"What... was that just now?"
Chihaya Anon, who had witnessed the entire event from backstage, was so shocked her jaw was hanging open.
"Can that really be considered an idol live show in the normal sense? Did we just witness something absolutely incredible?!"
Because they were backstage, the five of them knew very well that the minute of darkness was not some deliberate choreography, but a complete accident.
And it was precisely for this reason that this already perfect live show was elevated to a level that was almost a "miracle."
"The performance effect was so perfect, it was like they had a contingency plan for a power outage."
Shiina Taki said, turning to Kaname Raana.
"Raana, that 'problem' you mentioned earlier... were you talking about this?"
"Mhm."
Raana nodded with a calm expression.
"When it thundered earlier, the lights had already flickered once."
"Huh? Did that really happen?"
Taki, who hadn't taken her eyes off the stage for the entire show, stared with wide eyes.
"Why didn't I see it at all? Tomori?"
"I also... didn't see anything wrong with the lights."
Takamatsu Tomori also wore a puzzled expression.
"I was staring at the stage the whole time, too..."
"...None of you saw it?"
Raana tilted her head and thought for a moment before speaking.
"Mhm, I guess normally, you probably shouldn't have seen it."
"???" x3.
The more they got to know Raana, the more they realized how different she was.
Whether it was her thought process, which was infinitely close to that of a cat, or her tendency to do things her own way, they all found her both incredible and helpless.
Meanwhile, unlike the others who were hung up on the power outage, Nagasaki Soyo, who had been silent until now, suddenly picked up her phone and opened her social media app—
"As expected, announcing something like that in that kind of venue would definitely cause a sensation."
Looking at the endless stream of live photos and the name [Starry Sky] in the trending topics, Soyo muttered to herself:
"This way... both the [NozAK!] rumors and the promotion for the upcoming [TGC] have been taken care of in one fell swoop. As expected of Misumi Uika."
But... why was it announced by Uika? Logically, shouldn't it have been announced by Hoshino Ai herself, since she's the one participating in [TGC]?
Was this a deliberate act by the two of them, or was it Uika acting on her own?
After this show, what kind of changes would [Starry Sky] face? And would the relationship between Tetsuya and those two change because of this?
"What's wrong, Soyo? You look so serious."
Anon leaned over with a curious look on her face.
"Did you see some interesting news?"
"You know..."
Why is the person most closely related to Tetsuya the calmest one here? Does this girl really understand how much of an impact that live show will have on Tetsuya and his brand?
Sigh...
"Forget it. It's too much of a hassle to explain, so I'll just give you the conclusion."
Soyo put down her phone and said to Anon with a serious expression:
"Thanks to those two on stage, Tetsuya's name is about to spread across the entire internet overnight..."
"In other words, from today on, you are the sister of a star designer."
...
"[Yokohama K-Arena Sudden Power Outage Due to Thunderstorm] - [The Miracle Minute] - [Improvisation or Planned Effect?] - [Starlight Gauze Skirt] - [The Idol God Descends] - [Starry Sky] - [Hoshino Ai to Appear at TGC]..."
Togawa Sakiko looked at the constantly refreshing posts and topics on her phone, deeply amazed by the influence and attention this live show had garnered.
"Because of Uika's surprise announcement, the online discussion about this live show has completely exploded."
Meanwhile, Wakaba Mutsumi, who was still browsing through posts, saw a very interesting name—
"Nyamu-chan... I remember, I think she was the video blogger that Chihaya-san and Anon-san mentioned they wanted to collaborate with."
Thinking of this, she immediately clicked on the vlogger's profile and took a look at her recent posts.
Sure enough, her most recent posts were all about the live show.
[Ai-chan is so cute! Uika is so beautiful too!]
[Was that an accident just now? Or was it planned? What's the deal with that skirt? Why does it glow? I want to try wearing it too!]
["Summer Zodiac" is too good!]
"...I can't tell if she's just saying this for her business or if she's being genuine."
Because they were all unoriginal praises and exclamations, Mutsumi couldn't determine what this Nyamu-chan was really thinking.
However, when she saw a video post from before the live show below, she paused for a moment—
"Drum practice video?"
Out of curiosity, Mutsumi clicked on the practice video.
Immediately, she was captivated by its content.
"Is it a professional habit? Her playing style seems quite flashy..."
Whether it was the stick twirls interspersed in her playing or the very deliberate body movements, they all made her performance style look very gorgeous and special.
And what surprised Mutsumi even more was that although she added many small movements and designs that could have been distracting, the quality of her playing was not affected much at all.
On the contrary, it was precisely because of her careful choreography that this otherwise monotonous daily practice seemed so eye-catching.
"For a commercial band... this might be exactly the kind of talent they need."
Mutsumi muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear.
Just as she pressed the share button on the video, preparing to let Sakiko see this interesting practice clip, a notification for a new post instantly caught her attention.
The next second, when Mutsumi saw the content of the post, she blinked in surprise:
[I'd love to collab with "Summer Zodiac"! Well, just saying, of course~]
"Ah."
For a moment, something in Mutsumi's mind clicked into place, connecting things that were previously unrelated.
The [Starry Sky] promotion, a collaboration between [Summer Zodiac] and Nyamu-chan, the flashy drummer, the formation of [Ave Mujica]...
"...Sakiko."
She stood up, walked over to Togawa Sakiko, and, under her curious gaze, said:
"I think I may have found the perfect 'drummer' for us."