Nom nom.

Sorry for making you buy food too, Anzu.

I've been searching for the guys in Ra*bits everywhere, so I'm practically starving.

Hm? "Don't worry about it"? "It came straight out of Daddy Gatekeeper's wallet"?

Don't call me your "Daddy,"1 Anzu.

I gave you a credit card so you could buy whatever the hell you want while you're livin' here. Be it food, clothes, or anythin' else.

But to think she'd max it out...

Oh, so that's why you look unusually fashionable...

I was worried that Gatekeeper was using you as some kind of dress-up doll.

In the end, it was just you impulse buying to cope with your stress.⁠2

Hmph. If you really think that'd hurt me, think again. That card's only got what you need spendin' wise.

It's nothin' but pocket change to me. It'd be better for me in the long run if you just went on some shoppin' sprees instead of gettin' all stressed out and pissin' me off 'cause of it.

You seem to be having fun, Anzu... Well, not that being under house arrest by some weird old man is any "fun" though.

Hmph. I'm still takin' care of her, y'know. Well, I've never looked after pesky brats like her before, so I ain't got a clue 'bout how to control 'em.

The Boss and Apostle actually did a pretty good job though.

"Boss"? "Apostle"...?

Don't mind it. I ain't here to have some kinda fun little tea party anyway.

So, Nazuna Nito, lemme ask you a question. ...Just what the hell is Tenshouin thinkin'?

Ngh? Tenshouin?

As if I'd know. I don't even wanna imagine what goes on inside his head.

Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if he's involved in some sick conspiracy. He's always been a wolf in sheep's clothing.

What a cruel way to phrase it... Well, if that's the case, then I won't stand for it.

Though it looks like you've already got some kinda opinion about Tenshouin... I won't be able to get any valuable info if you've got that big of a bias against him.3

The utterings of one who believes in a religion they don't know would be inexplicable to someone who doesn't know the god they worship. Worse, it'd be a boring, meaningless delusion to 'em.

Anyway, you don't even appear to have a strong understandin' of this situation, Nito.

I don't understand why Tenshouin sent a dunderhead like you over. The hell is he thinkin'?

Huh? I said this before, but what the hell are you talking about? Don't use complicated words! I really have no clue 'bout what you're saying!

Apologizes. I spent most of my time livin' overseas, so pardon my awkwardness.

In any case, I'll give you the gist of the situation so you can ask some questions.

SS is the biggest festival in the idol industry. However, the qualifyin' rounds here in Kanto haven't been very excitin'.

I see. ...As an idol that's assigned there, I'm sorry.

Ra*bits are just doing their best, ain't they? The problem lies with fine and all those other idols.

Well, not like we had any excitin' plans for Kanto in the first place.

Kanto is Ensemble Square's own turf. In other words, their hometown.

SS was supposed to let idols go apeshit this year, but Kanto didn't fit the bill.

No matter how much work you throw at 'em, it'll just turn into a replay of the same thing over and over again.

Most of the idols from ES are in other regions, and their fans follow suit.

Fans who would normally travel to ES can simply go to their local theater instead, spend a little less money than usual.

The more enthusiastic fans in Kanto would do the reverse, travelin' to other regions to catch a chance to watch their favorite idols perform.

We've set aside some money to cover their travelin' expenses for that reason.

Slogans like "Travel across the country for your favorite idols!" would get the fans all thrilled.

Where did you even get the money for that...?

The government. Well, the money usually comes from ES's own budget, Tenshouin's or mine. But there's a lot more money flowin' into this year's SS than usual⁠—

With the government sponsorin' us, it's become a national project.

And 'cause of that, the feelings of individual people are bein' disregarded.

This is happening in the twenty-first century? I thought we were a democracy.

There's a difference between democracy and populism,4 but I don't wanna get political with you.

What's important is that this year's SS is structured in a way that won't get Kanto all riled up.

Since the idols are all scattered, their radiance is too⁠—

And so, Kanto is stuck limp in limbo.

Well, Kanto—and the areas around it—is usually the only one that gets this hyped up, so isn't this sorta change good every once in a while?

Guess so. I do agree with Tenshouin that unipolarity5 ain't a good thing.

Besides, we don't expect Kanto's qualifiers to be excitin', so management just cast it aside.

It doesn't matter if it ain't a huge success, as long as no problems arise.

Kanto's become a place with "no expectations."