Chapter 2

HaHa~ Making treats is fun~ ♪ Sora got good at it because Hina-chan teaches him and we make snacks together a lot!

Hina-chan… Hinata-kun, right? Yeah, where is that guy, anyway?

You’re asking quite a stupid question. He won Setsubun Festival—or rather, he outlasted everyone else…

So he’s probably getting changed into his costume and making other preparations for the performance.

Apparently, 2wink’s popularity has been growing. It looks like word got out, and fans are flocking to the scene.

…We probably shouldn’t tell those fans about everything that’ll be shown on the school program, should we?

It’s a little too soon for that.

I’m sure they’ll find out someday, but it’s hard to control what people say in this digital age.

I can’t say I wholeheartedly endorse it, but it’s best we keep it to ourselves for now.

Fans of 2wink like them because they’re twins.

They like their synchronized performances, their perfect likenesses, their mystique.

Today, it was revealed that their problems are sensitive, and that there’s a lot of friction in their family.

If they found out, their fans might be shaken by the knowledge; they could even become disillusioned by them.

They are not mysterious, charming fairies—They’re human beings who have walked through fire covered in blood and experienced loss and pain.

Their fans should not be bathed in the blood they’ve shed.

They should only ever be shown an image of beautiful, sparkling idolatry.

Perhaps this is the wrong era for that, but I also don’t want those two to be thought of as weird or creepy.

Well, it’s not up to me to decide what information is publicized. It’s your abilities which are being called into question, Producer-chan.

S̸u̸c̶h̴ ̵a̵ ̷c̷o̶m̸p̷l̵i̵c̶a̶t̴e̵d̷ ̴p̸r̵o̴b̵l̵e̶m̵ ̶t̸h̵e̷y̷’̷r̷e̷ ̴e̶n̶t̶a̴n̸g̴l̶e̷d̴ ̴i̷n̸…

I̧ look̕ ̕f̴o̸r̛w͘ard ̷to s̵e̵e҉in̸g͘ ͟wh͠at ͜k͞i̧nd̴ ́o͞f s̴o̶l̕u͞t҉i҉o̴ń ̶y͏o̢u̢ ͝w̷ìl̛l̀ ̕f͜i͝ǹḑ ̸f͏o҉r̢ th̸e҉m.̶

Ànd̡ i͡f you̵ e̢ve͡r ̢n͢e͘ed͞ a̡ mag͟i͡cian, y̕ou̕ ̨k̀now ͜whó to ask̡ ͝♪¹

…Now then, I have a performance to get to, so I’ll be on my way. Come along, Sora ♪

Yes! When you leave someone, you say goodbye! Bye-bye~ ♪

Bye-bye~… Wait, those guys’re performing too?

Oh wait, I remember. Everyone who participated in Setsubun but got eliminated halfway through get to be the backup dancers for the winners.

They’ll have to get changed so they can dance on stage.

Huh? What’s up, Anzu? Huh… So Harukawa never actually got hit by beans and managed to survive?

He just pretended to get hit so he could blend in with the staff and avoid suspicion?

Feels like Sakasaki was just leading everyone around by the nose to prevent anyone from suspecting them. I gotta admit, he’s a clever guy.

So that’s why Harukawa can wear his own costume and perform as one of the main acts on stage.

Hmm… It’s lonely all alone up there, so he’s getting the other two in Switch to perform with him in matching costumes?

So they’re not backup dancers at all, huh. They’re bona fide winners.

They really got the best of both worlds here. Well, no, Sakasaki was probably scheming his way into this result from the start.

Looks like he sees me as some kinda rival? But he’s still a whole step ahead of me.

Our grade is full of guys like that, so I doubt it’ll be smooth sailing once I’m student council president.

But that’s fine. Actually, I’m pretty excited, and I can’t wait for our next year at Yumenosaki ♪

Fufu, I’m gonna be bored if I just stand here and watch the whole time—I really wanna jump up on stage and dance with them, even…

But I can’t do that. I’ve gotta follow the rules and all.

And I’ve got a never-ending amount of work, too. So let’s jump right back into it, Anzu—just like always ♪