The performance continued on stage.
Night Sakura suddenly flicked her umbrella upward, and the deep purple canopy unfurled completely. The mana patterns lit up like a series of ignited fuses, glowing layer by layer from the tip before erupting simultaneously from the edges.
Purple, orange, and light green sparks erupted from the stage like petals caught in an updraft, soaring toward every corner of the audience.
A few pale purple sparks landed on the support boards held by several girls in the front row. The moment the light touched the cardboard, it shattered into even smaller stardust, drawing suppressed gasps of surprise from them.
Kohinata was not to be outdone; her orange mana exploded, transforming into countless tiny sparks that drifted toward the seats.
The sparks wove through the crowd like a swarm of lost fireflies before gently winking out on a spectator's shoulder.
One spark landed softly on Amamiya's hair. She reached up and pinched it out, then casually smacked the back of Kohinata's head.
As the song neared its end, Night Sakura suddenly snapped her umbrella shut. All the dancing sparks seemed to receive a unified command, halting simultaneously in mid-air.
In the next second, countless threads of light shot out from the tip of the umbrella. Arcs of pale purple light, as soft as silk ribbons, wove into a flowing river of stars above the audience.
Kohinata's golden light spread out from beneath the dome, descending slowly as shimmering flakes like gold leaf.
The flakes had no weight when they landed on palms, leaving only a fleeting moment of subtle warmth.
The audience was still immersed in the feast of mana and music.
Amamiya tapped her twin kodachi together, the clear ring pulling the crowd's attention back to the center of the stage.
“Thank you, everyone! That song was an original song we just finished writing. Today was its first public performance. We hope you liked it!”
Kohinata waved one hand toward the audience while the other continued to rub the back of her head where Amamiya had smacked it.
Encore calls spread like wildfire from the middle rows to the back, mixed with shouts of “Wings of Freedom” and the dense rhythmic tapping of glow sticks.
“One more song—!” “Wings of Freedom—!”
Night Sakura raised a hand, palm outward, in a “wait a moment” gesture.
The encore calls didn't stop immediately, but the volume dropped a level.
“Before we sing the second song, we want to chat with everyone. After all, we're usually busy with combat and training. It's rare to have the chance to stand on stage and hear your voices.”
“So! Next is the interactive segment!” Kohinata took over.
Night Sakura reached for her waist and took out a miniature microphone.
The microphone was only as long as her finger, its silver casing engraved with a ring of fine runes.
She held the microphone between her index and middle fingers and gave the umbrella canopy a light flick.
“If you have any questions, feel free to raise your hand—though raising your hand doesn't guarantee you'll be called, because today we're using this.”
A pale purple mana bubble emerged from the tip of the umbrella, its surface shimmering with iridescent colors that shifted in the light.
Night Sakura placed the microphone inside the bubble. The bubble drifted unsteadily toward the audience, hovering over the crowd for a few seconds as if hesitating on whom to land.
Finally, it settled in front of a girl with glasses in the middle row.
The girl covered her mouth, her eyes widening behind her lenses.
Her friend beside her reacted first, giving her several shoves.
The bubble popped gently before her, leaving behind a puff of warm air.
“Can I ask anything?” the chosen girl asked, taking the microphone from the bubble.
“Of course! Though some questions might be marked for answering next time,” Night Sakura winked.
“Then I want to ask—Amamiya, you usually don't talk much. How do you coordinate with the others during combat?”
A wave of good-natured laughter rippled through the audience.
Amamiya stood behind Night Sakura. Kohinata shoved the microphone into her hand as if it were a hot potato.
“I just don't talk much; it's not that I don't communicate... and... our chemistry is very good.”
Surprisingly, faced with such a question, Amamiya's answer wasn't like Qiluo Tian Gong's usual dismissals, such as saying she didn't need to listen to Kohinata.
While the Wings of Freedom trio teased each other on stage, another mana bubble emerged from Night Sakura's umbrella.
This time, it wobbled past the first few rows of spectators, spun around, and landed gently on the lap of a girl sitting by the aisle.
Rei looked down at the pale purple glow on her lap. The bubble bounced lightly against her knee, like a small cat nudging her hand with its head.
The bubble popped softly at her fingertips, leaving tiny particles of light on her skirt.
She looked up and realized that the eyes of the entire venue were gathered on her. Rei had never been looked at by so many people at once.
She instinctively leaned back, her back hitting the chair.
Shizuru picked up Rei's coat, which had slipped from the back of the chair, while Yuki took the half-empty drink bottle from her hand.
“...Can I really ask?” Rei stood up and took the microphone, clearing her throat. “I'm a fan of Wings of Freedom. I've been following you since your very first video.”
“I've watched every single one of your livestreams. Night Sakura said in the last one that Lightweaver doesn't show her face because she's shy—”
Rei took a deep breath here, needing a moment after speaking so much at once.
“What I want to ask is... is Lightweaver here today?”
After Rei asked, the venue fell silent for only a few seconds, but to Qiluo, those seconds felt exceptionally long.
She was sitting next to Misa Tachibana. Night Sakura's gaze had already bypassed everyone else to land precisely on her.
That smile looked exceptionally brilliant under the stage lights.
Shizuru had been looking down, adjusting the hat on Nuomi's head that had been squeezed askew. Upon hearing Rei's question, her fingers froze in mid-air, and she looked up, eyes searching through the audience.
A stir of excitement rippled through the crowd as people craned their necks to look around.
“Where's Lightweaver?”
“Have you seen Lightweaver?”
“I heard she's here today too.”
The voices spread outward like ripples on a pond.
The three on stage exchanged looks.
Kohinata poked Night Sakura in the lower back with her hammer's handle, causing Night Sakura to lean forward slightly.
“Lightweaver, huh—” Night Sakura drawled. “She is indeed here today.”
Another stir went through the audience, more obvious than the last. Some people even stood up from their seats to peer toward the backstage area.
“But whether she can come up on stage isn't for me to decide.” Night Sakura winked toward a certain spot in the audience.
That spot was exactly where Qiluo was sitting.
Rate on N.U.
