Why play in a band if not for life?

"So, where is your music?" The question was posed.

Yukina's eyes widened.

"My music... my music..."

Suddenly, she understood.

Eight people arrived from a breathless distance.

On the shattered platform, blue roses bloomed wildly.

Countless iron rose thorns hung from the top of the platform—this was what the eight people below saw.

Yukina's long hair was lifted by the thorns. The blue roses were her crown, covering her entire body. Shiko drew her sword, her expression solemn, and faced her again.

"My gaze is filled with nothing but earnest sincerity."

Suddenly, Yukina opened her mouth and hummed a melody.

"Then, let's consider this an extra live," she said, raising her eyes to meet Shiko's without flinching.

Roselia's vocalist, Yukina Minato, sang the first note in the center of the battlefield.

"We went all out to win!"

"(Passionate gaze!)"

I will give everything to achieve victory!

Noble roses surrounded Shiko.

A new challenge was gradually taking shape.

No matter the stage, I will face it with a smile.

The two figures spun in the battlefield, dancing a war in the lost garden filled with thorns and roses, the clash of iron accompanying Yukina's song.

Even if this stage isn't my forte!

I will sing my—

Thorns and steel gathered once more for the final blow!

PASSIONATE ANTHEM!

The platform collapsed in an instant. When the others cleared the smoke, they saw the two of them in the middle of the shattered stones.

Yukina stood majestically, thorns binding Shiko's entire body, pinning her to the ground. Her hands were empty, her eyes peaceful.

"Why didn't you resist? You had a chance," Yukina asked.

Shiko's expression was calm and serene, as if the person who had been impassioned moments ago was someone else. "This is no longer my Revue, but your live. In a live, fans should just watch quietly."

"Revue?" Yukina tilted her head. By then, the others had rushed forward, pulling the two apart and standing between them.

The two quickly explained together, "It's okay, it's okay..."

Once they confirmed that the two wouldn't fight again, the others finally relaxed. After some simple treatment, they took them back to their base.

One lay on Ichiri's back, the other on Lisa's back: the fight had been too intense, and they couldn't walk for a while.

Shiko turned to Yukina, "I'm sorry, Yukina, I was actually just performing earlier..."

The others turned to look at the ruins after the battle. Performing...

Yukina, as one of the participants, was speechless. "Performing?"

"Yes," Shiko's expression was full of sincerity. "No matter what, I wouldn't get angry at you. Besides, I've also caused delays before, and I don't really care that much about things like this, so what right do I have to say anything to you?"

"Then what were you thinking when you were fighting?" Nijika asked curiously.

Shiko's face flushed. "Do you really want to hear it?"

Everyone nodded.

Shiko's expression was complicated, but she finally sighed and put on a zombie-like face:

"Yukina, my Yukina

I've seen you in my dreams so many times

In my dreams, your silver hair is smooth like moonlight

Your golden eyes shine like stars

Even your cool face turns into a flower-like smile

..."

"Stop!" Lisa quickly interrupted Shiko's rapid-fire monologue.

But it was too late. As soon as the nonsensical words came out, everyone looked at Shiko with horrified eyes, even the members of Kessoku Band, who were somewhat aware of her idol obsession. Shiko felt Ichiri beneath her stumble. Shiko took the opportunity to bury her flushed face in Ichiri's long hair.

"So, why did you perform like that?" Yukina asked. She didn't seem to react much to Shiko's words, perhaps because she was too tired to react.

Shiko took a deep breath, calmed down, and raised her head again. "To make you smile." Her tone was as if she had been given a ridiculous but unavoidable task.

A flicker of confusion crossed Yukina's eyes. She remembered Shiko's previous declaration: "Didn't you say you tore yourself apart?"

Shiko quietly averted her gaze. "...Forget it, I was just being a bit chuunibyou back then. Actually, I'll do my best with the other thing I wanted to do."

Yukina suddenly relaxed. She buried her face in Lisa's long hair.

"Is that so? Then, thank you."

Shiko also let out a sigh of relief and changed the subject. "Um... I thought you were going to improvise a new song just now, I didn't expect it to be PASSIONATE ANTHEM."

"I only sing songs I can perform perfectly. Improvisation is too unstable."

"That really sounds like you..."

Chapter 24: Stardust

It was noon again. The edge of a small grove. The shower had just passed, and the air was filled with a refreshing coolness.

Thin white cooking smoke rose from under the shade of the trees.

"Clang, clang, clang!" Lisa picked up the bell beside her and called out to Yukina, who was not far away. "It's ready! Yukina, please go call them over."

Yukina went to find people, while Nijika helped arrange stacks of dishes on the wooden table. Lisa opened the pot lid, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and served the miso soup. Nijika brought over a plate of salad.

"Doesn't everyone in Roselia dislike vegetables?" Nijika asked Lisa as she put down a large bowl. The band's meals were basically taken care of by Lisa and Nijika on rotation. When it was Lisa's turn to cook, the meals always contained a low proportion of vegetables, especially green peppers, carrots, celery, and bitter melon. Thus, Nijika had memorized it.

"I found some wild berries nearby," Lisa said. "I don't know their names, but everyone used to like them. These berries are common where we started, but we haven't seen them for a long time on the road. Today I saw them again, so I made this with them."

"Mmm~" Nijika picked up a small piece and tasted it. "It's a bit like a tomato, but more sour--where did this salad dressing come from?" She definitely hadn't made salad dressing here, nor did she remember Shiko making it.

"You taught me, don't you remember?"

Nijika recalled that she had indeed mentioned it in conversation. But she had only said the general idea, and she hadn't expected Lisa to replicate it.

"I tried to improve the recipe you taught me," Lisa said smugly, giving Nijika a wink.

The others also returned. "Wow, it's 'Bloody Mary'!" Ako exclaimed cheerfully.

"Bloody Mary?" Shiko asked.

"That's what Ako calls this fruit," Lisa said, pointing to the bowl.

"Let's eat." Everyone gathered around the table and began their dinner. This bowl of salad was not only welcomed by Roselia but also praised by Kessoku Band.

Not just the food, but also the arrangement of the tents every day, the storage of daily necessities, and various snacks... Apart from battles, they also took meticulous care of everyone in their daily lives. "I have two moms," Ryo's astonishing remark, which she made by chance, actually represented the feelings of everyone.

"I'm full," Yukina always finished first. "Wu-san." She looked at Shiko. Shiko understood and quickly finished the rest of her meal, putting down her bowl and chopsticks. "Then we'll be going."

"Do you want me to come watch?" Nijika asked.

"We know what we're doing." The two left. The others also finished their meals and left with someone. Soon, only Nijika and Lisa were left in the clearing.

The sounds of battle could be heard nearby. That was them. Ever since Shiko and Yukina's fight, Yukina had discovered that battles between ability users were the best form of training. Thus, she instituted a special post-meal activity. Members who leaned towards combat had to find opponents to spar with. For some reason, Yukina particularly liked to fight Shiko.

"Whenever this happens, I always feel like we two are so useless," Nijika said, idly eating berries.

"Yeah, even Rinko has a certain combat ability, and we two are just pure support," Lisa said, unable to sit still, she began to clear the bowls and chopsticks. Even though the bowls and chopsticks were disposable.

"Want to play cards?" Nijika pulled out a set of cards that were different from poker cards from somewhere.

"This is..."

"Little Shiko introduced it to me before. It's a board game that's quite popular where they come from. Little Shiko calls it 'Rising Up'."

As the two were playing their third round, the others began to return one after another, their bodies covered in sweat and a few minor injuries. The two quickly dropped their cards and brought water and towels to tend to the wounds.

"Thank you. The surrounding monsters have also been cleared up," Yukina said, taking the towel. She noticed the cards on the table. "These are..."

Soon, ten people gathered around the table to play. However, they didn't play for long before monsters began to gather again.

"Weren't they all cleared out?" Ryo casually swatted away a small monster that lunged at her.

"They were indeed cleared out before..." Yukina said, confused, piercing the monster Ryo had swatted away with thorns.

Most of the monsters were worms and tentacles covered in slime that emerged from the ground. They weren't strong, but they were disgusting. After everything was over, several iron buckets were set up for bathing.

"Yukina? What's wrong?" Lisa asked, seeing Yukina staring at the horizon.

"Look over there," Yukina pointed into the distance. Lisa looked, the sun had long since set, but a faint white light was emanating from the horizon, illuminating nearly half the sky.

"I remember, that's..."

Before Yukina could finish, the ground suddenly began to shake! With her physical condition, she could barely stand, and she immediately pulled Lisa towards her. In that instant, she remembered this phenomenon—earthlight.

Earthlight was a precursor to an earthquake.

"An earthquake?!" Amidst the shaking ground, screams erupted one after another. Fortunately, the area they were in was relatively flat and safe. Everyone reacted quickly, crouching down and covering their heads, waiting for the earthquake to pass. Only Shiko momentarily didn't react and was pulled down by Ichiri beside her.

Her body swaying, Shiko spread a layer of sponge on the ground to prevent anyone from falling. This should be fine, they just had to endure this period, and luckily, this was already a safe zone.

However, the ground in front of them cracked open. Ako almost fell in, but someone grabbed her. The so-called safe zone was not very safe.

"Wu-san, try creating a platform, the kind you made last time!" Yukina shouted.

Shiko was already trying. The ground slowly rose, but this movement, combined with the seismic waves, caused even greater tremors, and more cracks appeared on the ground. Except for Yukina, whose body had been strengthened, everyone else fell to the ground. Something flew from who knows where and grazed Shiko. Sharp stone fragments were everywhere. Shiko tried to avoid them, but she still ended up injured.

"I'll do it!" Nijika shouted, placing her palms on the ground. A blinding light erupted from beneath her palms, temporarily blinding everyone!

Nijika hadn't used this move in a long time, but she had been practicing and improving it!

[Stardust] Lv3! Connecting Nijika's body with the earth, the power to heal the earth!

Light overflowed from every crack in the earth, turning into mist, and everyone was bathed in a pure white haze. Shiko's recent wound healed instantly. After wiping away a bit of blood, her skin was flawless.

Furthermore, the ground stopped shaking. The devastation was gradually being repaired by Nijika alone. Cracks were mended, and shattered stones reassembled. Regardless of what was happening around them, the small patch of land where they stood remained as stable as a cradle.

The others quickly got up and gathered around Nijika, reducing the area she needed to control. Shiko took out a golden jade slip to replenish her spiritual energy. Rinko played a buffing song, Glory Hymn, and Ryo immediately assisted her, focusing the power of her sound waves onto Nijika. Lisa broke off pieces of her cookies and fed them to Nijika, who couldn't change her posture. After an unknown amount of time, the world gradually grew quiet. The faint light emanating from the ground finally dimmed. Nijika looked up to confirm everyone was unharmed before letting out a breath and collapsing into Lisa's arms with relief.

She slept until the next day, right before they were scheduled to leave.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Lisa's Attempt

"You're awake?" a voice came from her hazy consciousness. Who was she talking to? The next moment, Nijika realized it was herself.

At that moment, Nijika felt her body's presence.

She opened her eyes, the darkness receding, and light filled her vision once more. Lisa was sitting beside her. Seeing Nijika open her eyes, Lisa's brow relaxed, and she brought over water and a few cookies.

"Feeling better? Don't talk yet... want some water?" Seeing Lisa like this, Nijika couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not sick." Nijika carefully recalled the events before she passed out. It had just been a while since she had overused her abilities like that; it wasn't a big problem.

She tried moving her limbs; they were mostly normal. Seeing her like this, Lisa also felt at ease.

"We were supposed to leave already," Lisa informed Nijika. "But last night's earthquake really affected the river. It seems to have formed a dam upstream, so we need to spend some time dealing with that first."

"Then, right now..." Nijika was already trying to sit up and change her clothes. She noticed she wasn't wearing the same outfit she had on before she passed out.

"I helped you change," Lisa said. "That one was dirty."

Just then, a head poked into the tent from outside. It was Yukina. "Idochi-kun is awake?" she said. "Are you okay?"

"No, no, I'm completely recovered."

"That's good. After you wash up and eat breakfast, we'll leave immediately."