Bailey Knight had a good chance of winning the championship.
Saintess Leia's voice was undeniably pure, but when it came to vocal technique, she could hardly compare with a Singer who had spent more than a decade honing her craft.
But Bailey Knight had let that precious title slip away herself... No, she hadn't given it up. She had used it to face her story with Madeleine and finally move on from the past.
When Annan learned that Madeleine had sung the same song, much of his ill will toward her faded.
It seemed those old memories were precious to Madeleine, too.
As for why two people had sung the same song with performances of roughly equal quality, yet one had won and the other hadn't even made the cut...
Either the judges were incompetent, or the contest was rigged. Pick one.
So Annan's first reaction to the news was that Free City had won.
After everyone finished sharing their thoughts, the vote totals began to pull apart.
Saintess Leia reclaimed first place with a staggering 12.9 million votes. The Silver Dragon in second and Alshir in third were close behind—this sort of thing clearly struck a chord with the people of Allen Continent.
Twenty minutes remained before voting closed. Bailey Knight still had a chance to climb a few places.
Then came the judges' turn to perform. At Peterson's invitation, the Sea Siren Clan Chief took the stage.
The Skeleton King was eager to listen. In his long life as both a human and an Undead, he had rarely had the chance to hear a Siren sing.
The learned Skeleton King said, "In Abyssal City, Eirlyn is known as 'the Siren with the deadly voice.'"
Annan looked toward Eirlyn at center stage with growing anticipation.
Without accompaniment, the Sea