149: Apology
(—Hm. So Crazy:B actually came to play. Then we’ll be going with Plan B.)
(Although it is a little worrying that only Amagi Rinne-shi showed his face, not the whole unit.)
(Okay, okay, okay… All right, according to the spies we snuck into the audience, it appears as though none of the other members are in the immediate vicinity.)
(So it’s unlikely that they are standing by awaiting orders from Amagi Rinne-shi to commit some act of terrorism.)
(The security at this venue is so tight that even armed forces would find it difficult to break in.)
(It’s safe to assume that the other members of Crazy:B have no plans to intervene on this stage.)
(It’ll be impossible for them to involve themselves at this point anyway, considering the distance between us.)
(HiMERU-shi is at the hospital right now, Shiina Niki-shi is working part-time at the restaurant, and Oukawa Kohaku-shi is—)
(Huh? Umm, that signal… means he’s with Knights?)
(What? Why? Could it be Suou Tsukasa-shi finally lost his patience with his relative and decided to personally punish his own family?)
(It’s true that that child has not yet fully matured, but surely he wouldn’t be so bull-headed, right?)
(On the other hand, there is the possibility that he just wants to offer protection to his family. Out of pity, perhaps.)
(No, hmm… That doesn’t explain everything, either.)
(Is Knights—Is Suou Tsukasa-shi really so simple a person?)
Hey~ Bossman? Whatcha doin’ starin’ off into space like that? It’s sooo boring, I might as well go home.
It’s way more fun playing pachinko than just standing around, yanno?
…Apologies. No no, we have a plan, so there are no issues.
I’ve decided there’s no merit in letting you speak, so I’ll ask you to keep your mouth shut for a minute.
Sure thing. You got it, Bossman. I’ll be a good little boy.
I feel like I owe ya one, after how much you’ve helped me out.
But you already know all that, don’tcha? ‘Course, that doesn’t mean you’ve got me in the palm of your hand forever—
So try not to bore me too much now, Viper-kun ♪
(Right, I can’t just expect everything to go my way.)
(I was ridiculed at the Summit, called a “boy” by someone not much older than me—)
(Of course I’m not so conceited as to think I can control everything.)
(But I’m also not so pessimistic as to believe I can’t accomplish anything.)
(Even the snakes that creep across the earth can grow beyond their limitations; their fangs can even sink into the birds soaring through the sky if they just stretch their necks out.)
(So why don’t I give those who’ve looked down on me a rude awakening?)
“—My apologies for keeping you waiting! Everyone, if I may have your attention once again!”
“I’m sure you all know this man standing before you.”
“This is Amagi Rinne-shi from Crazy:B, a new idol unit from CosPro—the same agency as mine.”
“Yaaay, peace~ ☆ How you guys doin’~?”
“Take this more seriously.”
“Now you all must be wondering what this is about.”
“I imagine many of you detest these people as if they were worms, since they’ve dragged your beloved idols through the mud.”
“First off, allow me to apologize for that. Because we in Eden are part of the same agency as them—”
“No, we are the face which represents CosPro. And so before anything else, we would like to apologize for our negligence on this front.”
“We are deeply sorry!”
“Ohh~ you’re soooo sorry~! Gyahaha, but you Eden guys don’t have any reason to be apologizing, do ya?”
“You’re takin’ this a little too seriously, I think. Must be tough being a bigshot ♪”
“And I’m sure the same goes for you.”
…?
“We’ve decided that we cannot turn a blind eye to this present situation, and after thorough investigation—”
“We have confirmed that there is, in fact, a reason for Crazy:B’s various acts of barbarism.”
“Rather, we have identified the mastermind who is causing them to act in these ways.”
“I have already reported all of this to the police and other authorities, and they are undergoing investigations currently.”
“Now the extent to which I can explain the situation to you… Everyone, if you will think back to the scandal that occurred at SS at the end of last year.”
“Some people with vested interests in CosPro—Some of our higher-ups, even, were colluding with a group who held a grudge against the idol industry and stirred up a tragic incident.”1
“They dug up events long past and slandered an idol and his father with next to no evidence.”
“By taking down the one who, along with his friends, had claimed victory at SS and was on his way to becoming the brightest star in the idol industry—”
“It’s said that they were planning to claim victory for CosPro so that they could line their pockets for a good, long while. All in accordance with their interests.”
“And so, they got carried away by the idea of instant gratification and went on a rampage.”
“However, their little plan fell through.”
“With the support of Eden and other virtuous people within CosPro, along with those of fine, who you see here today—”
“Those idols who had just been disgraced were able to sing and dance with their heads held high, pushing aside such slander to win SS.”
“Just like that, they restored their honor. So those malicious criminals who had tried to devour and profit off them had their plans foiled.”
“And they all lived happily ever after. The end.”
“Except not—because as it turns out, not all the evil in the land had been defeated!”
“Of course, this incident resulted in quite a few arrests, mostly among the upper echelons of Cospro. But that doesn’t mean all of the villains were taken down.”
“We aren’t living in the Dark Ages—We couldn’t round up all the bad guys and execute them in one fell swoop.”
“There are those who were able to escape the investigation into their crimes—no, they were able to escape their crimes entirely just by paying bail or exercising their power and influence.”
“And the series of barbaric acts you’ve all witnessed up to now—Yes, this too was caused by those villains who managed to survive.”