After the performance ended, exhaustion was seeping into her very bones. Night Sakura slumped into her chair, relaxing completely.
“Lightweaver, do you have anything else to eat? I was jumping around on stage for so long that I’m suddenly starving.”
Lightweaver was just stuffing the last piece of bread into her mouth. Hearing this, she turned her head to look at her, cheeks still puffed out. She chewed a couple of times before speaking. “Didn't you eat enough at lunch?”
She reached into her pocket, pulled out an unopened bag of crackers, and handed it over. “Only this. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it, I’ll take it!” Kohinata reached out from the side, but Lightweaver slapped her hand away.
“It’s not for you,” Lightweaver said, placing it on Night Sakura’s lap before turning to Kohinata. “All you think about is eating. If you keep this up, you’re going to be as heavy as a certain black cat.”
Kohinata pouted and took the hammer keychain out of her palm, placing it on her knee. She poked the handle with her finger, making it roll back and forth.
After a moment, she looked up again, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Lightweaver. “Then can you bring a little more next time?”
“Fine, fine, I get it.”
Misa Tachibana watched helplessly as the three of them “robbed” Lightweaver like a pack of bandits. She asked with a smile, “You always carry so many snacks with you. Do you carry them around normally, too?”
“Occasionally. I’ll keep some on me if I haven’t had dinner.”
That was a lie. Even if she had eaten dinner, she would still carry some. After all, she hadn't had enough of the snacks in this world yet.
They provided quite a food culture shock for someone from another world. She stuffed the empty snack bag back into her pocket and crossed her arms over her chest.
Actually, she still had a bag of chocolates in her pocket that she had snagged from Rei that morning. She had planned to keep them for herself, but seeing how greedy these three were, she reached into her pocket anyway.
“I have one more bag of chocolates.” Lightweaver pulled the bag out, placed it on her lap to open it, and poured a few pieces into Kohinata’s outstretched palm. She gave a few more to Night Sakura, then finally stood up and walked over to Amamiya, gently placing the last chocolate in her hand.
Night Sakura brushed the cracker crumbs off her skirt and leaned back against the chair, watching the ongoing performances on stage. She suddenly turned to look at Lightweaver’s profile. “Lightweaver, the final act today is Meruru. Will you be watching from the audience then?”
“I will.” Lightweaver tilted her head slightly to look at her. Seeing her serious expression, Night Sakura thought she was about to say something profound.
Instead, Lightweaver said, “The snacks are all gone. Don’t even think about asking for more.”
...
After the last lingering notes faded, the lights in the gymnasium quietly dimmed, leaving only a single soft spotlight in the center of the stage, like moonlight reflecting on a calm sea.
The host stepped out from the wings with light steps, her hand holding the microphone trembling slightly.
“Students, guests, next up is the final performance of today’s school festival. Before I introduce this performer, I’d like to ask everyone a question—”
She paused intentionally, her gaze sweeping across the dark, crowded audience. A mysterious smile curved her lips. “Who is the brightest Magical Girl in your hearts?”
Shouts erupted from the audience one after another. The host tilted her head to listen, then shook her head with a smile. “I heard many names—it seems everyone has a different answer. Why don't you take a bold guess? Who is the first Magical Girl that comes to mind?”
The commotion in the audience grew significantly louder, with some people standing up to peer toward the backstage.
The host stopped teasing. She took a deep breath, her voice rising several levels, each word carrying immense weight.
“Please welcome—”
The spotlights suddenly burst forth, dyeing the stage into a brilliant sea of stars.
Immediately after, lights began to glow in the center of the stage, floating up from the floor one by one, as if someone were scooping stars out from underground and lifting them into the air.
The points of light arranged themselves into the curve of a musical staff, and then the first note lit up out of thin air.
It began with a piano intro, every note carrying a subtle ripple of mana that slowly spread from the center of the stage toward the audience.
Meruru stepped out from the starlight, the notes beneath her feet lighting up in sequence with her steps.
She didn't bring her staff today; she only held a silver microphone. She walked to the front of the stage, stopping exactly on the glowing lines of the stage floor.
Rei’s glow stick nearly flew out of her hand, but she quickly caught it and clutched it to her chest.
Meruru really came. Meruru was standing on the stage, not far from her at all.
Rei’s mouth was hanging open, but she could only make indistinct, breathy sounds.
She suddenly turned and grabbed Shizuru’s arm, taking several tries before she found her voice.
“It’s her!” Her voice turned shrill, unable to hide her excitement. “Kirishima-senpai, did you see that?! It’s the real Meruru! A live Meruru!”
“I see her. It’s her.” Shizuru patted the back of Rei’s hand, gesturing for her to let go of her arm first.
Rei pulled her hand back, only to grab Yuki’s wrist next, gripping it with the same startling force. “Kurokawa-san! Meruru! It’s really her!”
Yuki was pulled so hard she tilted slightly, using her other hand to steady the drink bottle on her lap.
“To be able to stand here today, I must thank Tachibana High School for their warm invitation.” Meruru leaned forward slightly, twirling the microphone between her fingers. “Actually, I didn't come alone today—I’d like to introduce someone very important to me.”
She made a “wait a moment” gesture to the audience, and the venue suddenly went pitch black.
In the darkness, a single point of silver light ignited.
It was like a seed awakened by a spring breeze, slowly sprouting and branching out, extending into the void.
More points of light appeared, and glow sticks were extinguished one after another. No one had organized it, but everyone held their breath at the same time.
Streams of pale purple light meandered out from the depths of the stage. Like a creek thawing in early spring, they quietly flowed through every crack in the stage floor, weaving into a flowing musical staff above the heads of the audience.
Notes leaped across the staff on their own, each landing point splashing a small circle of stardust.
The silhouette of a bow slowly emerged at the end of the light stream. Its lines were slender, the body of the bow seemingly cast from moonlight and starlight.
The grip was wrapped in silver thread, and a string of vibrating musical note charms hung from the end, looking as if they had just escaped from an unfinished song.
Seina stood in the center of the stage, holding the bow.
She had changed into a new stage costume today. The skirt was lighter than last time, the color gradient shifting from pale purple at the waist to silver-white at the hem, adorned with a ring of tiny star-shaped sequins.
Her long hair draped over her shoulders, the tips dyed a silver-white that matched the color scheme of Star-trail.
Seina raised the bow before her eyes, and the fingertips of her other hand lightly touched the bowstring. The venue lights all ignited simultaneously the moment the string moved, following her as she stepped forward.
Meruru took Seina’s hand, leading her to the front of the stage.
“This is my sister.” Meruru glanced sideways at Seina and switched the microphone to the hand closer to her. “And my partner—Seina.”
The audience erupted into the loudest cheers of the night, and camera flashes went off incessantly.
Qiluo sat below, the noise in her ears having never stopped since Meruru took the stage.
It made Qiluo’s ears ache. She had intended to put on headphones and scroll through her phone, but she was constantly being pushed notifications about the live event right in front of her.
Qiluo Tian Gong felt a bit helpless. Was this the power of Meruru?
Rate on N.U.
