"Um… everyone's stage is set."
"Eh?"
I had gathered Lexia-san and the others who had become members of the school idol group and arrived at the lesson room that Kitaraku-senpai had prepared for us.
This lesson room was usually used for physical education dance classes, the front of the room was covered with mirrors and even had a barre for ballet.
On the way to this place, I was handed a certain DVD by Kitaraku-senpai.
"This DVD contains the music and choreography for the song that the idol will be singing, so please take care of it!"
…After telling me that the DVD contained the song and choreography, he stormed off again.
Then Kaede, who had been listening to me, raised her hand.
"Um… I think we just talked about school idols the other day, and the stage has already been set? Or rather, is it going to be okay…?"
"…I think it's up to everyone's hard work…"
"Eeehhh!?"
It was too sudden not only for me but also for Kaede and the others, and they all looked at me with wide eyes.
"I-in the first place, isn't there someone like a teacher prepared for us?"
"I don't think so."
"Isn't that too unreasonable?"
I thought so, too.
The student council president wanted them to learn the song and choreography on their own.
But even though I expressed my concern, Kitaraku-senpai did not listen to me at all…
"Don't worry, don't worry! You guys can do it! Hahahaha!"
…That's how it went.
"By the way, has anyone ever sung or danced before?"
I asked, and no one raised their hand except Lexia-san.
"I've danced a few times in social gatherings, but… this one is probably not the kind of dancing that I'm thinking of, isn't it?"
Certainly, Lexia-san, in her position as the princess of the Kingdom of Arcelia, had probably experienced ballroom dancing in the other world.
However, what I am asking everyone to do this time was to dance as an idol. The direction of the dance was completely different.
"Well… I haven't checked the DVD yet, so I can't say for sure, but I think it's very different from the kind of dance Lexia-san is imagining…"
"Hmm… then let's check out the song and dance as soon as possible."
"I agree. Now that the stage has been set, we have no choice but to do it…"
At the urging of Luna and Merl, everyone decided to watch the DVD that had been given by Kitaraku-senpai for the time being.
After playing the video on the monitor provided in the room and finishing checking the contents of the DVD…
"T-this is quite…"
I broke out in a cold sweat when I saw the dance recorded on the DVD.
Kaede and the others are still the only students who are willing to cooperate with the school idol project, and none of them has any experience in dancing or singing.
So, I thought the songs and choreography would be somewhat easy to follow…
"I-it's a pretty up-tempo song… although it's certainly a very good idol song…"
Kaede was right; I thought the song was very good as if just listening to it would cheer me up.
It's no wonder, because it was Kanade Utamori-san, who was invited to the last school festival, who wrote the lyrics to the song.
I was surprised once again because I had never thought that Kitaraku-senpai had asked someone so famous to write a song for him.
It was hard to believe that a mere student could do such a thing, but that Kitaraku-senpai managed to do it without any difficulty, so it was still terrifying…
Anyway, what we thought was the biggest problem when we saw the DVD was…
"A-are we going to dance like this? It's pretty intense, but…"
"It looks difficult, isn't it…?"
──The choreography was set to the speedy tune of the song.
It was not extremely difficult, but I think it would still be too difficult for an amateur dancer to dance.
Fortunately, the formation didn't seem to change, so they only needed to learn the dances and songs recorded on this DVD…
As I was making a sour face at the unexpected level of difficulty, Luna, who was watching the monitor with a serious expression on her face, opened her mouth.
"Yuuya, can you show me the DVD just one more time?"
"Eh? Ah, yeah."
I did as I was told and played the video once more, and Luna continued to stare at it intently.
Then──.
"…I memorized it."
"Huh?"
As everyone's eyes widened at Luna's unexpected statement, Luna suddenly stood up and moved to the center of the room.
"Yuuya, play the video for me."
"G-got it."
When I started playing the video again, Luna started dancing to the music of the video.
And Luna continued to dance without making a single mistake. It was hard to believe that she was a beginner dancer.
What's more, she had only seen the video twice.
But to my surprise, Luna danced through the song perfectly.
"Hmm… Something like this."
"A-amazing! Luna-san, you're just amazing!"
"I-is that so?"
Kaede's eyes lit up as Luna took a breath and then she approached her.
"That's really great! Have you actually taken dance lessons?"
"No, I've never danced before. But I'm good at moving my body. At this level… I'm sure Yuti can do it, too, right?"
"Eh?"
"Affirmative. I learned it by watching Luna's movements just now."
"No way!"
I didn't expect that even Yuti had learned the choreography.
So, to confirm this, I played the video again, and Yuti danced perfectly alongside Luna. Kaede and the others were appalled at the sight of these two.
"A-amazing…"
"I-is this because of the difference in physical ability…?"
"Kiii! I'm torn between feeling proud of my Luna and feeling frustrated!"
"When did I become yours…?"
Luna was taken aback by Lexia-san's words, which were too honest, but she shifted her gaze toward me.
"How was it? I did pretty well, didn't I?"
"Y-yeah! I'm amazed! I didn't expect you to learn to dance so easily…!"
"I-is that so…? It is embarrassing to be praised so frankly, but… A-anyway, as for the dancing, you can leave it to Yuti and me. We've already learned the choreography and can teach it to the other three."
"Affirmative. I'll do my best."
I seriously wondered what to do when the stage was suddenly mentioned, but this might… be possible…!"
"Then all that's left is singing!"
"I've lost at dancing to Luna and Yuti, but I can do the singing too!"
"That… I'm not sure about either of them, but I'll do my best!"
At first, the school idol project seemed to be going nowhere, but now that things were moving in this way, it was a relief to know that they might be able to make it work.
＊＊＊
"Ah…"
A young man, moving through the city, trying to hide his presence in the crowd, came upon a scene and stopped.
"Oops…. oops…"
It was a scene of an elderly woman carrying a large package on her back and attempting to climb a pedestrian bridge.
"….."
Seeing such an old lady, the young man pondered for a moment. However, when he made up his mind to do something, he immediately called out to her.
"U-um… I'll help you."
"Eh? O-oh, thank you. But the luggage is heavy. It's fine."
For a moment, the old lady was surprised to be approached by the young man, but she immediately smiled kindly.
"No. Despite my appearance, I'm quite strong, you know. See…?"
"Oh, my!"
Then the young man carried the large luggage on his back with ease, along with the old lady.
The old lady rolled her eyes at the young man's incredible strength, which she could not imagine from his appearance.
"Ara, ara… this is amazing… I-is it heavy?"
"Not at all. It's light."
The young man smiled gently, but it didn't seem that way to the eyes of those around him.
"H-hey, look at that…"
"How can he carry that…?"
"In the first place, how did the old lady carry such a huge load so far, too…?"
As the people in the surrounding area were surprised, the old lady was moving with a huge wrapping cloth on her back, just like in a manga.
The young man, however, didn't even bother with that and finished crossing the pedestrian bridge with ease, carrying the old lady on his back.
"Since we've come all this way, please let me carry you to your destination."
"Ara, it's kind of bad if you have to carry me that far."
"No, no, I just want to do it…"
The young man's goodwill was appreciated, and the old woman let him carry all the luggage to her house.
"Thank you, Onii-san. Even so, you're a lot more powerful than you look."
"I-is that so?"
"I am so grateful to have a kind man like you helping me. Thank you."
"Ah…"
The young man was at a loss for words after receiving the old lady's pure words.
Then, with her face downcast, the old lady continued.
"Since you're here, would you like to have some tea? …Oh, my?"
When the woman looked up for a moment, the young man was already gone.
The young man walked away without saying a word and continued to wander the streets once again.
"Am I… a kind person? That can't be…!"
The young man's frustrated mutterings disappeared into the crowd.
＊＊＊
When Yuuya was practicing with Lexia and the others for the stage──.
"It's been a long time since I've been here."
Iris, Usagi, and Odis were visiting the Sacred Valley, the venue of the [Heavenly Sacred Festival].
The Sacred Valley was created when the Holy of a certain time period destroyed the powerful Evil, and the area's topography changed.
Perhaps because of this, evil beasts and others with the presence of Evil cannot even approach this area. However, instead, powerful monsters are attracted by the presence of the Holy and gather here, making the area as dangerous as the Great Devil's Nest, where Yuuya lives.
For the monsters, the presence of the Holy in this land was comfortable, and since the power of the Holy also had the ability to strengthen their bodies, it was easy to see how powerful the Holy were at the time when such terrain was created.
In the Sacred Valley, many Holy had already gathered.
Some of the Holy, including the Fist Saint, had already disappeared after their minds were controlled by Evil, but there are still some Holy left in the world.
Then one of the Holy noticed Iris and the others.
"Iris!"
"Gloria! It's been a long time!"
The woman who came to Iris and the others was a beast-woman with long azure hair and deep purple eyes.
She had a black steel prosthetic arm from her right shoulder down, and the way she carried herself made it clear at first glance that she was no ordinary woman.
The woman, whom Iris called Gloria, turned her attention to Usagi and Odis.
"I see you're with Usagi and Odis, too."
(It's been a long time.)
"How are the children?"
Gloria smiled at Odis' question.
"Yeah, they're doing too well. It would be great if everyone could come and play with them."
(…I don't like human children.)
"Hey! What are you talking about?"
Iris was quick to quip at Usagi's words but then turned her gaze once again to the Holy gathered in the place.
"But why did the Katana Saint decide to hold the Heavenly Sacred Festival?"
"Who knows… I wondered that myself. But now that we're all here, I think it's…"
"…It seems that there's definitely something he's after."
Iris intuitively felt that way.
This was because she had sensed a strange presence from some of the Holy since she arrived at the venue.
In addition… This sign could also be felt from the organizer of this event, the Katana Saint, Shu Zakuren.
"Hmm… It's a strange sign… or perhaps a strange pressure from some people. I think we've been through a lot, and we're getting stronger…"
As Odis said, the three of them, including Iris and Usagi, should have been much stronger than the other Holy because they had many opportunities to work with Yuuya.
However, some of the Holy gathered here were giving off a strange pressure that made even the three of them wary of each other.
As the three of them were observing the scene in the venue, a man came out to the center of the venue.
He had long, deep purple hair that was tied up in one bun and dark purple eyes. He wore exotic clothing reminiscent of Japanese kimonos and had a katana at his waist.
His face was covered with an unreadable smile.
"….."
That man was Shu Zakuren, the Katana Saint… who initiated this [Heavenly Sacred Festival].
Shu looked around and bowed.
"I thank you for agreeing to this sudden call. Unfortunately, it seems that some of the Holy have already passed away, but… it is a great pleasure for me to meet again with so many of you here."
Some of the Holy presents were surprised by Shu's statement.
"I thought there were some Holy who are not present, but they have passed away…?"
"Oh… I guess we haven't told Gloria yet…"
"Or rather, we haven't been able to tell most of the Holy."
"Do Iris and the others know anything about this?"
Gloria was surprised at Shu's words, while Iris and the others smiled bitterly at her.
In fact, if it were the case, they would have already informed the Holy that Avis, the pinnacle of Evil, had been defeated.
But after that, they were still involved in Yuuya's troubles, and as a result, they were unable to tell many of the Holy about it.
"Um… You know those Evil, don't you?"
"That's because they are our sworn enemies."
"…The leader of it has already been defeated."
"Eh?"
Gloria looked stunned at Iris's words.
"W-wait a minute. It's been defeated, you say…"
(It means exactly what Iris said. There is no Evil in the world today. Though evil beasts are still around.)
"….."
Gloria could not help but be appalled.
In the midst of all this, Shu's words continued.
"──This unforeseen situation where several Holy died at the same time. The cause of this is unknown to me either, but it is highly likely to be related to the presence of… Evil. Therefore, I felt it was necessary for the Holy to communicate with each other and enhance our unity. And we must not forget to check each other's skills and improve each other."
"….."
The Evil had already been destroyed, and Shu had not been told about it, but when Shu said that the purpose of the exchange between the Holy was still the same, Iris and the others looked more and more doubtful.
(…If all he wants is to communicate with the Holy, there are other ways to do it…)
"I think the main purpose is to confirm the skills of the Holy, isn't it?"
"If so, I don't know why that Shu guy suddenly started talking like that… and I don't understand his aim…"
When the three of them were showing their caution, Shu's gaze suddenly caught the three of them.
It was only a fleeting moment, but Iris did not miss it.
"…The talk has gotten long, but I'm sure everyone is busy in their own way. Let's start the [Heavenly Sacred Festival] right away. Let's decide once again who is the strongest among the Holy. And… about the future."
──Thus began the [Heavenly Sacred Festival] by the Holy.