Epilogue 5
Hiyori: Fufu. Besides, Nagisa-kun could never forgive himself for straying from his path, so that’s why he punished himself, right?
When he decided to take things outside the law, he also set things up to make sure he’d receive “divine punishment” suitable to his sins.
Jun: What’s that mean?
Hiyori: Everyone caught on to how weird it all was, didn’t they? Just think about what the oracles were like.
This was all set up so as to ultimately place the blame on Nagisa-kun’s shoulders.
The White Team would suffer defeat after defeat until they lost entirely. And just who would bear the responsibility for that? It would be us, the ones who handed out the oracles and forced them to obey.
Nagisa: ...Not us, only me. I initially intended to take full responsibility for everything that happened.
...That is why the oracles were sent out under my name, rather than Eden’s.
...I acted recklessly and behaved selfishly; because of that, everyone suffered.
...That was my plan.
...I was to become the ultimate cause for the White Team’s defeat. I would be the culprit, bearing the blame for everyone. I would be criticized and cursed, as they cast stones upon me.
...That would be a fitting punishment for me, who had strayed from my path. My incompetence would be exposed for all to see; I may even have been put in a position where would no longer be able to continue on as an idol.
Hiyori: If you thought that would happen, why did you send out those oracles in the first place?
Jun: For real. Those oracles ended up being signed by both you and Ohii-san, though, right?
He added all sortsa stuff to the cards you gave him and then thought to write his own name on it next to yours.
Hiyori: Of course I did! We’ve lived together for so long now, and we’ll certainly die together, too!
Nagisa: ...If I told you this was a lapse of judgment, would you be angry with me?
Nagisa: ...I, too, was scared to be alone. To return again to oblivion.
...Because I was foolish and weak, I tried to involve you. I fell of my own doing, clinging to your kindness.
...But I reflected, later on. It was all just me being dependent.
...So, when it came time for the oracles to be distributed, I requested that Sakuma-kun handle it.
...Even without asking, though, I think he would have understood; he is very perceptive.
...The oracles are something that I alone issued; Hiyori-kun was uninvolved in it.
...I asked him to emphasize that while handing them out.
...If Sakuma-kun said so, then everyone would believe it.
...Unlike me, he has people’s trust.
Ibara: That only reveals a profound lack of understanding of your own value, Your Excellency. In addition, it was an act which undermined His Highness’s resolve to descend into hell with you.
His resolution is not exactly commendable, but to tread upon it is an unparalleled injustice.
Jun: For sure. It might be old-fashioned, but trying to pretend Ohii-san never threw in his lot with you is just cruel.
Nagisa: ...Yes. That is likely the most grievous sin I committed here.
...I am always depending on Hiyori-kun; it is shameful of me.
...But because he revised the oracles, they became more complete.
...The hidden message within the composition became more clearly understood: that I would take responsibility for everything, and so they could act at will.
Hiyori: If we had stuck with the first draft Nagisa-kun wrote up, that message probably wouldn’t have come through.
They may have been suspicious instead, wondering what this was and what it meant. Or worse: everyone would become paranoid and not follow the oracles.
Which is why I gave it my own personal touch.
Allegedly, Sakuma-kun went around telling everyone to ignore what I had added, as per Nagisa-kun’s request.
But he didn’t erase the message, so everyone was able to read it. And thanks to my flawless wording, everyone understood exactly what we were trying to do.
Nagisa: ...Yes. Thank you. Because of you, my plan succeeded, and I was able to defeat my loathed enemy.
Hiyori: Thinking you could do it alone was your first mistake! Why on earth do you think they created the unit system to begin with?
It was to break through all the walls you couldn’t surpass on your own, right?
I hate Eichi-kun’s methods on principle, but that doesn’t mean the results of them are worthless!
There is definitely the power within them to move idols ever forward.
Nagisa: ...Yes. This is a triumph for everyone. At the end of our walk across a tightrope, we have obtained the future.
...I actually considered several different plots. However, thanks to everyone, I believe we achieved the best conclusion.
...The Priest’s goal was to regain his former glory, to reclaim his influence and splendor.
...It was equally crucial to him that he replace Subaru-kun’s father, the man he loathed and envied and longed for more than anyone else.
...That was my conjecture. But I would not be able to lure him out with superficial bait.
...He is a mysterious, preternatural being who had yet to ever be expelled; if he were easy to defeat, no one would have needed to labor to do so.
...And thus I prepared the stage, from the ground up.
...I made several predictions regarding what the Priest would do when he appeared. First among those was him showing up to act as substitute for Tori-kun when he collapsed.
...But I wanted to avoid this, because the Priest is the support for the White Team, under the name Lucifer. He seems to have obtained this position by leveraging his authority.
...However, Tori-kun is on the Red Ream. “Lucifer,” the White Team’s support, has no grounds to stand in for him.
...So, in this situation, the worst possible development would have been him murdering Hidaka Seiya-sensei and acting as the Red Team’s support in his place.
...The Priest can transform himself into anyone he wants, and as someone who longed to stand at the top of the idol industry once more and regain his former glory, Hidaka Seiya-sensei was a fitting target of impersonation.
...Of course, Subaru-kun’s father still would have been the ideal option.
...As the last active super idol, though, Hidaka Seiya-sensei also stood in a a sufficiently attractive position.
...He would kill him, take his place, and obtain his fame.
...Following that, he could have revealed to the world that he was Subaru-kun’s father any time he wished, under the pretense that Sensei was trying to protect him.
Jun: Oh... now that you mention it, Hidaka-sensei did mention something about being assassinated, right? I just took it as a joke, though.
Nagisa: ...Sensei is skilled at calculations; perhaps he deduced such a fate for himself. He is an immeasurable person.
...His deductions border on clairvoyance. I have heard that he analyzes every molecule within the world and calculates their motions so as to predict the future.
...However, that is a miracle beyond human capacity. Still, it seems he is doing something similar to that.
...The last active super idol. In this modern era, he is the closest being to a god, don’t you think?
Jun: Haha. Hidaka Hokuto-san and me both have a nuisance of a dad, even if it’s in complete opposite ways.