If I Had Three Days

After hearing Robin out, the leader did not answer immediately. He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. A stack of reports sat at the corner of the table, and the edge of the top report had grown frayed where his fingertips had rubbed it.

After a dozen or so taps, he finally spoke. "Miss Robin, we can give you the broadcasting support you're asking for. But you want me to turn over all our public communications equipment to broadcast a performance—"

He paused. "I need to know what song you intend to sing."

If she sang the kind of song that affected only one side's morale, how were they supposed to fight the war? Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to voice that concern outright.

"Of course, I'll sing the new song I released a little while ago," Robin replied. "Even if I wanted to write a new song, I don't have what I need here to record live instruments for an accompaniment."

Robin's recording contract was with Interastral Peace Entertainment, so naturally she had to use their people for her new songs. If she used a local band to record the accompaniment, ownership of the copyright would be called into question.

"Just one song?" the leader repeated, unable to keep the distrust out of his voice. "Even if we use every broadcast at our disposal, the signal won't cover all of Vesna IV. The areas under rebel control can't receive government broadcasts at all."

"Please have faith in my power," Robin said. "All you need to do is cooperate with me."

The leader stared at her for a long time.

Jingxing sat in a corner of the meeting room, noticing the leader's brow furrow more and more deeply, as though he were weighing the pros and cons. He probably thought Robin was talking nonsense.

But Jingxing knew Robin had that ability, because he had seen how she persuaded the routed soldiers.

"I don't understand the abilities of you visitors from beyond the stars." The leader thought for a long time before finally speaking. "But if your song can reach those places on its own, what can our broadcasts do?"

"Because I need everyone to turn their eyes here," Robin explained. "First, I need to let them know I'm here. That's why I need a venue and time to prepare. I need your broadcasts to help me carve out that space."

"Then I need you to guarantee this won't turn into a one-sided publicity stunt." The leader stared at Robin.

"My performance won't take either side." Robin shook her head. "I sing only for peace."

The meeting room fell silent. Ofila was about to interject, but a glance from Robin stopped her.

"All right." After thinking it over a little longer, the leader stood. "I'll give you the broadcasting system. I'll handle the publicity. I look forward to Miss Robin bringing peace to our world. But arranging all this will take time. Would three days be enough?"

"Three days is enough." Robin stood as well and held out her hand to him. "I look forward to working with you."

The leader did not take her hand. Instead, he stepped back. "Never mind, Miss Robin. Let me be blunt. If your performance fails to make those rebels lay down their guns, I won't mind doing something irrational in exchange for the Interastral Peace Corporation's assistance."

"I won't let you down." Robin rose, her smile full of confidence. "I promise you, and I promise this planet, Vesna IV."

After the leader left, the meeting room fell quiet. Jingxing walked to the window and looked out at the street. Night had already fallen over Rovini, and a few scattered streetlights cast patches of light along the empty road.

"Three days left," he heard himself say.

"Mm." Robin walked over to him. "In three days, I'll give everything I have to sing for peace here."

"Can your voice really reach that far?" Jingxing asked. "Across mountains and rivers, past the rebels' defensive lines? Can you sing to the whole planet?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he hurried to add, not wanting Robin to think he was questioning her, "I'm just an ordinary person. Something like that is really beyond anything I can imagine."

Robin closed her eyes and said softly, "The Aeon followed by the Path of Harmony I have embarked upon is Xipe. They are the resonance of countless voices. So when I sing, all of heaven and earth will echo along with me."

She opened her eyes and looked at Jingxing. "As long as I hold that wish in my heart, my voice will go where it needs to go."

Jingxing remembered the nights before they entered the city, when Robin had sat in the dark, getting herself ready. He should have guessed then. She had long since begun tuning herself for this performance.

"There's one more thing," Robin suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"On the day of the performance, don't look at me." She gazed out at the sparsely populated street. "I'll be giving it my all, and it might make you feel uncomfortable."

Although they had not been able to find the cause of the condition, the two of them could tell by now that whenever Robin used the power of her Path, Jingxing's eyes would burn if he looked at her.

So, for his sake, Robin hoped Jingxing would look away when the time came.

"I will." Jingxing didn't want Robin to spare any extra worry for him then, either. "It's a little disappointing that I won't be able to watch you perform, but hearing you sing will be wonderful too."

"Once the conflict here is over, come with me to the Genius Society. Let the experts there study it. We have to find the cause somehow." Robin reached out and poked Jingxing. "Don't refuse. I can't shake the feeling that the cause might have something to do with me. You have to let me do something to help you."

"All right," Jingxing replied softly. "I'll cooperate with the treatment."

Over the next three days, the atmosphere throughout Rovini grew tense.

The government army's propaganda machine went into full operation. The military music was taken off the loudspeakers and replaced with a simple announcement that played on a loop: "Miss Robin, a galactic singing star, will perform in Central Square in three days. Her performance will be broadcast live throughout the entire territory. All citizens are cordially invited to listen."

On the first day, people in the streets wore identically bewildered expressions when they heard it. On the second day, some began looking around the square and discussing Robin's name. When they spoke of a "galactic singing star," curiosity finally began to flicker in their eyes. For a civilization that had only just entered the galaxy, it was truly hard to imagine what a singing star from beyond the heavens might look like. On the third day, notices covered walls throughout the city and even across the entire territory. Behind those sealed windows, too, people began to look forward to it through the wooden boards.

During those days, Robin shut herself in her room, constantly getting herself ready. Jingxing, unable to sit still, went out for a walk and unexpectedly spotted a few familiar faces among the workers in the square: Old Zhou and the routed soldiers.

They had changed out of their uniforms and into work clothes, and they handled the lumber more deftly than anyone else. Old Zhou was crouched beneath the platform, smoking. When he saw Jingxing, he lifted his chin in greeting.

"The brothers want to earn some travel money first," Old Zhou explained. "And keep an eye on the place for Miss Robin while we're here."