"Thinking back, it was Mo Li who managed to help me ask my sisters for lessons outside of their influence..." Lotus thought back fondly of those days for a bit before focusing on the present.
Now that she had been reincarnated and brought outside the influence of her world, she is free to do as she pleases, even performing for her mother and father privately on the weekends. Though she said privately, the fairies often dare to sneak in to listen to her music whenever it was her time. Her parents had always been lenient on the fairies and allowed them to listen with them. As for her, she had always enjoyed playing music for others, so she never minded at all and very much enjoyed it. Soon, weekends became a time for her to take a break from her studies and research to play and dance with everyone.
"The victor of this competition will now be decided by the votes of everyone in attendance. With their singing and dancing, just how well did our performers express the meaning behind their songs? Which team put on an exceptionally high-level show? Please vote for the team you believe shined the brightest! Use the QR code given to you when you entered the venue to cast your vote with your smartphone! The tool we're using to see the voting in real time..." The announcer read the card in his hand, "...was provided to us by the Olympus company in their effort to provide active support for students."
Lotus looked down on the app on her phone as the countdown began. Idia looked down on the phone with a heavy sigh, "Sadly, none of them but the second catches my attention."
"The second?!" Idia looked to her in disbelief, "You can't mean the guy that sang the song like a girl?!"
"Is there really anything wrong with it?" Lotus looked to him in confusion, "You might not know this, but the person that you're talking about is actually a hidden talent. That was dual voice. If he can properly utilize it with determination, he may even perform opera scores that can only be sung by women. Dual voice can take a hold of low and high pitch notes as long as they receive the proper training. Because of their unique physique, no random songs can just be sung. Those with Dual voice are also capable of mastering pitches just by hearing... If anything, I believe that he is a true talent here in this performance. A pearl amongst fish eyes... If he is trained, he may take the limelight and join the other talents up there."
"Dual voice? Aren't those guys super hard to come by?!" Idia looked to her in surprise, "I actually didn't think of that... However, just where can he find a place to be trained?"
Lotus nodded, "I'll talk with Vil. Knowing him, he definitely will give a hand if I just try to give him some good reasons."
"You're willing to talk to Vil for him?!" Idia looked to her in surprise, "I thought you hated that guy?"
"Hated him? Of course, I don't just hate him, I hate his guts too." Lotus scowled, "However, you can't deny that he won't treat those with talents poorly when professional artists can be blind. If he still has a brain, then he will help support this guy."
"Eh? Why not ask Niege?" Idia questioned in confusion, "Didn't you help him before?"
"Of course." Lotus responded with a nod, "However, Niege is still in the middle of his journey to the top. There's no such thing as an end of the journey when you're trying to improve yourself. Only by stopping have you created your own end. Niege and the dwarves are still growing, but Vil is still stuck at the bottleneck of his own fame. He still has not realized what is needed to surpass Niege as a result, I predict that he will lose the VDC today."
"Eh? Just like that?" Idia looked to her in disbelief.
"You have 30 more seconds to get your votes in! ...Ten, nine, eight, seven…" The announcer began the count down, "Three, two, one… Time is up!"
"Ah." Idia sighed, "I guess, my vote won't count in the end, after all."
She glanced down to find that Lotus's phone was also still on the same screen left untouched.
"Lotus? Why didn't you vote?" Idia looked to her curiously in confusion.
Lotus looked down on her phone in deep thoughts before responding hesitantly, "Actually, I'm not too certain either. But, I feel that it's better that I don't vote..."
Don't vote? Why is it that she felt that way?! She's clearly capable of voting, but why does she feel that it's better not to?!
Before Idia could respond, the announcer continued, " Let the counting begin."
As he said this, two names appeared on the screen as everyone from NRC Tribe and Royal Sword Academy stood below it.
"Alright, folks, the votes are tallied!" The announcer called out and took a look back only to exclaim in shock, "H-How…? Is something like this even possible!? The gap between first and second place… They are separated by one single vote!"
"It's that close?!" Idia cried out in disbelief upon seeing this.
"The students gathered here from across the nation are all very skilled.Their singing and dancing prowess shined just as great as any jewel. I would love nothing more than to give each team the first place trophy, but I must swallow my tears and announce the champion. The school that will take home the crown of the greatest in the world at this year's Vocal & Dance Championship is…"
Lotus watched curiously as she heard that someone had won. Could it have been Niege again? He had always won against everything else before, but now...
"Royal Sword Academy!"
The crowd cheered a loud upon hearing this.
"'Their "Minna de Yahhou' wrapped the whole area is a warm atmosphere. They invited everyone watching to spend a moment in the land of fairy tales and because of who they are they were able to give us a peaceful performance! And in second place, we have Night Raven College! I'm sure that losing by one vote is frustrating, but they gave us a superb show that featured high-level vocals and overall technique." The announcer continued with a wide smile, "Please give a round of applause for all the schools, they all gave us such wonderful performances!"
Though Lotus was reluctant, she still clapped anyway. At best, the performance was mediocre, like a bunch of children putting on a show, but what can she do? She wouldn't vote for either of them, but the actual person that should've received the attention has been ridiculed. What a farce!
As they clapped, Idia couldn't help but feel a little anxious for her as well. This is what it means that life isn't fair. For someone like her, this is very likely the first time she had felt like this.
She sighed and muttered, "I guess it can't be helped..."
Eh, you're just going to accept it like that?!
Lotus noticed a stare on her and she looked up curiously, "What?"
"Ah, nothing. It's nothing." Lotus responded shaking her head quietly with a dry smile on her face.
"Then, champions, please come forward!" The announcer handed the microphone to Niege before he can get the trophy.
Dazed, Neige just took the microphone in his hands in bewilderment as he responded, "Huh, f-for real? We're number one in the whole world?"
"Neige, what's that zoned-out face for!? Hurry and go get the championship trophy!" Gran called out to him.
"We did it! So happy!" Hopp cheered as he jumped up with a bright smile.
"...Huwha? Hm?" Shelpy looked around in confusion, "Did I fall asleep just now?"
"N-Number one… I'm happy, but also embarrassed!" Timmy hid behind Dominic timidly.
"Wahoo! Thank you!" Sneaky sneezed a loud.
"I-I'm so h-happy!" Dominic sniffled, "I'm glad we practiced so hard."
"Dominic, why're you crying? Everyone's having so much fun! Yahhou!" Toby cried carefreely.
"Here is your championship trophy. Congratulations!" The announcer handed the trophy to Niege with a bright smile on his face.
"Thank you… Thank you so much! I'm overjoyed!" Niege sniffled as he held the trophy in his hands.
"Now please enjoy an encore from our champions!" The announcer called out with a bright smile, "From Royal Sword Academy, 'Minna de Yahhou!'"
As they cheered, Lotus could see the group next to them with either disappointed looks or tears in their eyes.
"What a surprise..." Idia muttered in confusion as he watched Vil scold them for being tearful, "I didn't think that the guy would have it in him to still scold the others or reach this high."
Lotus sighed, "Well, I can think of one individual that would vote against them."
She watched from the sidelines as the drama unfold with Vil's face growing darker and darker until Niege came out to greet them and congratulate them for reaching to the finals. Lotus didn't like either of them, but it couldn't be helped if they also possess this talent. In the end, it was just two children having a little scuffle with the other being completely oblivious. She sighed as she muttered, "They do say the more they fight, the closer they are..."