readsfreenovel Chapter 209, Neighborhood Arc: "Let's Become an Idol!"
Chapter 209, Neighborhood Arc: "Let's Become an Idol!"
On this brightly lit street, neon lights flashed with colorful light, and the noisy (in Wuming's opinion) singing from the stage and the houses echoed along the street.
On the deserted, rainy street, four figures stood silently by the roadside, like sculptures, with only their clothes fluttering gently in the wind.
"Boss! Boss! Where are we headed next? Are there any battles we can fight? Boss..."
“…………Gurgle”.
Wuming stood quietly, choosing not to answer, silently calculating his actions for the moment.
Just now, the four of them bypassed the surveillance cameras and secretly slipped into the city.
"Wow! We're finally back! Hmm! The sound of everyone singing so enthusiastically is something I really miss."
With her eyes shining, Rion walked briskly down the street like a student who had been forcibly taken to military training and then liberated.
She never imagined that the air in this ninth realm could smell so sweet after she lost her ability to sing.
"As expected~~ Rather than fighting or anything, lying in the back and singing happily is just as good. You only need to be cute to make do with this much."
Inside an exceptionally stylish apartment building.
'patta~'
After the sound of the door opening, the door to the house that originally belonged to Kiri Rion was quietly opened, and then a petite girl with shining golden hair peeked out from outside the door.
Rion, who was originally the owner of this room, blinked her eyes and looked at her room that she missed so much. For some reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu.
"You're finally back!"
Rion rushed excitedly into the room, peeking around in every corner. Without hesitation, she pounced on the sofa where the "quasi-spirit" could relax completely, carefully inhaling the scent through her nostrils.
"Wow, home is the best!"
Wuming followed behind, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings.
Perhaps it's because his memories have just returned, but Wuming subconsciously became wary due to the counter-surveillance techniques he learned in SSS.
"Hahaha! This is Rion's house, it's so tidy!"
"Well, although it feels a bit reckless and doesn't seem to consider the occasion, I do have good hygiene habits."
The voice came from the doorway, and Hijikata Masami and Takeshita Ayame, who had arrived a little late because they had lingered a bit longer to watch a roadside performance, also entered the room.
The atmosphere among the four then became somewhat subdued as they began to chat casually, the topics gradually becoming lighter. However, when the topic of teenage romance came up, Rine suddenly glanced at Wuming and said:
"It's rare to have so many 'friends' here, so boys shouldn't listen to this topic."
Upon hearing this, Wu Ming rolled his eyes helplessly, but still obediently stood up and walked towards the door. After reaching the door, he did not leave immediately, but leaned against the wall and waited quietly.
Inside the room, the girls' voices rose and fell, chattering about the various details and experiences of teenage romance.
Although Wuming was "expelled" from the room, his ears involuntarily perked up, wanting to eavesdrop on some interesting content.
However, not long after, a commotion suddenly broke out in the room, and then Hijikata Masami was thrown out of the room like trash.
"Huh? How did you get thrown out too?"
Wuming looked at Zhengmei beside him in astonishment, not reacting for a moment.
Facing his sworn "brother," Wuming, though somewhat "straight," was not so much so as to mistake gender, so his expression was somewhat subtle as he looked at Hijikata Masami, who had also been kicked out.
"Oh, what can I do? Caiyan said my shouting was too disruptive."
"That's true. After all, guys whose minds are full of fighting and killing are unlikely to have this kind of need."
...Back to the present~
"Hey boss, where are we headed now? Are we going to find the ruler of this place and have a fierce battle, hahaha! Take me with you!"
Hijikata Masami shouted out without any hesitation, and his carefree attitude made Wuming feel a little tired.
"There's no need for that yet. Although an area ruler is necessary, I have better preparations than that for understanding local intelligence."
"Better preparation? Boss, you mean..."
Hijikata Masami scratched his head, looking puzzled. Wuming's lips curled up slightly. "Yes, compared to us, isn't there a pioneer who arrived here before us?"
………………
Inside a special training room specifically for training idols, constant encouragement and heavy breathing from practice could be heard.
Idol training is indeed extremely tough.
Singing and dancing at the same time.
Furthermore, one must be completely focused, even prohibiting the thought of lyrics; "the voice must flow naturally." In other words, "the song must be sung with the whole body, not sung mechanically."
Kurumi practiced diligently and repeatedly, and even when she made a mistake, she immediately corrected it.
"but--"
Despite being drenched in sweat from jumping, he kept jumping.
Wearing a regular spirit dress would probably make me feel depressed because of all the sweat, so I had to wear a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, which would make Kurumi want to protest fiercely. But since this is a joint study session, it's a different story.
It's quite embarrassing to do monotonous, repetitive practice while wearing formal attire.
The formal spirit armor will be worn later. For now, we must practice continuously.
"But what~?"
"My teacher said, 'Don't give me any instructions,' which really puts a lot of pressure on me."
"Wow~ Kurumi, you're really frank!"
Kurumi frowned and grumbled. Just as Hibiki claimed, as Kurumi's producer (though shouldn't that be the job of a manager or instructor? Anyway, everything is managed by someone else), she certainly has some skills.
—Kurumi, you sang these passages with this mindset, right? But according to the composer, it was actually this feeling.
—Ah, if this dance step were performed even a little slower, it would be jarring to the viewer. Please be aware. You see this replay, don't you find it jarring?
—Every part has improved, so let's rethink the overall theme! You're a multifaceted idol, so some aspects aren't suited to a uniform, perfect aesthetic. Temporarily changing the spirit dress design should solve that. I've come up with ten designs; let's choose one together.
This is what it means to be so impressed that you're speechless.
In short, Hibiki is very talented. During breaks from training, Kurumi would go out alone to observe the training of other idols.
Most people only stay at the stage of "wanting to sing well and dance well", and almost no idol trains as hard as I do at a high level.
Of course, there are a few exceptions, but they have already debuted and are so-called top idols.
Receiving training at the same high level as them—this slightly hurt Kurumi's pride, but turned into motivation to train harder.
"After all, the training plan for this week has only just begun."
Just as Kurumi was complaining about the pressure of being commanded by Hibiki, the door to the training room was suddenly pushed open.
"How pathetic, Kurumi Tokisaki."
"Oh! It's that elf lady I really want to chop up! Long time no see (almost a day has passed)."
Wuming led Hijikata Masami in unnoticed and leaned against the wall as if they were old friends.
Kurumi frowned, stopped what she was doing, and stared intently at Wuming, as if she had anticipated his arrival but not at this time.
"I don't think I've revealed my location to anyone, have I? I don't think Xiang had any opportunity to leak it. So how did you find me, Wuming?"
Wu Ming's lips curled up into a mysterious smile. "I've tracked quite a few targets. Your spiritual power is far superior to that of ordinary quasi-elves here. It's like a beacon in the night, and its nature is very similar to mine. So, I just had to follow the wavelength and I found you."
Kurumi snorted coldly, "Hmph, I underestimated you. But what brings you here?"
Wuming crossed his arms. "Of course not. I want to cooperate with you. I need to understand the situation in this Ninth Domain, and you've been here for a while, so you should have gathered a lot of information."
Kurumi raised an eyebrow, but the information she could obtain now was certainly not anything to hide.
"Alright, considering we might need to work together again in the future, I can tell you."
Kurumi crossed her arms and began to explain, "This Ninth Domain is ruled by Banouin Mizuha. She's not particularly strong, but everyone here respects her. To unlock the [Path to Heaven] and move on to the next domain, you must become an S-class idol."
Wuming stroked his chin, listening intently. "Becoming an S-class idol? But I didn't expect someone like you to abide by the rules here." Kurumi shrugged after hearing this, seemingly out of conscience.
"So you mean the only fair, just, and convincing way to leave here is..."
"Become an idol!"
Before Wuming could finish speaking, Feiyi Xiang's excited voice immediately burst out from the side.