Shu's rejection was absolute, and Kiana instantly became defensive.
"Why?!" Kiana puffed her cheeks out indignantly, planting her hands on her hips.
"You need to have a little ambition and confidence, Shu! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
"Arc City is rebuilding! Everyone is under massive psychological pressure! The people need idols to heal their souls! If we debut, we'll absolutely be top-tier! The biggest stars! Don't you get it? The fan support, the glowing light sticks waving in the dark, the atmosphere... mhm..."
"If I turn off my [Mosquito Breath] right now, everyone within a ten-mile radius will genuinely believe I am the literal sun. Do you understand that?" Shu glared at Kiana, trying to ascertain if she was completely out of her mind.
Kiana was clearly intoxicated on delusion.
"Doesn't that make it even better?! With your massive foundational popularity, a little PR magic and you'd be a super idol! Even if we formed a band, you'd pull the entire group straight to the top of the charts!"
Shu: "?"
He caught the keyword.
"Forming a band was Idiot Kiana's true objective all along, wasn't it?" Bronya couldn't take it anymore. She felt like she had ingested far too much sugar today.
"Oh, just forming a band..." Theresa visibly relaxed, letting out a massive sigh of relief.
She patted her chest, looking genuinely relieved. "As long as it's not being an idol, as long as it's not being an idol..."
What exactly are you relieved about? That you don't have to relive the dark history of 'Teriri'?
Based on Kiana's logic, if this idol agency actually gets established, do you honestly think you'd escape the fate of forming a Magical Girl trio with Sirin and Dark Seele?!
Wait—
An even more horrifying image suddenly crystallized in Shu's mind.
It is a universally acknowledged truth that in the Honkai universe, bands and idol groups always come in trios.
Whether it was the Original Trio or the Magical Girl Trio, even the Anti-Entropy Band consisted of exactly three members: Tesla, Einstein, and Schrödinger.
So, who was the other famous trio?
Welt Joyce/Yang, Otto Apocalypse, and Kevin Kaslana.
Right now, the Fire Moth "boy band" had already collected Joachim and Otto. Who would fill Kevin's slot?
...Who else could it possibly be?!
The moment Shu imagined himself wearing a frilly, extravagant princess dress, holding a microphone, dancing on stage, and forcing his voice into a high-pitched, cutesy register to scream "Daisuki!" at a cheering crowd, he genuinely felt his lungs collapse.
"However... Rozaliya and Liliya would probably love Idiot Kiana's idea." Just as Shu was being completely traumatized by his own imagination, Bronya, who had just been mocking Kiana, suddenly added an addendum.
Shu whipped his head around in horror, only to see Bronya entering a state of deep, philosophical contemplation.
Dammit! This is a completely unhinged idea! You're supposed to shoot it down without hesitation!
What are you hesitating for?! What are you thinking about?!
Don't tell me you're actually imagining Seele in a girl band outfit?! Or are you imagining Sin Mal being forced to perform with a look of absolute disgust on her face?!
"If Sin Mal also..."
Shu pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"Um... wouldn't Sister Kiana's idea be a bit... um... damaging... to everyone's image?" Seele tried very hard to find a polite, indirect way to phrase her objection.
But polite words simply couldn't convey the true horror of what Seele was trying to say.
Tears practically sprang from the corners of Shu's eyes.
Yes! Thank God! There's at least one other sane person left among us!
Compared to Seele's polite hesitation, Shu had absolutely zero reservations about his phrasing. At least when it came to Kiana and the others, he didn't need to mince words.
"It's exploiting heroes for profit!" Shu, universally recognized as the ultimate hero of the Fire Moth, bluntly translated Seele's concern.
Seele nodded awkwardly, and they both turned to look at Kiana.
To their surprise, Kiana actually looked serious.
"That's true... the gap between a hero's image and an idol's image is a bit too wide. A development like that sounds a bit too much like something out of a HOMU Rangers comic..."
?
Shu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, as if Fu Hua had just delivered a point-blank Eminence directly to his skull. The 'crowbar' damage multiplier was skyrocketing.
But fortunately, it seemed Kiana was finally abandoning this wildly impractical idea.
"As expected, a true girl band has to start from zero!" Kiana's face lit up with an epiphany, as if she had just grasped the fundamental essence of all girl bands.
"We have to hide our true identities and start by performing at a school festival! That's the only way it'll be fun!"
Shu: "..."
Seele: "..."
Bronya... Wait, Bronya, what are you doing?
Out of the corner of his eye, Shu saw Bronya's eyes flashing with the exact same unhinged frequency as Kiana's.
The next second, Bronya actually nodded in profound agreement and gave Kiana a thumbs-up.
"Exactly. Kiana finally understands. A true girl band must climb up from the absolute bottom!"
"Sister Bronya..." Seele's mouth fell slightly open. She stared at Bronya in disbelief for two full seconds. Then, under Shu's despairing gaze, Seele's stance began to waver.
No! Seele, don't do it!
Don't fall to the Bronya-corruption!
"If Sister Bronya wants to play... Seele can do it too." Shu's internal wailing could not stop Seele's defection. Feeling betrayed for the second time, Shu instinctively looked to the third person.
What about Theresa?
You've lived through the dark history of 'Teriri'! You must understand my pain!
Principal, please! Use your super-genius intellect to stop the evil Kiana and Bronya!
Theresa, carrying Shu's final hopes, proceeded to completely shatter them.
"If we're forming a girl band, neither the Fire Moth School nor St. Freya Academy feels like the right setting... The best stage would probably be... the fan meet-and-greet event?"
Theresa was genuinely analyzing the logistical feasibility of the idea.
Principal! What are you doing, Principal?!
Don't help Kiana plan this! Don't tell me the soul of 'Teriri' hasn't died yet?! Have you completely succumbed to the Magical Girl corruption?!
For a brief, terrifying second, Shu actually experienced a cognitive dissonance where he thought: You know, a development like this might actually, possibly, maybe... not be entirely impossible?
Are you kidding me?! This is a memetic hazard! It's an info-hazard!
Mei! You are my last hope!
Shu's gaze finally landed on Mei, the last bastion of sanity and the final line of defense.
However, under Shu's ultimate, despairing gaze, the corner of Mei's mouth twitched. She made an expression that was somewhere between a smile, a grimace, and pure awkwardness.
"Wouldn't that be kinda nice?"
Oh boy. The Fire Moth is super dead.