Melée 15

The memory ends—present day. Nearly one hour after the encounter with Hidaka Seiya

Jun: (—“Enemy.” Enemy, hm?)

(Ohii-san and Hidaka-sensei used the same word. So who the hell is that supposed to be?)

(If you think about it, it should probably be our opponents, the Red Team. Right?)

(Or maybe Gatekeeper, the guy who’s been pulling the strings from behind the scenes since the Qualifiers.)

(Ngh, urgh...? Yeah, I don’t get it at all! Ibara’s always scheming, but it looks like even Ohii-san and Nagi-senpai are setting something up against this “enemy.”)

(I’m a dumbass, so there isn’t any point in me racking my brains over it.)

(It sounds to me like everyone else in Eden is looking in the same direction, for whatever reason...)

(But at the same time, I can’t help but feel like they’re all saying just slightly different things.)

(Should I be worried? I can’t tell if everyone’s actually on the same page or not.)

(Maybe it’s up to me to make sure we all get back on track.)

(Okay, sure! Worrying over things when I suck ass in the brains department isn’t gonna get me anywhere. I’ll just do what I do best and throw my back into it!)

Rinne: —There’s a little something I wanna ask you, Junjun ♪

Jun: ...?!

Amagi Rinne—senpai! Good luck today!

Rinne: Oh, huh, you too.

Gyahaha. You’re pretty good, you know that? You know how to handle punks like me!

Someone beat that into you as a kid or something?

You make a show of being polite and respectful and they won’t throw you around any more than necessary, right?

So you pull yourself up with a smile every damn time and tell ‘em “thank you very much!”

Eventually they get tired, their knuckles get sore, and then lo and behold, they lay off!

But yanno, that never makes ‘em think any better of it. The beatings don’t stop. You wanna show ‘em their ugly mugs in the mirror and make ‘em realize what they’re doing—

But they’re not gonna repent, so it’s your job to teach ‘em a lesson! You gotta fight back, dude!

That’s what we’re doing. And I’m here hoping you’ll join the cause ♪

Jun: What are you saying to me...? Actually, the show’s getting ready to start, so do you have any idea why no one from the White Team’s backstage yet?

Rinne: Hey hey hey, you sure you wanna ask me that question?

I’m ES’s enemy number one; why would anyone bother letting me know what they’re up to?

“Teehee, whatcha up to, guys?” “Oh, just trying my hand at baking some sweets ☆” “Aww, so cute~ ♪” “I know, right? ♪”

—Gyahahahaha ☆

Jun: Actually, I was thinking because everyone hates you, you’d be keeping your eye on them. It’s what I did before I got to be a Special Student at Reimei.

Back then, everyone above me—all the Special Students, basically—was just one disaster after another.

If I didn’t watch my step, I could run right into an earthquake or typhoon. Like an idiot.

Rinne: You got that right! Yeah, I knew you were the best one to talk to in Eden, Junjun ♪

I figured that was the case, so I came to ask you... what’s the deal with this “oracle” business? I’m your best buddy, so you can tell me anything, riiiight?

Jun: When did we become best buddies...? But look, I’m not the guy to ask here. I’m pretty much just a grunt in Eden, y’know?

Rinne: Then looks like you and me will get along even better! Gyahahaha ☆

Jun: ...You’ve gotten the oracle by now, haven’t you? It’s got all the instructions for how the White Team can win the SS Finals.

Rinne: Ohh, it’s a game strategy guide, is it? And if we do what the “oracle” says, the White Team is gonna kill it out there! Okay!

Which order we should go up in, how each performance should go...

And how much of an advantage we should have over the Red Team’s rep—

Yeah, you really dotted your I’s here.

Take Valkyrie, for example. You send them up first, and they’ve got a huge fan base. The audience’ll vote for them and not even think about saving ‘em up—right?

I gotta hand it to ya! You’d almost believe it if you were reading through it! If we follow the oracle, we could definitely pull this shindig off—

The units who’re especially anxious about how big this event is will probably treat this oracle as a gift from god, right?

Like 2wink, maybe; I’d say they’re getting all pumped up over this right about now.

But hey, that’s just a theory.

But just like I’ve somehow come to know what Valkyrie’s oracle says, how much you wanna bet the Red Team’s got their intel, too?

And if the enemy figures out our strats, well, that’s game over. That’s why spies and shit were so crucial in real wars.

Once they know our tactics, they start taking countermeasures. In a game of rock paper scissors, the one who waits to see what their opponent will throw is the winner.

So to say—if we follow what’s written in this here oracle, we’re dead meat.

Jun: ......

Rinne: Now you gotta wonder just how would the wise and enlightened Eden not be aware of this?

Stands to reason that the purpose of these oracles is to orchestrate our downfall. We’d just be shooting ourselves in the foot, and that doesn’t make any sense!

At first I really thought these oracles were being sent over from the Red Team, yanno? Not Eden, ‘course not. It had to be a trap by the enemy.

But then I found out it really was you guys!

Rei-chan from UNDEAD was handing ‘em out, so I accepted mine in exchange for a few questions—

Jun: Ohh, so that’s how you know what everyone else’s say.

Rinne: Caught red-handed. No point in hiding it; Rei-chan memorized all the oracles, anyway, before passing them onto us.

We’re besties now, so we gotta work together and share info with each other ♪

But no matter how good our cooperation is, we’re gonna eat shit if we follow what’s written on the oracles!

And the corpses of the White Team will just pile up higher and higher as we all lose at the SS Finals.

Now I gotta ask: what kinda tactics are those, commander-san?

Jun: I mean, I don’t know what to tell ya... Up to now, I was convinced the oracles would get us a win.

I mean, that’s how it’s always been. I can never go wrong listening to Ohii-san, or Nagi-senpai, or Ibara.

Rinne: Gyahaha! An omniscient, omnipotent god doesn’t exist! There’s no one who’s a hundred percent right all the time. Are you stupid or something?!

Always have your doubts, Junjun, even if it makes sense to you. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself at a dead end, and you won’t be able to escape.

Jun: ......