Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

This is the drawback of cramming at the last minute.

Therefore, I had no choice but to stand on the stage and finish singing the rest of the song.

Fortunately, the female dancers noticed my predicament. With their excellent professionalism and on-the-spot adaptability, they adjusted their dance steps and removed the parts that required my cooperation, which prevented any major mistakes in the performance.

After giving Seruno a high-five before going on stage, I returned backstage, kicked off my worn-out high heels, and put on my usual platform boots.

Warren said high heels suited my style, so I reluctantly put them on, but little did I know the heels were so flimsy...

"Hey, Miluno, what happened in the second half? Why did you suddenly stop dancing?"

Halley approached with his hands on his hips and asked.

"I stomped my foot and broke the heel."

"Your dance moves were indeed too forceful. Although that would make your movements more expressive, it's understandable that your heels couldn't support them."

I complained, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I thought you were going to wear boots up there! You didn't even show me your costume. If I had known you were going to wear high heels, I definitely would have stopped you!"

What she said doesn't seem to make any mistakes.

"Ugh, wearing high heels is torture, even my toes hurt."

Because the toe box of high heels is very tight, it's very uncomfortable to have your toes squeezed inside.

I sat down on the sofa backstage, and just as I crossed my legs to rub my toes, that guy's lecherous eyes drifted over.

"Tsk—"

Even after becoming a loli, she remains unchanged.

I had to put my leg down; I couldn't let this guy get away with just watching—although massaging someone's foot in public is somewhat indecent.

"Serno's performance is about to begin?"

Halley's reminder.

I looked out the window.

Serono inflated a giant bubble that enveloped the entire stage; this bubble was more transparent than ever before, so it did not interfere with the drone's photography.

She herself floated up on another bubble, the gravity inside the bubble was eliminated, and it was not difficult to float in mid-air like this. Colorful bubbles flowed on the surface and appeared inside the large bubble, creating a dreamlike glow under the stage lights.

She didn't forget to smile.

"That Seruno guy really put a lot of effort into the landscaping."

Halley rested his chin on his hand and leaned against the windowsill.

"This is my weakness. My magic can't create any big scenes like hers... smashing the guitar last time was my limit."

"When you say that, do you even consider my feelings?"

Halley pointed at himself and said, "My magic is even worse, isn't it? Am I supposed to give myself a huge injection and then perform a 'summoning of lightning' or 'summoning of meteors'?"

"No, it could also be a simple case of sudden death, without any special effects."

Halley strolled her dangerous tail in front of me.

"I'm going to be struck by lightning! I absolutely have to hold you tight!"

Seruno still sings with her adorable loli voice, which does indeed make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but I prefer her original voice.

But this is fine too. Leave the professional voice to the fans and keep my original voice.

"You're quite relaxed, aren't you? Don't you think you're about to lose?"

I have a vague feeling about this.

Stopping halfway through the jump was too abrupt. Although we tried our best to make the mistake seem less like a mistake, the careful judges would still notice, right?

"There's no other way..."

I sighed.

"...The only option is to deal with Sirius secretly."

"Wait a minute, your train of thought is jumping around too much! What secret is it that you're so reluctant to tell Seruno? I'm getting a little curious too."

"Don't ask. Everyone has one or two things they absolutely don't want others to know."

"Can't even I know?"

"Yes, it is a secret I will take to my grave."

"Ok."

Halley shrugged and said, "You can prepare to go up to the stage for your trial."

------

During the trial

------

My audience vote score and Serino's score were almost the same, but I only got one vote from the judges. As expected, from a professional's perspective, it was still too strange for me to stop dancing halfway through.

"I'm sorry, Miluno, I don't know why the judges voted for me."

"Because I didn't make it to the end of my dance."

"Huh? Wasn't that designed on purpose?"

Seruno blinked in surprise.

"How can a performance like this be stopped halfway through?"

"But I think you performed even better after you stopped, Miluno!!"

Serino idolizes me; whatever I do is "sparkling" in her eyes.

Even such an obvious mistake.

"I'm serious!"

Seemingly trying to convince me, Seruno clenched her fist and said, "Miruno, the moment you start moving, you ruin your original aloof aura! You were best the way you were! In other words, the first half of today's performance was the failure!"

"Oh dear? I can't pretend I didn't hear that."

Halley was standing at the door waiting for our return.

"Serno, I know you like Miluno a lot, but it's going too far to pin the blame on me! I stayed up all night choreographing for her!"

It's understandable that she would be angry after hearing Seruno's words.

"I...I didn't blame Miss Halley!"

"So you have some complaints about my choreography?"

“No, Miss Halley’s choreography is brilliant! But Miluno is not suited to dancing. She is perfect simply by standing on stage and singing! For a diamond like her, excessive embellishment would only ruin her charm… That’s my understanding.”

Serono is still arguing her case, but I don't want to see her and Halley get into a fight.

"Alright, it's all in the past now."

I pushed them backstage and asked, "Who's the next group?"

Of course I know who it is.

That question was just a way to distract myself.

But Seruno still explained, "It's Ryuhime and Nanjixing! Although Ryuhime is very popular, Miss Nanjixing is an international celebrity..."

Wearing flashlight-shaped gauntlets, Liu Chong patted his flat chest, looking confident and composed.

After announcing the results of the competition, he left the backstage area with Nanjixing.

“Serno, I think ‘Ryuhime’ has a better chance of winning.”

Halley blinked.

"They didn't come back to the villa last night. Guess what they were up to?"

If I remember correctly, he went to the downtown commercial district to conduct offline promotional activities.

But just one night's event could attract even more human-machine masters like Zi Ma?

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Secret

(Sun Yao)

Halley was right.

Ryuhime, with 70% of the audience votes, easily eliminated Antarctic Star, whose popularity far exceeded hers.

"Wow, they have such a big advantage... No wonder they're a favorite to win the championship."

Halley shook her head at my sentiments.

"There's nothing surprising about it. This advantage is the result of the efforts of Liuhe Water Committee last night. They spent the whole night promoting themselves, and the short-term return on that promotion is the result we see now."

"Can a brand really gain this much popularity in just one night?"

Milno, however, cautioned, "He doesn't need everyone to like 'Ryuhime,' he just needs to make the audience who hold the voting power like her."

"So that's how it is, they specifically tried to please the 50,000 audience members present?"

His activities were purposeful, taking place in busy downtown areas, commercial streets, and plazas near hotels and apartment complexes. He clearly knew where he could encounter ticket holders and then personally persuade them to vote for him.

Although it's somewhat despicable, it's not against the rules.

Halley added, "Off-court tactics are dishonorable, but we can't be too harsh on her... Magical Girl Antarctic Star is too famous. If Ryuu doesn't do something, she has no chance of winning. In the end, it's the fault of the organizers who allowed such a behemoth to participate in the Idol Festival."

As a top-tier traditional idol, Ms. Halley's complaints seem unconvincing; she is also a behemoth, a true all-rounder.

The two returned backstage. Despite losing the match, Nanjixing seemed unaffected, remaining as quiet as ever. Miluno, who was also eliminated, went up to offer some words of comfort, but Nanjixing simply shook her head to indicate that it was alright... she didn't care.

He was all smiles, and his charade with Shui Weiyi was becoming more and more skillful; even if someone knew, they wouldn't be able to spot any flaws.

"Next group, you can go up now."

The gray swan and another magical girl wearing a black raincoat went out.

There are no familiar faces in this group, so the outcome isn't that important, but understanding the strength of the next round's opponents is also crucial.