Projection★The Magic Lantern That Reflects the Heart - Mysterious 2

Sora: Haha~♪ Master sure is good with people, huh? It's like you can become friends with anyone!

Natsume: It's because I'm a fortunetelLER. Rather than becoming friends with peoPLE, I gaze upon them from up high and weave the story they WANT.

I tell them what they wish to HEAR, and then grant their heart's deSIRE.

By doing SO, I can guide anyone and everyone by the nose without them ever suspecting a THING.

No — I'll use them as materials to build the utopia I deSIRE.

I won't be the leading role — I’m not cut out for THAT. I don't have to win every batTLE, and I don’t need the world to revolve around ME.

I'll just use every hero at my disposal like chess pieces and remake the world the way I want IT.

Sora: Hihi~♪ That kinda makes you sound like an evil overlord, Master.

Natsume: I'm taking precautions precisely to avoid being thought of that WAY, ending up being detesTED, and eventually being suppresSED.

Fortunately or unfortunateLY, I've seen plenty of people FAIL — I'm taking trends and countermeasures into account so that I'll succeed where they didN'T.

Rather — by predicting the actions that others will TAKE, occasionally cutting in to fine-tune them in line with our own interESTS...

At long LAST, this is where I've managed to REACH.

That's why you've had to do so much waiTING, Sora. But don't worry — there's only a little more left to go before everything is setTLED.

The effort we’ve spent on Yumenosaki Academy and ES is at last bearing FRUIT.

To begin WITH, I've taken control of the school as one of the Five Eccentrics. It's not as if I beat the Student Council into submission or brainwashed them THOUGH.

After ALL, there's no meaning in collecting slaves and DOLLS, no matter how many you HAVE.

So inSTEAD, I gave them a stoRY.

A classic tale of hard work, friendship, and triUMPH… though it isn't something to be taken lightly simply because it's a classic or a fairy-TALE.

Stories such as this have been handed down for centuries; the truths of the world are hidden within THEM.

It isn't school teachers or parents who teach boys the important things they need in order to live — it's fairy tales and superhero SHOWS, the stories made for US, that DO.

And what we’ve done is prepare exactly THAT.

Sora: Huhu~? What do you mean?

Natsume: Well — to begin WITH, most of the students in the Idol Course are either in Knights or Ryuseitai.

As far as Ryuseitai GOES… They're worn OUT, I'm sorry to SAY.

Switch and the Producer Course have been picking up the members they couldn't hold onTO.

Natsume: ...It's exceptionally convenient for both me and that rotten FIEND... It’s as if even Ryuseitai’s circumstances are all part of his own PLANS...

Sora: He? Who's that "rotten fiend"?

Natsume: When it comes to plots and schemes like THIS, there's no one better at it than that "emperor" who seems to have no intention of stepping down from his THRONE.

He's using being hospitalized as an excuse for not being aROUND, but I'm still not conVINCED...

It's not like he's unconscious or anything like THAT, so I assume he's at least aware of the general going-ONS.

Just look at the reSULTS. Only the best members of Ryuseitai are still standING, and they're in top form NOW.
The rest will come under the jurisdiction of either the Producer Course or StarPro itSELF.

By entrusting those rookies to the still-inexperienced students of the Producer Course, they can gain experiENCe… It's a good move for the fuTURE.

And StarPro's influence within Yumenosaki will grow as WELL, giving them the upper hand — it's an extremely convenient development for THEM.

The "emperor" will have a convenient excuse that no one can resent him for — "I was in the hospital at the time, so I couldn't help you, I'm sorry" — and he'll rake in the profits at the same TIME.

Sora: Ohhh? But if he's in hospital and can't do anything, isn't that a loss for him as an idol?

Natsume: Mmm, YEAH. It might just be my prejudice — or raTHER, I might be reading too much into IT...

He might've simply seen the current state of affairs and decided to make the most of THEM.

He probably didn't want that tragedy to end up as a total LOSS, and sought to recover as much profit from it as possiBLE... Like settling a DEBT.