BUBBLE GUM DANCE - According to The Dream (1)

…for me.

…What is it?

Mmmn…?

Have you awakened, Juis? Good morning. You seem to be in a bit of distress.

It would be a shame to let such an unpleasant frown create wrinkles between your beautifully shaped eyebrows. Stay right where you are, peacefully resting like Sleeping Beauty.

With the way you’re talking, it sounds like you might put me to sleep for good…

Oh, Madoka. I’ve got a lot on my mind, but first I need to confirm something.

Why… are you in my bed?

Ha. I was wondering what you wanted to ask… What a foolish question.

Since you seemed to be sleeping poorly, Juis, I intended to let you have a moment of proper rest.

Hm?

In order to do that, I simply put on a pleasant fragrance and got into bed with you…♪

Really?

Juis, did you know about the relaxing effects of a good fragrance?

What fundamentally sets smell apart from the other senses is the pathway and speed at which it reaches the brain. Smell ignores rational processing and reaches instinct directly.

Right now, my rich fragrance is activating your parasympathetic nervous system¹ and giving you a pleasant awakening.

Well, this is a pretty awful way to wake up…

Hehe. A “rich fragrance”, huh? That’s so interesting, Nozomi-san. You sound like a rose garden commercial.

I guess being thorny but beautiful is fitting for you! Even though sometimes you’re more like a carnivorous plant.

–BWAH?! Ow! A pillow is something you lay your head on! Not something you hit someone’s head with!

Even after hearing Madoka explain it, I don’t really get why he was sleeping in my bed. Is it because I just woke up?

Maybe I’ll get it once my head clears up?

Mhm! The way Nozomi-san speaks is pretty complicated… someone like me could never understand it. When he’s around you he gets even more confusing.

Like just now. You were sleeping like a rock, Juis-san, but Nozomi-san said you looked distressed and laid down in your bed. Isn’t that strange?

Sure is.

But I did try to say something, you know. I tried telling him that there’s no way someone sleeping so soundly could be distressed.

That’s not the point, Tsuzura. It would’ve been nice if you actually stopped him from getting in my bed.

Huh? O-Oh, right. Sorry. I guess I’m just not capable of being considerate…

Is this really an issue of whether or not you were being considerate…?

Ahaha. Sorry~ Unc here was gonna stop him, buuut the second I tried I saw my life flash before my eyes, so I chickened out.

So, what’s actually going on?

…? What do you mean?

If even Nozomi-kun was worried, then you must’ve had a rough night.

…If it looked like I was sleeping poorly, then the only reason for that was because he got in my bed.

Fair enough.

Huh…? But wasn’t Nozomi-san in your bed because you looked like you were sleeping badly?

If that’s the case, then doesn’t it seem strange to say Nozomi-san caused you to sleep badly…?

That doesn’t really maa~atter. What’s MELLOW DEAR US’s schedule like for today?

Oh, um… We’re supposed to go to ES today.

Look. Starting today, we’re officially going to be working as a part of ES’s Rhythm Link agency.

I think we’re going to talk more about that with Anzu-san and Nice-san later, but I’m not really sure.

Oh, right. Now that I think about it, that was today, wasn’t it.

In that case, I’d better start getting ready soon.

Madoka, can you move now? I want to get up and change.

…Driving me away like this, who do you intend to let in next?

Are you even listening to me? I’m just saying that I want to get up. Please just communicate properly for once, I’m serious.

…… (Fixing his appearance in front of the mirror)

(Sigh)…

(I had a weird dream…)

(Thanks to that, I didn’t get any rest at all. Today’s supposed to be my first day working in Japan too…)

(Is this all because that Nice guy suddenly started talking about co-producing MELLOW DEAR US with ES…?)

(Seems like it was more of a shock to me than I thought.)

(Well, it’s fine…)

(No matter where I am, there’s only one thing that I have to do.)

(It hasn’t changed from the past until now. I’ll just be doing it in this birdcage until the day I die.)

⁠—Now then, here’s to another day of being an idol, which I love more than anything else.