What L4mps Illuminates
Heeey, you still haven’t fixed it?! How much longer is it gonna take?! We’re all gonna leave at this point!
The vibe in here really sucks now… Maybe I will just go home.
Yeah, let’s go. I was really looking forward to it, but this whole mess is gonna make it a pain to get home if we don’t go now.
(It seems that the audience is starting to lose their patience… What is your next move, Kafka?)
Young Master Kafka… The audience is growing increasingly agitated.
It’ll be fine, Sakujiro. Because our chief and I found the best members and the best leader for this team.
…Yes, precisely.
(Shit… People are startin’ to leave. Even though they can barely see with how dark it is…!)
Hey, dumbass! The whole show’s gonna get canceled and people are gonna get hurt at this rate.
Hold on. I’m thinking.
I got it. If we paint our teeth with fluorescent paint—
H-Hey, slow down…!
Hey, you! What’re you gettin’ on the stage f… Huh?
Renga?
N-Nagi! I’m here for backup…! They’re not here right now, but Raito-san and Akuta came with me too!
Y’know what’s goin’ on here?! What happened with the lights…?
I dunno why, but the power to the lights just completely went out. We’re still looking into it…
S-So yeah, just… Gimme a mic…
Huh? Oh, okay.
What’re you gonna do?
I’m gonna turn your duo into a…trio…
Oh, like a skit? I like those too.
*sigh…* Fine, do whatever you want…
W-We’re gonna do our best too, so…!
The lights…
The Night Team can’t give up either!
Using a metalens on each of the projectors to magnify the holographic images… It’s not a large enough light source to illuminate the whole stage, but it’s an excellent idea.
Right? It’s something I came up with after thinkin’ that it’d be super cool to watch movies in a 360 degree hologram.
The audience members should be able to see each other’s faces with this! Just barely though!
The lighting’s soft and gentle, befitting of the Night Team’s name. Alright, I’m going to round up the guests who are already on their way out.
Oh, we’re all doing this together, right?
Right. I’ll take the lead and organize the Morning, Noon, and Evening teams, so we can all entertain the guests together. For the sake of the Night Team, especially my lovely student, Nagi.
……
Fooouuund you.
…! Who’re you?
Ahh, just a random staff member making the rounds.
That switchboard you’re playing around with is kinda the lifeline of this show. Could I please ask you to keep your hands off of it?
……
Hmm? Not even a response? I can let you off the hook, but you’re gonna have to tell me why you’re doing this. You got a grudge? Or is this a gig?
…What’re you gonna do with that info?
Hmm? Well, we’d kinda be in a lotta trouble if this kept happening.
I just get this weird feeling from you. Like we’re two birds of a feather.
If we’re in the same line of work, then I can’t interfere. It’s a rule, after all. So I’ll let this go. In return, you just need to tell me your reason. We gotta keep our worlds separate, y’know?
…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but don’t lump me in with you.
I’m just trying to keep things under control.
Oooh.
I gotta get rid of the source of my senpai’s headaches. So this whole ward mayor thing is in the way.
Ahh, but I already got some seeds planted here, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ruin things.
……
Is your senpai Yodaka-san?
…!
Bingo. I got a good gut instinct. I wonder who you work for. Well, not like you’d ever tell me.
……
Okay, okay. I’m all done. You can go. A buncha people are gonna come here to fix the lights soon anyway.
I know I don’t look like it, but I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. I’ll make sure to cover it all up for you. From one bird to another.
……
……
Man… Must be nice. Doesn’t matter if what you’re doing makes you the villain…
As long as you’re ready to fall into hell for someone else’s sake.
<…So make sure to be careful when you’re riding a bike to work in the wintertime.>
<Yeah, we’ll do that! Right, Ryui?!>
<I don’t even wanna say anything anymore… Both of you are so goddamn stupid that I can’t keep up…>
(Ah… I see the chief over there…)
(Nagi-kun! Things worked out!)
(Okay. Thanks, Chief.)
……
<I have more stories I’d like to tell, but it looks like the concert is finally ready to start, so I’ll stop here for now. Thank you for all of the funny comebacks, Ryui.>
<Don’t do this shit in front of me ever again…>
<And Renga, you made a really great funny man.>
<I-I was trying to make comebacks too…>
<Alright, my special guest appearance ends here, but I hope everyone enjoys the Night Team’s show!>
<Because these guys… They’re the real deal to me!>
*applause*
<Umm…>
<As you noticed from my stories just now, I’m a huge misfortune magnet… I’ve never really been connected to the “happiness” that most people strive for…>
I apologize for being late…!
Yodaka-san! Oh, I’m so glad…!
Did you have a pleasant dream?
Welcome back… Well, I dunno if that’s the right thing to say, but…
Now everyone’s here!
<I always thought that being happy meant that you were surrounded by your family, lots of friends, and a partner that you loved. It meant that you were 100% satisfied with just being happy.>
<But…that doesn’t really seem to be the case.>
<Happiness and unhappiness are always together. There’s no such thing as being 100% happy or 100% unhappy.>
<If a day deeply hurts you, it still brings nice things. If a day ends up being really lucky, it still brings rain.>
<It means we can be happy by accepting our wounds and embracing our unhappiness.>
<It means that even if you don’t have any loved ones or your heart has been torn to shreds, we always have the capability to be happy.>
<It means that it’s okay to be happy.>
……
(You’ve grown so much, Nagi-kun. I know you’ve been through a lot.)
(I can’t stop myself from crying…)
…Congratulations, Nagi-kun.
<Each night, just before you go to sleep, look back at every single one of the memories you made that day. You’ll always find both happy and unhappy things in there.>
<Pick out the happy things you found and store them in your heart.>
<Do that every day for a week, every week for a year, every year for a century…>
<So that when you’re about to sleep for one last time, you can say that you were happy.>
<As L4mps…>
<We will be the light in the dark that shines on your happiness.>