Mashu Kuon | Idol Story 2

March 18, 2026

Characters

Mashu, Nozomi

Translation

citrinesea

Proofreading

Content Warning: Mentions of maiming, violence, blood and head injury.

♪~♪~

Who's ready for another good day of work~♪

…

Huh? It’s just you, Nozomi-kun? Where are Juis-kun and Chitose-kun?

Shouldn't it be obvious that I'm the only one here, given the current situation?

Of course I know that much ♪1

It’s just, it’s weird for Juis-kun and Chitose-kun to be late to a prep meeting like this.

Maybe they got here, and then had to step out for something? That was my first guess, anyways.

But by the looks of you, it doesn’t seem like that’s what happened, huh?

And here I am, all excited after I heard we got a huge job~!

… Newcomer.2 Your voice is grating. Shut your mouth. Permanently, if possible.

Oh brother, you’re the same as ever, huh, Nozomi-kun. You’ll make this old man so sad he might burst into tears…

Actually, forget that for now! Aren’t you curious at all, Nozomi-kun?

Nice-san could barely keep his excitement in check, I could tell just from his texts, you know? It made me wonder, like~ what on earth could this job that came in be?

… Are you deaf? I told you to be quiet.3

I suppose that is my fault for asking you to understand me, hm? What a waste of time.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll be quiet.

(Ugh~... No way, just me and Nozomi-kun? Just my luck…~)

(I wonder if he'd just do me the favor of leaving the room~ I’d feel a lot more at ease if he did.)

(Sigh) … (I was actually looking forward to coming to the prep meeting, but it looks like His Holy Sourness is in a rotten mood again.)

(Juis-kun, Chitose-kun, even Nice-san— It doesn't matter who, just come quick and do something about this vibe~?)

(... I mean. If he’s like this by the time we get to the meeting, we’re screwed.)

(I’m pretty sure there was another time when Nozomi-kun was this moody…)

(We had a pretty huge job we were meeting to prep for then too, but Nice-san ended up turning it down, like, “If Nozomi-kun doesn’t want to do it, then we won’t do it.”)

(What a massive waste that was, huh? And it was a request from a huge company too.)

(Thinking of it makes me sick with regret~ That’s exactly why I want us to get this job…)

(Murmuring) Here in the MEGASPHERE, there are places where even a dead body could go unnoticed for a long time...

(There he goes again like always~)

(And by that, I mean it looks like he’s going to stab me any second. I wonder if I should report him… Well, I’d kinda love to get him locked away behind bars for a hot minute, for my peace of mind.)

(... Ki-dding... I can’t give up that easily, though.)

(I don’t have the room to let a huge opportunity like this slip away after all.)

— Hey, hey, Nozomi-kun. What do you think the job Nice-san was talking about is?

He seemed pretty excited about it, didn’t he? A huge venue for a live…? No, maybe something like a tour event~?

Or, if you think about MELLOW DEAR US’s popularity, maybe it’s a gravure shoot that makes use of our looks or something?

It could also be a contract to model for a popular magazine or something~ This old man has to work hard not to lose to all you young’uns.

What kind of work do you want it to be, Nozomi-kun? You’d definitely be more interested in work that has to do with modeling, right?

…

Huh? Nozomi-kun? Anybody in there~?

You surely cannot be this blockheaded...

You can’t keep your mouth shut for a single second, can you, newcomer? Is that head of yours stuffed with sponge for brains?

Uwah, are you actually worried about that?

This old man's never seen it for himself, but I'd say there’s probably a proper brain in there? Real blood definitely gushed out of my head back when I got hurt, after all.4

… Hey. I know you hate me, Nozomi-kun.

You think I hate you? Oh, how I wish you wouldn’t misunderstand me.

Huh? Aren’t you hard on me because you hate me?

… “Hate” is far too gentle of a word for it. What I hold for you is this– pure, unadulterated loathing.

Hold on, “unadulterated loathing”! … We’re members in the same unit regardless, so make some small talk like a normal person at the very least~!

I do not see the necessity. There is no point or advantage in speaking with you, newcomer.

If anything, you are a thousand harms with no single benefit. Do you still not understand? You are a malignancy, a cancer cell eating away at our MELLOW DEAR US from within.

Hey, that’s too far and you know it! I don’t think you can get to say whatever you want to this old man just because it's me!

… Well, actually, I think I get how you feel too, you know?

Your precious person is all buddy-buddy with someone other than you.

But it's not like I’m trying to take Juis-kun from you, Nozomi-kun.

That logic does not apply. If you were trying to take my Juis from me, I would dispose of you instantly.

But still, even if that weren’t the case... Just seeing you near Juis, speaking to him… That makes your mere existence an eyesore.

And the only way to deal with that is to nip such a bad bud early.

Mhmhm. … But if you do that, that’s gonna inconvenience you too, now isn’t it, Nozomi-kun?

You can’t just cut a bond like ours. MELLOW DEAR US is destined to sink or swim together.

If you get this old man out of the way, you’ll be in a bind, but Juis-kun and Chitose-kun will too, right?

… But you would be the one who is most inconvenienced, right?

You seem quite desperate to get this massive job.

Though, it is none of my concern what you need that kind of money for, newcomer.

Ahaha. Sorry for being such a money-minded person, I guess~?

But money is important, right? You can solve most problems as long as you have money.

Well, I doubt you’d be able to relate to that.

... In order to get something, you have to do something. That’s the unconditional law of this world, you know.

This old man is after money, just like you’re after Juis-kun.

And to achieve that goal, you can’t sit around and do nothing forever.

Juis-kun has to warn you about your tendency to get picky about the work you get, right?

Do not speak of Juis as if you know anything about him.

Sorry, sorry! What I’m trying to say is that we should work together, within reason!

I wanna make tons of money, and you wanna get a hold on Juis-kun.

Those two goals should definitely be compatible, right?

…

Now, now, don’t glare at me like that. I just wanna get along with you is all—

His phone rings.

Hm? I just got a text from Juis-kun. What’s it say…?

“Sorry. It’ll be a little while longer. I have something to attend to,” … that's what he said, Nozomi-kun.

… Why did Juis contact you and not me…?

How unfathomable. You can’t possibly rely on this newcomer more than me, can you, Juis…?

… It’s just as I thought. I simply cannot overlook your presence. I want you to disappear.

Hold on, “I want you to disappear?” What am I supposed to do with that…?

(And just when it seemed he was actually starting to hear me out... He’s already back to how he usually is.)

(Life really doesn’t go the way you want it to, huh~...)

Translation Notes

↑ Mashu refers to himself as おじさん (oji-san; older man/uncle). While he uses his own name Mashu as a third-person pronoun onstage, he uses Oji-san as a third-person pronoun offstage. I primarily translate him using "this old man" as his pronoun(?), but I also incorporate "I" and "me" at times for ease of reading. Just know that in this story, he either doesn't use a first-person pronoun or uses Oji-san.
↑ Nozomi refers to Mashu directly as 新入り (shiniri; newcomer).
↑ Nozomi uses the pronoun 己 (onore). This pronoun is archaic and highly self-important. For flow, I primarily translate him using "I" as his pronoun combined with a formal tone, but a more tonally accurate reading would be something like "oneself", "mine self" or "this one".
↑ Likely referring to one of the accidents Mashu experienced growing up in his novel Flødeboller in Zero Gravity.