(Hmm...?)

(What the hell. Hibiki-senpai's still pretending that he lost his memory.)

(The same thing did happen to Mitsuru1 not so long ago... Is having amnesia trendy these days?)

(Why in the world would that of all things become so popular?)

(Yeah, I know it's not impossible but...)

......♪

Um, Tomoya-kun, was it? I feel a bit better now, thankfully. Is there some way I could help you out? ♪

It's fine, just go sleep. You were hurt really badly, Hibiki-senpai.

Hi-bi-ki-sen-pai... Hmm, is that my name?

It doesn't ring a bell, though.

(Hm... What happened to him? Did he really lose his memory after getting hit in the head somewhere? Like what happens in manga? Like what happened to Mitsuru not so long ago?)

(Ah... Maybe this is his Order?)

(All the idols participating in SS from ES received these so-called "Orders" from the committee.)

(Mine was "no cross-dressing." But, like, as if I need an order to tell me to do that!)

(You're straight-up stupid if you think that I'd just cross-dress at the drop of a hat like that!)

(We're prohibited from telling other people what our Orders are, so I don't know what everyone's is...)

(But from what I can tell, the Orders they gave to the rest of Ra*bits were just as pathetic.)

(I think Mitsuru's is something like "no dashing," which is something he loves to do. Must be hard on him.)

(Hajime's is probably "no using coins to buy things"... And that guy loves to use pennies for everything.)

(Well, SSL$ is just digital currency, so I don't think it's something to worry about.)

(And Nii~chan's Order is...a mystery.2 He is pretty good at hiding stuff like that anyways.)

(He's the kind of person to wear his heart on his sleeve, but anything important is kept tucked away.)

(On top of those, leaders also receive these "Secret Orders.")

(Mine ended up being even harder to violate!3 These Secret Orders make absolutely no sense—)

(But I heard that there were a whole bunch of problems in other regions thanks to those...)

(So I guess we were lucky in a way.)

(Maybe they felt like they didn't need to assign us Orders that are actually worth anything since we're so well-behaved.)

(Or maybe it's because they don't expect anything big out of us.)

(...Anyways. If anyone's acting sus during the qualifiers, it's because of their Order, apparently.)

(So that could be the case with Hibiki-senpai—)

(Or maybe he's just trying to psych us all out by pretending to have amnesia.)

(Even if he were—if he really put his mind to it—I wouldn't be able to tell that he's faking it. Sure, all the nonsensical stuff he always does pisses me off to no end, but I know that he'd never cut corners on his acting.)

Hm? Is there something wrong, Tomoya-kun? You've been staring at me for quite a while now...

Oh, sorry about that...

Wait, why am I apologizing? You loooove being in the spotlight.

I see... Veeery interesting.

What do you mean, "very interesting"? I'm literally talking about you.

Oh, I was just thinking that I should gather some clues to help me remember who I am.

So... What kind of person was I?

"What kind of person is Wataru Hibiki"? I'm telling you, there's seriously no way I can give you a simple answer to a question like that!

I don't even know you that well myself.

Really? I apologize. Were you not close to me, Tomoya-kun? And that's why you don't...know?

...Eh, I guess. I'm not in the same unit as you, and we don't meet up outside of work much either.

I haven't really talked to you that often since you graduated. When we were still in school, you'd always suddenly appear before my eyes and annoy me to hell and back.

Huh...? Well... I'm sorry?

Don't apologize. I've been dying to finally get some peace and quiet in my life without you around.

(I thought that would make me happy.)

(But why do I feel so empty without Hibiki-senpai messing with me...?)4