132: Lucky

Uh… umm, what do you mean?

Hm. You mentioned that the application fee for the MDM has been drastically reduced, but why is that?

Rather, this development is a dream come true for us.

The massive cost of the application fee has been our biggest problem, so it feels a little too convenient—and a little bewildering.

I can imagine. Please don’t misunderstand me, though; I didn’t pull any strings to lower the application fee on your behalf.

It’s a mere coincidence that things happened to play out in your favor.

A playwright ought to avoid saving their protagonists with a deus ex machina just because it’s convenient.

However, you are not protagonists, and this reality is not a story.

You keep talking in circles. Can I assume, then, that this is the main point you’re making?

Perhaps you’re too perceptive.

But, well, I suppose I should lay everything out for those who haven’t picked up on it quite so well.

The truth is—Immediately following Idol Royale, from dusk to dawn, Crazy:B has been making a series of huge announcements online.

I won’t show you the actual video here. I’m sure it’s all over the internet by now.

If you’re curious, you can search for it on your own after this.

But I will tell you the gist of it. The video shows off the bloodbath that Akatsuki and Ryuseitai endured at the hands of Crazy:B.

And it seems this was just the beginning. Anyone who performs at the MDM will meet the same fate.

The same fate… In other words, they’ll spread rumors and bad publicity and watch their careers go up in smoke?

Correct. Those units which faced that painful defeat in Idol Royale yesterday were the kindling for a red-hot fire.

Keito from Akatsuki and Chiaki from Ryuseitai—no, this time it was Nagumo-kun, yes? I understand how they feel. However…

It might have been unavoidable because their escape route had been blocked, but they should never have gotten up on that stage yesterday.

Tainted with nasty rumors, villainized by demagogy—and to add insult to injury, they couldn’t even win the showdown.

They handed over the hefty fee to perform in Idol Royale, and yet they were unable to restore their reputation—An evil chance seldom comes alone, hm?

Even Akatsuki and Ryuseitai, two units that have been considered to be powerhouses, are facing such a situation. And they are still among the better-off.

Yesterday, countless smaller units were hunted down and crushed underfoot so thoroughly that nothing remains of them.

Nn… It was so cruel, I feel like I’m gonna have nightmares for weeks.

Yes, it was. If you all had gotten up on that stage yesterday out of some sense of justice, I believe that you would have been destroyed, as well.

Idol Royale was Crazy:B’s hunting ground, a deadly place where survival was nigh impossible.

In order to win so thoroughly, they made us all think that they were small-time villains who could be beaten down as soon as the stronger units got serious.

They made careful preparations for this moment. They deceived us all, lured us in, and took us out.

They have quite the ingenuity. It was a good choice to pick off Ryuseitai and Akatsuki—

If they had chosen to fight fine, a unit from the Big Three, we would have been able to turn the tables on them.

But Akatsuki is part of the veteran agency RhyLink. They haven’t yet been able to make a name for themselves. And Ryuseitai has lost its footing with the switching out of its leader.

They were suitably easy targets to take down, and it’s a common tactic to kill off the weakest opponents in order to claim victory.

And because Crazy:B was hosting Idol Royale, they were in a position to hand-select their audience.

They had the opportunity to fill the auditorium with people who didn’t know or otherwise didn’t care about Akatsuki, or Ryuseitai, or anyone else.

They understood the rules of the game perfectly and perverted them… It’s something we’ve done in the past, but from the outside looking in, it’s quite repulsive.

I’ve once again come to understand exactly why Itsuki-kun and Shinkai-kun are always so harsh toward me.¹

I also believe the reason they targeted Akatsuki was to send a message to those who know about Trickstar’s revolution.²

Something along the lines of: “Y’all did the exact same thing, so you can’t go complaining about us.”

…?

At any rate, Idol Royale was a catastrophic event we haven’t seen the likes of at all in recent years. Upon seeing it, everyone—and especially the weaker units—have all gotten scared.

Even though we’ve set up a massive venue for the MDM, there aren’t enough idols willing to perform—This is the situation we’ve found ourselves in.

One by one, units have been withdrawing their applications.

Hm. And so in order to increase the number of units resubmitting their applications, you’ve had to take countermeasures.

So you’re saying that this was the reason you’ve reduced the application fee?

That’s correct. However, so long as we don’t resolve the root of the problem, it’s nothing more than a stopgap solution, and it’s bound to fall through yet again.

Bearing in mind our current situation, this is what the top management at ES has decided on.

The MDM is a major event funded and organized by the whole of ES, spearheaded by all four agencies.

At this point, there’s no possibility of canceling it—But if we want to host it, we need more idols to perform.

In the beginning, everyone was motivated by their hopes for the new era of idols with the establishment of ES…

The expensive application fee was meant to limit the number of idols performing.

But this is the exact opposite of what we anticipated. I am no god, so it’s hard to get a grip on the ebb and flow of reality.

That’s why it’s so interesting, although I can’t say that aloud this time around. The management at ES is in an uproar, as if heaven and earth have collided.

Ah, I’m sure you’ve all gotten dehydrated by now, what with that cold sweat you’ve broken out into.