And then, in the next day, at the live venue…
Just as announced, there’s a specially set up stage that floats on the sea. The audience had the extravagance of enjoying it all at the specially prepared seats on the sandy beach and the sightseeing boats.
So this is also all a boon of the ethereal civilization huh.
Receiving the shocking guests, the light hero and the fire hero, the venue is super filled with people. It is so successful that they are even taking advantage that it is a sea stage by selling ship seats.
“W-W-What should we do, Mirack-chan! I am beginning to get n-n-n-nervous!!” (Karen)
“C-C-Calm down, Karen! Heroes should show d-d-d-dignity!” (Mirack)
The two, who are beginners at this kind of things, were getting nervous as crazy with the thousands of eyes that will be directed at them soon.
On the other hand, the idol that is the lead in today’s performance, Celes-tan -water hero, Celestis- was already on the stage singing and dancing.
This side felt like she was already used to this and her moves were sharp.
After finishing one song, she received the cheers of the fans while returning to the backstage where we are.
“The start is going swimmingly! As I thought, the first song should always be ‘wash everything away with water’!” (Celestis)
That’s a song name, apparently.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“Ooh, Germana……wait, eh? It is not Germana?” (Celestis)
The one who said that was me.
Celestis moves her head to both sides as if looking for someone.
“Assistant-chan, do you know where my Germana is? I think you met him yesterday…you know, his face is the only thing that is pointlessly good-looking, and that on the contrary makes him shady-looking…” (Celestis)
“If you are talking about your Manager-san, it seems like he has some business to attend to and will be arriving late.” (Haine)
Her manager, in other words, the Water God Coacervate who is taking the form of a human and mixing in with human society.
That guy is currently cautious of a surprise attack I might make and should be currently on standby above the Hydra Serpent.
“I see. That guy does those kind of things every now and then you know. Well, it is his job so it can’t be helped though.” (Celestis)
“Have you known him for long?” (Haine)
Celestis was in the middle of changing her costumes for the next song. I think she is taking off her clothes at this moment.
The reason why I said ‘think’ is because I am not watching. Karen-san is covering my eyes tightly to the point that it might crush my face after all.
“No, I haven’t. In the time my idol activities began, the Church introduced him to me. Well, he is supposed to be my overseer, but he is unexpectedly reliable. He has pretty good connections at the top, and gets me a variety of jobs after all. The sea stage this time was also his idea, you know?” (Celestis)
Must be.
Coacervate chose this as the stage for the battle with the Great Sea Dragon after all.
“Celestis-san…” (Haine)
“Hm?”
“How did you begin thinking about doing this idol job? Since when did you think about being an idol while working as a hero?” (Haine)
“Hm? Well, that’s a question I am asked a lot in interviews. Even if I look like this, my starting point was as a person who desired to be a hero, you know. Entering the Water Church, training my divine power, and did my best with the mindset of ‘if I am going to do it, I will aim for the top’.” (Celestis)
But, one day, Celestis thought something: ‘Why should I suffer for the sake of that?’.
The training in the Church was strict, and if it’s for the sake of aiming at the top that’s a hero, more the case. The superiors that were instructing her said the training being painful was a given and that it is actually better if it is painful.
The Celestis in those days was unable to accept it.
Being a hero was a long dream of hers. Shouldn’t s dream be something that is fun and heart racing?
She thought that ‘if I am seriously chasing for that dream, shouldn’t I be having fun with all the painful training and dangerous combat?’.
And yet, she saw her training to become a hero as painful and difficult.
Is that because she herself didn’t have enough guts? Or is it because the hero she is aiming for isn’t the same as the one that the Church denotes? Is that why it is painful?
This sense of discomfort became doubt, and this doubt was steadily chipping away her motivation.
“But you see, one day, I thought this.” (Celestis)
“What?” (Haine)
“‘There’s no need to mind the eyes of others. It is fine to just become the hero that I envisioned’. Since the time I decided this, the hero training made a complete turn. Because I wanted to do flashy things, I practiced dancing. After defeating monsters, I even trained a finishing pose in order to show the people I saved and my comrades. My superiors were obviously angry at this, but I didn’t stop. Because everything was fun.” (Celestis)
And then, for some mysterious reason, she gained more strength to continue her usual hero training, showed visible signs of growing stronger, and her ability became top-class within the Water Church.
“Then, the previous hero retired, and a selection was made in order to choose the next one, but…it was a clean sweep. The other hero candidates were nothing to sing about. The hero selection that normally takes a few days, or even months, was over in an instant.” (Celestis)
And so, the hero Celestis was born.
“After that, the fighting continued. I didn’t want to become a straight-laced hero that was pushed around by the Church; I wanted to become a hero that would make everyone smile. That’s why I did a lot of things that had no precedents, and I troubled my surroundings too. And then, the goal I arrived at was an idol…… Assistant-chan.” (Celestis)