Recollection: Various Crossroads | Crowd - 8

[healingbonds]

Crowd - 7 << | index | >> Epilogue


Rei: “By the way, this was also left ambiguous in the rules, but....”

“Voting rights go to every person in this underground live house.”

“Which means we, the performers on stage, also count.”

“Everyone here is allowed to sing and dance on stage—and vote.”

“Aside from those of you who have awful self-esteem, most people would naturally score themselves better than some stranger, right?”

“Alright, everyone got it? If you get it, and you wanna join the group I'm forming right after this, raise your hand!”

“One, two, three... Ooh, that’s a lot ♪”


Keito: .....


Rei: So yeah. You’re a smart bozu, so I think you get it.... It’s my victory.

Too bad. You worked hard, but you lose. If I quit your team before the vote, your score will plummet.

Now everyone knows that I’m gonna sing as part of a separate group after this.

And that new group won’t have a member limit. It’ll accept as many people as are here in this underground live house.

So naturally, everyone’s gonna give themselves the highest score.

Oh. No use trying to unleash Kiryu-kun to make me shut up. There’s no point in tying me up anymore.

Since it looks like almost everyone here has decided to side with me.

Worst case scenario, even if I don’t sing, “our” victory will not waver. Because everyone will naturally give “themselves”—their cute selves—a high score.

The winner of the [Dead Man’s Live] will be my group.

I won’t go outta my way to do this, but if I order them to, I can have these delinquents make an even bigger mess than they’re causing right now.

Those are the rules, right? The winner of the [Dead Man’s Live] can control the losers....

In other words, you become the ruler of the underground live house.

I could also make your trouble with this underground live house impossible to solve forever. Your whole plan would be set back; you’d fail to fulfill the conditions and lose.

And there would be no reason for me to follow your orders from now on.

Understand? Now give up, and admit defeat. This is checkmate.

There’s no rule that says you can’t join multiple groups, so you guys should join us too.

Let’s all get along and sing together. How about it, bozu ♪


Keito: ...Why?

Why are you doing this, Sakuma-san? I’ll admit—I was naive.... It’s my loss. But I just can’t understand.

Everyone is unmotivated; serious people who work hard aren’t properly recognized....

Everything is slowly rotting away in a downward spiral—we can’t just overlook it.

Why won’t you help me? If you lead us, it won’t be impossible for us to revolutionize this disastrous situation!

I can’t achieve this alone; please help me!

I am... The plan I poured all my effort and thought into was overturned this easily—I am that weak. Please help me, I’m begging you, Sakuma-san.


Rei: No. It hurts my heart to push you away after you’ve bowed to me like this, but.

Let me ask you, then. Hey, bozu—say that I lend you a hand.... Maybe Yumenosaki Academy will change temporarily if I do.

Maybe everyone will work hard, just like you want.

If I say, hey, let’s all work hard together, and cheer them on.

But what are you gonna do after that? What if I graduate? What if I quit being an idol? What if I betray you, like I did this time?

We’ll end up right where we started. You may be right—if everyone treats me this way.... I might be a special existence.

But we’re called geniuses because we’re so scarce; because we’re superior beings who are rarely found.

Nothing's gonna last if you make that kinda thing the main shaft, the foundation of your system.

I’m not a god, you know? I refuse to walk around carrying the whole earth on my back for everyone else’s sake.

I have a dream, too. I have my own life. Are you telling me to give those up to serve everyone else? I don’t wanna say this, but I’m sick of it.

If I was born special, I want to grasp something that nobody else can reach.

That’s why I became an idol. That’s why I was born into this world.

If you’re telling me that’s an unforgivable sin—if even that level of selfishness is unacceptable....

Then I wish I’d never been born. I should’ve stayed a corpse, and returned to the earth without rising.

Hey, bozu. Is it that outrageous for me to want to live a normal life and be happy as a single human?

Am I arrogant for wanting to live my life for my own sake?

Isn’t that how everyone else lives? Why can’t I? Why am I the only exception?

Is it because I’m not a human, but a vampiric demon? Are you going to treat me like that too?

If I’m not human, I have no obligation to humans, you know?


Keito: .....


Rei: This planet is moved by a countless number of nameless people. That crowd of nobodies is the real main character of this world.

If a single outstanding person dictates them all—the system will meet its limit soon enough.

Create a structure where the weak, foolish, countless masses compose the main body—and that body still remains strong, and functions properly.

If someone like me messes around on a whim...

And everything just falls apart, like it did this time—throw out those fragile, fleeting, easy solutions.

Create a powerful system that can withstand any natural disaster. A tough structure that won’t even crack if I go on a rampage.

Once you do that—isn’t that when you finally get to say your revolution has been achieved?

...Oh. I shouldn’t be chit-chatting all carefree, huh. The guests who came all the way here to see us are gonna get bored.

Sing, bozu. You can take your difficult thoughts home and take your time thinking about them there.

You’re a youngster with many years ahead of you.... You’ve got plenty of time to think things over.

Crowd - 7 << | index | >> Epilogue