Chapter 357 - In the Spotlight

“Alright, girls! Makeup done? Costumes fluffed? Let’s get a move on, go go GO!”

A man in a pristine but flamboyant suit stood at the door of a dressing room, his arm raised as if giving a directive to the seven girls present. With a cheery response, they filed out, each giving him a high five as they passed.

“We’ll knock them off their seats, Mr. K!”

“They won’t stand a chance against all of us!”

“Sit back and let us do the work now!”

The man, Mr. K, nodded to each one of them as they passed. A pair of sunglasses blocked his eyes, but his expression was warm regardless. They merely needed to see the wide grin of his to know the confidence that he held in them – a collection of random girls far different from each other, all in one place for a single purpose.

As most of them spilled out of the room in excitement, Mr. K turned to the last girl, the one leading the others from behind. She was the others’ Onee-san, the role of picking up whatever slack that Mr. K couldn’t handle. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.

“You got this, Liruru. I believe in you.”

“As we do for you, Mr. K. For taking us this far.”

With a simple nod in acknowledgement, Mr. K moved to the side and looked away.

“Take care of the others, Liruru.”

Before Liruru could ask what he meant by that, a hand guided her out the door and goaded her forward. He looked back at the empty dressing room, recalling fond memories. A tear dribbled down his cheek before he hastily rubbed it away. It wouldn’t do for him to be this happy, not when there was still a concert to do. But he couldn’t help but shed a tear as the idols he gave support to stepped into the spotlight that they deserved.

In front of the stage, cheers resounded through the entire arena. A sea of people as far as the eye could see, the largest venue in the city – this was the grandest stage for aspiring idols, the Lyrical Sonia League.

After months of raising a team for the purpose of this event, Mr. K would finally see the results of his efforts. But he was confident that they would do well. They had the talent and motivation. All that was needed was for someone to ‘produce’ them. To be the one to click the button in full faith.

The crowd erupted in waves as each girl came out in sequence, the scattered chorus of people getting hyped up for their personal favorites, whichever one she may be.

The nimble and spunky Merona. The athletic and tomboyish Firion. The mystical and demure Relia. The outgoing and optimistic Lyucel. The seductive and clingy Harlett. The teasing and secretive Lailah.

Six girls with different personalities, waved to the audience and lined up in slanted rows. Turning back, the commanding and caring leader of the group shot up to the very front, completing an arrow formation. She took a deep breath and yelled out to the crowd.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyy! We are the Aquarions! Here to take over the league!”

Excitement brimmed from her declaration and infected the audience, who responded with deafening cheers. Immediately, the music started as the idol group began the show of their lifetime.

Meanwhile, Mr. K watched on, his toes tapping to the rhythm. The girls were synchronized to perfection, their strengths and weaknesses playing off each other. If anyone had asked how he was able to put together such a team from scratch, he would simply smile and nod.

The truth wouldn’t work here. Not in this world. The fact that he had known them all in a past life was undoubtedly a cheat. Such memories were a guide towards the easiest path of stardom, as he knew so much about each one of them. He was playing a game with all the cards in hand already.

Turning away from the scene, Mr. K drew a deep breath to calm himself. He had promised that it would be different this time. This world was not meant to be his to hog. He had already squandered his chance. Now, it was their time to shine.

Seeing them prance upon the stage made him sure of that. There was no need, no need at all to return. He let the melody of the song wash over him, cleansing him of any self-driven motivation that he might hold. He no longer wished to take advantage of their kindness.

As the performance ended, Mr. K hung his head before turning away, satisfied with the result. The spotlight beamed down upon the seven girls as it should, leaving nothing for him as he slinked behind the stage and into the darkness. He let himself be drowned out by the crowd of attendees.

Even if his resignation made them sad, it would only be temporary. They had all the ability to move on by themselves. He had simply spouted the orders to make himself the big boss, while in truth, the girls did all the work. He was only playing around. He didn’t belong – a man donning a costume for the sake of pretending. He had no choice but to quit before reality struck him with his inadequacy.

He moved through the crowd, whose faces looked past him, like they should. He was no one. He would never be. Not unless he put on a guise.

The darkness of the endless crowd swallowed him up, until the voices of his girls grew distant.

But then, music started up again and cut through the crowd. A new song was being played, but it wasn’t part of the schedule. Surprised, Mr. K whipped around to see a part of the stage that wasn’t lit before appear next to the main one.

“It’s not a game. I’m not a robot A.I. challenging you~~”

Mr. K’s jaw dropped, seeing blond hair and emerald eyes in the distance. That voice was familiar. The small form of a young girl with long ears cut through his vision as the spotlight was trained upon her. Her angelic voice immediately brought forth a field of flowers gracing his vision.

“I’m not a phantom. I’m in your face, and I’m here to see it through~~”

Suddenly, the spotlight shifted to another girl, her long black hair swaying as she spun around in perfectly practiced motions. Her slim body held a powerful confidence that refused to be outmatched.

“Watch us multiply.”

“Come to claim our rights.”

“It’s time!”

The spotlight cut off, and then shone down upon three more girls – a bespectacled Cinderella, a princely figure, and a moon princess – who immediately fanned out towards the audience.

They leapt forward into the crowd below, creating an uproar of surprise. But then, hovering boards zipped to where they were. Like fairies, they flew in circles around a stunned crowd.

“As our power grows, tryin’ to stop us shows. Might as well go try’n to stop time~~”

The board riders converged, the spotlights clicking off and on once again. This time, a lone girl in a maid outfit stood out. Suddenly, a strobe light kicked in, and the girl started to move. With each flash of light, it seemed like the girl teleported from one end to the other, as if time really was in her grip.

Mr. K looked on, stunned into silence. Each one of them was someone that he knew before. But what were they do here? On this stage, stealing the show? And how the hell did they sneak into the competition without him realizing?!

“So you know that we’re out there. Swatting lies in the making~~”

The lights suddenly all came on, revealing all six girls dancing in sync.

Chrysanthemum, Saki, Katalina, Cornelius, Kaguya, and Ludmila had thrown down a challenge to Aquarion. Mr. K gritted his teeth.

“Why now?! Why this moment?! Why are you trying to steal the spotlight from my girls who deserve it for once?!”

He found himself marching back towards the stage, pushing aside the audience to make a beeline for them. He had sworn to himself that he was done being a leading player. That he would leave it up to the others to claim the victory that they deserved.

If he hadn’t pushed them to follow along, they would have still been happy. At home with their beloved children and taking care of Macali like usual. They didn’t need a foolish king ordering them to their deaths. They didn’t need to abandon their responsibilities for his sake.

The world didn’t need his power. And he wouldn’t stand to let them all be dragged into it once again. But just as he approached the stage, a new girl jumped out in front.

“Your empire for the taking. Can’t hold on or life won’t change~~”

A wild, charismatic smile. A beauty in which one couldn’t look away from. She wore a military dress that commanded attention. The microphone held to her mouth was like she laid down a declaration. Her eyes looked straight at Mr. K’s. It was obviously a message meant for him. The whole song was. And it just had to be one that he knew fondly from a game he played.

They were calling him out. For crafting this false world and settling for easy mode. They were fighting him on his terms, a challenge meant to draw him out into the spotlight again. So that he could don his armor and pretend to be someone important again.

But he wouldn’t be fooled. He had no place on the stage. Even if they were throwing down a challenge, it was not one that he could fight as himself. He was a producer in this world, a discoverer of talent. And his weapons were his idols, not him.

‘Nice try, but I’m not falling for it. I’m not going to use the girls for my battles anymore. I have no desire to drag them into my messes.’

With that, Mr. K started turning away from the stage again. He admonished himself for being riled up, even if it was only temporarily. He had been burned too much by his own whims.

But then, an airhorn ripped through the crowd. The sound of a record scratching as the music played snatched his attention once again. This time, Mr. K looked past the girls and saw a DJ turntable. And behind it, a very familiar figure took off his sunglasses and chucked them on the floor.

“Claude… you…”

Mr. K found himself stepping up to the stage, and soon enough, the members of Aquarion joined his side.

Claude grabbed a mic and came forward.

“Yo, yo, Koujiro. Looks like you’ve lost your flow! Don’t ya think it’s bout time? Come up here and bust a rhyme!”

Koujiro, calling himself Mr. K in this world, stared at Claude with a look of utter shock. Or rather, he was just stunned silly that Claude had called him out with a bad rap.

“Wait, what the hell?! Isn’t this supposed to be an idol concert battle?! Why are we both out here calling out attention to ourselves?!”

Claude pointed a thumb up to a giant screen above the stage. Filled bars for Aquarion and aMUSEment, Claude’s group, were virtually dead even after the two had performed. Koujiro turned back to the audience, the cries of “Producer Battle!” echoing across the venue. Never had Koujiro expected such a direction. It was his crafted world, but someone had apparently hijacked it to employ a strange condition.

“There’s no way that I’m going to try and rap….”

Koujiro looked around the stage and found a guitar. Picking it up, he held it before Claude.

“If we’re going to do this, then I’ll kick up a guitar solo to back up my girls!”

Claude grinned like he had just been given an invitation between friends, going over to pick up a guitar for himself. Strumming it once to test it out, he moved back to his girls, accepting the challenge.

The crowd cheered on, not caring anymore how derailed this contest had become. It had become a game once again. Only, they weren’t watching Koujiro play it alone anymore.