As for which two songs to perform on the cultural festival stage, Kotomi Izumi had spent quite some time thinking about it. In the end, she chose two songs from gal games she had played in her second life.
The first, Liblume, from the gal game Inochi no Spare.
The second, Re:TrymenT, from the gal game Re:LieF Dear You.
Both were extremely emotional gal games. Kotomi planned that once she established the Type-Moon realm, she would start producing these two titles as well.
Though it wasn't yet time to start a company, she could at least let Yui Yuigahama sing these gal game songs first.
When the company did get set up, Kotomi could easily leverage her connections with Nichirushi's agency to invite professional singers to perform these two songs. But she didn't feel it was necessary.
It wasn't about money. From the very first time she heard Yui's singing voice, she had already decided in her heart that Yui would be the one to sing them.
Yui Yuigahama accepted the printed lyrics and scores, then sat down on the sofa, reading them intently. From time to time, she softly hummed a few lines, trying to grasp the feeling.
Honestly, if Yui put even half of this seriousness into her studies, even if Kotomi didn't guide her at all for the next three years, Yui's grades would still be more than enough to get her into a top university.
While Yui memorized the lyrics, Kotomi slowly enjoyed the snacks.
By the time they had finished the twelve-inch pizza and the ice in the juice had melted, Yui finally set down the lyrics and stretched her neck.
"How are the lyrics coming along?" Kotomi asked as she ate some freshly served soup dumplings. She liked eating them slightly cooled—not burning hot, but still warm—so she could pop them into her mouth one at a time without worry.
Too bad the shop didn't serve noodles. Otherwise, Kotomi would definitely have ordered a bowl. Best of all would've been fried noodles.
Kotomi loved dipping soup dumplings in ramen broth or fried noodle sauce, then eating them together. Or placing them on top of fried rice and scooping up a big spoonful.
"Kotomi, your lyrics are so poetic! Especially this one, Re:TrymenT. If a great singer performed it, it would be heavenly! With such beautiful songs… do I really deserve to sing them?"
After praising Kotomi's compositions, Yui's adorable face turned slightly worried.
She had never been confident in her singing. Now that Kotomi had written two incredible songs, Yui worried she might not sing them well—wouldn't that be a waste?
Kotomi, however, replied lightly: "When I wrote these two songs, the only person in my mind was you. If you don't sing them, that would be the real waste."
If the mood had been right, Kotomi would have pulled Dango into her arms, gazed into her eyes, and whispered passionately:
"My heart has only you."
But just then, Megumi Kato had sent her a text. Kotomi hadn't read the message yet—only knew it came from Megumi.
Maybe because Yui had just sung To The Other Side Of Sorrow, Kotomi felt a little timid now. Even if the atmosphere had been perfect, she didn't dare.
Her words fell as lightly as a feather on Yui's heart, yet left a mark as deep as a footprint pressed into wet sand. Yui Yuigahama tightened her grip on the microphone, drew a deep breath, and declared earnestly: "I'll definitely do my best! Even if it costs me my life!"
"No need to exaggerate that much!" Kotomi chuckled helplessly, thinking silly Dango was sometimes way too dramatic.
But what Kotomi didn't know was that, for Yui Yuigahama, whether big or small, anything related to Kotomi was a hundred times more important.
No—
A million times more important!
"Since we don't have instruments or BGM right now, I'll just sing it a cappella once. Can I start with Liblume?" Yui Yuigahama adjusted her breathing and quickly got into the right state of mind.
"You don't need to worry about the music. Last night I played it on guitar and recorded it—you can use that as background music. It's missing the piano part, but since I don't have a piano at home, I could only play it on guitar. Tomorrow at school, we'll perform it properly with everything."
As Kotomi spoke, she found the guitar version she had recorded the night before.
In fact, she had first recorded it as a guitar-and-vocal piece. She had wanted to sing it once herself as a demonstration for Yui.
But after listening back to her own recording, Kotomi decided to record another version—only the guitar, no vocals.
The reason was simple: with both her Music Level and Voice Actor Level unlocked, Kotomi's skills in both performance and singing were already at the level of a professional artist capable of dominating the charts.
If, back when Merii Hizuki first met Kotomi Izumi, Kotomi had already unlocked her Music Level, then Merii Hizuki would have, without hesitation or regard for the occasion, rushed straight over to cling to Kotomi's leg, calling her "Father" again and again, and begging her to sign a contract as Nichirushi's artist and composer.
Back to the point—Kotomi's guitar-and-vocal versions of Liblume and Re:TrymenT were so beautiful, it was almost overwhelming. Using them as Yui Yuigahama's references was more than enough.
Even if Kotomi had gone up on stage alone at the cultural festival, performing just with guitar and vocals, there was a 90% chance she would win first place.
In fact, if Kotomi had simply called Merii Hizuki and sent her the audio files, she wouldn't even need to say another word. After listening, Merii would surely step on the gas, drive at full speed to the Izumi house with a sky-high contract in hand, and beg:
"Dad! Please, join Nichirushi as a singer!"
But Kotomi reflected for a moment—her own singing was so good, it made the songs shine as bright as the sun. By comparison, no matter how hard Yui tried, her voice could only shine like a tiny firefly. She could never surpass Kotomi—and worse, she might lose confidence again.
After all, Yui had never been confident in her singing. Even though her voice was lovely, she had always hidden away after school to sing alone on the rooftop.
If she were to hear Kotomi's full version, would she lose confidence on the spot? Kotomi worried about this. That was why she recorded new versions of the songs with only guitar accompaniment and no vocals.
Kotomi tapped the guitar accompaniment audio file—the one without vocals—and set her phone on the table. Before hitting play, she glanced at Yui Yuigahama standing in front of her and asked again:
"Yui, are you ready?"
"Ready!" Yui nodded energetically, full of spirit.
Kotomi pressed play, and the guitar accompaniment for the first song, Liblume, began.
Yui Yuigahama's lips brought forth a soft, white voice, weaving into the flow of Kotomi's guitar recording.
"Deeply planted in my heart, those important words…"
Kotomi downed her oolong tea in one gulp, listening intently as she watched Yui sing. Her own singing voice was far better, but somehow, when she heard Yui sing, Kotomi felt a unique kind of emotion.
It was a special kind of emotion she had never once felt listening to herself sing.
She had heard many people sing, and had even sung together with Megumi Kato before… so why was it that only Yui's singing could stir this feeling called being moved?
Kotomi gazed at Yui, her eyes growing dazed. In that moment, she thought perhaps their promise needed revising.
She didn't just want to eat Yui's sweets for a lifetime—she also wanted to listen to Yui's songs for a lifetime.
"Phew! Singing both songs back-to-back—I've been wanting to try that. A little tiring, but it felt amazing! Juice~ juice~"
When Re:TrymenT ended, Yui quickly put down the mic and grabbed her juice, taking a long sip through the straw.
While singing, she had been using the methods Yukino Yukinoshita had taught her. That made singing two songs in a row more tiring than usual, but it also made them sound much better.
As expected, Yukino really had studied music. Even though she acted cold and aloof, in practice she was giving her all for the cultural festival performance. She practiced piano to regain her old touch, guided Yui with her singing, and even offered advice for Kotomi's guitar.
Whenever they rehearsed in the second music room, Yukino was always the busiest of the three.
After wetting her throat, Yui felt more comfortable and asked expectantly: "Kotomi, how did I do just now? Was it good? Did I improve?"
"Great! You've improved a lot compared to before. But you still need more practice. You've grasped the techniques Yukino taught you, but you're still not fully fluent."
"Yeah, Yukino's techniques are really professional. I practiced them over and over at home before I finally got the hang of them. She also told me I can't think too much while singing—not about how to sing this line or what technique to use. That makes it even harder."
Yui shrugged and gave a wry smile.
When Yukino taught her, she became very strict. Kotomi, who had spent most of that time observing from the side, fully agreed with her approach. With Yukino's stern personality, she could absolutely become a music teacher after graduation—no student would dare daydream in her class.
"Yukino wants you to internalize the techniques until they become second nature, like a reflex. She's strict, yes, but to reach that level, you'll have to practice with extreme focus in private until every technique is fused into your instincts."
Kotomi's words sounded like a sigh, but they were actually her way of telling Yui how to reach that level.
When it came to Yui's singing practice, something amusing had developed: Yukino played the strict role, Kotomi the lenient one. One was the bad cop, the other the good cop. They had never discussed it, yet there was a subtle understanding between them.
Silly little Dango seemed completely unaware, just following their guidance step by step.
The results were really great—just from listening casually, it was easy to tell how much Yui had improved in this time.
While listening to her sing just now, Kotomi had shown a look of satisfaction. But… she had been so absorbed in Yui's performance that she completely forgot to reply to Megumi Kato's message.
In fact, even now, she still hadn't checked what Megumi had written.
"Yui, take a break for now. Later, try singing them again, just like before. Still back-to-back."
"Okay! No problem!" Though beads of sweat dotted her cheeks, Yui Yuigahama perked up immediately at Kotomi's words, answering with cheerful energy.
As Yui sat on the sofa to rest, Kotomi picked up her phone and opened Megumi Kato's text message.
Megumi Kato: [What are you doing?]
It had already been twenty full minutes since Megumi sent that message. Luckily, Megumi wasn't the type to get upset if Kotomi replied late.
Kotomi glanced at Yui beside her. Yui was sitting lazily on the sofa, sipping at her juice—its ice long since melted—and munching on fries one by one.
Kotomi's fingers flew over the keyboard as she sent a reply to Megumi.
Kotomi Izumi: [Just woke up. It's the last day of the weekend, so I wanted to laze around at home.]
After sending it, Kotomi felt a little odd. Ever since she and Megumi exchanged Line contacts, nearly all of their conversations had been there. Hardly anyone used text messages anymore.
Probably in a few years, texting would be as rare as chatting by email.
Her phone buzzed again—a Line notification. It was Megumi.
Megumi Kato: [I cleared my phone cache this morning. Afterward, when I tried to open Line, it had logged me out and asked for my password again. But I'd long since forgotten it.]
[So I clicked 'Forgot Password,' and while waiting for the verification code, I got impatient. I wanted to message you right away and see what you were doing, so I sent a text instead.]
[I didn't expect you to take so long to reply. For a moment, I thought you were secretly out on a date with some other girl behind my back~]
After reading Megumi's message, Kotomi felt a pang of guilt. She glanced sidelong at Yui, still resting peacefully beside her, before quickly typing another reply.
Kotomi Izumi: [Where would I even find another girl besides you who'd agree to date me? Megumi, my heart has only you.]
[Didn't I tell you yesterday? I'm not going anywhere today. I just want to stay home and play games.]
As soon as she set her phone down, Yui Yuigahama carefully put aside her juice, then leaned gently against Kotomi's shoulder, shyly asking:
"K-Kotomi, can I rest here for a while?"
"Of course." Kotomi agreed without hesitation.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven