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I changed clothes on the way to the rooftop. All the students returned to their classrooms, so there are empty rooms here and there. Doing the surprise event wearing the academy uniform might end up exposing me as well.

“People probably won’t recognize me from how I look anyway.”

Currently, I’m wearing an outfit Sherry prepared for me while carrying the box under my left arm. I might get reported as an intruder with my current look, but I’ve already received the approval of the academy, so it’s not a problem. And if a staff member does find me suspicious, I’ll just show them my student ID.

“Sherry! Please stick to the plan!”

As I slammed open the rooftop’s door, my complaint was responded with a headset thrown my way. In short, not my problem. While I’m used to dealing with them, free-spirited people can be a headache.

“Shouldn’t you also be yelling at Shiro and not just me?”
“She’s already escaped, which is precisely why I’m only referring to you.”

Shirose knew that I’d have something to say, so she already retreated from the frontlines. She’s probably on the way to my apartment right now. I wore the headset on one ear and started my preparations.

“But it was so boring.”
“You’re an adult; please don’t act like a child.”
“I’m always a child at heart.”

Stop with your catchphrase. You’re older than me, even if I add Souji’s age. Why do I have to supervise you like I’m the adult here? Still, this is precisely the reason why she agreed with my stupid plan.

“Thank you for preparing me an outfit to wear. It would have been hard for me, financially speaking.”
“As I thought, you look great with clothes that put emphasis on coolness. If only your head wasn’t in a box.”
“Sherry, didn’t you already agree to me wearing this if we’re filming?”
“Yeah, but still. When will you ever perform with your bare face?”

Like, if I, hypothetically, become popular because of this, I won’t be able to work at the cafe anymore. And Kaori has already asked me to work with her there in the future. I don’t want customers going there just to see Unknown.

“Still, are you really planning on making this public?”
“It depends on the result. Besides, it’s not only the filming.”
“What other things are you planning to do?”
“Rather than planning, well, it’s already ongoing.”

Oi, I’ve never heard anything about this. I’ve been told during our meetings that we’ll use a drone for filming. But nothing else other than that was brought up back then. Sherry took out her smartphone, and coming from it was a familiar voice.

‘Man, this is the first time we’ve broadcast outdoors. I’ve heard that an unexpected sponsor helped us prepare new equipment, but I never would have thought that there would be something like this.’

Wha-, wait. I quickly put on the box to hide my face. That was the voice a rogue’s den member, Kataribe. In other words, she’s currently on the radio. And as for why Sherry is making me listen to this, the answer is simple.

‘For our first outdoor broadcast, we’re covering a certain school’s graduation ceremony! Wow, a graduation ceremony. How many years has it been since I had mine?’

Currently, the rooftop is off limits for a complete replacement of the fence. Naturally, it’s not just a pretext, so it’s currently a fence-less falling hazard. Sherry requested this arrangement, and the principal agreed. While being careful not to fall, I went close to the edge and confirmed that Kataribe really is there down below.

“Advertising is very important, you see.”
“You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!”
“For the broadcast time slot, I managed to snatch this exact time with some sponsor power. Being famous is really useful for times like these.”

That’s so thorough. To think that she’d have this all prepared in secret. And why, out of everything, did she choose a broadcasting station with someone from the den? Is it that? Is it because I was a guest there before?

‘The Unknown effect is no joke. Our broadcasting station got popular thanks to her; who could have ever guessed that we’d land a major sponsorship? I wonder when we’ll go from local to national?’
“Did you really sponsor them?”
“She seems to be your and Shiro’s acquaintance. I’ve met her in person, but she’s quite interesting too.”

S̲h̲i̲t̲. Sherry is slowly but surely making acquaintances with the rogue’s den members. I know it was mostly through me, but I’m begging you, please don’t end up hiring the performance-specialized guys. Because I’m inevitably going to be counted, too.

‘According to our sponsor’s tip-off, a surprise event will be happening in just a few minutes. Who could have expected another duet performance from those two?’
“What are you doing, leaking information as a sponsor!”
“It’s necessary for advertising; forgive me.”

On her face is a glowing smile. What’s all fun about this? My humiliation is going to be once again spread through the airwaves. I already resolved myself, but now my resolve is shaken. I seriously didn’t anticipate this.

‘Maybe I should call her as a regular guest? No, no way. It’ll cause a huge fight, and some unrelated guys are probably going to come in and cause chaos. As expected, I’m not confident I can keep control.’
“I don’t either.”
“This kind of chaotic broadcast is fun, but it’d be a problem if there’s any use of banned words or privacy infringement happening.”

She understands it herself, which is why Kataribe hesitates to have the rogue’s den folks as guests. If she invites me, it risks a high chance of people curious about me gathering too. She should know how dangerous that is. But she’ll probably do it when she gets over excited anyway.

‘The graduates should be exiting the campus shortly. Man, having people curiously stare at me makes me feel like a celebrity; it feels nice. Though I feel embarrassed with my inability to perform.’
“She’s quite brazen for her first video broadcast.”
“She’s part of a group that threw their shame to the trash, after all. Waving her hand so cheerfully; what is she even talking about?”

Ah, she noticed me. It doesn’t really matter, since we’re not really keeping our location a secret.

‘And so, to compensate for that part I lack in, I’ve secured a friend. Praise me, praise me.’

Hidden behind Kataribe is a tied-up Shirose. I see, so she was caught. I only commissioned her to play the piano during the graduation ceremony. I guess she was unluckily found by Kataribe. Serves her right.

“Can Shiro MC?”
“Impossible. She’s a poor talker in general. While she does become talkative when it comes to music, it’s not possible for her to be on radio broadcasts and the like.”

Which is why I wonder why she captured Shirose. Maybe Kataribe just captured her because she happened to find her. You cannot seek a rationale for a rogue’s actions. The sound of Shirose desperately trying to talk is funny.

“Now then, it’s almost time. Are you all ready?”
“Thanks to a certain someone, I really want to leave this place ASAP.”
“Anticipating that, I blocked off the door, so no need to worry.”

She probably didn’t just lock the door. I hear something being knocked on from inside the building. It’s probably wood. Don’t tell me, she’s having the door sealed off? It’s not just impossible to escape; now we’re completely stuck here.

“3, 2, 1, start!”
“Ah, ah, mic test, mic test. Alright, we got the okay.”
“It’s time to show just what a surprise event can be! Academy graduates, congratulations to you all!”
“We’ve arranged a celebration at our own discretion! Prepare to be celebrated. I’ve already got nowhere to escape!”

If this is how it goes, then I’ll just forget about everything else. Whatever happens, I’ll just regret it when the time comes. Right now, I’ll go with all I have. After all, that’s just how I am.