Chapter 1
Mao: Sigh...
(I said I was heading out, but honestly, will the President actually let us borrow money...?)
(I’d even get down on my knees and beg if I had to. I don’t care, as long as I can get this settled.)
(But I’m up against the student council here. They’re not just gonna say “Yep, here you go” and hand over a check.)
(And even if they do, there’s gotta be some insane strings attached to it.)
(Ugh... Maybe I can cover the costs out of my own pocket?)
(Wait, no, my savings aren’t nearly enough for this. I’ll just have to give it my best shot with the President.)
Ritsu: Maa~kun... ♪
Mao: Whoa, Ritsu?! What are you doing laying in the hallway?
Ritsu: I’m sleeping. The hall’s nice and cool, so it’s perfect for a nap~ ♪
Mao: Don’t sleep in the halls... If you’re gonna sleep, do it at home.
Oh, whatever. I’m in a hurry, so I can’t give you a piggyback ride. Be careful on your way home.
Ritsu: Excuse me? But it’s your job to take care of me always and no matter what, y’know?
Mao: I don’t remember ever applying for that position.
Besides, I’ve got work for the student council. And there’s something I need to talk to the President about.
Ritsu: Huh? What’s going on with Ecchan?
Mao: Umm, so there’s this live we want to perform in, but Trickstar doesn’t have enough money to fund it.
So I wanted to ask him if we could get a loan from him.
Ritsu: Eugh, you’re seriously gonna borrow from Ecchan? You shouldn’t do that; who knows what’ll happen afterwards...
If you need money, I’ll lend you some. All you have to do is beg for it in a cute little voice ♪
Mao: What do you even mean by that...? Uh, no. I’m more afraid of being in debt to you.
And besides, it’d be pretty pathetic of me to take money from a childhood friend.
Costumes and sets need a crapton of money—we need more than what a single student can fish out of his wallet.
Don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.
Ritsu: I’m not really worried? Oh well, nothing I can do about it. I’ll come with you.
Mao: Wait, why are you coming with?
Ritsu: Just killing time. Ecchan would totally rig the student council room with AC, so I bet it’s nice and cool in there~
Mao: You’re so... Fine, I’d feel better with someone else there, anyway. So you can follow me, but don’t get in the way, got it?
Mao: Excuse me~
Eichi: Oh, Mao. You’re pretty late.
Mao: My bad, Trickstar had a meeting and it ran over... Sorry about all of this.
Eichi: Oh, I don’t mind. I’ve just gotten to a good stopping place for today, anyway.
You said you were in a meeting; was it for Summer Live? I’m impressed. I was wondering how you’ve been handling your defeat.
Mao: Well, obviously we’d be pretty down and out. They did completely crush us, after all.
But we can’t sulk about it forever, right? So we’re looking for areas we can improve on and put in the leg work to keep growing.
Eichi: Yes, that’s exactly what Trickstar is all about. I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Well, that’s that. Now why did you bring Ritsu here with you?
Mao: Oh, I just happened to meet him on the way. I said I needed to talk to you about something, and he insisted on coming along.
Eichi: You need to talk to me? Fufu, I wonder what this is all about.
Mao: Uh, so it’s like, Trickstar wants to perform in this Sunflower Live thing this weekend. It’s at the beach nearby.
Eichi: Ah, so you’ve taken an interest in Sunflower Live?
Mao: Wait, do you know about it?
Eichi: I do. Did you know that just a while back, Pirate Fes was held in the same location?[1]
Mao: Oh uhh, that joint live with Ryuseitai and UNDEAD? I remember the captain saying something about it.
Eichi: That’s the one. It was quite well received.
The two of them received an offer to reprise their roles in Sunflower Live, but unfortunately, it was difficult to make it work for both of them.
So with the organizer’s permission, an open call was posted on the school’s social media.
I’m sure they’d love to have Trickstar performing in their live, since at present there are no big names participating.
Mao: Oh, so that’s what happened. Well it’d be a lucky break for us to get to perform in the live, but...
Mao: Uh, President? Can I ask you for a favor? Please just hear me out!
- A reference to Pirate Festival.