(Argh, why is it so damn hot?! It's so freaking clammy and humid that I feel like I've stepped right into hell! This sucks!)

(This is exactly why I hate this country! I knew that escaping overseas was the right idea! There may be a whole crowd making fun of me now, but they'll all see the value in my decision once we reach the afterlife for sure!)

(I can already see them—ten or twenty years from now, even Kasa-kun and Naru-kun are going to come crawling back to me with their heads bowed low. "I was wrong!" they'll grovel—mark my words!)

(Even though right now they—along with our fans—can't wrap their heads around why I took off overseas so suddenly!)

(That was part of my plan all along! As if I'd turn around now and put a dent in my perfectly constructed future plans!)

(Whoever came up with the idea of constructing this stupid building without bothering to give me a heads up is in the wrong here!)

(It's all their fault! And now they're all "You guys need to get a clue!" to people like me and Nazunyan, who've already thought about which path to take—as we should!—and made our preparations—mn?)

(What's this? Some colorful hoops just rolled over and landed by my feet? Is there some kind of paranormal activity going on here...?)

Oh god, sorry about that! Those are mine!

Mn? And who are you? Uh—right, you're one of the kids from Nazunyan's unit, aren't you?

Wait, you don't remember who I am?

Even though we've performed together multiple times? It's me, Tomoya Mashiro from Ra*bits! Thanks for always having our back!

I don't remember...not doing anything for you, I suppose.

That's right, I looked after you during Mystery Stage and the school festival, didn't I? Even though it's not as if I have hours of free time to waste!

Uh? Huh? Why are you in such a bad mood? Did I say something that rubbed you the wrong way?

No, it's not your fault, uh... To-mo-ya-kun. I'm in a bad mood because of the ridiculous Grossness Index of this country!

Oh yeah, it's been crazy hot lately.

And to make matters worse, since the ES building wants to show everyone they're doing their part in energy conservation, they've turned off the AC anywhere it's unnecessary.

There aren't normally a lot of people around this area, so it's boiling hot and you get all sweaty just from walking around.

In order to avoid heatstroke, you've gotta drink plenty of water.

.........

...? W-What is it? Is there something on my face?

No, I was just thinking everything out of your mouth is so mind-numbingly ordinary... You're saying meaningless stuff I already know, and I've already forgotten what you've said despite standing right next to you.

Don't call me ordinary!

Wait, I mean—it's kinda like a trigger word for me, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't use it—it sort of sets me off!

Excuse me? Why is some small-fry who'll start wailing to the extent he'll get "set off" lecturing me about my behavior? Could you not? Who do you think you are?

I'd love to ask you the same thing... Are you royalty or an aristocrat or something, Sena-senpai?

Hmph. For the record, knights can also be considered nobility or a privileged class depending on the country and time period, you know~?

A knight... Well, I guess you are part of Knights, Sena-senpai. You've got a point...

Um, are you here in Japan because you've got some Knights-related work?

That's right. Up until yesterday we had a live tour kinda thing, and a week from now we've got to do a bunch of promotional stuff related to that, so I've heard.

And so, in the meantime I've got the week off.

Going to and fro between countries is a pain in the ass, and the time difference throws off my circadian rhythm, which is so bad for my skin...

These days whenever I've got time off, I've just been staying out here instead of heading back to Florence.

Not like I've got much work back in Florence anyway. But I can't let the other members of Knights know that, it's embarrass—or rather—I feel like they might make a dumb joke out of it.

So I only pretend to head back to Florence and just keep myself to places I won't run into anyone I know as much as possible. I normally crash at Leo-kun's folks' place.

Leo-kun... You mean, Tsukinaga-senpai? Aren't the two of you close though? Is it okay for him to know about your weird behavior?

That guy listens to whatever I say, so if I tell him to keep something to himself, he won't breathe a word to anyone else.

Besides, nothing about the image he has of me is even worth preserving... not anymore.

Anyway. Hey now, are you sure it's alright for you to be chit-chatting with me like this, To-mo-ya-kun?

Ra*bits seem to be fairly popular, so shouldn't you be relatively busy right now?

Oh... It's the same as before for us, "no rest for the weary!"

In order to gain some recognition from our agency, Rhythm Link, which has a long history, we've gotta push ourselves as hard as we can to see some results.

So recently we've been crazy busy taking on both solo and unit work whenever we can.

Even though I don't have any great talents or anything, I've still gotta try my best at everything I can.

It's so stressful! The project I'm wrapped up in at the moment feels like a train wreck already!

Mn? What do you mean?

Well, um. It seems as though Hibiki-senpai's introduced me on some TV show as his "number one apprentice." But the TV show in question actually turned out to be one that features magic.

So now there's this big misunderstanding that I can do magic tricks just as well as him.

I can't, though! It's true that he's been teaching me a lot, but about acting, not magic.

Besides, I don't want to be seen as that guy's "apprentice," I want to be seen as his equal, his rival...

Even though considering my current abilities, or lack thereof, that probably sounds like a load of nonsense.