Main Story/Season 1/Act 1/Among the Swans 5

Among the Swans 5 Translation: Dreaming Translations
Chapter 17
Yuma Mochizuki	Create a future…
Touji Harimiya	Indeed, I have no objections to something of that scale.
Yuma Mochizuki	Harimiya, shouldn’t you leave my booth soon?
Touji Harimiya	I—Is it okay if I stay here just a little longer?
Kiichi Saruwatari	Now that we understand the concept of Dream Lives, I would like to invite the one in possession of the most followers here today – Harimiya Touji – to give a speech!
	The mixed cheers of men and women went up.
Touji Harimiya	—!
Male Student A	Amazing. It’s impressive enough that he’s the son of the Prime Minister, but he’s accomplished as his own person too.
Female Student B	As expected of Harimiya-kun! I saw him on TV yesterday, but he’s so handsome in person~!
Touji Harimiya	……
Kiichi Saruwatari	Harimiya Touji-kun, are you out there? Your followers, full of hope and envy, are anxiously awaiting their star!
Touji Harimiya	A—A speech at a time like this…
Yuma Mochizuki	Harimiya, they’re calling you.
Touji Harimiya	I know that! … just, wait a moment. While I can still hear the girls’ screams…
	Before we realized it, a group that looked like the press had also appeared in the venue. Microphones, lights, cameras. Girls’ cheers and yellow screams. But Harimiya stayed crouched at my feet, turning pale——
Yuma Mochizuki	(… The sight of him defeated by something he’s bad with… It’d be painful for him to show it to such a large number of people, wouldn’t it.) … Harimiya.
Touji Harimiya	W—Wait! I’m in the middle of a charm taught to me by a first-rate witch doctor! If I write the character for “woman” 50 more times in my palm, I can probably go out!
Yuma Mochizuki	Then while you do that, I’ll buy you some time.
Touji Harimiya	Eh…?
	Being careful not to knock over the tower of dishes, I exited the booth and turned to walk into the center of the commotion.
Kiichi Saruwatari	Oh? You are…
Yuma Mochizuki	Um, Harimiya is still making preparations for his speech, so please wait a little longer.
Kiichi Saruwatari	Well, well. Taking the approach of teasing your followers by making them wait isn’t bad either.
Yuma Mochizuki	Tease…?
Male Student A	What’s with that nerd?
Female Student A	Ah! That’s the guy who was on TV in the patrol car! Officer Nerd!
Male Student A	Why’s some nerdy guy coming out now…?

Mamoru Hodo	Excuse meee! I’m the director of the press, Mamoru Hodo! As this name implies, I want to defend the truth in journalism with my life!^[1]
Yuma Mochizuki	Ah…? Why are you giving me the mic…
Mamoru Hodo	I’ll be frank! I have a question for you! Since you came to tell us Harimiya-kun’s personal situation, could it be that you are his Dream Live partner?!
Yuma Mochizuki	Eh—you’re wrong.
Female Student A	Thank goodness~
Male Student A	If he got paired with a guy like that, he’d do nothing but drag Harimiya down.
Yanagi Hanabusa	……
Mamoru Hodo	Then why, when we are waiting for Harimiya-kun to take the stage, have you come out instead!?
Yuma Mochizuki	I just came to say that Harimiya is still in the middle of preparing—
Mamoru Hodo	Oh, you! That’s not true at all, is it!?
Yuma Mochizuki	… What do you mean?
Mamoru Hodo	According to a thorough preliminary investigation by us at the mass media department, you—Yuma Mochizuki—are a student of the Elite Class as well! Which means that, using Harimiya-kun’s established reputation, you’re using this opportunity to stand out in a dirty tactic to gain followers, right!?
Male Student A	Ugh… a plan only a nobody would use. I can’t believe it.
Yuma Mochizuki	… I wasn’t thinking anything like that.
Mamoru Hodo	Then you are here to support Harimiya-kun as a follower, correct?
Yuma Mochizuki	No. I also enrolled in Shinonome with the goal of taking the top seat.
Mamoru Hodo	Wha—What did you saaaaay——!? Someone like you, taking the top seat of Shinonome!?
Yanagi Hanabusa	……
Female Student A	Wait, Officer Nerd as the top seat?
Male Student A	Haha, that’s actually a pretty funny joke!
Kiichi Saruwatari	Mm, that’s a wonderful goal to have.
Yuma Mochizuki	Thank you.
Mamoru Hodo	U—Ummm… then, can we take what you said just now as a declaration of war toward Harimiya-kun?
Yuma Mochizuki	This has nothing to do with Harimiya. I will take the top seat.
	Before this, I came here in order to escape from the trouble of my financial situation, which would follow me until I die.
Yuma Mochizuki	And I will protect a historical factory that makes G-pens and Marupens. That’s all.
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↑ The hodo in Mamoru’s name is a play on 報道, meaning “journalism/news”, while his first name, mamoru, comes from 守る, “to protect”. Using 同 (”same”) instead of 道 (”path”) in his last name may also represent the idea of “protecting the same news”, or reporting the news exactly as it happened. Just an interesting piece of trivia!

[1] The hodo in Mamoru’s name is a play on 報道, meaning “journalism/news”, while his first name, mamoru, comes from 守る, “to protect”. Using 同 (”same”) instead of 道 (”path”) in his last name may also represent the idea of “protecting the same news”, or reporting the news exactly as it happened. Just an interesting piece of trivia!

[1]