Blue Archive story · Volume 5, Chapter 1, Episode 19
Vol. 5 Ch. 1 Ep. 19: The Bard of Nature's Beauty 1
1 scenes, 207 lines
1. Part 1
207 linesThe flames consume the streets.
The monsters of your nightmares have found their way into reality.
The festival begins as the night sky lights up.
And then we will rise.
It begins.
Please put on your best performance for me.
Sing for me your very own ghost story.
"All of that...and not even a scratch."
How is this possible? It's eating up our bullets like they're takoyaki!
None of my shots are doing anything! Do I just suck?!
Like we're just shooting at the air...
It's truly not of this world.
...It's futile. All of it.
"...Nagusa?"
Your bullets, as Renge said, may as well be takoyaki to that monster.
Seriously?! Why?
We have no power against a Phantom Fable.
The Phantom Fables originate from a tome named Ino's Phantom Records. Created by Nature's Beauty.
You cannot shoot a ghost.
Are you hearing yourself right now? That sounds absolutely insane!
...Well, considering that thing doesn't have a single scratch on it, I can't say it's NOT true. But, ghosts?
Nagusa... Do you mean to say there's nothing we can do against it?
Nothing at all?! What a poopy, mean cheater! Boo!
I never said it was impossible.
"Not impossible is better than nothing, Nagusa!"
It would require the Great Prophet Kuzunoha's approval. The Authority of the President. Only then could someone overcome the power of the Phantom Fables.
The Hyakkaryouran president is the only one in all of Hyakkiyako to possess the Hundred Lotus.
"(Why do I feel like I've heard this story before?)"
It is nothing less than a legendary firearm wielded by the Great Prophet Kuzunoha, which only the presidents of the Hyakkaryouran are capable of bearing...
The legendary exorcist spell gun!
Without the Hundred Lotus, all is lost.
We can't just leave it to do as it wants. There's no other option?
...There is not.
Where and when the heck did you learn all of that, Nagusa?
When I visited the Great Snowfield...
That's a story for another time.
We must act swiftly to evacuate. Minimize the injuries and damage the best we can.
I don't... We cannot afford to repeat history here.
No way! I hate that plan!
Renge...?
You want me to turn tail and run away? Just like the day the sky turned red?
I refuse.
I don't want to be like that anymore.
I don't want to give up before it's even over. Not again. Hyakkiyako needs us now, more than ever!
"Renge..."
There's no other options? You've already spelled it out step-by-step.
We need the Hundred Lotus? The Authority of the President? Aren't I looking at the Hyakkaryouran president right now?!
Ah, well, I... My right arm is...
I just...can't.
I handed the Authority over to Kikyou.
...And it wouldn't matter regardless.
Authority or not, I cannot.
Why not? I don't understand.
I'm... I'll never be Ayame.
Hahahaha! Now isn't that the truth!
In fact, you know it to be true better than anyone in the whole wide world.
...Who was that?
Heehee! Heeheehee. Nagusa is correct, whether she wants to be or not.
You can't lay a finger on my precious Kurokage, the best of the Phantom Fables. It was born from Ino's Phantom Records, made by yours truly.
Unless, of course, Ayame came marching in here with her Authority, rightly earned from the Great Prophet.
But that's not gonna happen, is it, Nagusa?
"She's the one from Nature's Beauty I spoke to."
Hahahaha! Oh my gosh. Nagusa AND Schale's Sensei remembered me! I'm honored!
Truly, I'm so grateful for your presence here today, Sensei.
For being a witness to my story.
Tell me, what do you think so far?
Are you enjoying the ghost stories I prepared for the Lantern Festival?
Do you mean to say...the monsters, all this destruction...
This is all your doing?
Huh?! No way! But she's so small and cute!
"You summoned all these monsters?"
Hahaha! I really like those expressions on your faces. You really hate me, don't you?
I love, love, love the way you heroes act! Seriously, show me more!
Answer my question before I cut you in half!
Heeheehee. I like being in one piece, so I'll indulge you.
Allow me to introduce myself.
I'm Shuro!
And yes, I was the one who summoned the Phantom Fables to this realm.
I am the Nature's Beauty's bard, Yabuki Shuro. Remember my name, okay?
"Bard...?"
Haha. Hahaha! What adorable faces you like to make.
That expression said, "I'm a dummy! I don't understand any of this!"
Or maybe it's saying, "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."
Heeheehee. Let me really soak it all in.
...But no one's expression can match up to yours, Nagusa. No one's.
Have you missed me? It seems like our meeting in the Great Snowfield was a thousand years ago.
I waited and waited, hoping you would come back to play with me. Imagine how I felt when I found out you came here instead!
Ah, ah. You're right. What else would a stupid, useless, miserable loser like you do?
Maybe losers don't feel any type of shame.
You can't even abandon the Hyakkaryouran properly. You run away, come back, run away, come back.
I would say I'm disappointed, but you're not even worth that.
Don't talk about Nagusa like that, you little imp.
Huuuh? If you're still defending her, then...
Hahaha! Secrets, secrets don't make friends, Nagusa!
Are you nothing but a liar?
...Shut up.
Haha! Hahaha! This is too good!
You wear the Hyakkaryouran uniform, pretend to be the president of the Hyakkaryouran, and lie shamelessly to every single Hyakkaryouran member!
But you can't lie to me, can you, Nagusa?
You lie, and lie, and lie, and the Hyakkaryouran and Sensei just lap it all up.
Stop...
Nonsense? How mean... Even Nagusa knows that it's not nonsense.
I'll even be nice and help Nagusa out. Do you want to know all her secrets?
Just remember that it was me who finally told you the truth, not your precious Nagusa.
I said stop...
Stop? But Miss All-Brawn-No-Brains over there wants to know what I mean.
You of all people know that fair questions deserve fair answers. Otherwise you're a bad person! Right?
I'll be so very gracious and answer.
Nagusa's like a broken record. Blabbering the same thing over and over again.
"I'll never be good enough to be the Hyakkaryouran's president."
"I'm not Ayame," and, "Only Ayame earned the Authority."
Didn't you ever get bored of yourself? Ayame this, Ayame that! Boohoo, Ayame's so much better than me!
I said to stop!
Hahaha.
You've got some nerve!
Liar.
It was never about Ayame.
It's not that you thought Ayame was sooo great, was it?
You throw your hands up in the air and tell more lies about how it can't be helped.
Are you ashamed? Embarrassed? Afraid you'll lose everyone if you tell the truth?
Scary! It's so, so scary to be honest, isn't it?
"Why would she be scared?"
Because! Liars are always afraid of being exposed!
Allow me to expose the true Nagusa to you. The ugly, insecure Nagusa she's been running from.
You can't hide anything from me and my tome.
What...?!
Can you believe it? It seems like President Ayame really did disappear.
(Whispers. Rumors.)
We don't have a president. Who'll lead the Hyakkaryouran?
(Talk travels quickly.)
Nagusa has supported Ayame all these years. She's done so much for the Hyakkaryouran.
Everything's going to be fine.
(Their voices swell with expectation.)
No... It's not.
(How could I say that?)
I can't do that to them.
(I'm not strong enough to bear this cross.)
I can't...
Because they will at last see me for what I really am.
They will see that I'm a mere imposter.
I never deserved the position by Ayame's side.
I'm lacking in every way possible. Useless in comparison to Ayame.
There was never a more disgusting, terrible person to join the Hyakkaryouran.
I clung to Ayame's coattails, hoping her flame would cast me in a favorable light.
With Ayame gone, my nature will be revealed.
Imposter. Fraud. They'll all know.
Their impression of me will rot and rot the longer I stay here without Ayame.
Their laughter already rings in my ears. Their derision.
Scared...
I'm so scared to be seen.
I must protect myself. Before my skin is peeled away and I am revealed...
I need to run away.
D-Did anyone else see that?
Yes. We all witnessed it.
Was that...of the past?
"More than a memory, it was her feelings..."
That wasn't real, was it? N-Nagusa? It can't be.
Hahaha! Tell me exactly how you feel right now.
I want to know what it feels like to find out the person you admired was nothing but a fraud.
More than you actually...
Especially you, hiding out in the alleyway.
I wanna hear from you, both her harshest critic and her greatest believer. How does it feel to watch her crumble before your eyes?
"Kikyou! You've been here?"
Yes. There seemed to be terror filling the streets that needed to be eradicated.
So I came to address it...and found something else entirely.
That...thing we were forced to see.
...!
Those are your thoughts, Nagusa? Your true motives?
Kikyou, please. I...
Hahaha! Yes, just like that. It's all true, Kikyou.
Don't you feel betrayed? All of you looked up to her with stars in your eyes, and on the inside she was nothing but a rotten old coward.
Did you believe her, when she told you she couldn't fill Ayame's shoes? When she insisted she wasn't qualified?
You were a fool! She was afraid that the longer she was president, the more pieces her carefully constructed image would shatter into.
This cowardly, shameless idiot was supposed to be your president?! All she cared about was looking good for her precious childhood friend. She barely stuck around for five minutes once Ayame was gone.
And look at her now, running, running, running away. As always.
This was your reasoning? For your abandonment? Your betrayal?
Nagusa... I don't...understand...
Lie, lie, lie.
Don't you ever get tired of lying?
Say it simply. "I was scared of rejection," or maybe, "I didn't want you to find out I was a spineless, terrible person."
Accept it. I wanna hear you say it. Admit that you're a dirty coward!
...Nothing? Really?
You disgust me.
You...
Goryou Nagusa. You are...
Hahaha! Ahahaha! This is too good.
Yes, yes! Tell them everything. Reveal all those hidden frustrations, the anger and betrayal!
Rip your heart out.
Friend becomes foe, and love turns to hatred.
Let vitriol guide your tongue and your bonds crumble like dust.
We are eradicating the narratives you believed in! And from the ashes, stories built on rumors and misconceptions will be born.
That is the climax of my play.
All my hard work... My plans...!
At long last, you will all blossom into my elegance!
"Tsubaki!"
Understood.