"How did they even convince the city to let us do this?" asked John Strom, ignoring the banter of the two manchildren.
"The governor of Tokyo knows how good this is for tourism," the coordinator said.
"There is no way that was reason enough. She would not risk something to attract a few people who may or may not want to click a picture."
"You would be surprised about your popularity these days. I don’t know about international tourism, but at least people from other prefectures would want to visit, if only briefly."
"Spill the beans, how much did you pay her?" Averie asked.
"Don’t say something that will get us in trouble." He lowered his voice. "We did not bribe her with money."
"What did you bribe her with, then?"
The man cleared his throat awkwardly. "You might need to provide autographs or a few props we used on set, is all I am saying."
There was utter silence for a moment.
’Time for me to vanish in the shadows.’
"Bye-bye—" Averie cut the call "—losers."
He cleared his throat and sauntered towards his destination—a car waiting for him somewhere nearby with Hyerin in it.
But there was something Averie could not have predicted.
"I don’t know the way."
He had no idea where he was or where he was supposed to go.
When Hyerin was briefing him on it, he was busy thinking about Florida and its people.
’Like, what’s the deal with Florida? Why do Florida men do such weird stuff?’
The thought was harmless until then, but soon, it devolved.
’Am I a Florida man? Are we all Florida men? Can the Florida man read? Is Florida a man, or is man a Florida? Is Florida among us? Is he watching us? Can you kill Florida? Should you kill Florida? How do you kill Florida?’
He tried to look up ’Cannibalism in Florida,’ but it kept showing ’Cannabis in Florida.’
’That makes sense.’ Averie nodded fervently. ’If I were a Florida man, I too would have gotten high all the time.’
The good actor, while walking the back streets of Shibuya, cursed himself.
’Had I acted like a normal person for once, this wouldn’t have happened.’
"Are you lost?" a voice suddenly asked.
Behind him was a young woman he had only seen once before.
Celli was there when Averie first appeared on the streets as Asmodeus Binsfeld. Not having seen the show, she could not understand what the procession was about.
The man looked so different from his picture on the front cover of Cross Town that she couldn’t even connect the dots.
As her destination was the same, she continued behind the procession, making sure to keep some distance from the unhinged fans.
It was shocking to witness the droves being attracted to him.
It was only when they arrived at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing that she understood how much the man was revered.
On every screen, on every building, on every pupil, only he was reflected.
In that singular moment, time had come to a standstill for Celli.
Against the backdrop of the actor’s many faces, his lips slightly quivered.
Celli could tell that he was holding himself from spreading his arms and smiling.
It was something she had never experienced.
Even just being recognized in the streets made her shy. But to enjoy such prickling attention, one needed to be a showman of great capacity.
Whoever he was, he was skilled.
When the seven arrived, she intuitively understood what this was about. The chanting of names was enough to give her a good idea.
From start to finish, she watched the whole thing. She knew it was popular. But this was something else. They had managed to make her curious.
At that moment, she felt something. She felt a glimmer of inspiration for the last track that was requested of her.
As the stunt came to an end, she chose to return home.
She was in no mood for shopping. It didn’t seem like a good idea to shop in a place overflowing with people. Producing something half-decent seemed more worthwhile with what little inspiration she had gained.
She took the back alleys, careful not to be recognized. But while others were searching for the seven actors, she found one aimlessly wandering the alleys.
She thought about approaching him, but quickly decided against it. She had no reason to disturb him, especially since she hadn’t seen a single minute of his show.
’It would be awkward to admit that I haven’t seen the show.’
So, she reluctantly followed him.
She would have loved to pass him, but it felt rude. Acting like she didn’t know him when she clearly did seemed like a slight.
After about half an hour of walking, she realized something unglamorous—he was lost.
Finally, she braved her fears.
She asked if he would like her help.
Averie studied the girl. Even though she was wearing a mask, he could recognize her eyes and hair.
Unlike a sane person, he was annoyed.
’Just my luck. Where am I supposed to find another muse? She is useless now.’
In Averie’s eyes, the moment a muse showed interest or began conversation with him, she could no longer be perceived as a source of inspiration.
Now, she was an ordinary living being, just like everyone.
It was a cruel thing, but it was how Averie saw it.
His eyes turned towards her waist.
She was leaning a little too much on her left leg. Averie noticed, by the way it moved, that her right leg wasn’t real.
He had read nothing about it online.
About to address her, Averie’s sharp eyes turned towards the one path he hadn’t taken so far in the maze that was the back alleys.
A group of rough men dressed in untied suits stepped out of the blind spots of the path and strolled towards him.
"How did you know we would be waiting for you?" the man leading them asked.
Averie scoffed haughtily. ’What is he on about?’