Ash Returns to the Sky 1

Tsumugi: Congratulations, Eichi-kun!

Eichi: Thank you, Tsumugi. ...You’re congratulating me as if it doesn’t concern you; you do realize you’re part of fine too, right?

The celebration extends to you, as well.

Tsumugi: Well, I’m really just filling in, you know?

And anyway, I prefer celebrating others than being celebrated~ Look, I’ve even got some party poppers ♪

Eichi: Don’t release them here; it might scare me enough to stop my heart.

Tsumugi: Oh, because of your weak heart, right? I’m sorry, I wasn’t even thinking...

Fufu. But it feels like you’ve been getting a whole mountain of bouquets, fan letters, and gifts every day!

Everyone’s coming together to support you.

Eichi: Yes, that was the intention. We aren’t the ones in the line of fire, after all; everyone else is having a much harder time with things, I’d imagine...

Well, this is a well-earned reward for our victory.

Tsumugi: It’s like a dream, in a way~ I feel like an idol.

Eichi: Fufu. We’ve been idols from the very beginning.

In any case, this isn’t the time to be relaxing, Tsumugi. There is still one thing left to do.

We don’t want things to unravel in the eleventh hour; we’ll especially need to rein in Nagisa-kun and Hiyori-kun.

Tsumugi: Oof~ I just can’t get a handle on those two. Especially Nagisa-kun: he totally looks down on me.

Eichi: He has quite the difficult personality. It’s hard to maneuver him. Even still, I needed that pawn no matter the cost, so I made sure I got him under my thumb.

One often finds it necessary to control poison using poison.

Nevertheless, it’s troubling how freely and recklessly they act.

If we accumulate too many problems, it will damage fine’s reputation, just like their predecessors before them...

We need to wring them of every last drop before we can dispose of them.

Tsumugi: Right, um. I know you scouted them out and signed a contract with them...

So I hope you’ll be able to take responsibility for them and keep them under control.

Eichi: You don’t have to tell me that; I’m already doing everything I can. So far, everything is going to plan.

I’ve made allowances for some bumps in the road, so we ought to be in good form until the end.

Tsumugi: You don’t look so good, though... I think you might be pushing yourself, Eichi-kun.

Eichi: Allow me that much. This has been my dream for so long, and now it’s right within my grasp.

(Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing, but... things have gone mostly as I’ve planned, with all the worst case scenarios averted up to this point.)

(Just one last move—so long as I don’t make a mistake, it’ll be my victory.)

(The long era of rot has caused Yumenosaki Academy’s reputation in the entertainment industry to plummet.)

(The declining employment rates, the decrease in scouting, the slew of defamation... it’s left all of us frustrated.)

(The current state was a result of their own poor behavior and laziness, and of the shameful alumni who came before them.)

(Yet, people always look outside themselves for the cause of their dissatisfaction and anxiety.)

(And so they’ve dubbed some other as the root of all evil—the Five Oddballs.)

(By manipulating the flow of information and taking the time to carefully lay the groundwork... I created the premise, the status quo, the outline.)

(I gave them a story anyone can understand, that of good versus evil, and they all flocked to it.)

(As a dictator from long ago put it... the masses truly are pigs.)^[1]

(The unit system has weakened the transcendent Five Oddballs as individuals, relatively speaking...)

(And the DreamFest system has worked to clarify ambiguity by applying numerical value to the students as idols.)

(Evaluating them impartially, the Five Oddballs and Tsukinaga-kun are superior performers and and artists.)

(However, not everyone is a gourmand.)

(If the strengths and weaknesses of a performance are given numerical representation, like an easy-to-understand card game for children, people will come to believe its truth without question.)

(Even though it would be simple for me to influence those numbers.)

(Casinos are designed to generate profit for the bookmakers. By creating a structure—a system of measurement...)

(Then it’s mere matter of course that fine, the ones dealing the hand, will see victory after victory.)

(It was tough work... But, well, that work has given me my checkmate.)

Eichi: Now, everyone: our Last Supper is upon us. Let us close the curtain on an old era.

We, the students of Yumenosaki Academy, must unite and usher in a revolution.

On our own, we are powerless.

Yet it is the angry cries of the nameless crowd that have brought about change, in every era of history.

We will destroy each and every one of those repulsive Five Oddballs. That done, the world will be set to rights.

Let us make our dream come true; let us return order and peace to our lives.

Oh, thank you for the applause. I’m so grateful. I love you all.

However, make no mistake: even though fine acts as though we represent you...

It is you, all of you, who will bring change to our school, who will achieve happiness and peace.

You are all the protagonists of this story. We are mere pawns in a game of chess, moving at your command.

I’ll get embarrassed if you treat us too much like heroes.

Now... come, let’s make our dreams a reality, together. We are friends, family, comrades who want the same thing.

Let us join hands and topple this great evil, so that we may return love to this world.

There is but one Oddball remaining. We will defeat him during tomorrow’s DreamFest, make our triumphal return, feast in celebration.

And thus our story will come to its happy ending.