The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

As Zhong Lanzhu was in freefall, she couldn't help but scream. Below her, the red curtain of the underground theater was getting closer and closer.

Then, as the music started, the curtain slowly opened.

From some unknown corner of the theater, a deep, pleasant male voice rang out: "So, the first round of the special selection, [The Passionate Revue], begins."

...Special selection?

Zhong Lanzhu captured this keyword even when her mind was completely blank.

"Aim for the top star, sing, dance, and compete!"

—What kind of weird underground competition is this?!

Zhong Lanzhu thought she would be smashed to pieces, after all, the height from which she fell was not to be underestimated, but when her buttocks made contact with the soft chairs in the audience, she did not feel the huge force she had expected.

This is the magic of underground theaters, and Zhong Lanzhu has begun to understand it.

Next comes the even more amazing part.

The spotlight shone on the stage, directly onto the two people who were standing very close together.

With her reddish-brown twin ponytails and a small crown adorned with bright red roses, the girl named Aijo Karen is dressed in a Hungarian-style uniform, holding a gleaming cavalry sword, confronting Mifune Shiori, a childhood friend whom Zhong Lanzhu knows very well.

As Aijo Karen's opponent in this revue match, Mifune Shiori is wearing a revue outfit of the same style, but with a white and gold base, and her weapon is a katana.

"...Shiori? Aijo-kun?" Zhong Lanzhu had just sat down in the audience when she was shocked by the scene on the field. She stood up again and exclaimed in disbelief.

Her voice couldn't reach Shiori Mifune's ears from the audience seats, since the audience seats in this theater were surprisingly far from the center of the stage.

But what happened next was even more surprising.

[Dark cracked light, passionate light

(A passionate outburst that tears through the darkness)

[Girl たちの渇Looking をphoto らす

(Illuminating the desires of young girls)

With their faces almost touching, the two performers on stage closed their eyes and began to sing.

Huh? Huh? Why did you suddenly start singing?

Zhong Lanzhu instinctively leaned on the railing, staring wide-eyed at the two people on the stage.

After a brief encounter, Karen Aijo and Shiori Mifune distanced themselves from each other.

Then, under Zhong Lanzhu's astonished gaze, the two assumed a fighting stance.

"The revue has begun. Showcase the most dazzling person, and the path to topstar will unfold for her." The unfamiliar male voice rang out above her again. Zhong Lanzhu looked up and only saw the projection of the giraffe icon she had seen in the email earlier.

Is that a giraffe talking...?

Huh? Are you kidding me?

While Zhong Lanzhu was still in a daze, the battle on the stage had already officially begun.

In a brief exchange, despite Shiori Mifune's all-out effort, Karen Aijo seemed to have the upper hand. Both wielded weapons primarily for slashing, making the difference in their strength immediately apparent.

Shiori Mifune's movements were filled with confusion and hesitation, as if she was puzzled as to why she was fighting Aijo-senpai here, thus slowing down her pace.

Love City Hualian firmly suppressed the other party.

[天まで成く火狐 private を焼き出くすの

(The flames that spread to the sky burned me to ashes)

[When the sin is caused by the star, it falls when the star falls.

(That's when the star, drawn by sin, falls from the sky.)

[譲れない梦がある生りたい空がある

(With an unyielding dream and a sky they want to protect) —

Ai Cheng Hua Ren's voice stands out in the background music, and when her singing takes center stage, she also gains the upper hand in the battle.

She pressed her weight onto the sword, steadily suppressing Mifune Shiori's blade, sparks flying as the blades collided.

During the brief stalemate, Karen Aijo took the opportunity to wink at Nana Ohba, who was acting.

At this moment, Shiori Mifune, or perhaps more accurately, Nana Oba, was facing away from Zhong Lanzhu.

Where Zhong Lanzhu couldn't see, a smile played on her lips.

The one fighting against Karen Aijo is not Shiori Mifune herself, but Nana Ohba, who controls the body, as evidenced by her white and gold Revue outfit.

If Shiori Mifune were in control, the main color should be emerald green.

Compared to Nana Ōba, Shiori Mifune's personality is far too bland. Believing in the right person doing the right thing, Shiori Mifune isn't particularly attached to control over her body, and she rarely even speaks with Nana Ōba.

That's too negative.

Nana Ohba plans to use this opportunity to accomplish something she has wanted to do for a long time within this theater.

So, she used only a knife, feigning confusion and weakness against Aijo Karen, all for the sake of—

——"Zhizi!"

Just as Nana Oba successfully faked a fall, Zhong Lanzhu's anxious shouts came from the audience.

When she saw that Mifune Shiori was at a disadvantage, Zhong Lanzhu could no longer contain her anxiety. Regardless of how far the audience was from the stage, she stepped on the railing and jumped!

With the tacit approval of Nana Oba and Karen Aijo, Jong Ranju jumped onto the stage.

Rascal Does Not Dream of Red Mansions Pranks Extra Chapter 40

Most of the time, people who jump off the stands do so on a whim.

The theater's space is governed by wondrous rules, so even falling from a great height won't cause injury. However, this doesn't mean that Zhong Lanzhu is absolutely capable of overcoming the gap that even sound cannot convey and jumping directly onto the stage.

But she did it anyway.

At the moment of takeoff, Zhong Lanzhu felt as if the railing beneath her feet had turned into something soft, gently yet decisively tossing her high toward the stage!

"Whoa?!" Zhong Lanzhu exclaimed instinctively and turned her head to look, but her vision was so dizzy that she could only barely see a huge black shadow in the place where she had been standing.

The giraffe skeleton raised its head and stood silently in the darkness, its emerald green eyes like burning flames.

……giraffe?

Time seemed to stretch on, and from Zhong Lanzhu's perspective, there were two other people behind the giraffe.

The tall, blonde girl with twin ponytails was unfamiliar to Zhong Lanzhu, but the gentle smile on her face felt strangely familiar.

Beside her was a figure that Zhong Lanzhu knew all too well.

A girl of only seven or eight years old, with black hair and red eyes, hid behind the tall girl, timidly but curiously looking in her direction.

...Is that a shiso tree?

Zhong Lanzhu felt herself starting to fall.

The slow-motion feeling quickly faded, and everything in front of me returned to its normal flow.

At the same time, she also felt a strange, tactile sensation connecting her to the stage beneath her feet.

The smell of the curtains, the smell of the wooden floors, the smell of the spotlight burning dust have never been so close.

She could feel her hair stand on end, a huge shiver struck her spinal cord, her blood almost froze for a moment, but then flowed at an even faster speed, and her temperature gradually rose.

My body became excited without me even realizing it.

As dry ice smoke billowed, Zhong Lanzhu, now dressed in revue attire, appeared on stage, holding a sheathed Tang sword.

Her Revue uniform is similar in style to those of Karen Aijo and Shiori Mifune, but the base color is black and red, which matches the main color of her stage costume.

"Tonight's victory belongs to me, Zhong Lanzhu!" the proud young lady declared loudly. She raised a battle-ready smile, drew her sword, and wanted to help Mifune Shiori.

only--

Zhong Lanzhu never imagined that Mifune Shiori would suddenly turn around and block her knife with the weapon in her hand.

The cloak swung gracefully across her shoulders, and the sparks from the blades illuminated Mifune Shiori's smiling face in that instant, creating a stark contrast with the stiff smile on Zhong Lanzhu's face.

That relaxed and carefree expression didn't look like someone who had been fighting so hard with Ai Cheng Hua Ren for so long.

"Shiori?" Zhong Lanzhu was stunned. After the collision, she was forced back two steps by the exaggerated force of the other party, her eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty.

It was only then that she realized that Mifune Shiori, holding a knife in one hand, looked completely at ease, unlike the weak woman who had been forced into a corner by Aijo Karen earlier.

Was it an act for her?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Ai Cheng Hua Lian had also stopped what she was doing and was no longer pressing me.

What exactly is this...?

"We've finally waited for Lanzhu-chan," Nana Ohba said with a smile, slightly turning the blade to reflect Lanzhu's solemn face. "Now it's time to change the stick."

Her face gradually changed in Zhong Lanzhu's eyes, and she grew taller, transforming into the blonde stage girl she had just seen behind the giraffe.

The knife in his hand had also been changed; it was longer and more intimidating.

"Nana Oba, a member of the 99th class," she said softly, "to face Zhong Lanzhu, a second-year student from Nijigasaki Academy, and..."

Zhong Lanzhu followed her gaze and looked towards another corner of the stage.

Wearing a green revue outfit, Mifune Shiori was very nervous with her lips pursed. She was holding a short katana that should be a pair with the one in Oba Nana's hand, but it was inlaid with green gemstones.

“…Shiori Mifune, a first-year student at Nijigasaki Academy.” Shiori Mifune spoke, her voice exactly the same as Nana Oba’s, differing only in intonation.

Ragnarok Online Prank Extra Chapter 41

"Shiori?!" Zhong Lanzhu couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, completely bewildered by the situation on the field.

The unfamiliar girl in front of her had the exact same voice as her childhood friend, Shiori Mifune, and the feeling she gave off was very similar to that of Shiori Mifune when they met again after entering Nijigasaki Academy... No, it's more like they were the same person.

The woman standing next to her, Shiori Mifune, seemed to be the Shiori she knew.

What exactly is going on?

She subconsciously turned her confused and seeking gaze to Mifune Shiori, who was already standing next to her.

The latter noticed her intense gaze and, as if burned by its heat, turned his face slightly away, instinctively avoiding it.