This winter fireworks festival didn't last very long—only about half an hour before it ended.
However, its brilliance far surpassed all previous fireworks displays.
After the fireworks ended, the temporarily paused singing and dance performances resumed.
One hour was nowhere near enough time for all the invited performers to finish their acts.
And so, one after another, contestants were transported to the stage to begin their performances.
Since it was already getting late, some of the contestants who had participated in the mahjong and cooking competitions chose to return to their respective worlds.
After all, they were just ordinary people, and they had their own affairs to attend to the next day. Staying up any later simply wasn't feasible for them.
And it wasn't just them—Reina, Illya, Enju Aihara, and other energetic little lolis had also returned to the villa after watching the fireworks.
Whether they had gone to their rooms to sleep, or stayed up to watch TV or play games, Eriri didn't bother to check. She had never been the type to micromanage them.
After all, every one of those girls possessed Level 7 strength. Their life essence had long since surpassed the boundaries of ordinary humanity.
So even if they didn't sleep or study, it wouldn't have any impact on their mental state or academic performance.
All Eriri needed to ensure was that their personalities didn't grow crooked.
Besides, the little lolis in the household were all exceptionally well-behaved, so Eriri had absolutely no concerns about their character development.
In the blink of an eye, another hour passed, and the final performance of the New Year's Gala was about to begin.
The final contestant, taking the closing spot, was already standing on stage.
Dressed in an elaborate red formal outfit, with a delicate and adorable face, golden hair, green eyes, and a long ahoge—though not tall, she had an impressively attractive figure.
This final contestant was none other than Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire, whom Eriri had invited from the Throne of Heroes.
"Mm! So this is the otherworldly performance stage mentioned in the invitation?"
Looking around at the luxurious stage, then at the group of girls clearly seated as the audience, Nero's eyes lit up with excitement.
This was her first time leaving the Throne of Heroes since becoming a Heroic Spirit.
But once she clearly saw the appearances of the girls in the audience, her excitement grew even more intense.
Except for a small few with relatively plain looks, the rest of the audience were all stunning beauties. Some of them were so beautiful that it exceeded her imagination.
Especially the blonde girl sitting in the very center of the second row—no amount of praise in the world could do justice to her level of beauty.
Nero's gaze was locked tightly on Eriri. Her breathing quickened, and the desire in her eyes was completely undisguised.
As an extreme face-connoisseur, Eriri's allure to her was practically fatal.
If she hadn't still been unsure about the nature of this otherworldly situation, she might have rushed straight to Eriri to become a loyal simp.
Nero closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed her overwhelming emotions.
"So then... who was it that invited me to perform here?"
Nero's clear voice echoed through the entire venue, though her gaze remained on Eriri. Her instincts told her that the one who invited her was this breathtaking girl before her.
Sensing Nero's unabashed and direct gaze, Eriri didn't feel any discomfort. After all, the girl before her was very much in line with her own aesthetic preferences.
Meanwhile, Arifureta sitting beside her, and Akino and Yuzuru Hanyu a few seats away, were all looking at the radiant girl on stage with somewhat peculiar expressions.
The three of them were transmigrators, and naturally, they recognized Nero.
"Eriri, how did you manage to bring her here? Are you seriously letting her sing?" Arifureta leaned in close to Eriri, her expression full of curiosity and mischief.
Eriri grinned with a hint of mischief herself. "Of course. Letting her be the final act of the performances—don't you think that sounds like a lot of fun?"
Arifureta rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "Fine, as long as you're happy. Who knows, maybe her singing won't be as bad as it's described in the games."
Not far away, Akino had also heard Eriri's explanation. Thinking about the upcoming performance, she too showed a mischievous smile like Eriri's.
As for Yuzuru Hanyu, her reaction was one of excitement. Clearly, she was also curious to hear Nero's singing for herself, to see if it matched what she remembered from various videos in her past life.
The others around Eriri, however, didn't quite get it. They had no idea why Arifureta had said something like that.
To them, this newly introduced girl was just like the other performers—a contestant good at singing.
But Eriri, Arifureta, and the other two had no intention of explaining. After all, they'd understand soon enough.
"I'm the one who invited you. Since you're already here, go ahead and start your performance. I'm looking forward to it," Eriri said.
Upon hearing this, Nero's face lit up with a look that said "just as I thought." She was clearly pleased that Eriri recognized her talent.
"Mm! Of course. You're called Eriri, right? Rest assured, my brilliance won't let you down."
Nero patted her proudly raised chest and confidently assured Eriri.
"Since this is a solo performance by me, then allow me to show you my Golden Theater!"
With that, Nero dramatically spread her arms toward the sky. Her magical energy began to surge, and she began chanting the incantation for her Noble Phantasm.
"Behold my talent!
Hear the cheers of ten thousand thunderclaps!
With a ruler's pride in my heart!
Bloom like a flower!
Let the curtain rise!
To the heart-thrilling Golden Theater—Aestus Domus Aurea!!!"
As the chant ended, a golden pillar of light burst into the sky, completely enveloping Nero.
Centered on Nero's location, the surroundings of the stage transformed rapidly, replaced in an instant by a dazzling golden theater.
Eriri and the others didn't resist—they simply allowed themselves to be pulled into Nero's Golden Theater.
The remaining contestants from the mahjong and cooking contests who hadn't yet left the Saekano world were stunned by the abrupt environmental shift. Even though they'd already witnessed many supernatural events, this was still overwhelmingly impressive.
As for Eriri and her group, they didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. At most, they were just a little awed by the theater's grandeur.
There was no denying it—Nero's Golden Theater was indeed something special. The lavish interior design, combined with countless floating red rose petals, elevated the beauty of the theater to an entirely new level.
Since Nero hadn't included the audience seating in the Golden Theater, Eriri and the others were now standing at its center—not far from where Nero herself stood.
Once the theater was fully manifested, Nero moved forward about ten meters to stand directly in front of Eriri.
Then, like presenting a precious treasure, she looked at Eriri with a supremely confident smile.
"Well, Eriri? Isn't my Golden Theater splendid?"
"Mmm, mmm, very nice, very nice," Eriri said in an exaggeratedly indifferent tone, nodding as if humoring her. Then, she changed her tone. "Now, can we begin the performance?"
Nero's smile instantly froze when she heard Eriri's response. Her casual tone suddenly made Nero feel that summoning the Golden Theater might've been a bit too much.
She pursed her lips, a strange wave of grievance rising within her.
"Don't be so hasty, I wanted to talk with you a little more first..."
Seeing Nero's aggrieved expression, Eriri couldn't help but laugh.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just messing with you."
Without hesitation, Eriri reached out and patted Nero's head—completely ignoring the fact that they had just met.
Nero instinctively wanted to slap away the hand that dared to challenge her dignity, but the moment she realized it was Eriri doing it, the already-smitten Nero forcibly restrained herself.
Instead, she lowered her head bashfully, her face turning a rosy red.
After clearing her throat, Nero tried to act calm and smiled broadly at Eriri.
"Mm! I forgive you."
"Then in that case, let's start the performance. We can chat more after it's over."
With that, Eriri snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the entire audience—including herself—was teleported to the second floor of the Golden Theater, where they leaned over the railing, waiting for Nero's performance to begin.
"To teleport this many people in an instant... and without me even noticing... and inside my Golden Theater?"
Staring at the empty space where Eriri and the others had stood moments ago, Nero muttered in disbelief.
But soon, a look of excitement appeared on her face.
"As I suspected... Eriri's power is truly overwhelming," she marveled.
"Then again, it makes sense. To summon me from the Throne of Heroes to this other world—that's something even the Counter Force can't do!"
Nero didn't dwell on it further. This was not the time for idle thoughts. It was time to showcase her most prized talent to Eriri.
Taking a deep breath, Nero began to sing with dramatic flair:
"LovelyRome
I am the one and only Ne~ro~~"
The very moment Nero's tone-deaf singing echoed throughout the Golden Theater, all the previously chatting audience members fell into a strange, heavy silence.
"I knew I shouldn't have expected anything. What is she even singing?" Arifureta groaned, massaging her temples.
"Haha, but isn't it kind of cute?" Eriri said with a cheerful grin, clearly not the least bit bothered—this was exactly the effect she'd been hoping for.
There was no denying it: Nero's singing was atrociously off-key. So much so that it might as well have been a form of mental assault.
But to Eriri, after a while, there was something strangely addictive about it. Once you got used to it, it wasn't entirely unbearable.
Of course, that was just Eriri's personal opinion. What the others thought wasn't really her concern.
Looking around at the stunned, slack-jawed expressions of those around her—and a few even covering their ears—Eriri immediately understood how they felt.
And precisely because of that, she was all the more convinced that inviting Nero had been the right choice.
After more than three grueling minutes, Nero finally finished her first song.
The listeners who had endured to the end let out sighs of relief, having narrowly escaped the auditory abyss.
"Mm! Let your cheers resound! This is the artistic genius of mine that far surpasses even the god of music, hahaha!"
Nero stood in the center of the theater, laughing triumphantly—completely oblivious to why the second-floor balcony was so eerily silent.
When she announced she was about to start her second song, everyone except Eriri visibly blanched.
Even Yuzuru Hanyu, who had looked forward to hearing her sing, and Akino, who had treated the whole thing as a joke, were now desperately hoping they wouldn't have to endure another round.
Fortunately, Eriri didn't give Nero any special treatment. Before she could start her second song, Eriri unceremoniously sent her back to the Type-Moon world.
With Nero's departure, the Golden Theater she had constructed instantly collapsed, and everyone returned to the original stage.
Meanwhile, back on the familiar Throne of Heroes, Nero immediately came to her senses.
"Aaaahhh!!! Eriri, you deceived me! You said we'd talk more after the performance!"
"Liar! It was all a lie! What 'otherworldly journey'? I finally got out of the Throne of Heroes and wanted to look around! If I had known, I wouldn't have rushed into performing!"
Nero's frustrated cries echoed through the empty realm of the Throne of Heroes—enough to move even the coldest heart.
Unfortunately, no one was there to answer her.
"No! I can't just give up like this! To meet someone so beautiful... Even if you tricked me, I won't give up that easily!"
Thinking of Eriri's otherworldly beauty, Nero couldn't help but cheer herself on.
After all, it was the first time in her life she had ever felt this way. There was no way she'd let it end like this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven