Recollection: Various Crossroads | Crowd - 6

[healingbonds]

Crowd - 5 << | index | >> Crowd - 7


Rei: ...Are you satisfied now, bozu?


Keito: Yes. By and large, everything is going as expected. You really helped me out by listening to my wishes just once, just as you promised.


Rei: I won’t break my promises—never again.

But are you sure this is what you wanted?

I did make your wish come true: to join your team for the event you’re hosting at the underground live house, but.

What is this gonna change?


Keito: You know what I’m thinking, but you’re still going to make me explain myself?

The purpose here is to cleanse and rule this live house, which has become a hang-out spot for delinquents.


Rei: Yeah. That was the beginning of it all, huh. To punish the delinquents and gain the favor of teachers and all.

You’re going to strengthen the foundation of your plan while doing away with the guys who are in your way, and move on to your next step.


Keito: That’s what this live performance is for. This event, the [Dead Man’s Live], will solve the issue of this underground live house.


Rei: The name's kinda embarrassing, though. What the hell is a [Dead Man’s Live]? Is it “dead” or “alive”?

Well, I can sense your eagerness to bring this little ol’ me¹—who’s so bored he might as well be a living corpse—back to life.

So it’s a live by the dead for the dead, huh.

Sounds like the perfect name for this live, where devils and demons hop around in hell. Not that I care, but.


Keito: Don’t comment too much on the name. I didn’t have time to come up with something fancy.

In any case, this [Dead Man’s Live] has a fierce live battle format.

Volunteers can form groups freely, and for a set amount of time, they’ll perform on stage.

The audience will watch and score them as they please.

The group that has the highest amount of points after all the performance have ended is the winner.

As a reward, they are given the right to control every single group that participated in the event.


Rei: In other words, you’re saying, “if you lose, listen to the winners from now on~,” right?

It’s the right method when you’re trying to control a bunch of delinquents. Those guys follow the rules of power, after all.

They live in the world of beasts—where the strong eat the weak.

You obviously have to run the risk of becoming someone’s underling in the event you lose, so there’s a mental hurdle you need to clear, but.


Keito: That’s why I brought you out.

If you stand above everyone and issue orders, everyone will accept that. Since it looks like the delinquents adore you quite a bit, too.

And of course, if by any chance they manage to win against you....

Then they can make the super star Sakuma Rei do their bidding. That is an appealing, irresistible reward.


Rei: Ahaha. So you’re gonna do away with all the small fry that are lured in by the bait—me.

It’s simple but effective. You can clearly distinguish the winners and losers as a result of the event, too, so it’s easy to understand.

Well, there’s no way guys who haven’t been working seriously can beat me, Sakuma Rei. The results are as clear as day—we’ll probably be the winners.

To be honest, I haven’t practiced for the real thing, so this is a lot of work, but. Sakuma Rei needs to be able to handle this easy; otherwise I wouldn’t be me.

In any case. I need to head overseas again starting tomorrow, so I can’t do anything about all the actual governance.

But as my teammate, you can use my name to revolutionize the underground live house as you please.

“Sakuma-san has entrusted me with all his rights.”

“These are Sakuma-san’s orders, get serious and be good students~...” that’s how you’re going to fix these delinquents, right? Man, you really used your brains.

Well done, well done. But in the end, it’s all just an empty theory.

Are there any guarantees that the delinquents won’t break their promises? They might do as they please outside the underground live house, anyway?


Keito: Your conditions were along the lines of... “use me to solve the problem at the underground live house,” right?

If I’m successful, you will do my bidding from here on out, too.

Then if I can use you however I please from now on, no matter what—that sort of thing is no big deal.

So long as I can solve the problem at the underground live house, it’s my victory.

That’s what the [Dead Man’s Live] is for.


Rei: Do you think I’m an omnipotent god or something? You think too highly of me.... Well, whatever. You did well even though you only had a week.

You explained everything in a rough manner, but you must’ve planned out all the details in preparation, right?

The voting system, the advertisements for the [Dead Man’s Live], announcing the rules, preparing the lessons and outfits so that victory would be assured.

But you know what, bozu? You’re sti~ll naive. You’re not the one and only game master, like the author of a story.

This is a one-on-one game like chess, where you and I outwit each other as equal players.

Did you think I’d just sit back and watch everything unfold?

If I do nothing, then sure, everything will go as you planned.

...But unfortunately, I’m not a thoughtless idiot you can fool like a monster in a fairy tale.

Don’t act like you’ve won just because you showed off some wit.


Keito: ...Of course. I know all too well that you won’t stay silent and move exactly the way I planned.

We’ve known each other for a long time, after all. I’ve prepared a precautionary measure, too.

Crowd - 5 << | index | >> Crowd - 7



1. What he says is 俺様ちゃん—“oresama-chan”