"Speaking of which... although we haven't reached a conclusion about the major debut, we should at least decide on our band name, right?"
During rehearsal, Anon suddenly remembered this.
"Otherwise, the MC part at the live show will be really hard to do... Ahem, 'And next up is... a high school girl band that wishes to remain anonymous!' Do you guys really want that to happen?"
"...That would indeed be a bit unpleasant."
Perhaps because Anon's impersonation was a little too realistic, Shiina Taki, struck by secondhand embarrassment, couldn't help but put down her drumsticks.
"Whether we have a major debut or not, we at least need a band name..."
At this, she couldn't help but cast her gaze towards Soyo.
She was a little worried that this girl, who always had [CRYCHIC] on her lips, might just propose using the name [CRYCHIC] for this new band.
On the other side, after noticing Taki's gaze, Soyo just gave a silent, light huff, then sat down on a chair to the side with her bass, seemingly not intending to join the discussion...
However, staying out of it also meant she wouldn't interfere.
Looks like I won't have to worry about her doing anything unnecessary for now...
"For the band name, do you have any good suggestions, Tomori?"
Taki very naturally asked Tomori.
After hearing this, Tomori first shrugged her shoulders slightly, then a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.
"A band name... if we pick a bad one, it won't just be the MC part, we might get made fun of during our future activities... No, I have to consider this carefully..."
"...Looks like we can't count on getting an opinion from Tomori anytime soon."
Seeing Tomori's increasingly focused expression, Taki couldn't help but shake her head. She then turned her gaze to the next person—
"As for Raana..."
"?"
Hearing her name, Raana, who had been fiddling with her pick, looked up and tilted her head at Taki.
"Never mind, you can keep playing."
Taki sighed, and finally had no choice but to look helplessly at the person who started this topic.
"Well then, have you thought of any suitable names?"
As companions who had been together for some time, Taki knew very well that whenever Anon proactively brought up a topic, she would usually have a plan for how to move it forward, or simply take control of the entire conversation.
However, Anon's reaction that followed was completely unexpected—
"Well... I don't really have any particularly good ideas either..."
Anon scratched her head with a sheepish smile.
"Actually, it's because I couldn't think of a good name that I wanted to take this chance to ask everyone."
"...???"
Taki could hardly believe her ears.
This show-off, who had always strived to be the center of the band's atmosphere and would forcefully insert herself into almost every topic and steer it towards herself, was now proactively giving up all control?!
"Hm, really?"
On the other side, Soyo let out a similar sound of astonishment.
"Logically speaking, shouldn't you be throwing out a few ridiculously unusable names to waste everyone's time right about now?"
"That's so mean?! But... well, I guess I probably would do that normally."
Anon rubbed the strap of her guitar and said with a wry smile:
"But... this time it's a big deal concerning the future of our band. I don't want to face it with my usual joking attitude. If possible, I'd rather make some substantial progress as soon as I can."
"Now that's a rare sight."
Taki clapped her hands lightly.
"So you do know that your usual foolishness is a waste of time."
"Th-That's just because everyone's conversations are always too serious, so I was just trying to lighten the mood!"
Anon first offered this defense, then added:
"Instead of that... let's get back on topic. Regarding the band name, do you have any good ideas, Taki?"
"...No."
Taki said decisively.
"I don't have a talent for naming things, and my literary skills are average... That's why I'd prefer to have Tomori think of a name."
"..."
However, at that moment, Tomori was still frowning deeply, squatting on the floor by herself, muttering and tracing something with her finger...
Judging by her struggling appearance, it was clear they couldn't expect any results from her anytime soon.
"..."
Just like that, because no one could think of a suitable name, the entire studio fell into a brief and awkward silence.
Not long after, Soyo let out a faint sigh and was the first to break the silence.
"If it really comes to it, how about asking that guy... asking Chihaya Tetsuya?"
"Eh?"
Anon couldn't help but be taken aback.
"Wh-Why would Soyo think of asking for my brother's opinion?"
"...It's nothing. I just thought that meddlesome guy would probably be more than happy to help us solve this problem."
Soyo propped her chin on her hand and shifted her gaze to an empty corner.
"In any case, that designer's brain and taste are fairly trustworthy. It probably wouldn't be a bad thing to have him think of a name... Taki probably wouldn't object either, right? If Chihaya Tetsuya gave us a name?"
"...Mhm."
Taki nodded.
"Chihaya-san's taste is indeed quite trustworthy."
"Eh? We're going to have Chihaya-san help us with a name?"
On the other side, hearing the name, Tomori also suddenly stopped muttering to herself.
"...I was just worried about what to do if I couldn't think of a suitable name. It would be great if Chihaya-san would be willing to help."
It seemed Tomori had no objection either.
As for Raana... she had no intention of participating in this topic at all and was already dozing off in the corner out of boredom.
"Looks like there are no objections."
Soyo spread her hands.
The opinions of the other members had been confirmed, and there was no way the girl with the brother complex, who was always talking about her brother, would refuse this proposal.
"In that case, you can just talk to that guy about this when you get home... Hm?"
As she said this, Soyo suddenly noticed that after hearing her suggestion, Anon, instead of showing her usual empty-headed smile, was frowning with a hint of resistance.
What in the world is going on—
"Um! Regarding the band name, let's all think about it on our own for now, and then we'll gather our ideas tomorrow!"
Anon suddenly said with great seriousness.
"As for my brother... I feel that our band has relied too much on his care so far. So, starting with this naming process, I hope we can minimize his intervention as much as possible and try to solve these problems independently as a mature band!"
"What do you all think?"
After these words were spoken, the entire studio once again fell into a strange silence...