Male Idol V13c73

Volume 13 Chapter 73 Shirogane Aqua, The Person Who Really Can’t Be Filmed

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Edited by: Kanaa-senpai

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 ”Alright, we’re down to the last 2 questions. For the next question, the person chosen as your partner will be the answerer, so please head to the waiting room.”

 So, from our group, Maruo, Kohina-senpai, Emily, Inko-san, and Ayana were chosen…

 Everyone, do your best! Except for Kohina-senpai!!

 ”A minute ago, didn’t you think, ‘Everyone except me should do their best’?”

 ”I didn’t think that!”

 Why did she figure it out in an instant?!

 Does this person have a mind-reading device implanted in her heart or something…?

 ”Now, everyone remaining here is curious about what the next question is, right?”

 ”Yes”

 ”Uh-huh”

 ”Yeah”

 We nodded in agreement with Announcer Onidzuka’s words.

 ”The next question is, if you’re a top-notch celebrity, you’ll be able to tell the difference between a video work directed by a pro and one directed by an amateur, right?”

 No way… This is clearly a question that favors Kohina-senpai, Ayana, and Emily.

 Will Maruo, who are paired with me, and Inko-san be okay?

 ”Also, the professional work was filmed by this person.”

 ”Nice to meet you! I’m Hongou Hiroko.”

 If it’s a work directed by Director Hongou, the camera work is distinctive, so it might be easy to tell.

 If Maruo carefully watches Director Hongou’s work, there’s a chance.

 Kujaku and Maruo have the next Driver’s story coming up, so if they can connect the Heaven’s Sword to their next work, that’d be great.

 By the way, didn’t Director Hongou say she wanted to do a magic girl project with my Kanon, Kaede, Kotono, and Emily? What happened to that? Kotono said she’s an amateur and refused, saying she wouldn’t do a magic girl show in front of people, especially not as a 30-year-old woman.

 As for me, I think there’s something to be said for a mature woman or a married woman as a magic girl… I’ll try asking her again, even if I have to beg on my knees.

 ”And now, the amateur director is over here!!”

 ”Everyone, good morning. Today, my granddaughter is being taken care of by you.”

 Mary, grandmother?

 Not just me, but Kanon also looks surprised.

 ”I tried my best as an amateur, so I’m happy if some people get hooked. Hehehe.”

 ”Grandmother… seriously?”

 Kanon, who was asked for a comment by Announcer Onidzuka, becomes flustered.

 Hahaha, it’s already embarrassing just because one of our own is on TV. I can understand that feeling. Good luck!

 But the fact that grandmother is on TV means that the shooting was a real surprise, and I’m convinced of that.

 ”And, for this problem, there’s an option C prepared in addition to A and B. And those who choose the third option will definitely get a two-rank demotion.”

 ”””””EEEEEEEEEE?”””””

 Hey, is this for real…?

 Maruo, you, seriously try your best!!

 ”That’s why the amateur who took the third video is this person!”

 ”Aqua-chan!! Are you watching?! It’s mom! Hmm? Lapis-chan, is this being recorded properly?”

 ”Mother, it’s being recorded properly. Awawawa, don’t get too close to the camera!”

 I fall off the luxurious chair.

 This is beyond embarrassing.

 And to top it off, the opening is a bit like an NTR video featuring my mom, so please stop it!!

 ”Shirogane Aqua-san, did you know about this?”

 ”I would’ve stopped it with all my might if I knew!!”

 The studio bursts into laughter at my reaction.

 Lapis, Shitori-oneechan, and most of all Mommy Mikuni, please stop it with all your might!!

 No matter how I think about it, I’m the only one who’s embarrassing!!

 ”Yes, it seems the contestants are ready. Let’s take a look.”

 The video switches, and Kohina-senpai wearing an eye mask appears.

 Ah, that eye mask, I drew it during break time.

 ”Hehe, what’s that. Please don’t make me laugh with the eye mask.”

 ”Ahaha, really. What’s that? It looks weird from the position of the eyes.”

 ”Definitely… I wonder what they were thinking when they came up with this. Haha.”

 Kanon? Kaede? Ai? I have no idea what’s going on, but it seems like the husband you all love drew this ridiculous mask, right?

 ”Then, please take off the mask.”

 ”Okay!”

 Kohina-senpai takes off the mask and shows a serious face on the monitor in front of her.

 When I see her like that, I think, “She’s definitely an actress.”

 And, she’s really beautiful when she’s quiet.

 ”There’s a common theme among the 3 works, and this time’s theme is a miracle. Now, let’s take a look at A’s work.”

 An image appears on the monitor in front of us.

 The first image that appears is a hand-drawn manga with the song I sang as the background.

 A guy who looks like me is riding a bike. When the scene switches to live-action, a woman in a dress appears, reading the manga. The studio audience is in an uproar.

 ”Kanon-san?”

 ”No, it’s Mary-sama from when she was young!”

 ”No, it’s not. This is… Natalia?”

 That’s right, Natalia-san played the opposite role of mine in this MV.

 Natalia-san, dressed like a princess, reads the manga with a serious face.

 Then, her eyes meet the eyes of the me in the manga.

 In the next instant, the me in the manga winks at Natalia-san.

 Natalia-san looks surprised. Anyone would be surprised if a drawing suddenly moved.

 Here, the image rotates around the me in the manga and the live-action Natalia-san.

 Depending on the angle, I switch between being in the manga and being in live-action, and Natalia-san switches between being in live-action and being in the manga, making it all dizzying.

 This is amazing! How did they make this?! It’s too incredible…

 Natalia-san reaches out her hand to the me in the manga. Then, she gets sucked into the manga.

 And Natalia-san, who has entered my world, and the me in the manga stare at each other.

 Again, the scene switches to live-action, and a maid who has entered the room appears.

 The maid looked at the manga on the desk with a stunned expression, then crumpled it up and threw it away in the trash can in the cart.

 Because of that, the world that Natalia-san and I were in started to fall apart.

 I tried to pull Natalia-san’s hand to escape from the collapsing manga world.

 Everyone, including Announcer Onidzuka, held their breath and watched as the situation unfolded.

 In the end, Natalia-san managed to escape to the outside world, but I was left behind in the manga.

 Natalia-san, who had flown out of the room to search for the discarded manga, rummaged through the trash with tears in her eyes. She somehow managed to find the crumpled manga and spread it out on the spot.

 And then a miracle happened.

 I, who had flown out of the manga, faced Natalia-san in the real world.

 The 2 of us gazed at each other. And with that, the music video came to an end.

 Wow… what a beautiful music video…

 I hadn’t actually seen the finished video, so I was genuinely surprised by its high quality.

 ”Wow, that was amazing!”

 Wait, it’s not just amazing ―― it’s on a whole different level! This is definitely a professional job!

 Grandmother should make her directorial debut right now!! Or rather, this music video is already perfect just the way it is.

 ”Shirogane Aqua-san, what did you think?”

 ”This song actually didn’t have a music video until now. From today, this will be the official one.”

 Everyone was excited by my words.

 ”It turns out that the flipbook manga used in this MV was hand-drawn by Mary-sama, Fuji Ranko, Morinaga Megumi, and even Prime Minister Habu, one by one. Apparently, Mary-sama’s doujin circle will be debuting at Comiket this summer, so look forward to that too!”

 ”What?! That’s a lie, right?!”

 Kanon’s face was shocked. Yeah, I’m shocked too!!

 What is Grandmother Mary doing?!

 Even Kohina-senpai thought this was incredible.

 ”Kohina Yukari-san, how was it?”

 ”I thought it was an amazing work. It had a clear introduction, development, turn, and conclusion within the 4-minute video, and it was a fitting work for the theme of miracles. However… the only part that really bothered me was how Useless Aqua was beautified.”

 ”No, no, no! It’s not about beautification!!”

 The studio erupted in laughter as I stared at Kohina-senpai in another room.

 ”Then, let’s take a look at B’s video.”

 B’s video was a beautiful image of flowers blooming in sync with a lovely piano melody.

 Wow… those flowers, they bloom like that. So beautiful.

 I can feel the miracle, or the mystery of life.

 Probably, my mother who’s a flower arrangement expert took the video, but that ridiculous introductory video was really something.

 I know who the director is, so I can kind of tell just by watching the video, but for Kohina-senpai and the others who don’t know who took it, it must be tough.

 ”What did you think of B’s work?”

 ”I think it’s good. But wasn’t it really hard to film?”

 ”Yes. I heard it was very difficult.”

 Yeah, it’s impossible for humans to make flowers bloom that beautifully, so the word “miracle” really fits. Mother’s got good luck, huh…

 ”Then, let’s take a look at C’s work lastly.”

 The final video was simply amazing.

 It was a work of art that brought together professional athletes competing in world championships, performers active overseas, and world-class artists, with a unified sense of style. The fact that they managed to create a single video with such high-quality images was incredible.

 Adding to the high-quality video, the highest level of performance was showcased, and the humanity of the creators shone through. It was great to see that it was clearly made by humans. Each and every one of the miraculous techniques left me breathless.

 ”Kohina Yukari-san, what did you think of C’s work?”

 ”This is the real deal, isn’t it? While it might be hard for amateurs to understand, it’s clear that they’re paying attention to the smallest details, and that’s what makes it pro.”

 I nodded in agreement with Kohina-senpai’s words.

 There are subtle differences in the points that amateurs and pros focus on.

 Probably, Kohina-senpai realized that this was a work created by Director Hongou.

 Although there wasn’t any of Director Hongou’s characteristic camerawork, the subtle quirks were showing through.

 ”As expected of Kohina Yukari-san. It would’ve been interesting if she had taken it off, but she hit it right on the mark.”

 I nodded in agreement with Announcer Onidzuka’s words.

 The image switched, and the next one to appear was Ayana.

 ”Eh!? What should I do…? Everything’s high-quality, and I kinda can’t tell. But B feels different. It’s like the confidence is lacking, you know? So it’s either A or C, and C feels more professional… but I like A, so I’ll choose A!!”

 Ahh, Ayana chose that one. Well, can’t be helped. We should be praising the creators of this work, grandmother Mary and the others.

 ”That’s great. I like that about Ayana-chan!!”

 Announcer Onidzuka, you’re being biased, aren’t you? It’s not like I don’t understand, though!!

 The image switched, and Emily appeared with a serious face.

 ”My answer is C. Reason…? It’s just my intuition, I guess.”

 Ah, this is Emily’s “I’m saying something ridiculous but with a straight face” look.

 Kanon and Kaede also noticed it, and both of them made a subtle face.

 The image switched again, and the next one to appear was Inko-san.

 ”It’s B, yeah! It’s the most beautiful among the 3 images!!”

 ”Inkoooo!!”

 Ahh, she did it again. Two ranks down…

 The studio erupted in laughter at Kaede’s reaction. Kaede… don’t mind it!

 Other celebrities continued to appear after that.

 And finally, Yamada appeared.

 ”Hmm, I like A or B, but… that’s why I chose C, I guess. My reason for choosing is negative, but in a way, I’m trying to believe in myself.”

 Maruo… you’re amazing, dude.

 I stood up and sent applause while crying tears of excitement.

 ”And now, it’s time for the correct answer announcement!!”

 The announcer Onidzuka didn’t make a big fuss opening the door, but instead quietly entered room C, timing it just right.

 ”Congratulations!”

 ”Woohoo!”

 ”Yes, we did it!”

 ”Heh, I knew it all along.”

 At first glance, Emily seemed calm, but deep down, she was probably nervous.

 The participants returned to their respective rooms.

 ”Sorry, Maron-senpai.”

 ”It’s okay, it’s okay.”

 Maron-san comforted Ayana.

 I wish she’d also comfort me, hiding me in the chaos.

 ”Ugh, sorry… Kaede…”

 ”It’s alright, leave it to me!!”

 Things didn’t go well for me, but the atmosphere didn’t get too bad.

 Let’s do our best for the last question.

 ”Aqua-san I, I did it!!”

 ”Maruo, you really did great. It’s amazing you got 2 questions right!”

 I high-fived Maruo.

 Yes, now that it’s come to this, let’s get the last question right and aim for a perfect score!

 ”Then, those who chose A will be demoted one rank, and those who chose B will be demoted 2 ranks.”

 Maruo, Kanon, Emily, and I remained top-tier celebrities.

 Kohina-senpai and Ai stayed as second-tier celebrities.

 Ayana and Maron-san were demoted to third-tier celebrities.

 And Kaede and Inko-san were demoted 2 ranks, becoming worthless and losing their value.

 ”What? Is this not being broadcast?”

 ”Liar!”

 Kaede and Inko-san started making a fuss.

 ”Yes, please be quiet. Those who have lost their value will be muted by the host’s authority!”

 ”Aww, noooo!”

 ”Uggghhh!”

 In the end, the 2 of them were left with nothing.

 They didn’t even have chairs, and were forced to sit on the floor barefoot.

 ”Then, it’s time for the final question. If you get it right, you’ll be promoted one rank, so do your best!”

 ”Yessss! We’ll be on screen!”

 ”Let’s do it Kaede, you can do it!”

 Kaede and Inko-san got pumped up.

 ”Please return to the waiting room, contestants.”

 I told Maruo, and we headed to the waiting room.

 Of course, I was last in line.

 ”Then, Shirogane Aqua-san, it’s the final question. Are you mentally prepared?”

 ”Yes”

 I moved from the waiting room, and a staff member removed my eye mask.

 ”What’s the correct answer!”

 Along with the question, 2 Toas appeared in front of me.

 ”It’s the right one!”

 ”That’s correct!!”

 Yessss!

 Wait, what’s this question?

 ”What’s going on?”

 ”Toa-chan and Subaru-chan were dressed in the same outfit, and the question was which one was the real boy. Shirogane Aqua-san, congratulations on getting it right!”

 ”””””Congratulations!!”””””

 And when I looked around, everyone was there?

 I stood up, surrounded by congratulations.

 ”Well, as previously announced, the person who got the final question right will rank up. Shirogane Aqua-san and Yamada Maruo-san have become super top celebrities for the first time since the show started!! Congratulations!!”

 Woohoo!

 I hugged Maruo and celebrated, then sat down on a throne-like chair at the very back of the stage.

 ”By the way, what about everyone else?”

 ”Unfortunately, except for one person besides Aqua-sama, everyone else was eliminated… and the ones who got it right…”

 ”What a noble sacrifice…”

 Huh? There’s a carpet laid out on Inko-san’s seat.

 So, that means Kaede was promoted from being a nobody to a celebrity, right?

 Wait, where’s Kaede then…?

 ”Well, Morikawa Kaede-san used a broadcasting prohibited word, so… she became someone who can’t be shown on TV…”

 ”That was a sad outcome”

 ”That was an amazing hit”

 ”Yeah, we were all excited too”

 ”Yeah, it’s just like… Morikawa-san thought, right?”

 Everyone’s faces turned gloomy.

 Kaede, what did you say…?

 I sat on the throne, but my expression at the end was indescribable as we finished recording.

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 You can imagine it like a music video of A-○A’s (?) song, with Grandma filming and editing it.

 Also, the video Marin-san took is like Jamie Scott’s “Spring” music video.

 The last work of Director Hongou is like Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “Up in the Air” MV.

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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.