Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

"Not everyone is a warrior."

"No one is a warrior from the start."

The two were deadlocked on their point of view, and finally the topic was passed to me.

“Serno, you are the one in charge of Earth Crystals, so you should decide this matter.”

Am I the one in charge?

The collective consciousness of the Earth Crystals has arrived at the answer: revealing the truth will plunge the world into turmoil, but it will also win over some magical girls who can see reality clearly...

Right! Aren't magical girls the "warriors" that Aldebaran mentioned?

------

We are also taking action.

The truth is revealed only to those who were originally magical girls, and they are automatically connected to the mind network without needing to accept it.

It was indeed a forced process, but I believe that after understanding the truth of the world, they will make the right decision.

"Sisters, our battle as magical girls is not over yet."

“I understand that this truth is cruel, but that’s just how bad things are.”

"That little creator god did not lead us to the promised next stop."

"We need more companions."

This time, the lobbying will no longer rely on Earth Crystals; Spica and Sirius are communicating with the magical girls through a mind-space platform.

Some of them may have believed Milno's lies and the reports about Earth Crystal, but once we tell them the truth, they will naturally find a way to discern the truth.

As for me...

"Hey, how's your practice going?"

Halley pushed open the recording studio door, holding a takeout meal in her hand, and tossed me a hamburger.

Here, a midnight snack~

Miss Freya went to sleep, only Halley stayed to keep me company while I continued practicing.

I unwrapped the packaging and asked on the thought network, "Ms. Halley, why should I practice singing in this situation?"

"Of course, people haven't connected you with the mind network yet. Even if Earth Crystal is portrayed as the villain, you're still the savior. Your election with Milno is still valid. This election will determine who will become the creator god of the next world. But for the people who don't know the truth, it's still just an election for the captain of an idol group."

Public support for me is far lower than for Miluno, and coupled with Michelle's stigmatization of the Mind Network and Earth Crystal, our chances of winning are...

"Ugh……"

I couldn't help but sigh, and Halley pressed an iced can of Coke against my face.

"Stop sighing and complaining~ You've overcome so much despair along the way, and Princess Miluno is still waiting for you to save her!"

"……Um."

Everything will be alright as long as I can win at the concert.

Chapter 447 Joint Rehearsal

(Cerunno)

The next day, Michelle and Miluno came to visit in person.

This isn't my Miluno, but it's not the Michelle from before either...

This little girl has probably grown up by seven or eight years in one go, and now she looks like a young girl.

"Wow~ Auntie, your agency is so small! And the equipment is so old. How about we go check out Moon Palace's recording studio? If you listen to me, lending it to you isn't out of the question~"

"...What are you planning to do now?"

"Don't be so wary~"

This big girl kept circling around me, all smiles and grinning.

"Since it's a concert, the program should be arranged properly, right? The two of you can't just sing separately from beginning to end. Mom and you should have a duet segment. At the very least, you should collaborate on the opening song of the concert!"

Halley pointed at Michelle with fries.

"If you really have to put it that way, then having only one song as a duet doesn't quite make sense! Since you're a group, solo tracks should make up the minority... Wow! You've agreed!"

Michelle bit her finger along with the fries.

I still can't shake them off.

Milno replied, "Well, I have no objection. How about we add an equal number of collaboration tracks to the single?"

"...The concert is tomorrow, right? Isn't it a bit too late to add more songs now?"

Miluno shook her head.

"No, with me by your side, there's no such thing as 'too late'."

"Oh, no, that won't work."

Michelle finally relented, but reminded him, "In the new world, the power of the Morning Star cannot be used, okay?"

This is a virtual world; there are no objects that can accelerate time, so it's impossible to gain more time to practice.

"Then we can't use the new song."

"Then let's pull out some old songs and practice them?"

"Without new songs, it always feels like something's missing."

When I said that, Miluno pulled out a thick stack of sheet music.

"These are all new songs. They were produced by Michelle through simulated composition and then selected by us manually... These are the few songs."

"Huh? Simulated composition?"

Halley, who was wiping her hands, looked shocked and snatched the sheet music from Miluno's hands.

He frowned and hummed along to the sheet music, finally revealing an expression of resentment, like a junior artist whose livelihood had been taken away by an AI artist.

"...They're all pretty good."

Reluctantly, I admitted it anyway.

Michelle immediately put her hands on her hips, puffed out her full chest, and said, "So my simulation wasn't entirely useless, right?"

If Miluno obtains a large number of new songs through this method, I, who have only prepared one comeback song, probably won't be able to achieve popularity above hers.

Miluno forcefully dragged me into rehearsals...

Their purpose in coming here was perhaps to leave me unable to do anything on my last day.

So, simulating music composition... Earth Crystal can do that too, right?

No, whether music is good or not is a very subjective feeling. Excellent music can evoke people's emotions, which is why artists tend to be emotional.

Therefore, a consciousness of the Earth Crystal Cluster existing solely for rationality would probably be unable to create excellent songs.

Hmm, do you think it's possible?

The collective consciousness of Earth Crystals responded positively.

Oh, I see. There's another way.

It's not out of any indomitable spirit, but simply because, as the manager of souls, Earth Crystal can get the world's best musicians to work for it.

Specifically, it involves creating pseudo-personas of them to write lyrics and compose music...

If you had told me about this method earlier, Miss Halley wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble, right?

However, the concert is tomorrow, and even if I manage to finish the new song because of it, I won't have time to practice it...

------

Okay! Let's call it a day.

Outside the recording studio, Ms. Halley took off her headphones and waved to us. Behind her hung a clock; it was already two in the morning…

This time, I really practiced all day long.

"You all go and rest first, and meet here again at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Since we're going to perform together, we need to rehearse until we're at our best. I'll take responsibility for that."

Ms. Halley must be very tired; she hadn't had a proper rest before composing the music.

"Phew, okay."

Relieved, Miluno took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"Are you tired?" she asked.

"I'm tired, but this is just a data clone. The fatigue is just a deliberate simulation for the sake of realism. As long as I want to continue, I won't feel tired..."

As I said this, Miluno replied, "But in order to keep people's morale up, proper rest is still necessary. Let's rest for tonight."

"Um……"

"Let me sleep with you tonight."

"Ok?"

"Don't you want to?"

She and Michelle were indeed here to spy on us.

They have a huge advantage now. As long as they keep an eye on me before the concert and don't give me a chance to retaliate, they will be the ultimate winners.

Michelle could then... successfully commit suicide.

"Where is my Miluno?" I asked.

“Michelle will sleep with her, and she sleeps with me in real life too. You can meet again after everything is over. You should think about how to make the new world a better place.”

"Is a new world without Michelle acceptable to you?"

"As I said, I respect Michelle's choice, and my opinion will not change unless she voluntarily gives up the plan."

I can't convince her on this point.

I think I know who Michelle's stubbornness comes from.