I hesitated over whether or not to write “This should solve your sound problems,” but it seemed like it would make it even more obvious it was me, so I decided not to. Oh, forget it. It was up to Dornell-senpai if he wanted to use it or not. Helping him out with this probably meant we would have to take part in the live show after all, though, so I could probably hold off on telling the others about the issue for a little while longer. As for Isuzu-san and Tricen-san’s problems... well, I probably didn’t have to do those tonight. I’d time it just right and figure out something within the week.
I sent the email. Then I went right to sleep. I was so tired, I even forgot to turn off my PC.
The next morning, I dragged my sleep-deprived self to work, where I found Muse and the others making a ruckus in the Elementario greenroom. “Good morning... Um, what’s going on?” They didn’t even notice me; I guess I’m just that invisible.
“Salute the fairy!” Sylphie shouted. She was standing at attention for some reason, her fingers snapped to her forehead like an American marine.
There was a model of a stylized fighter jet hanging in one of the greenroom’s empty lockers. It looked like a science fiction-y spaceship with twin ramjet engines. Ah, Battle Fairy, right? The Yukikaze. I remember ALTER sold them once upon a time... I hear they’ll be putting out a robot called the Savage soon, too. Thank you very much! (Not sure why I’m thinking that.)
A small cup of sake and a smoldering incense stick sat in front of the model, in the manner of a Buddhist altar. There were snack foods placed there, too, like little offerings of some kind.
“Salute complete!” Sylphie-san seemed to be the only one saluting seriously, but Muse-san and Salama-san were basically playing along. “Now, hands together! Heart Sutra! Recite!” She began the chant, then rapped on a wood block. She seemed to be the only one enthusiastic about reciting the sutra, but Muse-san and Salama-san patiently joined in. All I could tell was that it was a ritual of some sort, so I remained, cowed, in a corner of the room. After the recitation finished, Sylphie-san finished off with a prayer in Latin that I couldn’t understand, then shouted, “Prayer complete! Let’s give it our all again today!”
In response, the other two shouted:
“Yeah!”
“Fairy-san! Please continue to help the park!”
“Help the park!”
“Okay! Let’s gooo!” Sylphie-san ran out of the greenroom, looking very fired up. Muse-san and Salama-san both looked a little embarrassed.
“Um... what’s going on?” I asked.
“Oh, morning, Kobory,” Muse-san said, noticing me at last. Her smile was a little awkward. “It’s... a little hard to explain. It’s a little like a prayer before we go onstage... You know, like how Michael Jackson did it.”
“Ahh...” I said. Michael Jackson used to gather all his dancers together before they went on stage to pray; apparently, this was a similar ritual.
“And so, y’know... we figured we’d try praying to that mysterious fairy that’s been helping the park,” Salama-san added, while playing with her smartphone as usual.
“The fairy, huh?” I commented.
“Oh, Kobory, you have heard, haven’t you?” Muse-san asked. “There’s been this mysterious fairy... and we started wondering... what would happen if we prayed to it?”
“With a science-fiction fighter jet and the Heart Sutra?” I checked.
“Yeah. Sylphie arranged most of it. We were hoping the fairy might help out our attraction, too... you know?”
“I see. I think I understand.” I turned my eyes down and started trembling in a combination of shame and embarrassment.
Muse-san must have misinterpreted that reaction, because she quickly waved at me with both hands. “Um! I mean, obviously, you’re free to follow any religion here you like! You don’t have to go along with it if you don’t want to! Really! Just do whatever you like!”
“It’s not for freedom of religion reasons, but I still think I’ll pass,” I told them. Praying to myself would just be pathetic, and calling that ‘ritual’ a religion would be an insult to real believers.
“Ah, okay... Well, Sylphie will probably get tired of it eventually,” Muse told me. “Don’t worry too much, okay?”
“Nah, it’s definitely worrying,” Salama-san put in.
“Huh?” Muse protested. “But I had a lot of fun!”
“You’re the only one who did.”
“Was I?”
Muse-san and Salama-san left the greenroom, still verbally sparring.
Left on my own, I changed swiftly into my stage costume and checked myself out in the mirror. I think it’s kind of what people call “purity fetish”—it’s a cute, frilly costume of green and white, but it splits open in the front so you can see my panties, as well as my belly button and thighs. But I was used to it, enough that I no longer felt ashamed... I was a little shocked by my own adaptability in that regard. Fortunately, because I’d resisted the allure of snacks last night, my stomach was nice and flat. I was proud of myself for working so hard... though I guess that’s a bit shameless of me.
Then there was an in-building announcement to the attraction staff: “The first performance starts in ten minutes. Current attendance is 80%. All cast, please take your places.”
I was in a panic. They would do a roll call at five minutes till, and if the main cast weren’t all in place, the performance would be canceled.
I was about to run to my position, but then I stopped. That empty locker... treats had been left out for the mystery fairy. One of them was some Consomme Double Punch chips.
I looked around a few times. No one else was in the room. “......” I reached out, snagged one, and ate it. Just one—a single potato chip. But it was delicious, and the flavor filled me from head to toe.
After all, the offerings were meant for me, right? So what was wrong with me eating them? Sylphie-san had said it, too: “Fairy, please keep helping the park.”
Okay, I’ll help. I’ll do my best. I swear.
The potato chip’s flavor remained with me long after.
✦ ✦ ✦
[The End]