Chapter 13

Gatekeeper’s the head of the SS Administration Committee—the highest possible authority. With his standing, it’d be easy peasy to figure out all the idols’ orders.

So we got that intel from him and plastered all the orders around town.

…So you truly were the culprits behind the series of events that turned the Kansai region into a warring state.

No way you guys didn’t suspect a thing though, right? Like, really?

The general rule of thumb is that you’re innocent until proven guilty, but it also stands to reason that there’s no smoke without fire.

All these guys out here were suspicious of us ‘cause of their animal instincts—And they were right on the money there.

It was you guys who were dumb enough to believe us and shelter us, completely unknowing we were the ones behind it all.

Or should I say, it was you guys who were careless enough to give us protection without thinking things through just ‘cause of your family ties.

If you wanna be a good ruler, you gotta start doubting your own inner circle, little King.

Most of the people with enough power to rival the gods—all those iron-fist dictators—were stabbed to death by their own kin.

……

…You betrayed me, Oukawa. Even though I placed my trust in you.

I–I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything, Bou.

Is it a sin not to know something…?

Nah, you didn’t do anything wrong, did you? Don’t go getting the wrong idea here; it’s all our fault ‘cause we didn’t tell you anything ♪

Exactly. HiMERU, Amagi, and Shiina are at fault, not Oukawa.

Uh, but I didn’t know anything either? So I’m a victim in this case too?!

Fufu. We’re comrades, though. We share a common destiny, and so we will fall together.

No waaaay!!! It’s like I’m being mixed up with the souls of the damned or something…!

Shut up and quit butting in. This is like, the climax of the show, when the big bad’s giving his evil monologue to the allies of justice, ‘kay?

—We got some help from a certain conspirator to put up the orders we got all around town.

A certain conspirator…?

Yup yup. If we did it ourselves, you’d catch a whiff of it. So we asked someone who specializes in these kindsa shady dealings.

You don’t mean—

And at the same time, we got Gatekeeper to give the leader of Knights, Suou Tsukasa-kun, a certain secret order: no live showdowns.

And with that, it was a done deal. The plan came to fruition, and that was that—a checkmate for Knights.

All the rules ES laid out for you guys are gonna eat you alive instead! How’s that for some irony, huh? Good intentions getcha killed, don’t ya know? Gyahahaha ☆

……

You can’t rely on your specialty—live showdowns—so you gotta work hard and force yourself into work you’re not used to over and over and over just to earn your money.

And you guys are good at what you do, so you’re rakin’ in the big bucks.

And all those guys out there who think you’re some invincible knights, a group who’s always throwing hands, are probably out there scratching their heads.

But I mean, there’s nothing really wrong with that, right?

These days, idols have totally stopped stepping on each other to reach the top, and the DreamFest system barely means anything anymore—

So it’s more “correct” to get along with everyone and have fun with your idol work without ever fighting or hurting anyone.

Are you unsatisfied with that? Is it not better to be cordial with one another, to live without making anyone cry?

There’s people crying right now; that’s never changed. It’s just that you guys can’t see it.

With that old DreamFest system and the setup of these live showdowns in Kansai, it was possible to turn the tables.

All the people who were mocked and stepped on by others could see their names in lights if they just won the battle.

They could step out into the spot where the sun shines down on them.

But with how ES is set up right now, that gap will never close.

There’s no way to make your comeback. You’re stuck in your caste, and the saps who’re born in the slums can only ever stare up at the skyscrapers from below.

Capitalism, meritocracy, it all sounds good, sure. But for all those guys who can’t make it, all those have-nots—They don’t even get to dream.

It’s just the cream of the crop, the ones who can do anything at the drop of a hat, who will be seen as members of society and get their rewards. Yanno, like social welfare and stuff.

In ES, all of that’s flawlessly laid out for you already. We can get anything we could possibly need as an idol with the fruits of our labor—with L$.

When you’ve got L$, you can hire the best staff—and from there, expand the scope of your work, which is nothing to sneeze at.

For people like that, ES has got to be the true “idol utopia.”

But it’s hell on Earth for anyone who’s ever taken a hit, anyone down on their luck, anyone who never had the talent to start with.

All those guys? They don’t make jack squat when it comes to L$.

And then they can’t invest L$ in themselves, so they stagnate and never move forward.

Meanwhile, the guys who can make bank do make bank, and they keep growing and earning more and more.

Just like that, the gap widens. I’ve said it before, but once you’re wriggling around at the bottom, you’re robbed of the chance to ever get up again.

They say this rotting capitalist society will be reborn through violent revolution, and everyone will be able to live as equals—

But that turned out to be nothing more than a pipe dream. That much was proven with a large-scale social experiment performed on a global stage, yanno?

But even so, that kinda dream was the only hope left for everyone at the bottom.

But now? In ES? We can’t even dream anymore.

The top is still at the top, the bottom is still at the bottom… And ES set up a system to determine who rises up and who gets pushed down.

If ES says you’re the top dog, then that’s what you are.

And ES’ll prop up anyone convenient enough to fill that position and then mercilessly kick down anyone who tries to rebel or anyone who doesn’t have what they’re looking for.

That’s why everyone’s clamoring to be an idol ES will deem worthy—to be someone convenient enough for them.

So it turns into a game of monkey see, monkey do, and they start thinking they should turn themselves into a proper businessman, diligently toiling away to earn a salary.

…That’s not the kinda idol I dreamed about.

Idols were a dream, a hope that even guys like us can sparkle and shine and be loved.

—But now? That doesn’t exist anymore.

ES is trying to deteriorate those idols we love so much. And that’s why I will run them through, sting them with anger and criticism.¹

I’ll deny them with everything I got. I don’t need you to agree with me or sympathize with me. We’ll stab ‘em dead, no mercy, so we can keep on living.