Crown 26

Gatekeeper: The “Apostle” who visited the Boss was probably the Priest. The bastard disguised himself as the man the Boss loved most just to get close to ‘im.

I dunno why, though. Maybe he wanted to get the Boss to write a will that made sure he inherited the legacies hidden all over the place?

Or maybe the Priest had actually lost his damn mind and convinced himself he was the Apostle.

Based on the journal entries, it mighta been the latter. The Priest wanted to become the Apostle, the one the Boss loved most.

I can’t say I didn’t feel the same, so I get it.

Seiya: No one could ever replace Akehoshi-kun. Not even myself.

Gatekeeper: Yeah. So well, the Priest was probably a moron, just wavin’ his arms around like a spoiled brat screamin’ an’ wailin’ for what he wants. It only ended up destroyin’ everything in the end.

An’ he never got nothin’ he actually wanted.

Seiya: ......

Gatekeeper: Not that I feel sorry for the guy. He fucked up what he did inherit from the Boss an’ got his just desserts for it.

He’s a fuckin’ disgrace of a right-hand man. Brought shame on all of us.

At the least, I’ll be takin’ him for a one-way ride, you could say.

Seiya: Ooh, how scary. Once you’re done with that, are you going back overseas?

Gatekeeper: For now. Tell ya the truth, I didn’t wanna see the year out in this country. Can’t exactly ring in the new year with a smile.

Seiya: By all means, go on home. No one’s stopping you.

But... is that really all right with you?

Gatekeeper: What’s that mean?

Seiya: No, it’s just that something’s bothering me. You’re being unusually aggressive this time, making yourself vulnerable in ways that’s uncharacteristic of the mafia.

At the same time, taking those risks is hardly yielding anything in equal returns.

Gatekeeper: Hmph. At the start, I got greedy. I thought I could take everything for myself.

I even brought along my crew to do that an’ let ‘em run wild. At the very least, if I did that the power structures of this country’s underworld would shift.

So that’s what I was here for to start with. I’d be dumb not to have my eyes on a goldmine like ES as it is now, anyway.

It’s got wealth and power that can even influence the government.

That much is evident from the fact that it can impose a “national vote” for some idol music show.

I wanted to take control of that power, cut down the giant tree of the idol industry, liquidate it into materials to turn a massive profit, and haul it back home.

Once I ripped the foundation out from under him, I figured it’d also smoke out that moron of a Priest.

When he came scramblin’ out of his hole in a panic, we’d off him with a single bullet from our hunting rifle—bang!

Seiya: That’s a pretty bloody plan.

Gatekeeper: Sure. I was only thinkin’ that if I struck it big, and we’d be rollin’ in cash. At first, anyway.

But this whole big idol tree is too big for me to handle. I touch it, I get poisoned too. I didn’t see the need for me to get it if that was the cost.

So we decided to do things our way, exploitin’ the idols with threats and coercion.

We’d already had the setup for it, anyway. We used the Qualifying Rounds as an experiment to confirm it works.

But those damn idols like to fight back.

Having the heir to the largest conglomerate in the world, Tenshouin, was already a pain in my ass. Then I had a ton of other nuisances prowlin’ around, too.

I gotta wonder: why the hell are all these people wastin’ their time on all this dumb idol shit, anyway? There’s plenty of better things they should be doing.

Seiya: Why are you asking me? They do it because they want to. That’s how most young people are these days.

Gatekeeper: Really now. With those guys always nippin’ at my heels, it’d be stupid to keep tryin’ to tame these savage beasts...

I don’t give a shit about idols, so I dunno how to handle ‘em, either.

You idols aren’t normal. Every last one of you’s fucking insane. I had to learn the hard way you can’t tame freaks like that with normal means.

Nah, I remember now. This is exactly why I hate idols. I never once understood how the Boss, the greatest idol of ‘em all, felt, even to the end.

That’s why I’m pullin’ out, before your full-on counterattack tries to shake up my base organization.

Your attack’s already started, anyhow. Your underworld guys—Oukawa, Mikejima, an’ all the others are out there huntin’ down the crew I installed here.

I tried to avoid this by tyin’ ‘em down with secret orders, but it didn’t mean much in the end. Or maybe I missed the mark, who knows.

This country’s ties to the underworld have gotten thin. But still, I’ve got both the surface and the shadows comin’ at me to get rid of the invader.

What an irritatin’ country. I’ll be damned before I get hurt in a place with nothin’ to gain and everythin’ to lose.

I already got a kick to the face, so I’m out before I get any other injuries.

Seiya: A wise decision. Though, it does feel a bit too convenient for us; it makes me feel slightly unsettled.

So all the evil is either dispelled or driven away, and now we live happily ever after?

Gatekeeper: Somethin’ wrong with that? The Joya no Kane’s s’posed to get rid of your worldly sins. That’s what your people believe here, right?^[1]

At the dawn of a new year, all the evil rottin’ this country and this industry is purified, and everythin’ is cleansed. ...So Happy New Year to all you idols.

Seiya: It’s a little early to say that, isn’t it?

Gatekeeper: Hmph. By the time the new year comes, I’ll be flyin’ away with the Priest. So I figured I’d say it before it’s too late.

Seiya: You won’t stay to watch how SS ends?

Gatekeeper: Haha. How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t give a shit about all that.