Chapter 3

Then we’re off…

Man, I was wondering what was gonna happen, but it’s fine—I’m just glad we managed to get the funds.

……

Ritsu? What’s got you in such a bad mood? Oh, is it ‘cause I woke you up and dragged you along with me?

Are you for real right now? If that were the case, I wouldn’t forgive you no matter what.

Urgh, you really are pissed off. …Yeah, I get it: It’s ‘cause I was basically selling myself.

Bingo. How many times do I have to tell you? You belong to me. At least try to remember it.

And how many times do I have to say no, I don’t “belong” to you.

…Wait, no, I don’t want to get into this right now.

Thanks for worrying about me, Ritsu. But I didn’t really have a choice back there.

I had no way of knowing if the President would give us the money—It was a gamble.

I was scared he’d tack on even worse conditions. But this ended up being a small price I had to pay.

It’s not small at all. If you lose, then who’s gonna take care of me for the rest of the summer?

So no, absolutely not. I’m going back there and telling Ecchan to take it back.

Wait wait wait! Look, I’m sorry I acted like it didn’t mean much.

I’m sorry I tried selling myself without thinking about your feelings. Seriously, I am!

Ah—You said you wanted to see me beg on my knees, right? Then here, I’ll do it right now. It’s a small price to pay for you to forgive me…

Crap, I was about to sell myself again! Uhh, sorry. What can I do to get you to forgive me, Ritsuuu?

Ahaha, what a pathetic-looking face~ Yeah, I’m already feeling better.

It’s fine, I’ll forgive you. But quit offering yourself up so easily.

Don’t worry, I’ll remember that. I know it’s selfish of me to ask this, but I really would love if you’d come out to support us at Sunflower Live.

Like you even had to ask~ My whole summer is on the line here, so I need you to win.

Right. Thanks, Ritsu.

This is Trickstar’s problem, so I can’t rely on you for everything—

But I might ask you for help with the booth, so I hope you’ll help us out.

Oh, and one more thing. I don’t want anyone else in Trickstar to know how I got the President to give us money.

Why not? Don’t you think your friends should know?

Yeah, but I don’t want them to worry about it for no reason.

I want them to go at Sunflower Live with clear consciences, without any guilt mixed in.

…If that’s what you want, I won’t say anything. But I’m still annoyed at how self-sacrificing you are.

I said I was sorry. …Ahaha, I just keep apologizing left and right.

If you don’t like it, then stop doing things you need to apologize for. You shouldn’t just say sorry without ever actually reflecting on your actions.

Yeah, I’ll do some serious soul-searching. …Okay, change of topic, but what are you gonna do from here? If you wanna go home, I can walk you to the entrance maybe?

I’d love to take you up on that, but I actually have to go to my meeting with Knights.

Huh? But you were sleeping in the hallway?

I was way too tired to move around in this heat, so I just didn’t.

But talking with you helped recover some of my energy. I can probably get to the studio on my own.

I see. Must be rough having to do so much work for Knights during the summer.

I know, right~? I was planning on staying home all summer, but then they totally messed up my plans right from the start.

…Uh-oh, Secchan’s been flooding me with calls. I bet he’ll keep going, too, so I better get going even if I don’t want to.

Oh, be careful getting over there. Bye-bye~ ♪

(Ngh… Will Ritsu make it to the studio in one piece? He looks real shaky; I’m worried about him.)

(…Man, I can’t just worry about other people—I have to focus on myself, too.)

(I wonder what everyone would say if they found out I sacrificed myself for the President’s money…?)

(They’d probably get pissed off like Ritsu did. Yeah, it’d just make them worry for no reason.)

(I want them to participate in Sunflower Live without any stress whatsoever. So I can’t let them know no matter what!)