The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

"...the procedures followed and the questions asked were completely different from what we knew beforehand."

"Ahaha~ I guess Hinana didn't even get a single shot!"

Although she complained, Ichikawa Hina had a relaxed smile on her face.

Because to be honest, idols don't matter to her. She just needs to do her own thing. In her eyes, making herself unhappy for one or two bad people is a very unwise thing to do.

The most important thing is that she knows that there will be someone to help her, so there is nothing to be unhappy about.

But at this moment, Fukumaru Koito, who was in the backstage, was still full of tension, regret and loss. She was visibly unhappy. Even though she closed her eyes, others did not feel that way.

"Go ahead—"

The center of the four people, the center of the stage, and perhaps the center of the future world, Asakura Toru spoke.

"I also want to see the bond between friends."

The assistant director's shouts came from under the stage—

"Please hurry up, there are only 20 seconds left!"

"Easy enough, huh?"

That...which one is that?

"15 seconds!"

Asakura Toru didn't explain, because there was no need for an explanation. She just smiled and looked at the other three people.

"Just like usual, right?"

Afterglow heard this line and exclaimed that he was an expert.

"Ah~! That's easy~!"

Hinana understood, so she smiled, a smile far brighter and more natural than before.

"Koito...go all out, I'll show you everything—"

Everyone's appearance, the bond between each other, and your efforts will all be shown.

“Tou-Tou-chan…?”

Laughing for no reason, talking without a clue, and having no basis for confidence. Fukumaru Koito is a hardworking and diligent child with a brain that's above average for her age, but this also means she has a hard time doing things that "break boundaries"—

"It's not lip-syncing, right? We practiced hard."

"Uh-huh......?"

Even though I don't understand.

"please--"

Toru Asakura is the strongest of the four, standing between the light of the stage and the darkness of the backstage, at the dividing point between light and shadow.

"Hehe~... Go ahead, give it your all, just like he said."

I have a feeling that something great is going to happen. Does Koito think so too?

She didn't know, she didn't understand, but despite that—

"5 seconds before the broadcast, 4, 3, 2——"

There is nothing to be afraid of if you follow us!

......

...

..

The prelude sounded and the song came out from somewhere.

The cameras and the entire audience were focused on Asakura Toru...

However, no one anticipated it, no one was prepared for it, and no one could stop it—

Ahaha~~~? Tou-sempai, she's not singing at all~

It is precisely because no one can guess what she is thinking that she is Toru Asakura.

It is because they can keep up with her that they are Noctchill!

"Hey, hey...cut! Show the other kids!"

Asakura Toru, there is an old saying in Yan Country: "He who knows the current situation is a hero."

And you really disappointed me today!!!

Chapter 31 Because I am a petty boss

"Hey, hey, fireflies, come here..."

The "passionate" singing like a nursery rhyme appeared on the stage of the live broadcast. It may appear in early education programs, or have its place in comedy shows.

But it shouldn't appear here, shouldn't appear in the center of the camera, and shouldn't appear on Toru Asakura's face!

“Ahaha~~~!”

Although their bodies were still dancing to the melody, performing the dance they had rehearsed for a long time and the basic skills they had practiced hard for the past few months, Ichikawa Hina, with a smile on her face, obviously had no intention of singing properly.

"Wait!? Not even that kid! Camera! Other kids, other kids!!"

I've been a show director for so many years, what kind of stage accidents have I not seen?

The scene suddenly changed to Higuchi Enka's face, which had no expression at all and of course was not smiling at all.

But this definitely won't work, right?

"That kid, the one with the black hair and twintails!!!"

I’ve never seen this before!!!

When Fukumaru Koito found that all the cameras were facing her, she subconsciously wanted to escape and couldn't even put on a fake smile.

But for some reason, she felt very calm at this moment. She felt...

It seems like that?

The dance moves and rhythm gradually stabilized. Even without a microphone, it was enough for the other three to hear my singing. Everywhere I could breathe, there were figures around me that gave me peace of mind. Now all I had to do was—

Show the results of your hard work!!!

Running under the sunset, practicing day and night, talking with Enka at the vending machine, reviewing dance steps while walking in the school corridor and being discovered by Hina...

None of those things mattered at this moment.

Because what she should and can do at this moment is to dance with all her strength and sing every word of her lyrics until the music stops!

As expected, Hina, I like Toru-senpai~

Ahaha~ Maybe there is also... ordinary mail~

At the moment the music ended, a man who no one noticed raised his hand behind the director and snapped his fingers——

Then, darkness fell.

......

...

..

A crackling sound rang out, and the few sparks did not bring any light, but instead made the entire venue seem even darker, because even the green lights of the escape exits were quietly hidden at this time, as if to say...

Hey, this road is blocked~

Some people want to yell and scream, want to dance around in panic, want to stumble and fall, because only by bumping into someone or something can they confirm their existence -

Unfortunately, none of this can be done because he doesn't allow it.

When the lights came on again, the most "greatest" director on our set was sitting on the sofa, unable to move. Only his eyes, which were rolling around but not very obvious because of his thick skin, told of his panic.

What was even more surprising was that all his favorite cameras were pointed at him, giving him his favorite close-up without anyone manipulating them.

A man appeared at the other end of the sofa. He was a strange man.

The simple color combination of black hair and black eyes could not conceal his outstanding appearance and the aura that was so huge that it seemed to have nowhere to put it. Although he was only wearing a white shirt and black suit pants, no one would doubt that he was the center of the crowd and the focus of the stage, even though there was no camera pointing at him.

"All employees of Hengxin and its subordinate and affiliated units, please leave now. Your phones, muted for work, should contain instructions from your superiors. Please comply immediately. And everyone in the audience, please exit as soon as possible. Today's visit is over."

After confirming the message on the phone, more than 90% of the staff on the set left, and the few remaining people, less than 10%, were the director's core team.

The rest of the audience looked at each other in bewilderment and then left one after another. What? Why aren't there any troublemakers?

Please, this isn't a request, it's—

"Order"

"Excuse me, the rest of you accomplices... The remaining staff members, please go and handle the aftermath of the program interruption. Although I've already secured a time slot for later, it's never nice to keep people waiting."

The remaining few nodded, then walked out with dull expressions. They looked like vampire minions or low-level ghouls that had been in there for thousands of years and were almost stinking.

At this moment, several people from Noctchill were sitting in the audience watching the show. Just now, they were singing and dancing...

Well, although today's main purpose is to cause trouble, the fact that the people on the stage and in the audience have swapped positions at this moment can only be said to be interesting, funny to the point of absurdity.

Even though they didn't know how they got here, the four of them still picked up the Coke and popcorn at hand, tasted them with relish but in a low voice, and started watching the show, just like they used to do when they went to the cinema together.

Although Ping Xin's low-fat meals tasted good, there were some nutrients that could only be obtained through junk food, and some knots in the heart that could only be relieved by watching the people he hated suffer.

"Ahem... Then I'll ask, and you'll answer. [You must answer everything I ask], [Your answers must be true], [You can't leave here until I agree]—"

These are the rules of the game, rules I made myself."

The unmanned camera started moving, revealing the director's greasy face. He didn't say a word, which was his consent, right?

"Okay, then I'll count down to three seconds and you'll be hypnotized... Let's start the game~"

Counting down to 321, and then with a snap of his fingers, the director suddenly regained the ability to move.

At least he felt that his consciousness had become distant. His body was not separated from his soul, but he seemed to be able to see himself at this moment.

Sitting on the sofa like a puppet, although he was breathing, smiling and gazing, he was not alive because "he" was not inside him at this moment.

"Then first of course, name, age, and address... I'm certainly not bored enough to open a box from an old man, and besides, no one would be interested in it, right?"

Canned laughter rang out at the right time, and although there were only four spectators here, the atmosphere was full of joy.

"Well, since you haven't introduced yourself, I won't introduce myself completely either... ahem, as you can see—

I'm a petty boss, and I'm here for one reason: to get justice for my employees."

Even though no one saw it, everyone was watching...

For example, in front of the TV——

you.

Chapter 32 Then, let’s declare war~

"Speaking of which, if the show ended like that, what were you going to do?"

On the sofa, a man made a sound without his permission.

"Block? Uh-huh... Puff--"

Even now, with the ratings climbing, the man had no intention of lowering his voice. After laughing uncontrollably for over ten seconds with extraordinary lung capacity, Hirayuko finally managed to find an excuse, having cried.

"S-Sorry... I just suddenly remembered something happy... Haha ...

He laughed unrestrainedly and recklessly for the second time, and this time even the pain of slapping his thigh couldn't stop him.

Because there is no ordinary [problem], the man opposite cannot speak or move, and can only think with some unknown organ or soul, thinking endlessly and aimlessly.

"So you, a small-time program director, are going to ban an idol group that's just starting out?"

The man across from me nodded, like a sleepy kid in class.