"Hmm?" Not far away, Mei, who was maintaining the musical instruments, noticed Kiana and Shu's expressions drastically change at the same time. She set down her instrument and walked over curiously.
"Kira's Star... Ah, is that Senior Shigure Kira?" Mei glanced at Shu's screen over his shoulder. She thought about it for a moment but couldn't figure out why the two of them were reacting like this.
"Is Senior Kira really good at this sort of thing?" Embracing the philosophy of "if you don't know, ask," Mei turned and questioned them directly.
The face Shu had sculpted was so incredibly beautiful that even an expression of profound suffering looked tragically charming, inspiring an instinctual desire to protect him.
Wearing that magnificent face, he sighed mournfully and shook his head.
"In a certain sense, Senior Kira's lethality in the field of music is indeed unparalleled."
Mei: "? Lethality?"
Kiana nodded vigorously, clearly recalling a horrifying traumatic memory. "Yes! Lethality! Sister Kira's singing... is terrifying!"
"We usually call her the Herrscher of Death's Voice. Although I've never actually heard her sing in person, that's what her canon lore says." Shu's eyes looked a bit hollow.
Truth be told, Shu was actually a little curious about Shigure Kira's singing.
Forgive his limited imagination, but Shigure Kira's voice definitely wasn't bad. Logically speaking, even if she was wildly tone-deaf, it should only be on the level of Nero Claudius.
If her singing truly possessed such terrifying lethality, Shu could only assume it was the power of canon lore forcing the issue.
It was genuinely hard for a normal singing voice to be that devastating.
"I've heard it!" Seeing Shu's naive disregard for the horrors of the world, Kiana panicked. "I've heard it!!"
She practically jumped up between Shu and Mei, wildly gesticulating as she desperately tried to describe the life-and-death terror she had once experienced.
"That sound... it... it drills straight into your brain! It's like a swarm of tiny men with power drills are frantically boring into your eardrums! Bzzzzz! Your brain feels like it's going to vibrate into mush!
"It's absolutely terrifying! I couldn't even block it out with a pillow! And it wasn't just me! Dad and Mom couldn't handle it either!
"A while ago, Dad and Uncle Joyce made a bet to go support Sister Kira's solo concert together, and both of them ended up in the hospital!"
Wait, Joyce ended up in the hospital?!
"Kiana... if I remember correctly, Senior Joyce isn't an ordinary human, is he?" Mei was genuinely shocked now.
"My stupid dad isn't an ordinary human either!" Kiana practically danced around in panic, terrified that they wouldn't believe her. "Anyway! Sister Kira's voice is super terrifying!"
"Is it possible... that Kira won't be the one singing?" Shu coughed lightly, offering an alternative theory. "After all, she's backed by the 'Snowwolf Idol' band. Is it possible your mom or dad will be the lead vocalist?"
Kiana froze. She seriously tried to imagine her mom and dad forming a band with the rest of the Snowwolf Squad.
It was definitely something they would do, but her dad... he wouldn't try to start a rock band, would he? And her mom would definitely join in on his chaotic nonsense, wouldn't she?
Sigh. It's hopeless.
Kiana's face contorted into an expression of utter misery. Shu chuckled, then scrolled down the page.
The next revealed contestant was... Ai-chan?
[The World's Number One Idol: Ai-chan]
Unsurprisingly, there was no way Ai-chan would miss an opportunity like this. Although the self-proclaimed "World's Number One Idol" Cabbage-head had never actually won first place in any official competition, her sheer capabilities could not be underestimated.
Furthermore, this competition wasn't based on simple fan-voting; it was a test of actual skill. As a hyper-advanced AI... Shu had a feeling Ai-chan was going to pull off something absolutely ridiculous.
And then, the next contestant...
[The Vodka Girls!!]
Hah. Old acquaintances.
Honestly, it would be weirder if these two didn't show up to an idol competition.
As for their skill level... Shu could only say they had "great potential."
It wasn't that he was being arrogant or overly critical; it was just a fact that those two were entirely self-taught amateurs. Their entire idol routine relied entirely on their natural talent and raw numerical stats.
In an amateur league, they would be top-tier. But on a professional stage, their skill level would probably result in a fierce, even match against Ai-chan's true capabilities.
Thinking about this, Shu fell silent for a long moment. He scrolled back up, glanced at the very first contestant again, and then silently scrolled back down.
Professional stage, my ass. This entire competition is just a chaotic circus.
None of these people are serious threats. No need to worry.
The fourth contestant...
[The Magical Girl Troupe!]
"Huh?!" All three of them let out a bizarre sound of confusion simultaneously.
Although the contestants only displayed a name—their actual appearances hadn't been revealed, showing only a silhouette—among the five silhouettes of the Magical Girl Troupe, the figure holding the Super-Dimensional Scepter with rabbit ears looked incredibly familiar.
Wait, are those actually fox ears?
"Auntie... Auntie Theresa?!" Kiana gasped in utter disbelief. "How is that possible?! Didn't Auntie Theresa retire from being an idol over a decade ago?!"
Why is an old, retired character making a comeback?!
And from the looks of it, she's a veteran leading four rookies?
So who were the four rookies? Having confirmed Theresa's identity, the scope of the remaining four narrowed significantly. The three of them stared intensely at the silhouettes, trying to match names to the figures wearing the frilly, puffy dresses.
"Hmm? Isn't that Seele, Seele, and Sin Mal?"
Bronya's slightly surprised voice drifted over from beside them. She had returned from the restroom at some point without them noticing.
She leaned in and instantly identified three of the silhouettes with a single glance.
"Sin Mal?" No one was surprised that Bronya could easily identify them. The only thing they were surprised by was one specific detail.
How on earth did they convince Sin Mal to become a Magical Girl?!
"Is that really Sin Mal?" Even Mei couldn't hold back her disbelief this time.
"I also find that highly unlikely..." Shu said, keeping his face perfectly straight as he seriously stroked his smooth chin.
"That's a bit... horrifying." Kiana's face scrunched up. She genuinely couldn't imagine how Sin Mal was forced into that outfit, let alone convinced to pose for the promotional photo with everyone else.
She didn't even want to imagine the look of absolute, concentrated disgust hiding behind that silhouette.
I feel like if she looked at me right now, she'd treat me like literal garbage.
As for the last one...
"It's Sirin, isn't it?"
"It has to be Sirin."
"Sister? I think it's Sister Sirin."
"...Aren't you supposed to be the oldest?" Shu was genuinely confused by the Kaslana sisters' family dynamic.
Calling Durandal "Sister" was one thing, but why did Kiana call Sirin "Sister" too?
Isn't she visibly younger than you?!
"Well, she is technically older than me chronologically." Kiana scratched her head, completely unbothered by the discrepancy.
"What about Durandal?"
"Force of habit! Hehe..."
Shu gave up.