Chapter 3

It means we were picked to be the lab rats this time around.

…?

Pisses me off, though. We may sell ourselves as little bunnies, but we’re not your guinea pigs, y’know.

Of course, it’s not just us. All the idols in Kanto were invited to the park for this same experiment.

There were no big name idols placed in Kanto—fine was in a situation where they had all the glory. And because of that, everyone lost their motivation, thinking it was useless to even try.

We never gave up, and we kept pushing through. But the other idols are a different story.

Yeah… Well, I could understand where they were coming from. The Qualifying Rounds in Kanto weren’t exciting at all.

What, are you saying it’s our fault that we kept on winning? That we should’ve read the room or something?

Not at all. It’s their fault for giving up in those circumstances. Winning isn’t a sin, and strength isn’t evil.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should be dragged down and trampled underfoot.

… ♪

But c’mon, doesn’t that remind you of anything?

Fufufu. Perhaps it doesn’t strike much of a chord with the younger generation, but it does bear resemblance to the Yumenosaki before the War. Or rather, the entire idol industry of that era.

Bingo. Everyone was unmotivated, and the industry was slowly rotting. It was the accumulation of a ton of miracles that got us to where we are now.

But at our core, we’re all lazy. And we don’t know when we’re going to lose our energy and start rotting again.

And that’s why Tenshouin created SANCTUARY: for when that time comes—no, to make sure it never does.

Indeed. By simply enjoying yourself within this SANCTUARY, it becomes ingrained within you that being an idol will make you happy.

It is carved into your mind, your subconscious, as the truth.

And in doing so, those who come to believe that idols are inherently good will view them favorably and eventually aspire to be one, themselves.

Those who are already idols will be reaffirmed of the wonders of their work.

If you become an idol, you’ll be happy. Once they learn that, they will desire that reality again and again.

Such is the fate of man! The machinations of the mind! Ah, we are but slaves to pleasure!

Ahaha… But yeah, it really looks like all the Kanto idols who lost their fighting spirit found their spark again.

Well, not all of them.

But we can’t ignore that a good chunk of them set out to find the same experience in real life that they got from SANCTUARY.

Fufu. We stayed behind to meet up with Tomoya-kun, but most of the idols left the park and went off to do proper idol activities.

Yep. That’s essentially it—The happiness you find in SANCTUARY is all just a dream.

If you want it for real, you have to actually go out and pursue that.

And now the idols who got all hyped are shaking things up again in Kanto!

I wanna go join them! Tomo-chan, what took you so long getting back?

Wait, why’d you get mad?! I’m sorry, I guess?! Really!

But I guess it’s like, even though it felt really shady, it was actually a good thing in the end?

Obvi. You guys couldn’t stop complaining, but Eichi-sama is actually trying to lead the world down a better path.

Fufu. But he’s done plenty of unsavory things in the process, so it’s only natural that he would receive criticism.

That’s right; I’m by no means a saint.

However, I can say this with confidence: I am not in the wrong.

I will raise idols to the pinnacle of culture.

And for that end, I need to increase the number of idols, improve their abilities, and keep their energy high.

Both ES and SANCTUARY exist for that purpose.

And SS, too. It would be a pity for this historic, nationwide festival to end with nothing more than an “oh, that was fun,” wouldn’t it?

I think that would be fine, though? To receive such a response! That’s entertainment… ☆

Me too… But I guess there’d need to be all sorts of difficult calculations and preparation to keep those “that was fun” comments coming.

I didn’t think you’d be the one to agree with me, Mashiro-kun.

You’re so transparent… That place I was in earlier, the Dark Side or whatever—It was a representation of the worst possible outcome.

A world where idols have been brought to ruin. A dull, lonely, quiet… scary world, without any joy.

If that kind of future is waiting for us, it’d be a hundred times better for me to go through hardships right now.

That’s the whole concept behind the development of the Dark Side.

On the front side of SANCTUARY, we’re conditioning people to believe that if you become an idol, you’ll be happy.

But the other side, the Dark Side, aims to propose that without idols, the world will become a hell riddled with despair.

If you’re bad, you’ll be punished—You’ll be reprimanded and whipped.

It’s no different from training a dog. We’re training people to think that it’s a terrible thing to rob the world of idols.

…Yeah but, violent discipline like beating a dog and stuff is usually counterproductive, right Eichi-sama?

Right. That’s why the Dark Side is still in its developmental stage. I don’t feel it’ll be highly effective, either.

That’s what happened at Yumenosaki, after all. The iron fist of the student council invited rebellion. A culture of fear born out of oppression and punishment will never make people happy.

But, well, we have spent a hefty amount of money developing this area.

I figured it wouldn’t be too late to wait until someone had experienced it and ascertained its inefficacy before we changed the course of its development or demolished it altogether.