-hour of being rocked in the car, we arrived in front of a rather luxurious mansion. I had seen larger residences a few times in the countryside, but in Tokyo, where land prices are high, building such a splendid house must require a considerable amount of wealth. Well, perhaps it was because of the main residence and dormitory that Ms. Oshima built, as well as the extensive garden, but I also acknowledged that my sense of scale might have been a bit dulled by living there.

When Ando-san rang the intercom, a boy's face peeked out from the door. He appeared to be about the same age as me, and instead of being handsome, he had a cute vibe. When he saw Ando-san, he smiled with relief, as if they were acquainted.

"I'm glad it's you, Yoko-san. I was worried it might be someone from the record company."

"It seems like your father is still piling up work as usual."

"Yeah, he has one deadline that's already past and two more that are coming up soon. Everyone who comes to our house looks so pale, like they've seen a ghost."

He frowned and said this, then invited us to the entrance. The boy dashed inside the house before we could enter. He probably went to inform the man who had been mentioned in our conversation earlier that we had arrived.

"Your first name is Yoko, Ando-san?"

"Huh? You're joking, right? I gave you my business card the first time we met!"

"But my mom accepted the business card, not me. I only knew your last name."

Even though we had been working together for over six months, not knowing her name felt heartless even to myself. However, since I had been perfectly fine with just her last name, there was nothing to be done about it.

Perhaps Ando-san was taken aback by my nonchalance because she let out a deep sigh and then extended her right hand toward me.

"Well, it's kind of strange to reintroduce ourselves after six months, but let's do it. I'm Yoko Ando. We've been working together for more than half a year now, so I'd be happy if you could call me by my name."

As she said it herself, reintroducing ourselves after having met quite a while ago was probably quite embarrassing for her. I chuckled at her embarrassed demeanor and then placed my right hand on top of hers.

"I'm Sumire Matsuda. Nice to meet you again, Yoko-san."

---

"Geez, making people wait and having this immature exchange. And in the hallway of my house, no less."

"What's wrong with getting along with my assigned talent?"

A man with a cigarette in hand, sitting in a chair, said with an exasperated tone. In response, Ando... I mean, Yoko-san retorted with a frown.

Certainly, it was an embarrassing exchange if someone were watching, but there was no need to state it so bluntly. However, it was true that we had kept him waiting for quite a while, so perhaps we should accept the criticism.

The man had learned about our visit from the boy and had apparently been waiting for us to come into the room. He had become curious when we didn't appear for a while and had gone to check, witnessing the exchange that had just occurred.

"Well, fine, let's get to it quickly since I'm swamped with work. So, the one who was singing on that tape I heard the other day, is that you, miss?"

"Yes, she's the most promising talent at our agency right now. Sumire, introduce yourself."

Prompted by Yoko-san, I briefly introduced myself and nodded politely. After all, I didn't know who this person was or where he came from, so it was understandable to be a bit bewildered.

"And this guy smoking the cigarette is Kazutoshi Nishijima, the music industry contact I mentioned earlier."

"Who are you calling 'this guy,' hey! Ahem... I'm Nishijima. I mainly compose and arrange music, but I occasionally play the guitar at live events when asked by acquaintances. But more importantly..."

Nishijima-san's initially somewhat annoyed expression suddenly became serious. Startled by this change, I accidentally inhaled a bit more of the cigarette smoke filling the room and started coughing.

"I haven't heard those songs the young lady sang, at least not in major circles. They might be from an indie band, but judging by what I've heard from 'this girl', she doesn't seem to have any connections with that kind of crowd."

Yoko-san, who had been pointed at as "this girl," pouted and asked, "What do you mean by 'this girl'?" But that wasn't the issue here. What caught my attention was how Nishijima-san's gaze at me had sharpened, like a carnivorous predator closing in on its prey.

"I'll be direct with my question, where did you hear those three songs? There was no accompaniment on the tape, but your singing style clearly indicated an awareness of the instrumental arrangement. So, does that mean you've heard the complete versions of those songs, including the orchestration?"

To extract that much information from a tape recording filled with noise, you had to be a true professional. Or maybe it was just my reckless act of performing for a limited audience during a side performance that was now coming back to haunt me. I hadn't thought of any excuses, and I definitely couldn't tell the truth. I desperately racked my brain to come up with a plausible explanation, without moving a muscle on my face.

"...I've been having dreams since a long time ago."

"Dreams?"

Nishijima-san responded with a question when I blurted out that statement somewhat abruptly. However, for something that came out on the spot, it wasn't an easily elaborated excuse. Regardless, I had to continue with this story. There was no turning back.

"I've been having dreams where I sing the same song endlessly in front of someone. Usually, I don't remember my dreams very well, but for some reason, I remember the details of this dream clearly. I've been having this dream since I was a child, so I've memorized the lyrics and melody."

As I said this with a completely earnest expression, Nishijima-san looked somewhat bewildered, mumbling, "Uh... I see." Honestly, I thought I was coming up with a rather absurd excuse on the spot, but I had no choice but to keep going. Even if I were seen as a weird kid, I preferred that to being labeled as mentally unstable because I couldn't reveal the truth. I wanted to choose the path with the least damage for the sake of my own mental peace.

"Whether this is true or not, I don't really know... But since the young lady is saying it, I guess we have to believe it. I'm sorry for asking rude questions."

Nishijima-san said this and then bowed his head to me. Despite his profession as a composer, he appeared to be in good physical shape.

"No problem at all. But may I ask why you wanted to meet me and brought me here?"

"Well, it's a bit embarrassing, but I've hit a wall with my work. Then, I listened to this girl's tape, and it sparked something in me. I thought that maybe if I talked to the person who created these songs, I might be able to overcome my creative slump."

I see, the musical style from the late Heisei era does seem to have a different melody structure compared to the songs of this era. He probably wanted to discuss composition theories like that, but unfortunately, I was a complete amateur. I had been a member of the wind ensemble club in middle school, but I only played the instruments, never composed.

I apologized for not being of help and decided to leave for the day. Before leaving, I emphasized to Yoko-san, "Next time you want to do something like this, please consult with me in advance." If she had consulted with me beforehand, we might have been able to prevent this situation, or even if we couldn't, we wouldn't have had to trouble Nishijima-san by coming to his house.

Also, I resolved to never casually share future songs from the future with anyone. Such incidents might happen again, and if, by any chance, one of those songs were to be released on a CD or something, I'd feel immense guilt toward the original creator of the song. Even if it didn't exist in this era and wasn't credited to anyone, it would still be taking away a song that someone had worked hard to create.

Maybe I had been too carefree after my debut in the entertainment industry, where I was smoothly landing acting gigs I wanted. I needed to tighten up and live my life as an ordinary fourth-grader who also worked as a child actor.

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