Chapter 2
……
Tomoya-kun?!
Tomo-chan Tomo-chan Tomo-chan Tomo-chan~ ☆
Yikes?! Don’t just come charging at me every single time, Mitsuru—I don’t have the energy to take you on anymore! And wouldn’t this violate your orders too?
Oh, whatever. Thanks for calling out for me.
And, I’m sorry—for worrying you.
Ahaha! What a total normie thing to say! That’s our Tomo-chan!
Don’t call it a normie thing? But—I guess it’s fine if it’s you guys saying it!
Ahaha, I don’t fully understand, but it really seems like you had a hard time.
That costume you’re wearing looks brand new, but your skin and hair are dirty, and you look completely worn out… Are you okay, Tomoya-kun?
You’re paying more attention to me than I did.
Yes! That’s because I love you, Tomoya-kun! More than anyone, even more than Hibiki-senpai!
Why’re you bringing up that guy’s name?
Amazing! Bravo!
You’ve made it out of the Dark Side, the very embodiment of hell itself—I would expect nothing less from the star of Yumenosaki Academy’s drama club!
I am so proud of you, Tomoya-kun!
……
Gwaoh?! Please don’t try to kick me from the stage! That would be the most dreadful offense you could commit against me!
Yeah, sorry. It just pissed me off that you can smile like the happiest guy in the world after all I’ve been through.
But it’s fine. You’re more like yourself when you’re all smiley like this.
Forgive me~? I wanted to play with you for as long as I possibly could ♪
But I was a bit worried about the wound on my stomach, so I thought I should get it treated properly.
Oh yeah, you did get hurt, didn’t you? A–are you okay? I tried to do some first aid, but it looked really serious…?
Yes ♪ I was given treatment by a team of the best doctors in the country, who are always on standby near Eichi!
And look, look! Now, not even a scar remains ♪
Don’t show me that. I doubt it has anything to do with some doctors, anyway—More like you’re just some kind of monster who can heal yourself abnormally fast.
Even when we were walking around in the back alley, you were healing so fast it honestly freaked me out. Seriously, are you even human…?
No, I am superhuman!
…No, I can’t act so self-important. I was injured because I saw one of the monsters in the Dark Side and was frightened.
I had lost my memories and reverted to the state of a five-year-old. And I was so terrified of the monster before me that I fell and hurt myself in my scramble to escape. It’s quite embarrassing ♪
I tried to make myself look better in front of you to hide any indication of how scared I was, though.
Huh, really? I’m kinda relieved that I wasn’t the only one panicking about being thrown into some crazy situation like that.
Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad we were together. If I’d been wandering around by myself from the start, I’d have probably lost my mind in no time.
Fufufu. I’m sure you’d be fine. You are the one who met an eccentric in Wonderland—and still managed to keep your wits about you.
What’s with that…
But I still don’t even know what that place was supposed to be? I was never actually given an explanation. What’s it called—the Dark Side?
Yes. SANCTUARY—this amusement park—specializes in showing off all the good things about being an idol.
The Dark Side is a ward developed for visitors who are unsatisfied with that vision.
In that ward, the dark sides of idols endlessly surround you.
Oh yeah, that’s definitely what it felt like…
But I figured out it was all fake pretty early on, what with the monsters and all sorts of crazy things wandering around. It felt so uncanny.
But what even is the purpose of that? Why was I put there in the first place?
I was trying to figure it out while I was running around hiding from the monsters, and I ended up seeing all the members of Ra*bits on the monitors around the town…
It seemed like everyone was looking for me, so in a panic, I mustered up the courage to talk to one of the monsters.
I thought they might just be someone wearing a character costume, since they moved around like a human.
Turns out, they were a staff member at the park, and they politely guided me over here.
I should’ve just done that from the get-go… I ended up running all over the place for no reason.
Fufufu. It seems they weren’t supposed to respond to anyone directly at first. Because that wouldn’t sell the story, the experiment.
What the heck does that mean…?