Halley's "Magic"

(Bai Ziye)

"This is enough. I can walk the rest by myself... Ceruno, be careful."

"I know."

This fool doesn't seem wary at all; it's still necessary to remind him.

After all, today's battle proved that she would indeed become a major threat to "the Other Side," and the attacks against her would not simply stop...

"You be careful too, we'll head back now."

"Um."

Aunt Yuehan made a U-turn at the intersection and left.

Perhaps they'll take Golden to see a veterinarian?

But for now, let's go check on Halley. Hopefully, this Monster who thinks she's a magical girl hasn't gone on a rampage and started eating people...

No, what about succubi...?

Squeeze dry?

The doors to Kuroro Agency were wide open, as if they weren't worried about thieves, even though there wasn't anything worth coveting here.

"Miss Hallley, I've arrived."

"You're finally here? You're so late on your first day of work, don't you have any sense of time at all?!"

Preaching?

She really treats me like an employee?

"I believe that people should be paid for working."

"Ahem, don't take it so seriously... I was just saying."

She changed her tune very quickly. This person doesn't have the arrogant air of a top idol at all. Perhaps she was originally like that, but years of struggling at the bottom have worn away all her edges.

She put her arm around my shoulder and led me into a room in a corner.

"Come in quickly, we need to prepare for tomorrow's auditions."

Should I participate too?

To be honest, I still prefer to be an intern manager rather than an idol.

Although Halley said I have talent, I'd probably do a worse job than Ceruno at singing and dancing on stage.

"Of course, you're a reserve idol for our Kuroro Agency. It would be too embarrassing for such a big agency to only have one idol."

This is a "big" firm, but it only has one employee.

Maybe there are two now, but she doesn't pay them salaries, does she?

Instead of taking me to the office, she led me directly to a dark room without windows, where there was even a musty smell in the air.

Turn on the lights.

The floor was covered with soft mats, the walls were made of sound-absorbing foam, and there was a full-length mirror on one wall.

This is clearly a training room.

Although it's a bit old, the mirror and floor mat are quite clean, and it looks like it's regularly cleaned or used.

Whether it's dance or vocal music, you can practice here. I never expected that this dilapidated bungalow would have such a decent place.

"So, how should we approach tomorrow's audition?"

According to Sirius, the lineup for this competition is quite impressive; even in the preliminary rounds, participants will need to demonstrate considerable skill to advance.

"The preliminary selection is an art. You can't go all out from the start, otherwise there won't be room for improvement and you won't be able to engage the judges. But you can't perform too poorly either, since you only have one chance in the preliminary selection. If you get eliminated, that's it... But before that, you have to let me see your abilities."

"Does 'talent' refer to singing?"

She tossed me a microphone, which vibrated and emitted a piercing whistling sound as it landed in my hand.

"That's right, but singing is only one aspect of being an idol. Judges definitely won't just look at the singing style; stage presence is also very important."

How can you grasp something so vague?

"It's not blurry at all, try singing one first... start with an a cappella performance."

Singing a cappella is quite difficult.

If it's not a song I'm very familiar with, it's easy to sing off-key and sound strange. Besides, I haven't had any systematic vocal training. I only sat in on some trivial things when Ceruno was teaching... and I didn't really understand them. After all, I never imagined I would go down this path.

"It's okay if you don't sing well, let me hear it first."

"Cough cough--"

The lyrics echoed in my mind, and I gave my breath to the melody.

"Although the Starry Night gradually melts away in the morning light."

Your Radiance remains as dazzling as ever.

"I love you, that's all."

"May the two of them meet again someday..."

Considering I should show some skill at this point, I sang a song I often sing at karaoke...

Well, occasionally I'll go to karaoke alone as Miluno; I've been there about two or three times this year.

"Clap clap clap clap!"

As if one person clapping wasn't enthusiastic enough, Halley even made applause sounds.

"Not bad, much better than I expected. As expected, magical girls are all natural singers. Your control over muscles is beyond what ordinary people can match..."

She gave a wry smile, then realized what she meant.

"Oh, I'm a magical girl now!"

However, that is not the case.

Damn it, how am I supposed to make her realize this without hurting her?

"Cough cough."

She cleared her throat in the middle of the room, trying to get my attention back.

"Then let me show you what a professional idol is all about."

That's what she said.

Then she inhaled and puffed out her succubus-like chest.

"Gazing at the dreamlike shooting stars twinkling in the night sky"

"Singing aloud to express these feelings."

Silently counting the glittering stars

"Secretly hiding one's sentimentality"

Did you realize that it was me thinking of you?

"Call."

It felt like I had been holding back for the length of a song; my brain was buzzing from lack of oxygen.

"Uh-huh?"

She simply expressed her smugness with a playful nasal tone.

"What was that just now? Could this be your magic? To achieve such a level of skill with unaccompanied singing."

Hearing me say that, she seemed even more smug, hands on her proud hips, and said, "Hmph, that's just simple vocal technique, plus the body control abilities of a magical girl... But speaking of magic, I figured that out last night too."

Very good, that's the key point I wanted to hear.

"What kind of offensive magic is it?"

"Why don't you try it yourself? A small dose shouldn't be fatal..."

"Wait, dosage? That sounds dangerous. What kind of poison is it?"

"It's not poison."

She wiggled the tip of her succubus tail and leaned closer, saying, "It'll only hurt for a moment, you'll feel nothing soon."

"Are you the nurse who tricks children into getting injections?!"

Despite my resistance, she grabbed my arm and then gently poked my arm with the tip of her tail...

It hurt a little, like something was injected into her body, but she quickly pulled it out without any bleeding.

Am I going to turn into a succubus too?

Or will it cause body heat and mysterious markings to appear on the lower abdomen...?

However, nothing happened.

What's wrong with me?

Haaley asked, "Don't you want to go out for a walk?"

It would be a lie to say that you didn't feel anything.

I had a vague feeling that something terrible was about to happen, and this strong intuition was often very accurate.

As a result, I had just pushed open the door to the training room.

The integrated ceiling panel on the ceiling collapsed.