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Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

How did this happen?

Kou grumbled to herself, looking around a dimly lit room.

A table was in front of her, covered in various snacks like potato chips and pizza. Further on was a monitor that served as the only source of light in the room, and was currently displaying lyrics over a random backdrop unrelated to the song.

And…on the stage, her initial stiffness completely gone, was Kasumi, lightly dancing as she sang all the way to the last note of a song that had become so popular it could be heard in almost every supermarket.

…Yes, that was karaoke. And in a real life booth, something quite rare in modern times.

◇◇◇

“Now that we’re all together, why don’t we go hang out somewhere?”

That had been Haru’s idea, and considering her fame as a VR songstress, they quickly decided on karaoke. Suzaku said that he was really bad at singing in front of an audience and left right away.

An hour had passed since then.

They all went to one of the few karaoke booths still standing, and the first ones to sing were Reo and Reinhard, the two transfer students, and… Somehow, they gave surprisingly good performances.

Part of their training as nobility included education in the arts, which explained their singing ability, and they both chose pop songs they had recently discovered since coming to Japan and were already excited to pick new ones for their next turn.

They were followed by Kasumi, who was really nervous at first, going after the two who sang like karaoke veterans…but managed to get to the end of the song without issue. Then it was Kou’s turn.

Kou’s pick was the main theme song from an anime movie, which had become such a big hit that it was played everywhere.

It was originally sung by a female artist and had some incredibly high notes that, back when she was a boy, she wouldn’t have even tried to reach.…but now that she was a girl, she figured her voice would work better for the song. She had queued up that song twenty minutes earlier, and now she heavily resented her past self for it.

“I…I, Mitsuki Kou, will shing-”

She bit her tongue.

Soon, she was filled with an urge to find the nearest hole to hide in, but with no choice, she just pushed forward, no matter what happened.

At first, just like Kasumi, her voice trembled and lacked strength. But by the halfway mark, she found her rhythm, and her voice grew steadier. By the end, she sang surprisingly well for a beginner.

“…Hahh, it’s finally done, I got through the song.”
“Ahahah, good job, Kou!”

Completely out of breath, Kou returned to her seat, where Hijiri poured her a glass of barley tea to refresh her throat. After downing the whole glass, recovering a bit, Haru spoke to her, as she had been carefully watching Kou’s performance.

“Heheh, I could tell you were really stiff at first, but then you got used to it and you sang really reallllllyy well, you know? What do you say, should we make a Sakura feat. Ditzy Lord collab?”
“No…no thanks, that’d be a bit too much to handle…!”

Kou could not picture herself standing on the same stage as Haru, who was already lauded as one of the best.

In response, Haru began saying, “Aww, don’t be like that, with a little practice, I’m sure you’d also…” but her voice just trailed off, knowing that would not be enough to convince Kou.

“Okay, but how about making an appearance during a singing segment in my stream?”
“No! Just knowing that an unknown number of people are watching would make me so nervous I wouldn’t be able to make a sound…!”

She began waving her hands and retreated, repeating that it was too much for her. Anxiety always got to Kou whenever she did anything outside of fighting.

While that was going on, the next song began to play. This time it was a pop duet originally sung by a male and female pair.…in this case, it was going to be performed by Hijiri and Subaru.

“Oh, that’s our song.”
“We’ll discuss more of that later.”
“No! This is the end of this conversation!!”

Subaru stood up and headed to the stage, tossing that last remark behind just to pester Kou, who shook her head in firm refusal. She had noticed a glint in Subaru’s eyes, so she had a really bad feeling that he had not been merely joking.

Haunted by those thoughts, Kou let out a deep sigh and tried to focus on listening to them sing.

“Hey hey, there’s something I’ve been curious about.”
“Yeah?”

As Kou listened to the twin’s duet, their voices in perfect sync, Haru leaned over and tapped Kou’s shoulder. Kou wasn’t sure what to expect when—

“You know, are you and that aloof girl…you know, dating?”
“…Whghghat?!”

…Haru asked without reservation. That made Kou choke, and her reaction told Haru she had been right on the money.

“…She confessed to me. And…I feel the same way…but I haven’t given her a proper answer yet.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“I just…I keep worrying that I won’t be able to make her happy like she deserves.”

Concealed by the music and singing, Kou revealed something she had kept even from her closest friends.

“I heard about this experiment, before I was even born. A same-sex couple managed to have a child, but after that child turned five, all information about them disappeared, you know?”
“…Ah!”
“So I just keep worrying that maybe something bad happened to that child. I wouldn’t want Hijiri to go through that, so I just can’t bring myself to tell her…”

Kou realized that it was a bit too soon to be worrying about such things, and it could even be seen as creepy… But if she wanted to be realistic, that path would lead them to marriage, and eventually led to that very dilemma.

They could start a relationship, same-sex marriages were officially recognized after all…but would Hijiri really be happy that way? Or should Kou let go, let her find a good man to marry, and build a more “normal” family?

If Kou had stayed a boy, this would have never been a problem. But Kou was a girl through and through now, as the lingering pain in her abdomen still reminded her. That deep insecurity was what held her back from giving an answer.…

“You know…that was me.”
“Sorry?”
“What you just said. That child born to a same-sex couple for the first time. That’s me.”

Kou’s eyes widened when Haru told her that.

“…Are you for real?”
“Mhm. I was born to two mothers, an experimental first. But as I got older, there was a lot of backlash, some people questioning the morality of such human experiments and stuff, so we had to lay low and stop all information from going out.”
“Is… Is that really what happened?!”
“Mhm mhm, but as you can see, I’m in perfect health, and my mothers still get along perfectly. Maybe a bit too much, they’re so clingy that sometimes I’m embarrassed to be around them.”

She seemed a bit miffed by the things she had seen as she complained about that, but she quickly regained her smile as she patted Kou’s head.

“Sorry if that caused you any anxiety. I never thought that my personal matters would end up causing trouble to someone else.”
“It’s alright, don’t worry… At least I feel way better now. Thank you so much for telling me this.”
“Heheh, you’re very welcome.”

That was probably a secret meant to stay within her family. But Haru hadn’t hesitated to share it, all to put Kou’s heart at ease. All Kou could do was bow deeply, filled with gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

“But yeah, if I went live as a flesh tuber someone might recognize me, which would cause a scandal for my mothers. That’s why I’m stuck as a VR one instead.”
“Ah…so that’s why.”

Kou recalled all those rumors about Kirisu Sakura’s mother being some world class singer, so that checked out.

“Mhm mhm, that’s the origin story of the beautiful VR idol Sakura. It’ll be our secret, okay?”

Haru held up a finger to her lips and grinned a little. Considering all of Haru’s experience as an idol, all of her mannerisms had a certain allure to them, making Kou look away as her heartbeat accelerated.

Haru seemed entertained by that reaction, and then said—

“Oh, the twins are done singing, which means I’m next. Almost no one has heard me sing in person, so this will be something very special for you.”

She patted Kou’s head a few times before standing up and getting pumped up to sing.

The next song was already starting by the time the twins returned to their seats next to Kou. It was a peculiar song with hard hitting lyrics and a flowy melody, one of Kirisu Sakura’s signature songs.

The lighthearted ambiance of the karaoke booth quickly changed into something more impressive and beautiful, being slightly different but just as breathtaking as her VR songstress voice, charming Kou and everyone else in an instant…

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