Chapter 11

Okay? What’re ya even talkin’ about…? What does that mean, huh?!

—Lemme spell it out for you.

We were making a gamble, just like usual. And now, we’re tryna win that bet.

Ah, I get it.

Well of course, I had my doubts already. So you mean to say the alliance was a sham, and now you’re looking to get rid of us?

Well I’ll be damned. You’re pretty good, onii-chan ♪

……

At the start, I was seriously racking my brains to think how we could cozy on up to you Knights and move you around, ya dig?

You guys sure saved me a ton of trouble when you offered yourselves up as our allies.

…So then, you took advantage of our goodwill and used us.

Heh? I don’t remember begging you to save our sorry asses. You guys came riding in on your white horses and held out your hands all on your own.

It’s a knight’s duty to protect the weak, yadda yadda… But my dudes, my guys, don’tcha know you shouldn’t go around treating everyone like pitiful creatures who need saving?

You can’t possibly think you’re the only one who gets all pissy about being treated like that… right, Suou Tsukasa-kun?

……

Kidding, kidding~ If I’m being real with ya, it was a big help that you guys took us under your wing. So thanks for lookin’ out for us~ Seriously, sooo grateful ♪

……

I’m sure you guys’ve been monitoring what we’ve been doing under the pretense of protecting us.

But a kid still gaining their sense of self is always gonna go behind their arrogant parents’ backs and act out anyway.

We put you all off guard by frolicking around Kansai sightseeing.

It didn’t look like we were up to any funny business, and any suspicions you might’ve had were unfounded—right?

Buuut! Lucky for us, we had some help this time around… We were using them to hatch some serious schemes behind closed doors.

Help…? Who’s that s’posed to be? I ain’t heard of ‘em?!

That was the deal we made. Sorry ‘bout that, Kohaku-chan—We made ya feel all left out, didn’t we?

But at the same time, you were all caught up doing things for Double Face that didn’t help us out at all.

You’ve got no right to complain that we’re selfish when you were doing the same thing.

Or do you think everyone else’s lives should revolve around you?

You’re not some little kid who’d get up on his soapbox and insist we can only do what we all agreed on, are you?

I’m…

…Nah, that’s just mean. My B~ Truth is, we had a muzzle on us and decided it’d all work out better if we didn’t tell you anything.

Since yanno, Suou Tsukasa-kun’s the head of your family—in other words, your chief. Seems like you’ve got a nice little friendship going on between you guys, too. ‘Course, I dunno how tight you two are—

But there was a possibility you’d side with Knights ‘cause of all that loyalty and camaraderie you got goin’ on. And even if you didn’t, there was still the chance you’d go and blab to Suou Tsukasa-kun in secret.

If that happened, it’d be game over for us… We wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we set out to do, and if we lose our bet, we’re not getting anything back.

We’re walkin’ a tightrope here, so I wanted to get rid of any cause for concern, anything that could tear this whole thing down.

Yeah, and…? What’ve y’all pricks been keepin’ from me?

—Isn’t it obvious? We’ve been trying to win, Oukawa. We’re in the midst of the SS Qualifying Rounds, after all.

Huh? But haven’t we just been playing around this whole time…?

Do you think we ought to have worked hard to earn money, as Knights has? That’s not how we do things though, is it Shiina?

Damn straight! We’re gonna place our bets and turn the tides Crazy:B-style—with a bang!

That we will. HiMERU thinks he has finally grown accustomed to this “Crazy:B-style” now. In fact, he’s started to think it’s quite fun.

Oh yeah, that’s why you’re in such a weirdly good mood lately, huh?

That sucks for you though~ If you end up getting poisoned by Rinne-kun’s values, you’ll land yourself in jail… or the grave.

Naturally, HiMERU has no intention of ending up like anyone except for HiMERU. Don’t worry.

That said, HiMERU has been thinking recently that he should be constantly updating himself.

And so he will expose himself to myriad systems of values, take them in, and then use them to further perfect HiMERU.

There are some things better left uneaten, HiMERU-kun~

Fufufu. Well, in any case, the biggest obstacle we’ve faced in our efforts to win the Qualifying Rounds… was Knights.

They are powerhouses extolled as ES’s Big Three.

And on top of that, it seems that ES was anticipating a win for Knights.

They even went out of their way to make arrangements that would ensure they make it through the Qualifying Rounds.

Wait, deadass?

Deadass. Think about it Niki… Live showdowns were being pushed here in Kansai even before we were entrenched in this conflict.

And they set up the rules so that the winners of every showdown would rake in the big bucks, right?

And for all those guys who just love the thrill of the hunt, obviously they were all about killing each other, right right?

So who’s gonna benefit the most from an environment like this one? I mean duuuh, it’s gotta be our Duel-loving battle babes—Knights. That kinda shit’s their specialty ♪

I’m sorry, battle babes?

You are aware we possess the ability to choose our opponents based on the conditions for battle, correct?

But it’s still true you guys made it big and got to where you are now with that. Those ES guys seem like they know you pretty well—

And I can’t speak for how things were in the past, but you guys are the breadwinners at ES right now.

…That may be so. We have poured our blood, sweat, and tears to be viewed as such, too. That is the direction I’ve taken Knights as its new King.

Sure ‘nuff. I’d say you’ve done pretty well for yourselves. You’ve pulled off all kindsa feats even though you’re in a puny li’l agency like NewDi—And you’ve held your ground as ES’s Big Three.

You’re sitting on the throne as ES’s top idols, huh.