After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

Yes, more than the impact of the newly born and uncontrollable "Wakaba Mutsumi" on her own body, Wakaba Mutsumi was actually more worried about her own body.

If you created an uncontrollable monster simply by imitating it, then was Toyokawa Yuu, the prototype of the monster, really as gentle as she appeared?

She was worried about letting Xiang stay by Toyokawa Yuu's side.

But... I couldn't understand his eyes at all.

“Metis…”

Ruo Yemu suddenly looked up and saw Metis clutching his sleeve tightly, like a frightened child.

"You try to understand Mr. Youyu on my behalf."

"Ah I?"

Upon hearing Ruoye Mu's words, Metis pointed blankly to her own nose before realizing what she was referring to.

"No, I can't handle it. You've already created a monster just by imitating him. Who knows what Mr. Youyu is really like behind the scenes?"

Metis shook his head like a rattle, his light green hair flying up and down.

She never imagined that she, who had always wanted to control her body and get some fresh air, would one day resist taking control of this body.

"No, no, absolutely not."

“You understand acting better than I do, so you might be able to understand what Mr. Youyu is hiding beneath his acting skills.”

Ruo Yemu remained unmoved by Metis's refusal, and even added a hint of threat.

“If you don’t go, Xiang might be in danger.”

"Ugh, I've really had enough. It's always the same old 'Xiang Xiang Xiang Xiang Xiang'... Xiao Mu is always like this, she never discusses any decisions with me, she just does what she wants to do."

When that name he disliked was mentioned again, Metis finally couldn't help but complain.

"I'm the one who's always been there for you, so you should keep an eye on me too."

Faced with Metis's complaints, Ruoye Mu didn't say anything more this time, but just quietly looked at the other version of herself in front of her.

Her light green hair moved without wind, as if a dark shadow with the same outline as Wakaba Mutsu was silently spreading behind her.

An invisible pressure silently weighed on Metis's shoulders.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it, but you have to protect me, okay? Don't let that weird guy kill me."

Finally, as if in despair or in resignation, Metis nodded dejectedly and reluctantly agreed to Wakaba Mutsu's conditions.

"......Um."

After a moment of silence, Ruo Yemu nodded slightly, agreeing to Metis's conditions, but then made another request.

"I'll be counting on you for the performance later."

She didn't like acting, and since she was going to release Metis anyway, she might as well leave the whole thing to her.

"But I can't play the guitar."

"Then it's my turn to come out."

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

"Mortis...Mortis?"

A soft call brought Metis back to her senses. Yuu Toyokawa looked at the green-haired girl who seemed to have been in a daze for a while, and a hint of worry appeared in her eyes.

Did I overdo it and put too much pressure on Wakaba Mutsu? What if he collapses on stage later?

Although he planned to use enough pressure to force Ruoye Mutsu to push Metis out as a substitute, he would then take the opportunity to control that acting monster whose mentality was almost like that of a child.

But Yuu Toyokawa didn't want anything to go wrong with the concert. Ave Mujica was the only reliable card he had at the moment, and he didn't want it to fall apart.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered through his previous deaths, if he "murdered" Wakaba Mutsu, Metis would become his enemy.

If he were to persuade Metis to eliminate Ruoye Mu himself, she would refrain from doing so because she would be an accomplice in his scheme, and there was even a possibility that they would cooperate.

But ultimately, if Metis wanted to control this body and use the Wakaba family as his ally ten years later, there was no reason why he absolutely had to kill Wakaba Mutsu.

Rather, allowing Wakaba Muku to continue existing could be used as one of the leverages to control Metis.

That girl didn't like acting; she liked music and guitar, and she liked being around Toyokawa Shoko...

The bias is so obvious that there are countless ways to induce it.

But the prerequisite is that I have to get Wakaba Mu to release Metis first.

Like Minami Mori, Yuu Toyokawa doesn't care much about Mutsu Wakaba's existence; instead, she wants Metis more.

But unlike Minami Mori, what Yuu Toyokawa values ​​more than that acting monster is actually "the future Wakaba family".

“I’m fine, Mr. Yuyu.”

Holding her guitar, the green-haired girl stopped playing Yu Yu's overly tense and mechanical game, and a slightly more lively voice came from under her mask.

"Your sugar is very helpful; I feel much better now."

Trying to suppress the slight tremor in his voice, Metis's golden eyes softened, and he put on an act of composure.

This is... Metis?

Looking at the green-haired girl who had suddenly changed, Toyokawa Yuu already had some guesses in her mind.

Although there was little difference in tone and attitude, it seemed that only the encouragement and the mint had worked.

However, Toyokawa Yuu did not believe that her actions had been effective.

These past few days, Toyokawa Shoko has been giving herself a short period of mental support after each rehearsal, but even so, there hasn't been any significant effect.

His own few words of comfort were unlikely to be effective, not to mention that his so-called comfort was actually laced with veiled barbs.

Yuu Toyokawa was already certain in her heart that the green-haired girl in front of her had switched personalities and was now Metis in charge of the machine named [Wakaba Mutsumi].

However, isn't this happening a bit too fast? So far, the pressure that Ruo Yemu has been under shouldn't have reached that level.

Without even removing his mask, Ruoye Mu released Metis.

Was it to adapt to this concert with a last-minute script change, or... was there some other reason?

Although confused, Toyokawa Yuu did not bring it up at this moment. She simply nodded with satisfaction, seemingly pleased that her team members were able to adjust their mindset in time.

"I still have plenty of sugar. You can come to me anytime if you need it."

"Um...I will."

Following Wakaba Mutsu's example, Metis nodded slightly, but his body subconsciously shrank back.

How could Toyokawa Yuu's acting skills possibly fool a monster of acting?

Although it was still unclear what he was thinking, Metis was certain that Toyokawa Yuu was always wearing a mask.

The gentleness they are showing now is nothing but a false pretense.

This hypocrisy is exactly the same as that of the newly born monster.

Hmm... It doesn't seem very polite to keep calling her "monster". Maybe I should talk to Xiao Mu and call her Yu Mu instead.

"The script has been revised and sent to everyone's phones. Please familiarize yourselves with the script in about twenty minutes."

The soft tapping of the keyboard stopped, and Toyokawa Shoko let out a long breath, slightly easing her trembling fingers from rushing to finish the task.

Yuu Toyokawa took out her phone and glanced at it. Only about eight minutes had passed, and a document had already been sent to Ave Mujica's group chat.

Only eight minutes had passed.

"In the remaining time, I don't expect everyone to be completely familiar with the script, but at least you should remember the most important lines and understand what kind of emotions your respective characters should express."

Toyokawa Shoko's gaze swept around the lounge. With the circuit malfunction, the few moving lights couldn't make her eyes clear, but everyone could feel a heavy gaze sweeping over them.

"Tonight's unexpected incident has damaged the worldview of Ave Mujica, but for us, this is both a crisis and an excellent opportunity to draw our guests into the world of Ave Mujica."

With a slight lowering of her gaze, Toyokawa Shoko's voice even carried a hint of command.

Now is not the time to reason with them gently; we must make the team members understand the severity of the situation.

Even though she no longer needs to repeat this point.

"The future and true value of the band Ave Mujica are being tested... They absolutely cannot fail."

As Toyokawa Shoko finished speaking, the other members of Ave Mujica nodded solemnly, their serious expressions revealed on their faces, which were hidden by darkness and masks.

At least for now, no one wants this band to fail.

"You value potential gains more than timely loss-cutting? That sounds like something Mr. Yu would say."

Hatsune Miku sighed as she browsed through her own script.

"I was worried before, because Xiaoxiang and Mr. Youyu had such a fierce argument in the office last time..."

Halfway through her sentence, Hatsune suddenly realized what was happening and covered her mouth, her purple eyes in the darkness revealing a hint of embarrassment.

When those two had their argument in the office last time, I had already told her and Ruoye Mu to go to the rehearsal room to practice first.

Saying such things now is tantamount to admitting that he secretly eavesdropped.

Noticing that the already serious atmosphere in the lounge was subtly taking a strange turn, Hatsune quickly changed the subject to lighten the mood.

"Speaking of which, Xiao Mu has a surprisingly lot of lines in this revised script. Is Xiao Mu really okay with it?"

In the new script, Mortis's lines are almost equal to those of the other four puppets combined, making this mini-theater a one-man show by Wakaba Mutsumi.

"After all, the theme this time has become 'Return from Death,' and only Mortis can play the lead role in this performance... Xiao Xiang, isn't this script too difficult for Xiao Mu?"

Yuu Toyokawa took out her phone and quickly browsed through the new script sent by Shoko Toyokawa. It was not hard to see some awkwardness in the transitions between many lines.

Clearly, this was a last-minute alteration of a previously written script about Mortis.

At this point, however, the slight awkwardness in the lines didn't matter; it was already quite an achievement to memorize the main points in such a short time.

"Chu Hua, you should trust your teammates' abilities."

A slightly cold voice interrupted Hatsune's words, and Toyokawa Shoko turned to look at her own half-body sitting in the darkness.

Looking at the guitar placed on the coffee table and the green-haired girl's profile as she intently perused the script, an indescribable sense of unease rose in Toyokawa Shoko's heart.

After staring at the guitar casually placed on the coffee table for several seconds, Toyokawa Shoko finally spoke again.

"Mumu, you can do it... right?"

"No problem, trust me."

With his eyes glued to the script on his phone, Metis nodded slightly in response to Toyokawa Shoko's question.

This only strengthened Toyokawa Yuu's conviction.

Perhaps even Metis herself didn't realize that although her expression and tone were perfectly imitated, one thing proved the difference between her and Wakaba Mutsu.

She talked a little too much, while the real Wakaba Mutsu rarely spoke in long sentences.

It seems that, at least for this concert, I don't need to worry about it.

"In that case, I'll go to the control room to make preparations and discuss with them in advance how to cooperate... I'm counting on you for everything."

As if she could feel the atmosphere of the Ave Mujica world, before leaving the dressing room, Toyokawa Yuu deliberately bowed slightly, striking the signature bow that Ave Mujica members use when leaving the stage.

"Enjoy the feeling of returning from death, Mortis."

Looking at Toyokawa Yuu's somewhat blurry figure under the moving light source, Metis's golden eyes darkened slightly.

What does it feel like to return from the brink of death...?

Subconsciously, the image of being pushed off the building flashed through my mind, my body being swallowed up by darkness, as if falling into a bottomless abyss.

If Xiao Mu hadn't saved her, she might really be dead.

Her fingers gently brushed against Ruoye Mu's phone case, the realistic touch traveling through her skin to Metis's brain, causing her fingertips to tremble slightly.

This is... what it feels like to be alive.

She knew very well that this was not something that belonged to her; it was just something that had been temporarily lent to her.

It's good to be able to use borrowed items for as long as possible.

Taking a deep, gentle breath, Metis calmed his emotions, which had been stirred by Toyokawa Yuu's words.

Now that person has left the lounge, there's little chance of getting close to him even if Xiao Mu wants to do as she asks.

Let's prepare for the performance first. After the play ends, we'll return the body to Xiao Mu.

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