Chapter 85: Shirogane Miyuki Wants to Sing
[Excuse me, what do you think about the fact that young people nowadays often stay up late?]
On the TV screen was a talk show segment, discussing the issue of teenagers staying up late.
The person being interviewed was an elderly person.
Three people were sitting on the sofa watching TV after lunch; Gabriel was originally planning to go back to gaming, but was held back by Sakurai Saki and Vignette.
[Staying up late? At my age, how can I even sleep anymore? The youth need to strive and work hard~ Even if you tell them to sleep, they can't! They've got exams to study for~ Society nowadays is full of pressure, and young people carry heavy burdens too...]
It was clear this retired elder was still quite sharp.
A moment later, when the elder shifted to discussing social issues, the screen switched to a young woman.
[Excuse me, how many times have you stayed up late recently?]
The girl smiled gently with a pale, sickly face.
[I haven't been staying up late recently.]
Sakurai Saki looked at the girl and then at Gabriel—the girl claimed she wasn't staying up late, but she looked even paler than Gabriel.
Another young woman was interviewed next.
She also didn't look very lively.
[Lately I've been staying up late less. Staying up late is bad for the skin, and to take better care of it, I think sleeping early is better.]
Why does this feel like déjà vu?
(╭ರ_•́)…Sakurai Saki suddenly showed a pensive expression.
He went silent for a few seconds.
Then he asked, "Gab-chan, have you noticed anything unusual lately?"
As an angel, Gabriel had a sharper ability to sense danger nearby. Within the Tokyo area, an angel like Gabriel was better at detecting hidden threats than Sakurai Saki—who didn't possess any suitable supernatural abilities.
Just now, Sakurai Saki suddenly recalled a passage from the Future Diary, with the final line warning him to beware of monsters.
And that girl from karaoke last Thursday… seemed suspicious as well.
"Not really." Gabriel looked at the TV, bored.
(`−ㅿ−´)
Compared to this dull interview, what she wanted most right now was to return to her room and game.
"Oh, maybe I'm just overthinking it." Sakurai Saki replied.
Next to him, Vignette asked curiously, "Did something strange happen?"
If she could help in any way...
"Vigne, you're a demon, right?" Gabriel still couldn't figure out why Vignette was so gentle.
Wasn't she worried about her living expenses?
As a demon, if you don't commit bad deeds, your living expenses will get cut!
…Although she herself, as an angel, hadn't exactly done many good deeds either.
Gabriel: (๑>•̀๑) ehe!
Gabriel suddenly began to doubt her own identity as an angel.
She wondered if she should move to the Demon World instead. Living a lazy life like this—if she were a demon rather than an angel—she'd be granted quite a generous amount of living expenses.
But if she did that, she had the feeling her "V demon onee-san" would beat her senseless.
Thinking of that, Gabriel shivered and gave up that tempting idea.
"But… Sakurai-san did run into some trouble." Vignette said worriedly.
"It's not quite at the level of trouble yet." Sakurai Saki replied calmly.
Then he recounted the incident he experienced the other day to the two of them.
After listening—
Vignette's expression turned serious: "It feels like the work of a succubus. But draining that much life force is a violation of demon law!"
( •̀д•́)◞
Demon law? Demons have to follow laws too?
So the Demon World is actually a law-based society?
"Demons who break the laws of the Demon World get brought to the Demon Court for trial! Then they're locked in a vehicle and driven three laps around the boulevard outside the court, while being scorned by Demon World citizens!"
Sakurai Saki: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Maybe demons are more law-abiding than humans.
After all, in human society, there's no shortage of people who know the law, break it anyway, and still roam free without consequence.
"Succubus, huh..." As soon as Gabriel heard that word, she instantly lost all interest.
Succubi in the Demon World? Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing.
They usually just suck life energy and don't really do anything else. Moreover, humans had a fundamental misunderstanding about succubi: a succubus wasn't a species—it was a job.
Kind of like a host or bar hostess in the Human World—part of the less respectable service industry.
Succubus: (✿ ᵒ ૩ᵕ )♡* Boy-ya~ would you like to come play with Onee-san for a bit~~~?
"Vigne, what do you plan to do in the future? Sign a servant contract? Or become a succubus?" Gabriel said this while giving Vignette a few lecherous glances, like a dirty old man.
Vignette immediately hugged her chest. "There's no way I'd ever do those kinds of jobs!"
Vignette and Gabriel: ( ˶°ㅁ°) ლ(´ڡ`ლ)
Sakurai Saki listened to the two of them talking, and internally breathed a sigh of relief.
If the entity in question was a succubus from the Demon World—that kind of embarrassment—then there wasn't much to worry about.
However, he still had a lingering sense that things wouldn't be that simple.
————
Saturday passed at Gabriel's house, and Sakurai Saki had basically accomplished his goal—enjoying a lazy weekend.
Life at Gabriel's place wasn't much different from being at his own home. Yesterday's superpower had been teleportation, but since he didn't use it much, nothing went wrong—so there was no need to elaborate.
Come Sunday, Sakurai Saki initially thought he'd be able to stay indoors.
But then, Shirogane Miyuki invited him over.
Sakurai Saki thought about it for a moment, then didn't decline.
He brought along some study materials, planning to exchange study tips with Shirogane Miyuki. The monthly exam right after Golden Week was approaching, and Sakurai Saki wanted to trample Kaguya beneath his feet. So he needed to put in more effort. Since he'd be tutoring the Nakano sisters for a few days over Golden Week, he wasn't too worried.
Tutoring while studying—this kind of job might actually be better than he'd expected.
Aside from having to deal with a few spoiled rich-girl personalities, the only real downside was the difficulty. After all, it was a mission to turn five idiots back into normal human beings—though whether Miku was really an idiot was still debatable. Sakurai Saki felt like she had just been slacking off last year, but actually had the potential to study well.
When he arrived at the Shirogane residence in Setagaya, it was just past 9 a.m.
Standing in front of the door, Sakurai Saki took out his phone and texted Shirogane Miyuki. A moment later, the door opened.
"Shirogane, good morning," Sakurai Saki greeted.
Then he saw Shirogane Miyuki sneakily peek out from behind the door.
Student Council President Shirogane stepped up to Sakurai Saki and whispered, "Sakurai, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Sakurai Saki: (·•᷄ v •᷅ )?
That sneaky posture of yours—if someone didn't know better, they'd think you were dragging me off to rob a bank!
"Ehem, you see, Sakurai..." Shirogane Miyuki began speaking as they walked.
"I heard... you're really good at singing."
Sakurai Saki froze.
(っ º - º ς)!!!
He stood rooted in place.
He had a pretty good idea of what the other person was thinking.
"About that, Shirogane, I've got something to do..."
(óᴗò ᵕ ᵕ)
Sakurai started backing away.
"I knew it, you wouldn't agree… I mean, I know what my singing voice is like…" Shirogane Miyuki said with a dejected look.
He'd never been good at singing since he was little. Back in middle school, during choir class, even his classmates had gently suggested he just lip-sync.
Shirogane Miyuki really wanted to sing well, but he just didn't have the ability. He hated it! He hated himself for being like this!
Aside from academics, Shirogane Miyuki had countless flaws. He was definitely the "hard-working genius" type, but his talent only extended to studying.
"I..." Sakurai Saki was originally about to run, but when he saw the other boy's eyes—like a puppy that had just been abandoned—he couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Shirogane, you know what? Your singing voice is no different from a pile of rotting meat."
"Hey! That's too harsh! Is my voice really that bad?"
(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
Shirogane Miyuki was in utter disbelief!
He knew he wasn't good, but was it really that terrible?
"Sorry, it might actually be worse than that," Sakurai said mercilessly.
"Alright, let's just let you hear it yourself in a bit."
The two walked into the living room.
Shirogane Miyuki poured him a cup of tea.
Sakurai Saki accepted the cup, took a sip, then commented, "Shirogane, your tea-making skills aren't on par with Shinomiya-san's."
He didn't like lying.
"She's a properly trained Ojou-sama, after all. Comparing her to me is really putting me on a pedestal I don't deserve," Shirogane Miyuki replied without taking offense.
Every student council member had tasted Shinomiya Kaguya's tea-making before—it was exceptional.
Sakurai Saki's coffee-making skills were on a similar level.
"As long as you work hard, you can do anything. That's what I always believe," Sakurai said calmly.
"Even singing?"
Shirogane: (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧
"Sorry, forgot to add a condition—except singing," Sakurai answered honestly. He truly didn't want to hear that voice again.
It wasn't just off-key anymore.
Calling it "rotting meat" was being generous.
If a siren's voice was enchanting enough to lure sailors to their doom, then Shirogane Miyuki's singing was lethal in a much more direct way. It didn't give the sailors any time to react—they died the moment they heard it.
This wasn't exaggeration. It was fact.
"Sakurai, you're crushing my confidence here," Shirogane Miyuki laughed awkwardly. "Still, I'd say I'm at least at an average person's level."
"Well then..." Sakurai Saki took out his phone and opened a voice recorder. "Do you... want to hear for yourself?"
Shirogane Miyuki gulped.
Two minutes later.
Shirogane lay sprawled on the floor, clutching his head, eyes blank.
(っ´ ﹃｀ ς)
"That... that was really my voice?"
"Umu," Sakurai confirmed with certainty.
So why did Shirogane Miyuki suddenly want to practice singing?
It probably had something to do with Shinomiya Kaguya's invitation on Friday—she announced that the student council would hold their first group activity on the first day of Golden Week, and the choice was... karaoke. Everyone had cheerfully agreed. Among them, Fujiwara Chika was the most enthusiastic. She even smiled brightly at Shirogane and said how much she was looking forward to hearing him sing.
At that moment, Sakurai Saki nearly burst out laughing.
The rest of the student council probably had no idea how horrifying Shirogane's voice truly was. But Sakurai, who had been his close friend for over a year—how could he not know?
He'd once had the misfortune of hearing it—and to this day, he still couldn't forget.
Not because it was good—but because it was memorably bad.
Sakurai: (ง ͠ಥ_ಥ)ง vs PTSD!
"Looks like... I'm beyond saving," Shirogane muttered. He'd initially thought that with a few days of practice, he could raise his singing from "slightly below average" to "acceptable."
But now... that was clearly wishful thinking.
"Nuh-uh, I think you're still savable," Sakurai denied bluntly.
He was confident enough to tutor the five Nakano sisters—was he really going to be defeated by just Shirogane?
As an Esper, failure wasn't an option!
"First, we'll start with scales," Sakurai said, pulling out his phone and opening a basic music app.
"This is Do~"
"Dum~!" Shirogane repeated.
Sakurai tilted his head.
A bit off-pitch... but still within an acceptable range!
Ten minutes later.
"This is La~" Sakurai said, demonstrating.
Thirty minutes later…
Sakurai had both hands covering his face.
Maybe... maybe it was time to use psychic powers after all!
[Today's Superpower: Mechanical Reconstruction]
Effect: Can permanently mechanize any object. If it's an animal, it gains intelligence on par with humans. If it's a human, their organs and physical abilities can be enhanced.
Side effect: None.
Lately, the daily random abilities hadn't come with any side effects.
But Sakurai didn't care anymore. When you owe so much, debt collectors don't scare you. Instead of worrying about dangerous powers that might show up in the future, he figured he should just conserve his energy while he could.
After all, if he mechanized Shirogane's vocal cords, the guy would instantly become a singing genius…
Haha, now that would be the perfect solution!
…Ahem, just kidding, of course!
Honestly, even Sakurai Saki himself had no idea how to teach this guy.
He never imagined there'd be a day when he'd have to teach someone music!
"Umm, Shirogane, how about you spend some of your free time today practicing pronunciation? We'll work on rhythm and tempo during lunch break tomorrow," Sakurai said with a smile.
Sorry, Shirogane. I'm just a useless bum!
You should really find yourself a different Master! Maybe check a pawn shop and see if there's some old man's soul trapped in a ring somewhere!
Or just pray I get a power tomorrow that's actually useful for teaching you…
Sakurai: ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ )
"Shirogane, would you be okay with… becoming a cyborg?" Sakurai suddenly asked.
"I'd prefer to stay human," Shirogane replied without missing a beat.
He had absolutely no idea that he had just turned down an offer that could've made him the next Iron Man.
"Alright then," Sakurai said, respecting his decision.
This power was irreversible—better to use it carefully.
Shirogane didn't think too much of it. Sakurai had a few weird days every month anyway—sometimes saying strange things, sometimes acting like a completely different person.
"Oh right, where's Kei-chan?" After their singing session ended, Sakurai finally noticed that Shirogane Kei was nowhere to be seen.
She usually delivered newspapers part-time on weekends, but it was nearly noon and she still wasn't back.
"She went shopping with Secretary Fujiwara," Shirogane replied.
"Oh." Sakurai nodded, then asked, "Does she have enough spending money? If not, I should give her a bit more."
Girls should be raised with proper care—and at Kei's age, she was probably starting to get into makeup. Cosmetics could get expensive. And if she was out shopping with another girl, she'd probably be spending on clothes too.
Shirogane's expression turned a little odd at that.
"She's fine. Why are you worrying about this stuff? Kei-chan isn't even your sister."
<( ㅍ _ㅍ)>
This guy had always been close to Kei—honestly, he acted more like an older brother than Shirogane himself sometimes…
A sudden wave of danger swept over Shirogane.
Σ(°ロ°)
At this rate, his spot as actual big brother might seriously get stolen!
"But Kei-chan always calls me Onii-chan, doesn't she?" Sakurai replied casually.
"She calls you Saki-nii, okay? That's totally different from 'Nii-san' or 'Onii-chan'!" Shirogane immediately emphasized.
Sakurai heard that and gave him a sideways glare.
Damn siscon. He could only hope that when the day came Kei-chan got married, Shirogane wouldn't end up bawling his eyes out…
Shirogane: ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽ツ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ : Kei and her husband
Kei-channnn NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!