After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

Page 33

In just two minutes, Ave Mujica should have officially taken the stage.

The program begins with a traditional small theater segment, leading into a musical segment, and then intersperses small theater segments between musical pieces to supplement the worldview, thereby increasing the guests' sense of immersion.

She had memorized her lines perfectly and her makeup was impeccable, but this unexpected incident happened just before she was about to go on stage.

Toyokawa Shoko couldn't think of any reason to cheer herself up. The only thing she was thankful for was that the accident didn't happen in the middle of the performance, otherwise it would have been even more embarrassing.

"I'm so sorry, apparently there's a problem with the circuit, and it will take about half an hour to fix."

A staff member backstage bowed deeply to Toyokawa Shoko, but due to the darkness caused by the power outage, no one could see her expression.

"Half an hour..."

Muttering the time limit to himself, Toyokawa Shoko's expression grew even more unpleasant.

She couldn't believe what would happen if she were left to sit in the dark for half an hour during a power outage.

"Xiao Xiang, what do we do now?"

Hatsune's worried voice spread through the darkness. Even the guitarist, who usually exudes a confident smile on stage, was inevitably at a loss when faced with this unexpected situation.

Anxiety and panic began to spread gradually behind the scenes.

People were starting to feel uncertain about whether this crucial concert could proceed smoothly.

"If this continues, Ave Mujica will suffer a major blow... Their second performance was a disaster, and even their management company will find it hard to see any potential in the band anymore..."

Hatsune's voice trembled slightly as she subconsciously thought that the concert could not proceed smoothly.

The band had just gotten on track when they encountered this unexpected situation.

Am I really living in a so-called tragedy, facing unexpected disasters every time things start to improve?

"Hatsu... Hatsuko... don't scare me, it's just a little accident, Mr. Yuu will definitely be able to handle it smoothly, right?"

Yutenji Wakana, who was already uneasy, was startled by the future described by Hatsune Miku, and forced a smile to comfort everyone.

She is now completely tied to the galactic warship Ave Mujica, literally owning nothing but Ave Mujica.

If this band just disappears like this, she doesn't know where she'll be able to go in the future.

However, under these conditions where only various moving light sources illuminate the area, no one could see the imperfect smile on her face.

"Ugh... really, where did Mr. Yuu go at such a crucial moment?"

"It has nothing to do with Mr. Youyu; it is my responsibility."

Hachiman Kairin kept her head down. Among the Ave Mujica group, she was the only one besides Wakaba Mutsumi who didn't take out her phone to show her face.

She lowered her head slightly, burying her face in the darkness. The lower half of her face, hidden by the mask, was covered by clenched teeth, and her hands were clenched tightly and even trembling slightly.

The moment she learned of the power outage, a surge of anger ignited within her.

This anger wasn't directed at anyone else, but burned within himself, scorching his heartbeat.

She hates things that fall within her management scope being beyond her control, especially since Toyokawa Yuu had previously trusted her so much to hand over the relatively easy inspection work after the site setup was completed.

The trust she had worked so hard to gain was squandered in her own hands, which was hard for her to accept.

Now that things have come to this, she can only try to take the blame herself, especially since she was in charge of the inspection work and has no choice but to take responsibility for the accident.

"It was my mistake; I overestimated my abilities... I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, Timoris, the responsibility is not yours."

The boy's voice rang out from backstage. His not-so-tall sixteen-year-old figure cast heavy shadows under the various moving light sources, yet it gave people an indescribable sense of security.

At least, the most anxious Hatsune Miku and Hachiman Kairin breathed a sigh of relief the moment they saw Toyokawa Yuu appear.

“I transferred the authority to conduct the acceptance inspection to you. Even if an accident occurs, the person primarily responsible is me, who transferred the authority, not you, Timoris.”

“Mr. Youyu... I will investigate the cause and effect and make sure this never happens again.”

Unable to see Toyokawa Yuu's expression hidden in the shadows, Hachiman Kairin could only grit her teeth and slightly bow to show her attitude.

"Things are unpredictable, and accidents are normal. Your task now is to prepare for the performance later, which is what truly concerns Ave Mujica's future."

Gently patting Hachiman Kairin's shoulder to comfort her, Toyokawa Yuu turned to face Toyokawa Shoko on the other side.

Looking at the boy's retreating figure, Hachiman Kairin's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Why is Mr. Yu Yu unwilling to entrust the task of investigating the cause of the accident to himself?

Has my own incompetence caused me to lose Mr. Youyu's trust?

Moreover, Timoris......

It's been a while since they called me that.

"Xiangzi, the situation is very serious now."

Ignoring the turbulent thoughts in Hachiman Kairin's mind, Toyokawa Yuu walked up to Shoko. Even though he couldn't see her expression, he could feel the seriousness in her words.

"You should know that this accident has ruined Ave Mujica's perfect image in the eyes of the guests. If we continue as planned after the power is restored, we might be able to salvage the situation, but it will still leave a flaw in the performance. To achieve perfection, it would be best to incorporate this accident into the performance as well."

Turning the unexpected into a performance...

You mean...?

Toyokawa Yuu's voice startled Shoko slightly. Instead of trying to make amends, she was becoming more aggressive in pursuing greater profits?

Indeed, it suits her fiancé's style.

"The script was changed at the last minute, and the original plot could no longer perfectly connect with this unexpected event. This concert was destined to be a performance of crawling back from the abyss."

"Is that so? That's certainly true."

Without further explanation, Toyokawa Shoko understood immediately: to prevent the worldview of Ave Mujica from becoming fragmented and to ensure the performance remained perfect as always, the original script was no longer suitable.

"The concert was doomed the moment the power went out. To salvage it, Amoris (love) wouldn't work, Doloris (sorrow) wouldn't be enough, Oblivionis (forgetting) would only make things worse, Timoris (fear) might be enough, but only Mortis (death) is the most suitable."

Slight panic and helplessness were quickly suppressed, and a firm look appeared in Toyokawa Shoko's amber eyes.

It's just adding another layer of pressure to my shoulders. I'm already carrying enough, so a little more won't matter.

"This is a performance that has returned from the dead, and only Mortis's story is the perfect fit for it."

"The power will be restored in half an hour, plus the time it takes for everyone to get used to after the script revision... Xiangzi, can you revise the script in ten minutes?"

Yuu Toyokawa handed her the laptop belonging to Shoko Toyokawa, her voice calm.

It was clearly a difficult task, but Toyokawa Yuu's attitude showed no room for negotiation and was so forceful it was practically an order.

"The play is not long to begin with, and it also contains inspirations from the past... Ten minutes is enough."

Taking the laptop from Yuu Toyokawa, Shoko immediately turned it on on the coffee table and began typing in the darkness, facing the slightly glaring light.

Amidst the soft clicking of keycaps, Yuu Toyokawa bypassed the other members of Ave Mujica and approached Mutsumi Wakaba, who had been sitting quietly in the darkness.

Just like I comforted the green-haired girl not long ago, I knelt down in front of her.

"Mortis, even though it's very dark now, could you please look into my eyes?"

Perhaps because she was in the dark and no one was looking at her anymore, Wakaba Mutsu seemed to be in a better state.

"Ah."

The voice became more resolute; at least it no longer required as much effort to listen carefully to ensure nothing was missed.

"Mortis, I'm terrified. I'm afraid this concert will be a disaster. You're the only one who can save me and Xiangzi right now."

In the darkness, one could not see the expression or the look in the eyes, but Toyokawa Yuu's sincere voice could be heard clearly.

"Can I...trust you?"

trust......

Upon hearing those two words, Hachiman Kairin's clenched fingers trembled, but she ultimately just turned her face away without saying anything.

"......Um."

After a moment of silence, Ruoye Mu slowly nodded in the darkness.

"I will...give me candy."

................................................................

The bright moonlight shone through the castle windows, the pale moonlight intertwining with the red candlelight, illuminating the girl's long green hair.

Standing on the wooden platform, holding her guitar, Ruoye Mutsu looked down into the endless darkness.

The darkness was silent, yet it seemed as if countless eyes were watching the girl standing on the balcony.

With her eyelids lowered, Ruo Yemu hugged her guitar, turned around, and stopped looking at the deathly darkness.

"That's rare, Xiao Mu. You rarely come to me on your own initiative."

A voice with the same tone as Wakaba Mutsu, but a more lively tone, rang out from the rooftop.

A girl who looked exactly like Wakaba Mutsu... no, practically the same person, leaned her pretty face towards her with a slightly playful smile.

"Could it be that you were frightened by your own imagination and came to me for comfort...? It's okay, I will help Xiaomu no matter how many times."

“Metis…”

A calm voice gently rang out, and Ruoye Mu carefully put down the guitar in her arms, issuing commands to her other self.

“Stand in front of me and look at me.”

"Okay, okay, what are you up to now? You haven't come to chat with me in so long, and now you're acting all weird."

Not paying much attention to Ruoye Mu's indifferent tone, Metis obediently stood in front of her, wondering what sudden idea her other self had come up with.

“Mr. Youyu, you can’t be trusted… Xiang is going to break down after he appeared.”

Recalling everything that happened today, I remembered Yuu Toyokawa's seemingly comforting words in the lounge, and the deep, unfathomable emotions hidden beneath her gentle gaze.

No, that look might not even have been directed at me.

What exactly does Mr. Yuu want from me?

With a slight raise of his hand, a chair appeared out of thin air. Ruo Yemu reorganized his words, this time with a hint of command.

“Metis, grab my guitar, sit on it, and imitate me.”

Metis was helpless under the gaze of Ruoye Munen, which was neither a request nor a command.

As her assistant, she absolutely could not go against Wakaba Mutsumi's wishes.

Taking out two mints from her pocket, Wakaba Mutsu hesitated for a moment before popping one into her mouth, etching the look and expression in Toyokawa Yuu's eyes when she handed him the candy into her mind.

The image of Yuu Toyokawa appeared in her mind, and she tried to piece together that person's image using those fragmented pieces of information and impressions.

That man was Toyokawa Shoko's fiancé.

She had a strange feeling about the man she couldn't quite understand.

She could vaguely sense it.

Yuu Toyokawa wants to get something from herself.

But I don't know what it is.

Ruo Yemu felt a vague sense of unease.

Perhaps if we could understand that person's thoughts, we could know what they were thinking.

Ruoye Mutsu tried hard to extract fragments of memories about Toyokawa Yuu from her own understanding of that person, and attempted to piece together a complete image based on her imagination.

Yes, she can do it.

She didn't like the feeling of playing someone else.

But if it's for the sake of Xiang...

Thinking of this, Wakaba Mutsu took a deep breath and pieced together the fragments one by one.

She recalled the humble demeanor of Toyokawa Yuu when they first met.

First, there's the appearance. She reached out and gently peeled away the layer of memory, revealing a little person wearing a mask.

It was a smiling mask hanging on the face, but it gave people a feeling of emptiness.

It's as if I'm always playing someone else, hiding my true self under the spotlight.

Next comes cognition.

The scene shifts to Toyokawa Yuu meticulously assigning tasks, while in the corner of the screen is a figure holding a guitar, eyes lowered.