Parallel World - Ch. 20

[nazunyan427]

 

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Parallel World - “The Bad Kid Survival Strategy” Chapter 20

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Location: Sanctuary Food Court

Ideia-sama:

“But this time, you dove straight into the swamp; choosing to muddy yourselves on your own accord. And in doing so, you managed to free yourselves from being thought of as such easy-pickings.”

“I’m sure you understand it perfectly well yourselves. That is, how you essentially dragged your fans into your own problem and held them hostage.”

Tomoya:

……

Ideia-sama:

“As ES is a company that seeks profit, there are certain patrons they absolutely cannot ignore—namely, your fans. Fans that you intentionally seduced for the sake of doing your bidding.”

“It was a vulgar, sneaky, and terrible way of doing things.”

“I’m ashamed of all of you. You absolutely cannot do something like that.”

“What do your fans even mean to you? Are they simply a tool to be used to accomplish your own goals?”

“No. They are the people who acknowledge you, and love you—people you ought to be grateful to from the bottom of your hearts. Am I wrong?”

“And yet you took the countless number of people you should feel indebted to and hurled them like cannonballs against the agency that’s raised and nurtured you from the start in an all out assault.”

“You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Tomoya:

Thank you.

I’m glad. I’m relieved that you pointed out that we’re genuinely in the wrong here.

Hajime:

Me too. It wouldn’t have felt great if everyone reacted like anything and everything Ra*bits do is correct just because we’re Ra*bits.

Mitsuru:

Yeah! We did somethin’ real awful. Somethin’ we shouldn’t have done. I may be stupid, but even I know that.

Nazuna:

Yeah. We all understood that perfectly well, but still came to an agreement and took action.

But still, the whole reason we were pushed this far to begin with is because of you. 

Ideia-sama:

“It’s just as you say.”

“If I were to say that I flung you into the bottom of a ravine in order to make you strong enough to claw your way back up and prove you’re able to survive in this cutthroat society—I would be lying.”

“I simply used all of you to fulfill my own goal.”

“I am also a sneaky, filthy, awful human, after all.”

Hajime:

And your goal—

Nazuna:

—This utopia for female idols never existed in the first place, did it?

Ideia-sama:

“......”

Nazuna:

No matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find anything. So at first, I figured someone must be keeping all of this information under a lock and key.

But afterwards, while you were using your own power to harass us, you started talking publicly about this female idol utopia—

And it suddenly became a massive topic.

All over the country, female idols started speaking up about how if such a utopia existed, they would want to be part of it.

That was your goal all along, wasn’t it? It’s just like the urban legend of Slenderman. You wanted smoke when there was never a fire to begin with.

The bigger the topic we became, the higher the smoke bellowed—to the point that anyone would be able to see it, no matter where they were standing.

Ideia-sama:

“—I’ve seized the land, the funds, and the authority.”

“All in the name of this female idol utopia. Over the years, I’ve gathered together almost all of the components I need to make it a reality.”

“However, there's one vital thing I am missing: people. As you can see, I’m someone who’s quite detached from reality, and I rarely interact with people living in it.”

“People are the bricks needed to build a castle. And those people are exactly what I lack.”

“And so, I hatched a plan in order to fill that void.”

“The female idols of this country have been overwhelmed, so it’s no surprise that they feel they have been treated unfairly and illogically.”

“But while they resent the current situation, they did not have hopes that things would change.”

“For a brief moment, a girl named NEGI managed to spark a flame—but that flame was quickly extinguished.”

“And so, I showed them hope. I showed them a utopia that would save us all.”

“If someone of my status said so, I would be able to give them the credibility they need to believe it could be a reality.”

“I want to deliver hopes and dreams to those who’ve gone without smiling for so, so long.”

“That’s my job. No, that’s my dream. That's what I want to do with my life.”

Tomoya:

You really are exactly the incredible sort of idol Hajime always describes you as.

I have a lot of respect for you. Even though I may be just a tiny speck compared to you.

Ideia-sama:

“‘We’ are not idols; that fact still remains.”

“Until the world treats us in the same way it treats you, we will never, ever voluntarily refer to ourselves in such a way.”

Tomoya:

I really do hope you can make your dream a reality.

Ideia-sama:

“Yes. Even though at present it’s still only fiction—a world that exists far, far into the future.”

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Translation by:

Ara @. nazunyan427

Proofreader: 

Sophie @.ra_bits_daisuki