Chapter 1

Heyyy~ Anzu-san!

Out with the demons, in with the fortune~ ♪¹

Yep! Today’s the day of Setsubun Festival! I’m taking part in it too~ It looks like it’s pretty different from your standard-fare Dream Fes, so I’m excited about it ☆

Setsubun Festival’s an S3—I like those a bunch~ Before, all of these weird Dream Fests would’ve been relegated to B1s.

But these don’t have to be huge events, and there’s a lot that you can participate in freely.

2wink can’t exactly play big parts in full-scale Dream Fests… But if it’s an S3, we can go crazy right at the center of it all.

That’s why I’ve been so happy lately, and why I’ve been participating in a bunch of S3s.

When I find something that lets us jump in, I just go for it. And I’ve been planning my own events, too.

Yep. Only the producer or the unit leader can submit a proposal for an S3.

And I just so happen to be the leader of 2wink, so I’ve got free reign over our proposals.

I can do whatever I want~ That’s why I’ve totally embraced this whole S3 thing.

But it’s gotta be a real pain for the StuCo and you as the producer, since the number of Dream Fests keep going up and up and up ♪

Are you in charge of Setsubun Festival too, Anzu-san?

Oh yeah, now I remember Sakuma-senpai was the one who proposed it… It’s not really like him to take initiative like that, is it?

He’s also taking part in the festival? So he left all the prep work and progression to you?

Sucks for you~ Wish I could’ve helped out with something though.

Not sure if this is ‘cause Sakuma-senpai was the one who proposed it, but this is gonna be a weirdly large-scale Dream Fes for an S3.

So I really wanna stand out and get some good results.

We’ve been on a roll lately~ So I wanna make our presence known in bigger projects and ride the waves to make huge progress.

We’re aiming for the tip-top of Yumenosaki ♪

Yeah, I’ll do my best! Thanks for cheering me on… Anzu-san ♪

…Whoops. Sorry, but I gotta bail. Good luck with all the work~ Bye-bye ♪

Heyyy~ Anzu-san!

Out with the demons, in with the fortune~ ♪ It’s finally the day of Setsubun Festival!

Fufu. I’m glad we could meet up even though it’s a day off ♪

…Hm? What’s wrong? You kinda look like you ate something funny?

Wait, you didn’t eat too many beans, did you? They’re not the best or anything, but once you start you just can’t put them down.

They’re not good for digestion though; they make your stomach all gurgly…

Some of them have added sweetener on them too. I prefer spicier foods, myself, so I can’t say I’m too fond of those.

Huh? Wait, Aniki was here just now?

And he greeted you the exact same way I did? I surprised you ‘cause you thought you went back in time…?

Wow… So Aniki’s participating in Setsubun Festival as an idol.

Yeah. And you already know I’ll be helping out as part of the staff this time.

We already did all the prep work together, like setting up the stage and decorating the place, so I’m sure you’ve got that figured out.

But since everyone will be throwing beans all over the school, we need a cleaning staff.

It’d be terrible if someone fell down and hurt themself by accidentally stepping on some beans.

Ever since the S3 was established, more and more Dream Fests have been popping up, so we’re pretty short on staff.

So there’s been a jump in demand for help, in the form of part-time jobs.

And I’ve been snatching up all sorts of these jobs lately.

I’m pretty handy, so I can do just about any odd job people need help with.

That’s how I’ve been making money. One of these days I’m really gonna hit the jackpot!

Right now, Aniki and I aren’t really on the same page… So I want to prioritize building up our funds over totally embarrassing myself with a big failure on stage.

All this time, Aniki’s been trying to go behind my back and do part-time work, so now I want to do my part too.

We’re the same age, but he keeps acting like he’s my dad or something. It really gets on my nerves.

But well, we’ve been doing honest work down here at the bottom of the totem pole, and we’re putting in our best effort. We’re aiming for the top of Yumenosaki, you know ♪

…Huh? What is it? What’s with that weird look on your face?

Uh—You think Aniki and I are fighting? Why would you think that?

No, we’re not exactly fighting… But it is true that things have been kind of awkward with him since the end of last year.

Aniki has been trying really hard to not step on my toes, so I can’t really complain about anything anymore. I guess it’s made us a little distant.

We haven’t really been seeing each other at home or school, either…

I mean, we’re in different classes, and our hobbies and interests are complete opposites too. We don’t get the chance to meet up that much.

Even at home, we keep to ourselves in our own rooms and do what we want.

Of course, we do still come together for our activities as 2wink, and we always give it our all in lessons and lives and stuff.

We’re still getting results. We’ve really been on a roll lately.

We’ve got a good rep, and our fanbase is growing too… So if you think about it, there’s no problem at all.

Everything’s going great. I’m telling the truth, so… you don’t have to look so worried, Anzu-san.