131: Sigh

……

(Hnn, I’m still super nervous…)

(Last time, Tenshouin-senpai just suddenly went, “If you don’t listen to me, you’re fired ♪”)

(It’s been a little over a month since then. It feels like it’s been such a long time, but it really hasn’t…)

(Huh—? Somehow my life’s started flashing before my eyes.)

(C’mon, pull yourself together, Aira. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna harass us or threaten us or anything.)

(I just can’t get over this anxiety though… The public thinks we’re the same kind of unit as Crazy:B.)

(What if he drops a bomb like “In order to avoid damaging StarPro’s reputation, you’re all fired ♪” or something?)

(It’s all because we never made sure to cut off all ties with Crazy:B… We’re just reaping what we’ve sown.)

(And it’s not even like we’re totally unrelated, since we’ve got Amagi Rinne’s little brother with us—and they’ve been talking in secret.)

(It seems like Hiro-kun got some kinda “order” from his brother, but I don’t even know what that “order” would be.)

(There’s even the possibility that Hiro-kun’s working for Crazy:B without me knowing…)

(Ngh~ If that’s how it is, then I shouldn’t have been afraid to ask him about it.)

(But we’re all still pretty much strangers. We’ve been working as ALKALOID for about a month, but—)

(There’s still so much I don’t know about them. I don’t know at what point I’m overstepping my boundaries.)

(Up ‘til now, all the “good friends” I’ve made in real life or online…)

(They all disappeared before I’d even realized it, or they never even cared about me to begin with.)

(Hiro-kun’s called me his friend over and over again, but… somewhere in my heart, I still can’t bring myself to believe him.)

(Ugh, no. I’m just kind of a skeptic.)

~… ♪

Fufu. Thank you for answering my summons yet again.

Let’s begin with a cup of tea.

Yes. Thank you, I appreciate it.

F–forgive me… for making such an important person as yourself serve us tea.

No, not at all. Brewing tea is a hobby of mine. Yuzuru is far too caught up in preparations for the MDM, so I can’t very well have him take care of it, after all.

Fufu. But even saying that, there’s no way you’re not busy right, Eichi-san?

Oh, I am. But at the same time, I’m not so conceited as to believe I have to do everything on my own if I want things done right.

And so I will do what only I can do, when the time and place calls for it.

Hmm. Then I imagine that you didn’t just call us here today on a whim. Do you have some kind of important request for us?

It’s a great help that you’re so perceptive, Kazehaya-kun. This discussion will go much faster with you being as clever as you are.

In this case, I would say it’s more due to experience than wits. When I’m working with such young kids, I start feeling that I’ve suddenly aged considerably.

Just like Urashima Taro. I understand what you mean, though. There are many students in StarPro, since it is still developing as an agency. Even someone as young as I am is among the oldest here.¹

In any case, we don’t have the time for idle gossip. I’ll get straight to the point. I have good news and bad news—Which do you want first?

Nngh, I’m getting some serious déjà vu here. I feel like I’ve heard all this before.

If that’s the case, then both options are bad news… at least in movies. It’s all just different degrees of bad.

Fufu. You watch too many movies then. There are more and more people who can’t tell the difference between reality and fiction these days.

That’s why it’s so easy to manipulate them—Actually, that’s not something I should be saying.

Well, anyway. You guys seem much more cautious than I thought you would be—or to put it less kindly, you all seem to be cowering in fear…

I’m thinking that if I tell you the bad news first, your hearts will stop, so I’ll start with the good news.

All right. Please, whichever you prefer. We’re in a lower position, so we’ll just hold our heads high and accept whatever you have to say.

There’s no need to act so subservient. It isn’t as if I’m saying ALKALOID should disband. Fufu ♪²

? Was that supposed to be funny?

Ahh, forgive me. It’s an inside joke. I was trying to lighten the mood by reminiscing on the past, but it seems I was the only one laughing in the end. What a pity.

Fufu. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot back then—It’s possible I scared you all too much when we first met.

Trickstar is a group of shameless, brazen kids, so I tend to misjudge what others will do.

But you all are eggs waiting to hatch. I have to handle you with much more care and concern.

Mm. Well, we are nonetheless a group of underachievers. It’s only natural that we’d be treated roughly.

More importantly—Even faced with a situation like this, you seem to be in quite the good mood. It’s a little puzzling. You even look as though you’re about to start burst into song.

Oh? If you want it that badly, I could unveil the new song we prepared for the MDM.

Sorry, that was another joke. And I’d like to provide a correction to what you just said: you all are no longer underachievers.

This is the good news. Because of yesterday’s Idol Royale, the fee required to apply for the MDM have reduced dramatically.

The funds you have on hand right now will be sufficient to perform at the MDM.

If you don’t take an active part in it, though, you’ll still be laid off. You’re not entirely in the clear yet.

But you’ve come up with strategies and applied methods to keep yourselves active—So as of now, I would say you’ve got your heads above water.

So allow me to congratulate you, ALKALOID.