#612 A Plotless Script’s Plot

Momoko the heroine here.

When we got to the conference room, we found a strange lineup of people.

Pink Tonton, whom we’ll be fighting in the finals, and... 

A blonde girl with a luxurious air about her?

Who is she?

“Oh, finally here, are you? Take a seat, quick. We’re running on a tight schedule here!”

“Um, who are you...?”

She’s cute, but...something about her makes her stand out from other girls!

Gorgeous?

No, royal!

A royal lady!

“Huh? You don’t recognize me?”

“I’m sorry, have we met before?”

Awkward!

It’s rude to forget someone you’ve met!

But I decided to apologize up-front!

I’ve read too many times in manga about people who pretend to know someone and end up digging their graves!

That served as a valuable lesson to me!

“Well, I wouldn’t say we’ve met-met. Maybe you’ll recognize me if I put this on?”

“Ah!”

Miss Royal took the mask that was set aside and wore it...

“You...! You’re Miss Bean Crush!!!”

“Indeed, I am the evangelist of beans! The thousand beans girl and mysterious masked wrestler, Miss Bean Crush!”  

You’re Miss Bean Crushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!

Of course I wouldn’t have recognized you. You’ve been wearing a mask!

I mean, is it okay for a masked character to show their bare face so casually? I thought masked characters die if their bare faces are seen!

“But it’s so hot inside this mask. If I keep this on all the time, I’ll get stuffy and go bald.”

“Then why do you wear it?”

“So people won’t know who I am. We’ve met a long time ago, but you still didn’t recognize me. If everyone in the world were as slow as you are, I could’ve gone out there without wearing a mask.”

Huh?!

To think my rudeness extends to the point that I’ve forgotten that we have already met! 

Wait a minute, I’ll try to remember!

Please give me a hint or two!

“Let’s leave it at that, Princess Letasreit. If we spend too much time teasing Momoko, we’ll run out of time before the finals,” interjects Pink Tonton.

Wait, what did she just say?

Princess Letasreit?

Is that perhaps...uh, who were they again?

“You just made a face that tried to remember but couldn’t, huh?”

“I swear, this girl’s so slow on the uptake, we can’t get anywhere with her.”

Oh, stop it. Don’t look at me like you’re looking at a miserable, oblivious kid!

I remember now!

Letasreit, princess of the Human Kingdom! 

Come to think of it, I remember when I was summoned here, I was granted an audience only once.

I had the impression that she was nothing but a self-indulgent princess, though...

“But why are you here? Wasn’t the entire royal family executed a long time ago?!” 

“Don’t go there unless you want to get erased.”

“Yes’m!”

The princess’s power was so overwhelming that I couldn’t help but respond affirmatively.

“I asked Princess Letasreit to participate in the competition.”

“Pink Tonton?!”

“I thought her resplendent temperament is befitting of a star player. As expected, she became a favorite after only a few weeks of touring! So much so that no one would complain about her being the champion without fighting in the ring!” 

T-True...!

But how is it possible for a princess to be a champion?

Star factor may be one thing, but if you want to be a champion, there must be another essential ingredient, right?

That’s right, strength!

A princess should be categorized as one of the feeblest people, so how could such a frail maiden perform a massive boulder-crushing demonstration at the opening ceremony?

I know, that must’ve been a trick!

She must have put cracks from the beginning or something to make it easier to break!

Talk about underhanded... as I thought, royalty is a bunch of dishonest people, after all, using such a cheap trick to become the champion! 

“What are you thinking, hmm?”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?

Strong, strong, strong, strongstrongstrongstrongstrong!!!

I’m being pinched and crushed by Princess Letasreit’s hand!

I can’t push her back at all, even with both hands!

And rather than one hand... upon closer look, she’s only using one finger on me. 

I’m about to be taken down with just one finger!

“That’s enough, Princess. She’s a very important finalist.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

The princess is powerful, in essence!

What’s the meaning of this?

If this is the case, why didn’t the royal family just fight without summoning otherworlders?

“This was a long-winded conversation, but we called you here because of something else. It’s about the upcoming final match.”

“O-Okay...!”

“We want this event to be the best it can be, so we’re going to talk about the best course of action to achieve that.”

“Huh?!”

Meaning?

You’re the host, so why not just give it your best?

“Pro wrestling is not only a sport but also entertainment.”

What’s with that know-it-all look, princess?

“Meaning, we can’t be satisfied with just winning or losing. We must excite, move, entertain, and satisfy the audience with our match!”  

“O-Okay...?”

“To do that, the game has to have an element of excitement and passion! Winning a decision at the end with no climax is worse than losing! The most important thing for us wrestlers is to entertain the audience!”

“Huh?!”

What is with this princess?!

She talks as if she knows everything about pro wrestling. Weren’t you also a novice until recently? Not to mention, it hasn’t been that long yet since pro wrestling was introduced to this world.

“The matches up until now have been like minor performances with the stars scattered about, so it’s been entertaining just doing the usual stuff. But that won’t be the case in the finals! Both sides are star-rated players; moreover, it’s an important match to decide the pinnacle, so we can’t afford to make any mistakes!”

It’d be more than just a mere disappointment if we got through the finals by sheer luck and then got knocked out in one hit or something. 

“We need a thorough preparatory meeting to ensure that doesn’t happen! How can we make it the most exciting and popular with the audience? We don’t have a lot of time before the game starts, but we need to think this through!”

“I-I see...!”

“So, Momoko, what do you think is necessary to make the game more exciting?”

“I wonder?” 

I’ve given up on thinking.

“We decide who gets to be the good and bad guys!”

Uh-huh...

“People love it when the good guys win, and the bad guys get what they deserve! Stories are based on rewarding-good-and-punishing-evil themes. Even in the real world, people applaud when the bad guy loses! That’s why when the Human Kingdom lost the war that day...!” 

The princess suddenly chokes up on her words...

“Everyone was overjoyed...!”

“Don’t cry, princess!”

Why would you go out of your way to emotionally damage yourself?

“It’s okay! I’ve got my heart in the right place! I’m happy now that I have beans! Let’s get back on topic!”

“Okay...”

“The point is that the game is more exciting when there are good and bad guys! The bad guy (heel) takes all the hostility and hatred from the audience, and the good guy (babyface) crushes them to create a frenzy! Our minds are one!” 

I get that. 

Even in manga and anime, it’s important to see how the heroes defeat the villains in an exhilarating way!

“Then, what we should decide on is...!”

“Who will undertake the heel role!”

The masked wrestler whose true identity has been revealed, Princess Letasreit, A.K.A. Miss Bean Crush?

Pink Tonton? 

Or me?! 

Of course, if I turn heel, I may be in for a depressing experience.

I might get all the hatred from the audience and get empty cans or rotten eggs thrown at me.

Still, it’s necessary to make the game more exciting.

Everyone always wants justice to prevail.

Who is going to play the bad-guy role for the success of the whole event?