verdantgrove

Location: ES Dorm Room (Hinata, Hiiro, Niki)

Hinata: And that's exactly what makes this so troubling, y'see. We're at a loss.

Hiiro: What's been troubling you?

Hinata: Basically, when we were settling down after our live a few days ago, we were called over by Vice Prez Saegusa.

Hiiro: Ah, the "Iba-nyan" guy!

Hinata: Right, yeah, Iba-nyan! ♪ Looks like his time in Bogie Time left a deep impression on you, Hiiro-kun~. But that guy is definitely someone to keep in mind when you're part of CosPro.

Hiiro: I haven’t met him in person yet, that’s why. And my brother has also ordered me to not get too close to this "Iba-nyan" person.

Hinata: Oof, so he's overprotective too?

But anyways, he approached me about an upcoming job.

Well, it was more like we had the project representative with us. And then we were ordered "here's your next job to do," as you’d usually be told with a new job.

Hiiro: Hmm, that must’ve made it hard to turn down, didn’t it? Nobody could ever say no/decline when pressed by superiors and companies; that “Iba-nyan” person really knows how to negotiate, doesn’t he?

Hinata: Yup, on the plus side, that’s one of the things I trust about him.

But what's really troubling is the job he gave us... Some Volcano thingie? It's a long-running music program, do you know of it, Hiiro-kun?

Hiiro: No, I don't think I've heard of it. I do all sorts of research myself, and Aira also informs me of many things even if I don’t ask about it, but...

The history of the idol industry alone is vast beyond measure, so it's impossible for a single person to catch up with all of it.

Hinata: Agreed, it was the first time I've heard of it too.

Apparently it's been around for a long time, like about as old as Marble Cast[1] that got rebooted recently, give or take. It seems to be infamous for not letting idols appear on it.

So 'cuz of that it wasn't too well known 'til around two years ago when the idol industry was in decline— then, it started gaining power and bridging the gap.

We ourselves were too busy trying to stay afloat, so we didn't really pay attention to that kind of major trend, though.

Hiiro: Shouldn't they be teaching these sorts of things in Yumenosaki? This seems like extremely vital knowledge for us.

Hinata: Yeaaah, our school’s more like a "school full of idols" rather than an idol training school, unlike the schools affiliated with CosPro..

Oh, but ever since they started restructuring the school last year, the curriculum and stuff got a huge overhaul.

Anyways, that Volcano-something is a program that music artists aspire to be on.

Seems like there's lots of people who became huge stars after appearing on it. A gateway to stardom, you could say?

It's a pretty huge deal just for an idol to perform on it, so we should be super grateful to have been given this opportunity.

In essence, it's kinda like an LN author winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, if ya feel me?

Hiiro: Ell-en? No bell..?

Hrmm... I don't know what those words mean, but it sounds to me there isn’t any reason to refuse the order.

It's your opportunity to make a leap forward—if anything, I think it's quite an honor.

There's still a lot I have yet to learn about idols, but...

If you're able to appear on a program that has always excluded idols, you'll be able to draw in people that, much like me, may not know much about idols.

Hinata: Or it might become a public execution. That's what tends to happen when an outsider gets crammed into somewhere they don’t belong.

Hiiro: I see.

Hinata: ...Well, either way, I feel you— I did wanna agree to it without any hesitation.

I assume the Vice Prez prepared this special stage for us as a reward for always working as his henchmen.

And ever since around sometime when the JNLC1 happened, it's been CosPro's policy to take every single opportunity to maximize a job’s profit...

So it didn't have to be us performing on that Volcano thingie.

Yet even though it could’ve been anyone from CosPro, the Vice Prez specifically nominated us.

It could be because we boo-hooed over not being able to perform in Bogie Time, so maybe he’s just trying to make amends with us.

But either way, he entrusted this job to us because he believed in us. It’s a real honor to have that trust, and we've always been waiting for a job like this.

We’ve always wanted to be given an extraordinary stage, where we could shine as the main characters.

Hiiro: Hmm... I don't really get it. The more I hear about it, the more it sounds like a great opportunity, rather than a problem.

As long as it's you two, you'll be able to pull off any job perfectly, right?

Hinata: Ooh, you think so highly of us, Hiiro-kun!

Hiiro: Haha, to us underachievers, you all look so bright from above.

Hinata: I don't think that things like “above” and “below” really exist, when it comes to idols, though... but I’m not gonna say that “everyone is perfect in their own way” like Ryuseitai would or anything.

I just don't think it's worth it to decide who's above and below others, y'know?

But now... That might be exactly what we have to do.

Hiiro: ? Come again?

Hinata: Well, y’see, that Volcano-something has a limitation of sorts, and the condition given to us is that only a single representative for ES can appear on the program.

In other words... 2wink won't be able to perform—only one of them, Aoi Yuuta or Aoi Hinata, will be given the honor.

One of the twins will lose the chance to perform on the program everyone aspires to be on.

The public's perception of us will change too—and it'll create a big difference between "us". I'm terrified of that.

But... This must be something "Yuuta-kun" has always been hoping for.

Hiiro: ...

TL Notes

1: JNLC stands for Japanese Neverland Cup, from the event story Neverland.

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Translated by Mika_Enstars

Proofread by 310mc and meteorgreen