Chapter 63
Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Faltering Mega Police Line (7)
The event venue was already packed to the brim with the news that Pew-Pew Man was coming. We'd pre-booked our tickets, so we got to use the priority line for advance purchasers, but glancing sideways, the line for on-site tickets stretched out endlessly like a mountain of salted fish drying in the sun.
"Whoaaa!"
"Woooah! Look at this! They're selling Pew-Pew Man merch! The hat he wears! The cup with Pew-Pew Man on it! Gloves shaped like Pew-Pew Man's fingers!"
The kids who'd come with us were Souta-kun, a boy with a hobby of strength training, and Reine-chan, the girl who always had angel wings attached to her back. Souta was getting all hyped up over the variety of merch for sale, especially going crazy for the gloves modeled after Pew-Pew Man's fingers.
"Look at these! These ones! Auntie, how much are these?"
"Oh, these gloves? Five thousand yen each."
"Eek."
Hmm, way too pricey for stuff aimed at kids. Is this the downside of a local event? Souta was a boy who worked out hard and had a fiery personality, but he was realistic when it came to money. He jumped at the price, turned away, and slumped his shoulders with his lips pursed out.
"What the heck, those gloves are five thousand yen...?"
"Serika! Serika! Take a picture of me!"
Reine was also buzzing with excitement on-site, flapping her wings as she struck poses next to a life-sized poster. Watching her jumping around with her face flushed red, even though I hadn't exactly brought her along as my kid, I couldn't help but feel like an uncle out with his niece, a pleased smile creeping onto my face.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll take your picture. Now, strike a nice pose. Pose!"
"Pose!"
Reine spread her wings wide and floated up into the air. People's gazes focused on her fluttering for a moment. Reine, too excited to check her surroundings, noticed the attention a beat late, freaked out, folded her wings, and came back down.
"S-Sorry...!"
Her face beet red, she toddled quickly back to my side and stuck to me like glue. Peeking at my phone, she asked,
"...But did the picture come out good?"
"Yeah. This one's great."
"Whoa! That's it! Heehee...!"
Reine's laughter spread out. I glanced to the side. Makoto stood there with his arms crossed, striking a cool pose. He looked at us excitedly, then chuckled with a "Fufu."
"Fun, right? I've been to these events a lot, so it's kinda lost its thrill for me."
Makoto, who'd brought us today, was exuding a solitary presence even in the middle of the rowdy event hall. When he'd first handed me the tickets, I'd wondered if he had some ulterior motive, but seeing him today, I suspected he just really liked Pew-Pew Man and was too embarrassed to come alone, so he'd dragged us along.
Of course, on the surface.
"But it's fun watching you all get so excited."
He acted like he wasn't swept up in the atmosphere at all, but Makoto's ears were bright red, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward in an attempt to look chill, making his cheeks practically ascend. Souta pointed at Makoto's ears and said,
"Your ears are red."
Makoto hesitated awkwardly for a second, then cleared his throat and said,
"...It's 'cause it's cold. Yeah, cold."
Whatever you say, man.
"Advance ticket holders, please enter first! The numbers on your tickets will be used for the raffle later, so don't lose them!"
Anyway, entry was starting now. Makoto, as if he'd never acted cool, bolted forward with sparkling eyes.
Reine whispered to me quietly,
"Iguchi-kun seems really bad at being honest."
"You think? I wouldn't know."
If Makoto says so, then that's that.
Digging too deep into other people's words never ended well.
Whatever his reason for joining this Pew-Pew Man event, it was good for everyone involved, right? I got to bond with Makoto, and he got to enjoy his favorite Pew-Pew Man event.
I nodded and headed toward the venue.
The event was split into Part 1 and Part 2. In Part 1, local indie bands and a children's theater troupe performed. The indie bands played trendy songs, one original track each, and Pew-Pew Man's theme song to hype up the crowd. Despite all the kids there for Pew-Pew Man, the children's troupe put on such an entertaining show that it drew cheers instead of whines.
Especially the stringless puppet show using telekinesis ability users got rave reviews—I even thought about asking Dennis to try it sometime later.
Once the children's performance ended, the MC came forward and shouted,
"Alright, everyone! You've been waiting a long time, right?"
"Yeees!"
The kids' voices boomed. Someone yelled "Pew-Pew Man!" loud and clear, and the MC nodded, saying,
"Yes, everyone. The one you've all been waiting for... he's waiting behind that stage. So, who is it?"
"Pew-Pew Man!"
Voices erupted from all directions. Amid the uproar, the MC grinned broadly. Glancing aside, Makoto was clenching his fists and shouting "Pew-Pew Man!" too.
"Who?!"
"Peeeew-Peeeew Maaaan!"
"Can't hear you!"
"Peeeew-Peeeew Maaaan!"
Makoto was screaming at the top of his lungs, his face lit up as he stared at the stage, until our eyes met. When I smirked at him, he cleared his throat, turned away, flushed bright red, and said,
"I-I was just playing along!"
But his pretense didn't last. Using the kids' fervent voices as fuel, the MC spun his arm in circles and pointed to the left side of the stage, yelling,
"Come on out! Pew-Pew Man!"
Smoke billowed from the stage, and the kids swung their cheering props wildly amid cheers. In the excited crowd, Makoto was clapping furiously and cheering too, completely forgetting I was watching. He even stuck his fingers in his mouth to whistle.
"Pew-Pew Man! Pew-Pew Man, look over here! Wooaaah!"
Next to him, Reine and Souta had stopped cheering for Pew-Pew Man and were staring at Makoto with blank faces. Makoto was waving his hands frantically, his face drenched in sweat from the fervor.
"Under the sunset! The wanderer who punishes outlaws! The invincible man! Pew-Pew Man appears!"
And from the rising smoke, Pew-Pew Man leaped to center stage with a cool voice.
As expected of a core member of the Prophets, his movements were nimble and swift. The MC had missed the entrance for a split second, still looking left, then hurriedly turned to Pew-Pew Man.
"Everyone, give him a big round of applause!"
"Whoaaaah!"
Makoto was bouncing up and down in excitement.
Hmm, what can I say.
The Makoto in my memory wasn't this hyper, but I guess he was a really lively kid when he was younger.
Next up was an impromptu tokusatsu show for kids. Goons in costumes flailed around dramatically, reacting to Pew-Pew Man as he finger-gunned them down.
While the villains and Pew-Pew Man synced up, the MC shouted at the kids,
"Alright, everyone! Give Pew-Pew Man your power! When he uses his finisher, shout 'Pew!' along with him! Got it?!"
And every time Pew-Pew Man snapped his fingers, the kids chorused the sound effects in perfect unison.
"Pew!"
"Pew!"
Of course, Makoto was shouting along too.
His face flushed, punching the air, Makoto looked so pure that no matter how I thought about it, he really seemed like he'd just come to watch the show.
After a few rounds of pew-pews taking down the enemies, a fallen villain would ask Pew-Pew Man,
"Gaaah...! Who... who are you? What the hell are you?!"
"Who am I?"
Pew-Pew Man would thrust his hand skyward and yell,
"Ask the heavens!"
With his trademark line, the ending theme played live, and the kids went wild over the flashy show, practically fainting from joy.
Hmm, what can I say. I honestly had fun too.
If I didn't know he was one of the Prophets, I might've become a fan right there.
But he's still a villain.
"Now for the raffle! Our Pew-Pew Man will draw the tickets himself and give prizes to three lucky kids. Who will they be...? First up... Row F!"
At "Row F," we all exchanged surprised looks. That's the row we were sitting in. Not just us—the other kids were buzzing in confusion too. The MC took a deep breath, amused by the reaction, then shouted the number in one go.
"Number 24! Row F, seat 24!"
"Huh?!"
Makoto jumped up in shock at the voice. Amid the disappointed silence of the other kids and those craning to see who it was, only Makoto stood tall.
Makoto's eyes were wide, his face full of bewilderment.
And Kitano-san, staring at Makoto, wore a strange expression too.
What?
Why is Pew-Pew Man making that face?