Qiluo looked at the screen, then at Night Sakura, who was staring back at her with those pitiful, puppy-dog eyes again.
If she didn't agree, the chat would keep spamming those comments.
Ignoring them would only blow the issue out of proportion.
If they kept latching onto it during their very first stream, the chat would be completely derailed, and that would be a disaster.
Even though they were always noisy and chaotic, they truly did see her as an important companion.
If her showing up could put them at ease and let everyone know they were a single unit, then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing?
After all, she was technically a member of this messy organization now.
Qiluo raised her right hand. An incredibly thin thread of light shot from her fingertip, drawing a small ring of light in the air above the folding table.
The ring glowed for three seconds before dispersing into a few warm, white specks of light that drifted down onto Night Sakura's keyboard. “Is that enough?”
Would this be enough to show that she was right there with them? If not, she could always show a bit more.
“More than enough,” Night Sakura said, carefully brushing the specks of light from her keyboard into her palm and closing her fist around them.
She slipped the specks into her pocket, stood up, and clapped her hands. “Alright, get ready for one final equipment check.”
...
From her corner on the sofa, Qiluo watched the backs of the three girls. Standing side by side in front of the camera, they looked like three baby birds trying to fly for the first time—their wings so stiff with tension that they had seemingly forgotten how to flap them.
“We're going live,” the Store Owner, working behind the scenes, announced as she reached out and clicked the stream start button.
A red 'LIVE' indicator popped up on the screen, and the viewer count began to climb.
Kohinata took a deep breath and flashed a smile that was several degrees brighter than usual at the camera. “Wow~ There are way more people here than I expected!”
Night Sakura watched the chat scroll by. It was still early; they should wait until more people joined before starting their self-introductions.
Just as she was about to liven up the atmosphere, Amamiya's sleepy voice drifted into the microphone from the side.
“Hello, everyone. I'm Amamiya, the main damage dealer of Wings of Freedom.”
Night Sakura hissed internally.
She froze, looking as if someone had hit her pause button.
Slowly, she leaned back and bent down, using Kohinata's body to shield herself from the camera as she faced Amamiya.
Her voice was hushed, but she enunciated every single word with sharp clarity: “Amamiya—we—haven't—started—the—self-introduction—segment—yet!”
“What?” Amamiya opened her eyes, sounding as innocent as someone who had just been woken up. “Didn't you say we should introduce ourselves at the start?”
“That's after the opening! Not before it! The stream just started! Viewers are still coming in! Wait a second and then—”
Kohinata turned to look at her two teammates whispering and chimed in with a stage whisper, “Isn't this a lot of people already? I see almost several hundred online!”
Unfortunately, she had completely forgotten about the sensitivity of the microphone, which the Store Owner had bought in the latest model just to ensure better audio quality for the stream.
“More! We need to wait for more people!”
“But didn't you say we should be friendly and not too formal—”
“Even so, we can't just start before the opening—” Night Sakura cut herself off mid-sentence as her gaze caught the chat out of the corner of her eye.
【Ah~ I just love Amamiya's deadpan cute vibe】
【Kohinata is so cute too】
She took a deep breath, adjusted her mask, and flashed an “all according to plan” smile at the camera.
Qiluo noticed that the fingers adjusting the mask were trembling slightly.
“Alright, it seems our main damage dealer couldn't wait to greet everyone. Let's just seize the moment and do it together! Three, two, one—”
“We are—the Wings of Freedom!”
“Spreading our wings where the light reaches! Protecting your dreams with magic!”
Kohinata's voice was the loudest, Amamiya's was the most flat, and Night Sakura's voice rose above both of theirs, trailing upward at the end as if blending their voices into a single harmony.
But the moment they shouted “Wings of Freedom,” the chat's scrolling speed suddenly surged.
【Mommy! Mommy!】
【This intro is so chaotic, but why is it so cute?】
【】
Night Sakura's gaze swept over the chat, and the curve of her lips stabilized.
She nudged Amamiya slightly from below, and Amamiya picked up the cue: “I'm Amamiya, in charge of offense. The one next to me holding the hammer is Kohinata.”
“What do you mean, 'the one holding the hammer'?!” Kohinata raised her hammer in protest.
“Kohinata, the Striker of Wings of Freedom,” Night Sakura smoothly took over the conversation.
“She specializes in armor-breaking and direct combat. The final hammer blow you saw in our debut video was hers. That hit actually sent her flying backward, and she almost took a nasty spill, but she insists it was a recoil-dispelling maneuver.”
“It was! That's a professional technique!” Kohinata rested her hammer on the floor and winked at the camera. “Hello everyone~ I'm Kohinata! Please take care of me tonight!”
【Kohinata Mommy, hit me with your hammer!】
【The rose need not grow tall; those who love it will bend down.】
After finishing her introduction, Kohinata watched the chat speed up. She waited for the viewers to process her introduction before turning her head. “Now it's Night Sakura's turn!”
Night Sakura was positioned right at the edge of the camera's field of view, her deep purple dress casting a matte sheen under the streaming ring light.
“Hello, everyone! I'm Night Sakura, the captain of Wings of Freedom, responsible for tactical command and intelligence analysis,” she said, her voice steady. “Since Amamiya and Kohinata both mentioned they are in charge of offense, that makes me the support.”
【Her voice is so beautiful!】
【Night Sakura, please scold me!】
【A support-type Magical Girl! What a rare trait!】
Night Sakura glanced down at the chat and released her grip on her skirt.
“Thank you for the compliments on my voice. Though the others at headquarters don't really think so. Kohinata says I'm like a homeroom teacher.”
“You are a homeroom teacher!” Kohinata blurted out loudly from the side.
“Then as your homeroom teacher, here is your first assignment: repeat your self-introduction. You spoke too fast just now, and the viewers couldn't catch your name.”
“Ehh—?!” Kohinata protested, but her body complied instantly. She turned back to the camera, flashing that overly radiant smile once more. “Hello everyone~ I'm Kohinata of Wings of Freedom! Please take care of me tonight!”
The chat erupted in joy at the interaction. While the camera was still focused on Kohinata, Night Sakura turned her head away, swiftly wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before straightening her posture and adjusting her mask again.
Leaning against the armrest of the sofa, Qiluo suddenly felt a twinge of envy.
They were so lively. This chaotic yet energetic atmosphere was completely different from what she had experienced in her past.
Though they stumbled in front of the camera, their sincerity was impossible to hide.
Perhaps this was what Misa Tachibana meant by 'being a fool once in a while.'
【What does Night Sakura look like under her mask?】
【Why are you the only one wearing a mask while the other two don't?】
“The mask?” Night Sakura raised her hand, her fingertips lightly brushing its edge. “The reason I wear a mask is simple—as the intelligence officer of Wings of Freedom, I have to run around outside quite often.”
She paused. “But that's not the only reason. There are things under this mask that I don't want others to see. Maybe one day, when I become really, really famous, I'll take it off.”
“How famous is 'really, really famous'?” Amamiya chimed in out of nowhere.
Night Sakura blinked, then joked, “At least more famous than Meruru.”
【Shots fired!】
【Waiting for the day you take off your mask!】
【Meruru: Did someone just mention me?】
Rate on N.U.
