Supervillain – Supersized Villain (Chapter 9–15)
Chapter Index
Ch 9 - Ch 10 - Ch 11 - Ch 12 - Ch 13 - Ch 14 - Ch 15 - Translation Notes
Chapter 9
Next morning. In the agency office of Crimson Production’s headquarters…
(The evil organization starts their morning early.)
(Every morning, you begin by greeting everyone energetically.)
Gooood mooorniiing!!
Morisawa Chiaki from RB, ready for duty!
(You press the timestamp machine to record your attendance, and present yourself to your boss. Then, you ask what you’re supposed to do for the day.)
(As of this moment, the boss in question would be me, the commander of RB.)
Good job.
It’s good that you have energy, but your voice is a little too loud. Keep it down.
Yes, sir! I’m very sorry about that! I’m still not used to working at Crimson Production!
No excuses. When you’re scolded—
I must apologize! It’s all my fault, sir! I’m so sorry!
(You must obey your unreasonable, power-hungry boss. You must never complain.)
(This is the key to succeeding in this company.)
(In fact, these are the conditions set in order to be accepted as part of the team.)
(Those below must obey those that are above. In the same sense as a sports team1 — as long as you understand how the beasts of the jungle operate—)
good mooorning~! (waves)
Shinkai Kanata and Sengoku Shinobu from RB, reporting for duty!
Good. …There’s still one person missing, though?
Is “Takamine” skipping out on work?
ah~… midori appears to be feeling [unwell].
Indeed, he did not seem to have any energy. Maybe he caught a cold from the sudden change in environment?
That’s still inexcusable. All of you, including “Morisawa” — Follow after me. We’ll shake Takamine out of bed.
Roger that, Taichou!
As you command, O magnificent RB-Taichou!
There’s no need for flattery. If you have the time to butter me up, you’re better off spending it doing your job.
We don’t have enough hands in Crimson Production as it is, do you understand?
You lot are just replacements to fill our shortage in staff. You’ll be dispatched to your respective departments according to my instruction.
There, you’ll be performing minor chores for us.
(…And this is how they’ll be able to go in and out of various departments and explore the inner workings of Crimson Production in greater depth and detail. Since the work will be divided between the five of us, our investigation will advance at rapid speed.)
(We’ll be able to gather assets to attack Crimson Production far more sharply and effectively.)
…Of course, that won’t be your primary job.
When I call for you, you must put aside your other duties and assemble before me.
You will work as RB, idols representing Crimson Production, and earn money for the agency.
Yes, sir! Everything is for the sake of RB — for the glory of Ryuseitai Black!
for [crimson production]!
For our magnificent Nagumo Tetora-Taichou!
Enough with the flattery already. Let’s just go and get the job done.
Ossu, roger that!
(Sigh… I feel like it’s way too obvious, as if they’re clearly forcing themselves to fit the role. Well, as long as nobody catches on that we’re only pretending to be evil.)
(And anyway… I’m sure it’ll be alright.)
(Surprisingly, nobody really cares much about what’s going on with other people.)
(I can’t speak for the fans who have been following us for a long time and paying attention to every detail…)
(But when it comes to the people here in Crimson Production — people who’ve become obsessed with anti-ES ideology…)
(People who’ve either been looking at us with a biased view from the beginning, or avoid looking at us entirely because they find us distasteful—)
(The more they steep in their hatred, the more blinded they become, unable to see anything but what they want to see. They only believe what they want to believe.)
(The only thing that matters to them is that we betrayed ES and switched over to Crimson Production.)
(Which means the fact that to them, we’re on their side.)
(The people here are short-sighted. They color-code the world according to whether they’re friend or foe, and assume that allies are good and enemies are evil.)
(…I used to live with a worldview as simple as that practically all my life, so to some extent, I can read the feelings and thoughts of these types of people. I can’t say I’m proud of that, though…)
(Of course, it’s no small matter that all of Ryuseitai has betrayed ES to join Crimson Production.)
(It honestly sounds too unlikely for it to be possible. We’re one of the main earners in ES, after all. It wouldn’t be weird to think, “How could such an important group of people turn on their previous company just like that?”)
(So I’m sure some of them will start to suspect us.)
(But there’s already Anti-Stars and I as legitimate proof that this is possible… and all of us were able to gain the trust of the Crimson Production staff over time.)
(So now, if I can succeed in leading the Ryuseitai members properly, they should also be able to blend in with Crimson Production.)
(In fact… That’s the very thing that we, RB—)
(The very mission that Ryuseitai must fulfill.)
Chapter 10
A few minutes later. Within the Crimson Production building, at the film studio…
midori~! come on out~!
Your mother is crying for you!
You’re completely surrounded! There’s nowhere for you to escape! Fuhahahaha!! ☆
…You guys are just enjoying yourselves at this point.
Oh, there you are. Where were you even hiding?
There’s a hole under the building that’s big enough for me to hide in…
It was turned into a tunnel by the looks of it, and you can get to another area without being caught by the cameras…
Maybe they used it as an evacuation spot for the actors whenever gunpowder was used during filming… I wouldn’t really know, though.
Huh, I didn’t even know that existed. A tunnel… Maybe we could use it as an escape route, as a last resort.
Nah, I doubt this would connect all the way to the outside… They wouldn’t choose this place for our confinement if that was possible.
That would be a little too careless on their side, yeah.
Anyway, I did as you told me to… Was that enough?
Yeah. We were all supposed to come back here to call over “Midori-kun”, who refuses to come in for work.
Until we persuade him to come, we can move around freely. We can have private discussions here without being seen, since we also know where the surveillance cameras are.
They may catch on if we keep repeating this over and over again, but it should still be okay for now. Midori-kun’s famous for being the “unmotivated character”.
Yeah. In fact, it’s really surprising that even Takamine stuck around in this dangerous place. He could’ve run back to ES as soon as he had the chance…
He’s been a man with an element of surprise this time around.
If you’re actually surprised, then that just means you never once understood me.
Besides, we all decided that we’d stay here together. I don’t wanna be the only one who’s left out.
Yeah. Let’s all work together to accomplish this mission.
chiaki~ you are not [allowed] to make any [orders]. tetora is the [taichou] right now.
Ah, right. Sorry about that.
Nagumo, please don’t hesitate to order us around. We’ll follow your instructions.
I’m not too keen on pushing even my own seniors around, but… I have to suck it up for now. We don’t have a choice.
—We betrayed ES.
First it was me, then “Shinobu-kun”, and then later on the other three defected one after the other.
We transferred to Crimson Production, a major entertainment agency that rules over Okinawa.
That’s what’s going to be announced to the public soon enough, and so far the people at Crimson Production don’t seem to suspect us.
Once we all moved to the new company, we changed our unit name from “Ryuseitai” to “RB”.
This is because we would’ve faced problems with procedures if we performed under the same name — Not to mention, our fans would’ve been confused, too.
We just went from “Ryuseitai” to “Ryuseitai Black”… I don’t feel like much has changed.
I like it, it reminds me of Kamen Rider!
I’m aware it’s a cheap name. I didn’t have the time to come up with something good, let alone the reason or need for it.
…I just badly wanted everyone to know how terrible the situation is.
Crimson Production is more or less an entertainment company, so on the front, it’s also involved in the production of programs and such.
And I got the opportunity to perform in their program as an idol, all the while being an undercover spy.
Ah, I get it now. The base of Crimson Production — as in, the headquarters building — is isolated from the outside world in terms of signals.
Letters and other forms of communication can easily be censored, and Okinawa is too far from ES for you to rush back here to relay information through normal methods.
Yeah, exactly. I didn’t have the means to inform anyone what was happening.
So I went on their program as an idol. That was the only way I could tell everyone what was going on.
If I made a questionable statement there, like saying that I’m leaving Ryuseitai, it would definitely become a topic of conversation. If it becomes a topic, all of you would then be able to get the information.
“A member of the powerhouse ‘Ryuseitai’ parted from ES.”
News like that is also really good for Crimson Production, since it’s an anti-ES organization.
They won’t manipulate the information. In fact, they would actively promote it.
And I knew everyone in Ryuseitai would come to this place themselves to confirm the situation as soon as they heard about this report.
Once you’ve arrived, I’d then capture you. Then, after I’ve handed you all the evidence I’ve gathered of Crimson Production’s illegal activities, I’d secretly let you escape out of here.
That was the original plan. From then, I’d just have to wait until ES got to work with the evidence of illegal activity, and have Crimson Production shut down for good.
And while stalling for time, I’d have to make sure that the evidence wouldn’t get destroyed.
All in order to defeat the evil organization, Crimson Production.
Chapter 11
The following chapters contain heavy discussion of self-loathing and self-destruction.
You were going to cross a dangerous bridge… However, you had concluded that Crimson Production can’t be defeated unless you do so, right?
Maybe it was just a dumb plan thought up by an idiot… I just couldn’t think of any other way.
But I think I managed to make it work pretty well, if I do say so myself.
I mean, I genuinely had everyone convinced that I was a complete traitor, 100% anti-ES. I was careful not to let anyone know my true intentions.
After all, they would’ve killed me if they found out I was a spy. I was desperate to make this plan work.
I know I’m really late in saying this, but this isn’t even idol work anymore, is it?
Yeah, it really isn’t. I don’t think ES expected me to get this deeply involved, either.
I’m sure they thought I’d just gather the information they needed and get myself out of here.
But… I couldn’t abandon my old comrades, Anti-Stars, who were suffering in this place.
So I started thinking of ways to save those kids. I knew that in order to do that, I needed to expose the dark side of Crimson Production and have them shut down.
And I was going to do whatever I thought was necessary to achieve that.
As earnestly as possible, and with every ounce of effort in my body.
That’s exactly what makes you who you are, Nagumo. You really are an earnest and straight-forward boy.
However, the plan you devised is much too dangerous for you. You’re up against a criminal organization that’s as terrifying as an actual organized crime enterprise. You’d be dead in an instant were you to fail.
We cherish you as much as you cherish your own comrades, including those in Anti-Stars.
When you’re hurt or sad, we’re hurt and saddened just as much, if not more.
I know you couldn’t think of any other way this time, but if possible, please don’t cross such a dangerous bridge like this ever again.
While self-sacrifice is what makes a hero… Unlike me, you never wanted to become a hero, did you?
…Ossu. You’re the last person I’d ever want to preach to me about “not being self-sacrificial,” but…
All I ever wanted to be was someone I could be proud of — someone I could love.
—I’ve always hated myself.
I’m sure you’ve all come to realize this about me by now, but I’ve always been extremely incompetent and stupid. No matter how hard I tried, I could never accomplish anything.
I had no capability of doing anything, and the harder I tried, the more I failed… The saying, “Love is our greatest teacher,” didn’t apply to me.
I love cooking, and I’ve been working hard on my cooking skills for a long time, but I’m sure you all know what the food I make is like.
I’m even aware that on the school trip, everyone put up with my food and forced themselves to eat it.2
They ate every bit of it for my sake, with smiles on their faces, even though I’m sure it tasted awful…
But I was really, genuinely trying to make it taste good.
That’s always how it’s been for me, for every single thing. I just couldn’t get anything right. It didn’t matter how hard I tried, it would all go to waste in the end. I wouldn’t get any proper results, so I’d just give up and let it go half-way in.
I just kept doing that, over and over again. Everyone around me, even my parents, probably thought I was nothing but a spineless kid with no real ambition.
That’s why my parents made me learn karate, to build up my spirit.
And I didn’t really get anywhere with that, either, so I quit it right after.
But at the time, I was able to at least pretend I was working hard by going to the dojo every day.
…Even though I wasn’t gaining anything. I wasn’t growing at all. I was always a white belt…
Even then, I was still able to pretend that I was trying, that I was growing.
My parents were relieved to see me try, and praised me a lot for it — Just like Morisawa-senpai does.
“You’re working so hard, Tetora.” “You really can do it if you try, Tetora.” “You’re amazing, Tetora.”
……Do you not realize how stupid that is?
……………
I’m not amazing, not even close. I’m just stuck in the same spot. Everyone would always praise me, but I was the only one who could tell it wasn’t ever true.
I was the only person I couldn’t fool.
I’m hollow inside with only a polished surface, and everyone around me saw that surface and praised me for “doing my best” and for being “a good boy”.
All the while… Deep inside, the real me would stare at my fake self with cold, dead eyes.
Ever since I was a little kid, that feeling has never once left me.
Chapter 12
I love my parents and my friends. I was surrounded by nothing but kind, wonderful people.
My parents have always praised me and loved me. To this very day, they both work from morning to night, day in and day out, to earn money for my tuition and living expenses.
Like me, they aren’t very good at what they do, and they don’t seem to make much money, no matter how hard they try.
Even so, they listened to my desires and allowed me to enroll at Yumenosaki. They paid the high entrance fee and provided me with everything I needed.
The reason I decided to go to Yumenosaki was because I was passionate about idols at that time.
But, even then… It’s only because, during the time I was half-heartedly trying various things and not accomplishing anything, becoming an idol happened to be what I was aiming for at that moment.
And what made me stick to that goal was because a friend told me something like, “You have good looks, Tetora. Why don’t you become an idol?”
He was just saying something that fit the mood at the time, and I ended up hopping on the thought, as well.
My parents and friends were so supportive that I just couldn’t back out… that’s all there was to it.
I didn’t want to betray the expectations my beloved parents and friends had for me. I didn’t want to damper the mood and have them hate me.
I really hate myself. So if those around me don’t love me, don’t care for me, then I have no reason to exist.
I despise myself — so if everyone around me gives up on me, I’ll no longer be loved by anyone.
And if nobody loves you… what’s even the point in living?
I was terrified of that happening to me.
To become someone unneeded, unloved, unseen by everyone—
I was already such a hollow person, so close to fading away. I couldn’t stand the thought of that happening for real.
…It’s a common fear for a teenager. But for me, it was a severely serious problem.
Tetora-kun…
Haha. That’s why I got so angry at you, Midori-kun3… It’s like I could see the real me in you — my pathetic self, that I hide in the pit of my stomach.
And yet, I felt like you had everything I ever wanted. You have way better looks than me, and with just a little effort, you could do anything, you know?
I couldn’t help but think it was so unfair.
That, like, if you don’t want it that badly, you should just give me your talent and your beautiful face.
Should I say sorry…?
No, don’t. If you apologize, I’ll feel even more miserable about myself, and then get unreasonably upset and punch you.
But in reality, the real person I want to punch is myself.
For never being able to grow up — for always being such an uncool person.
To be honest, karate used to be a force of habit for me once upon a time, but the sensei who taught me gave me a bit of his word of wisdom. He told me that learning martial arts is not for the purpose of beating up a loathsome enemy.
He said it’s for personal growth.
It’s a common enough saying that it could’ve come from anyone, but, even then… I intend to aim my well-trained fists inwards, and beat up my weak self.
That way, I could grow, even if only a little.
This wasn’t out of a need to do a noble self-sacrifice, like Morisawa-senpai mentioned. I’m able to cross as many dangerous bridges as I want because I loathe myself and don’t see myself as anything worthwhile.
Even if I were to get badly hurt and fade away, I wouldn’t have regretted any of it for even a second. It would’ve felt refreshing, even.
Nagumo…
Yeah, don’t worry. I’m no longer desperate enough to put myself through any of that.
I have friends and comrades who love me. I have juniors who admire me and depend on me. I have fans who pay attention to me and want to see more of me.
That’s why… Maybe I was just making the wrong conclusion all along, but… I now believe that even I’m worth something.
Morisawa-senpai. Shinkai-senpai. Midori-kun. Shinobu-kun.
I love each and every one of you. I respect all of you — you never give up no matter what, and no matter how far down you are, you always crawl back up with all your effort. You’re always shining so brightly.
You, who are all so dazzling like that, recognize me as an equal comrade, that I’ve even started to think I’ve got something of my own inside me—
I can feel that way about myself now, from the bottom of my heart.
Thanks to you guys, I’ve come to like myself a little bit.
But… I want to grow to love myself more and more.
I want to make an actual effort to do so.
When I was all alone, I would just settle with pretending to work hard.
But if everyone lends me their support, I feel like I can succeed for real this time.
That’s why… Please, Ryuseitai — believe in me for just this moment, and entrust your lives to me.
I swear to you — This time around, I won’t make any bit of that go to waste.
Chapter 13
A week later. Within the city, at the ‘Supervillains’ promotion concert venue…
“The black flame is the embodiment of destruction! Burning everything before it to a crisp…!”
“Ryusei Black! Nagumo Tetora!”
“The black heart is the embodiment of the wicked! Loathing all humans and all sins!”
“Ryusei Black No.2, Morisawa Chiaki!”
“the black [water] is the embodiment of [disease]! drink it, and you will get a [stomachache]!”
“ryusei black, number three! shinkai kanata!”
“The embodiment of the blackened earth and great nature! Ryusei Black No.4, Takamine Midori!”
“Ryusei Black No.5! The embodiment of the black darkness! Sengoku Shinobu! Nin-nin…♪”
“We are the embodiments of evil, who have come from the depths of the jet black darkness! We’re the unprecedented ‘Supervillains’! We are known as: RB, Ryuseitai Black!”
“♪~♪~♪”
…Sigh… We finally made it.
I’ve reached my limit. I’m so exhausted. I’m tired of pretending to be a bad guy, I’m tired of working with corrupted people.
I couldn’t get a wink of sleep at night ‘cause I was terrified that they’d find out we were spies and kill us… Like, actually kill us. For real.
fufufu~ it was like we were in the [belly] of a [monster], wasn’t it?
anyone with a proper [nervous] system would collapse, yes?
Yeah… Which basically proves that I’m the only one in Ryuseitai who’s actually proper… Like, seriously, why’re you all so enthusiastic?
I’m terrified… I’m so scared of how the public will react… I haven’t been checking social media as per usual, but I’m absolutely certain they’re completely put off by us…
If the worst is happening, we’re being slandered right this second… And at best, our fans are definitely baffled… I’m sure they’re talking about how nobody ever wanted to see Ryuseitai fall into the hands of evil or something—
Ahaha. Midori-kun, your eyes are colored with dark circles.
He’s hiding it with makeup, though. He’s literally Ryusei Black, huh?
You ass… Whose fault do you think that is, huh…?
Guys, let’s stop the chit-chat here.
I’m not the one leading us this time around as I’m Ryusei Black No.2 in the end, and I know the commander of RB is “Nagumo-Taichou,” but — I need to remind you all that it’s a race against time now.
Ossu, we are aware.
osu~♪
Umm, you don’t have to imitate me just because you go by “Ryusei Black,” you know…?
yes, but~ it is surprisingly [fun] to [imitate] someone~♪
Exactly what a “transformation” is all about.
Well, it works as a rehearsal for our acting performance in the blockbuster show ‘Supervillains’…
With the usual Ryuseitai, I don’t really play the villain role ‘cause Morisawa-senpai doesn’t like it, so this feels new…
Ahh~ It’s sooo much easier to play the villain~ You don’t have to worry about all kinds of things~…♪
I don’t have to preach about justice or morality or whatever else I don’t even believe in.
Y-You disliked playing the hero of justice that much!? Then you could’ve told me so!
Did it look like I could ever mention that?
Yeah. The usual Ryuseitai that everyone loves was created by Morisawa-senpai back in his generation. He broke the old ties and swept away the horrible practices.
That was how Morisawa-senpai was able to make Ryuseitai be reborn — as the ideal hero sentai, just as he wished it to be.
We were then picked up, accepted, and loved. Morisawa-senpai made us the characters of his dream.
We were never able to become villains that are evil enough to repay such kindness with malice.
But… Tragedies happen even when no one is at fault. We know that all too well by now, don’t we?
Five people alone can’t destroy all the evil in the world.
We’ve been battered, defeated, and made to look pathetic by the face of reality.
Who do we curse at? Crazy:B, for being the first ones to sling mud at us?
The bigwigs at StarPro, who at this point only want to stop us from going down our rightful path? Crimson Production, for their constant crimes?
Or the idiot Morisawa-senpai, who tried to take in all the hatred during Comet Show by taking on a role unsuited for him and becoming the villain?
(He casually called me an idiot… Mm, I really am an idiot though, aren’t I?)
(We’re such idiotic, weak, foolish, tiny beings that it’s almost absurd to call ourselves heroes.)
(But even so—)
But even so, if we give up and surrender unconditionally to evil, there will truly be no more heroes in this world.
—There were no heroes in this world.
That can no longer be applied to the present. That was why Morisawa-senpai, who loves heroes, tried to exist as one.
Once a bullied kid, who would only suffer torment from others, Morisawa-senpai then transformed into a hero.
Because, “if there are no heroes in this world, then I will become the hero.”
(Ahh… That’s right. That’s exactly what it was.)
(That was all I ever wanted to do.)
And that’s why I respect Morisawa-senpai. I admire him, and I love him. I have no actual capabilities and I’m terrible at producing results through my effort, so I can’t be him no matter how hard I try.
I can’t become a hero that’s exactly like him.
—That’s why I’m fine with being Black.
I want to be Black.
I can’t be a replacement for the embodiment of justice — It’s impossible for me to play the cool hero, as the deep red-costumed leading role in your stead.
I’ve come to understand that that’s impossible. I’ve spent this whole year having that badgered in my head.
So I’ll leave that all to you — Morisawa-senpai.
And as for me, I’ll do what only I can do. I’ll do it with all my might.
I may end up just spinning my wheels all over again and getting nothing out of it, but—
That’s still way better than hiding behind your back and being protected by you all the time.
If I keep walking without ever stopping, I’m sure I’ll reach somewhere.
I’ll believe in that. I’ll pour all my hope into it.
Chapter 14
So… I’m leaving this red uniform with you for now.
This is the color you should be wearing.
That makes me happy to hear, but… Are you sure, Nagumo-Taichou? That would ruin our plans, wouldn’t it?
Yeah, I know. Originally, we were going to do something like a long-delayed “Ryusei Red Inheritance Ceremony” here. For real this time, in a super flashy way.
Our justice-loving fans would call out to us, who have been drenched in evil.
“Go back to the way you all were!” “Don’t let evil win!” “Restore the heart of justice!”
Through those cheers, our blackened corrupted selves would then regain our original colors. Shinkai-senpai is Blue, Midori-kun is Green, Shinobu-kun is Yellow—
I would then inherit red from Morisawa-senpai, and Morisawa-senpai would put on a new color.
Yeah. We were supposed to have done this kind of ceremony much, much earlier, truthfully.
Yeah, because it feels way too late now… It’s too shamelessly obvious, and even once I go back to the side of justice, I’d still rather keep my color black.
Besides, if I become Red, I would be going against the agency’s desire to have Ryuseitai return to the old formation, with Morisawa-senpai as Red.
To be honest, I’m not keen on the idea at all.
As our reward for defeating the great evil Crimson Production, we’re going to push our own will onto them. We’re going to make them agree to do what we want to do.
—That was our plan. But honestly… Morisawa-senpai, you just want to give it back to me to be at peace, since you’re the one who took red away from me — don’t you?
When you put it that way… there’s nothing I could say to refute that.
I know I’m repeating myself, but I’m fine with the way things are right now. I can’t say I’m satisfied, but I have no interest in wearing the red color by brute force.
I want to dress in the color that best suits me.
I’d like you to at least let me wear what I want to wear.
Ignoring my wishes and forcing me to wear clothes I don’t even want to wear is just an adult’s — your ego.
……………
Please, let me do what I want to do now. I’m happy that you feel that way, and I’m grateful for it — but right now, it’s just getting in my way.
Within Crimson Production, we succeeded in being obedient members of their community. We were then recognized, appreciated and promoted.
As people who betrayed ES, and were a former powerhouse unit in the agency — We’re the perfect poster children for the anti-ES organization, Crimson Production.
We could become a great weapon against ES.
If former members of ES were to repeatedly criticize the company, ES’s authority would surely be damaged. We might even have a lot of idols and fans sympathize with us, and follow in our footsteps.
And so, all the wealth that ES has would be swiped away by Crimson Production. We may see an unprecedented migration in the whole industry.
There’s even a possibility that Crimson Production could replace ES as the dominant player in the industry and the whole world.
That’s what Crimson Production concluded, and that’s why they’re backing us up in every manner.
They decided that this would be their shining moment, and invested all their money into us so that we may do what we want.
They even became one of the biggest investors for the blockbuster ‘Supervillains’, which was in a deadlock prior to this.
Money may not be able to solve everything in the world, but there are a lot of problems that can be solved with money.
Yeah, because having no money is the same as having no head. Though that also means that as long as you have a head, you can survive.
Take ‘Supervillains’, for example. It had come to a halfway standstill due to the disputes of all parties involved, but it might start moving forward if a large amount of gasoline in the form of money is poured into it.
Yeah, and it really did happen. ‘Supervillains’ has regained enough vitality to hold a promotional event for the project like this.
All thanks to the glorious Crimson Production, huh?
Yeah, Crimson Production likely intends to use ‘Supervillains’ itself as propaganda to crush ES.
We should never underestimate fictional works. The influence of creative work on reality is massive.
This is referring to the Showa era4, but… There was once a scary-looking actor who played the villain in a tokusatsu show, and he spoke about personal anecdotes where he made children cry even when he was simply walking around town.
Within ‘Supervillains’, you could have an evil organization or monster that makes you think, “This is clearly meant to be ES.”
If you thoroughly depict them in an evil way, that impression will be imprinted on the public.
Ahaha. And if we, RB of Crimson Production, were to defeat the evil ES in a glorious scene, it’d be foolproof.
Even a kid would be able to tell who’s righteous and who’s evil — even if that was far from the truth.
But before we let them… Before they twist the facts—
We’ll betray Crimson Production on this very stage.
Yeah, that’s the plan we settled on.
We were actually spies sent by ES to investigate the evil organization, Crimson Production.
The way we acted like traitors to ES, behaved like villains, and called ourselves RB — That was all part of an act.
We have always been Morisawa-senpai’s favorite allies of justice, and had never been tainted by evil.
We’re going to make a big announcement to state that, in a safe place far from Okinawa. At the same time, we’re going to present the evidence we’ve gathered and denounce Crimson Production as an evil organization.
Yeah. Tenshouin and the rest of the staff have already heard of the news, and are all sitting in the VIP seats right now. He likely has a perfect grasp of our true intentions.
I expect that he’ll assist us as we make our move. After all, if we can bring down the anti-ES organization Crimson Production, it’d be beneficial to him as well.
that is [relieving], then. i cannot help but find it a bit [frustrating] to be helped by that person, but…
on the other hand, we can have him [atone] for the horrible things he has done to the [five eccentrics] through this.
Chapter 15
Conveniently, the story in ‘Supervillains’ and our current situation coincide perfectly.
The allies of justice turn evil—
But in the end, those evil-tainted heroes awaken to justice once more.
Evil becomes justice, villains become heroes, RB becomes Ryuseitai—
And so, we could say that we were simply playing the role of “heroes who had been tainted with evil” in real life, in line with the base setting of ‘Supervillains’.
We shall force this into a factual truth, and convince society into accepting it.
Will they really be convinced…? Isn’t it too aggressive?
Like… “We tried to replicate this exact storyline in real life, too! What do you think? Isn’t it interesting?” — Wouldn’t that be a little offensive? It’s too tasteless of a joke, don’t you think…?
Well… We’ll just have to be patient and persistently explain to the public that we had no other choice.
What’s important here is that we fulfill our duty, whether forcefully or otherwise.
We’re going to expose Crimson Production to the light of day and bring them to justice. And at the same time, we’ll all return back, safe and sound.
We have all of Anti-Stars accompanying us in a backup dancer-like position, too. They all still believe that we betrayed ES, though.
So when they find out that we were spies for ES all along, they’ll likely get angry at us.
Regardless, we can’t afford to have their lives at risk. We’ll protect those kids and keep them somewhere safe, where the evil hands of Crimson Production can’t reach them.
As Morisawa-senpai said, it’s a race against time from here on out.
Speed and timing are critical. We’ll present the evidence of Crimson Production’s evil, expose the truth, and reveal their true identity.
This stage is getting a lot of publicity and attention, so it’s impossible for Crimson Production to cover it up.
There’ll definitely be an investigation by the police and other authorities to confirm the facts.
With the evidence of the misdeeds we uncovered in hand, of course. It seems that Tenshouin-senpai’s already working with the police, so there probably won’t be time for the evidence to get destroyed.
Everything will be taken care of in the blink of an eye. Crimson Production will fall.
This time around, they’ll absolutely be destroyed without a trace.
And everyone will live happily ever after……
your [face] does not seem to reflect that thought, does it?
I think you played an incredible role in this whole plan, Tetora-kun. I don’t think the problem would have been solved without you. You should be proud of your achievements and efforts.
Mhm, mhm. I barely had to do anything this time, y’know? And yet, here I am, getting to look like I’ve accomplished something…♪
Life is so nice and easy when someone else does all the work to solve the problem without you ever lifting a finger.
You weren’t having an easy time either, though. You’re so worn out that you have circles under your eyes, Takamine. You did your best, too. We all did our best.
Mmm~… But I feel like I’m a little too naïve after all…
I feel like no matter how hard I try to stick to my guns, I’ll always be a halfwit who can’t be fully dyed by either evil or justice.
I can’t help but think… Was this really the right thing to do?
We’ve now stacked up one betrayal after the other… After all the support Crimson Production provided us, we’re going to loot their money and run away with it. From an outside perspective, we’re no better than petty thieves.
Is it not possible to interpret our act as something similar to what chivalrous thieves do, like Ishikawa Goemon or Nezumi Kozo?
They were the type of thieves who would take money and treasure from the bad guys, and distribute them to the common people.
Well, it would be better for my mental health to think that way, yeah…
But… I’ve been undercover at Crimson Production longer than all of you.
I’ve been in contact with the staff there. I spent many days with them, and worked with them.
That’s why I know — that even though they belonged to an evil organization, they weren’t all corrupt and evil people from the bottom of their hearts.
There were a lot of good people, too. They helped me out when I made mistakes in my work… They gave me extra food at the cafeteria… We even did workouts together at the gym.
We had a lot of casual conversations with each other. They were all ordinary people, not so different from me.
So is it really okay to crush all those people under the name of justice for our own personal reasons…?
I don’t know… I can’t tell anymore.
You’re a little off the mark there, Nagumo.
While I may have spoken critically of the former members of Ryuseitai, I’m aware that they weren’t really evil people.
They were just ordinary people, who wanted to play around and enjoy themselves. They liked fun and despised hardship.
However… The environment — the organization they’re in — turns such ordinary people into evil.
What we need to defeat, or simply improve, is the environment itself.
The very system within the world that taints ordinary people with evil.
And as for you — You’re trying to achieve that exact sort of justice by denouncing Crimson Production.
You should be proud of yourself. Personally, I also want to praise you for every single bit of your effort.
You did incredible work, Nagumo Tetora.
You are my — our pride and joy.
You’re a splendid, cool hero — a wonderful person to look up to.
And I can assure you that I’m not saying any of this to coddle you.
…Ossu.
Thank you, Senpai — for always watching over me and appreciating me.
But… That’s exactly why I can’t be your successor right now. I’m not able to take over your position and wear the red uniform.
If I set you as the pinnacle of my ideals, as my end point—
I’ll never be able to surpass you.
This time around, I’ve walked my own path away from you. A pitch dark path5 that you haven’t explored yet — a path that you can’t even set foot in.
—The path of evil.
And that’s where I finally felt something change in me — I saw the possibility that I could surpass you and become someone greater than you.
I may even be able to defeat enemies that the kind and gentle you never could. I may even be able to save you when you’re in trouble.
I may be able to defeat something that hurts you, agonizes you, and makes you sad.
I want to walk down this road for a while longer, so that I can become — so that I can transform into a version of myself that could do that. I want to get covered in mud, desperately wade through the muck, and move forward—
Then I’ll grasp onto something, and become a bigger man than you’ve ever been.
No, it’s not even about that, really. That’s exactly who I want to be.
I’ll become someone that I can love. Even if it’s hard for me now, someday, for sure…
I can no longer walk down the path you so carefully paved for me. We tried to go down that road altogether, but we ended up causing a car accident and a traffic jam in the process.
That’s why — I’m going to go down my own path.
But I’m certain of one thing — Our paths will surely lead us all down to the exact same destination.
“♪~♪~♪”
Translation Notes
- ↑ In Japan, sports teams have a hierarchical system. For example, you should never criticize your seniors or even the best players of the team.
- ↑ Referring to High and Low, that was set in Australia. Please check this masterlist for a translation.
- ↑ This is referring to Climax, the chapters Tears of Shooting Stars.
- ↑ Tokusatsu shows are categorized by which era they were released in. Showa era covers all series from around 1971-1994, then comes all the series of Heisei era from around 2000-2019, and now it’s Reiwa era.
- ↑ In Japanese, the adjective here (pitch dark) is the exact same adjective used for the first half of this story, “Dark Star”.