Chapter 10
…I shall ask you once more, Crazy:B!
Please answer my question! What is your intent with all this?!
Gyahahaha ♪ Why should I answer when it’s this obvious? But there’s nothing more shameless than looking down on a loser from above them—
A loser…?
—Unlike those senpai you look up to so much, I actually respect you as a human being.
I’ll treat you like an equal and answer to your demands the best I can in good faith.
But hey, ain’t that ironic, Suou Tsukasa-kun? That we, your enemies, are the ones treating you more like your own person than your own allies?
I will not tolerate such contempt toward my senpais.
There are certainly many things I object to when it comes to my senpais as people.
They are slovenly, always joking around—They treat me like a baby…
They always put their own needs and emotions first and don’t consider the people around them in the slightest.
They never reflect on their actions when they do something terrible. They’re overconfident and irritating, and they never, ever listen to me—
He’s really laying into us, huh.
Well, let’s just take it in stride… Suu~chan’s always listened to us seriously when we’re talking about dumb things, so now it’s our turn I guess.
—However! It’s just fine! It’s fine because they’re like that! Because they’re such objectionable people!
……
I never expected them to submit to me and wait on me hand and foot simply because I acquired the crown.
They were just as unruly in the past as they are now.
I said they never listen to me, but it’s better to say that they never listen to anyone.
However. There is value in making my egocentric senpais submit to me only if I can do it with my own abilities!
There is a certain delight in bringing a strong-willed, defiant person to their knees—
No, I would never truly believe that! There is meaning only in my senpais trusting me, respecting me, and walking in step with me!
They risk their lives not because I am some distinguished person, but because I am myself!
It is not that I am the head of the great Suou house, nor that I am the King of Knights—
It is because I am who I am, and they love me for me!
That is what I desire! I am still lacking; I have not yet reached that idyllic future as I am now—
But that is only because of my own inadequacies; they have committed no wrongdoing! And so I will ask you: Retract your statement from earlier, Amagi Rinne-senpai!
……
…Haha ♪
No way, that’s fuckin’ hilarious!
And here I thought you were just some pitiful little lamb who thinks the world is fair, some serious kid with no personality—someone you could find anywhere in the world.
But you’ve taken things to the extremes, haven’tcha? Or maybe you’re just as twisted as we are.
Pretty impressive for someone your age. The individualism Knights operates under worked out pretty well for ya—
If you stay on the right path, you’re gonna be a damn good idol.
Nothing like that mold ES is tryna fit all of us in, who can slot himself into people’s hearts and heal ‘em and make ‘em happy—
The kinda idol I was aiming to be way back in the day.
…?
But oh no! You precious little thing, your future’s been hidden behind some dark clouds rolling in, haven’t they? Gyahahaha ☆
That’s something any old idiot can see. Dare I say… this is checkmate—Well, Knights? ♪
I’m glad you’re all packed together so neatly… Y’all Knights’re gonna be the most miserable losers in the whole SS Qualifiers.
……
What’re you on about, Rinne-han?
I can’t figure what you’re sayin’ in the slightest. What’s up with this threatenin’ aura ya got?
Didn’t we go an’ make an alliance with Knights and promise we wouldn’t rile each other up, stay outta each other’s hair as much as we can?
We ain’t enemies; we ain’t crossed blades even once.
Or—Don’t tell me. Did somethin’ happen between Knights and Crazy:B while I was away?
—Allow HiMERU to apologize to you on Amagi’s behalf.
HiMERU and Shiina are just as guilty, since we knew of Amagi’s intentions and still kept you in the dark.
Huh? What do you mean we knew his intentions?! I don’t know anything! Don’t make me out to be just as guilty as you!
Oftentimes, ignorance itself is a sin, Shiina. Especially when you don’t think things through or make an effort to understand, as you’re prone to doing.
Not like he can help it, though. The only thing Niki ever thinks about is food. If he isn’t constantly looking for the next meal to stuff in his face, he’ll shrivel up and die.
—Fufu. However, it was hard enough for HiMERU to pretend that he had no idea what was going on.
Due to his order, he couldn’t even put on makeup to smooth out his expressions…
There was some anxiety that someone with a superior aesthetic sense would see into HiMERU’s true thoughts.
But we were quite fortunate. It was a relief to find that you weren’t very interested in HiMERU. He was worried you all might uncover our intentions at any moment.
You, who extol justice without knowing anything, who act so self-important and overbearing—
It’s almost too amusing to bear.
It’s a good thing you never noticed that HiMERU was just barely containing his laugh.
……