But someone like Ebina, a true empath, was always more likely to give Shiika a high score. So it was a trade-off.
Kushiro was the only judge left.
How would he evaluate Shiika, with that cool smile of his?
I held my breath and watched.
After bringing the white porcelain teacup to his throat and wetting his whistle, Kushiro prepared to speak.
“I won’t say too much. The song was a perfect fit for you. A hundred points.”
“Oooooooh,” the crowd roared.
Touyo Oomuta, ninety-five points. Hamako Ebina, 150 points. Reiri Kushiro, one hundred points. Total score, 345 points.
And Erio Shibuya scored 340.
“She did it, Gakuto! Shiika won!”
“Yeeeahhh!!!”
Akiba and I gave each other high fives.
Even the slug, which I’d forgotten all about, waved its eye stalks jubilantly. Er, maybe.
“I’ve gotta report this on my stream! Gakuto, can you arrange an interview with Shiika for me?”
“It’s a million yen per appearance.”
“That’s expensive! You think I’m some kinda big-time new network?!”
“Ah-ha-ha. But Shiika’s number one in our year now, after all! Witness the crowning of Queen Shiika! Kneel down, fools! Wah-ha-ha!”
“Wh-why are you getting all arrogant? Weren’t you the one who said people should be humble if they’re at the top?”
“Shiika won’t get a big head, so I’m not worried. And I can take a little hate. Bring on the haters! Bring on the malicious comments! If I can earn money without working, then what do I care?! Ha-ha-ha!”
“Geez, you really are trash…”
Akiba’s scowl and curses didn’t faze me. I was on top of the world!
Then…on Akiba’s other side, I spotted Komae’s side profile.
“Erio…”
Komae looked worried. He was gazing at Erio, who was kneeling on the floor, hanging her head.
I’d half expected Erio to blow up and go scream at the judges, but that didn’t happen. She seemed overwhelmed by despair and was muttering to herself in a stupor like a machine.
“Why…why is this happening…? How could I lose…?”
“Eri.”
Shiika had walked over to Erio.
She bent down, looking at Erio at eye level.
“Keep your promise.”
“You want me to sing like you tell me to? And for us to do a collab?”
“Yeah.”
“Whatever you want… I don’t care anymore. And you can do whatever you want with Nokia, too.”
“Okay. Now, as for what I want you to do…”
Shiika spoke in a loud, strong-willed tone, so unlike her.
“Don’t ever sing in your whistle voice again.”
“Huh…?”
“Eri, your natural chest voice is the most beautiful. I see this horrible, horrible color when you use your whistle voice.”
“Uh… Ha-ha. So you hate me, huh? Well, I guess I deserve it.”
“No.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? Telling me not to use my whistle voice… That’s like telling me to die!”
Erio snarled.
But her expression didn’t have the mad-dog intimidation like before.
Shiika looked troubled.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t think you should sing like that, Eri. I guess I can’t explain why properly. I’m sorry…”
“Um, excuse me, mind if I interject?”
Someone had come to intervene between Erio and Shiika.
It was one of the judges, Reiri Kushiro. He lightly raised his gloved left hand, exuding an awkward smile.
“Mr. Kushiro…”
“I wasn’t planning to tell you why I gave you ninety points. But it seems that Miss Shiika Ikebukuro noticed it, too.”
“Huh?”
“You have acquired a six-octave voice through quite absurd training. Your original singing voice is in a slightly lower range, isn’t it? A whistle already puts a strain on your throat. You have no talent for high notes. If you keep using it, you won’t be able to sing in the near future. You’ll probably have to retire while you’re still in your twenties.”
“What…?”
Erio seemed at a loss for words.
Kushiro looked surprised by her reaction.
“Oh, you didn’t realize.”
“I was prepared for a certain amount of risk. But my midtwenties… That’s so short…”
“I see, then I should have told you. Thank you, Miss Ikebukuro. I almost made a mistake that could have crushed a genius’s career.”
“You’re…welcome?”
“It’s forbidden to discuss the evaluation criteria in front of students, but your health is at stake, so I’ll explain and risk my own neck. In this exam, we also evaluate your future potential and the projected longevity of your hypothetical career. The other judges include someone from a style of music where the sound that you produce regularly puts the vocal cords at risk and someone who’s lived in the world of musical instruments. So they were able to discount this possible issue. I, however, cannot.”
“So you think my career will be done by thirty? And that’s why you lowered my score…?”
“Yes. But there was the risk you would disagree and plunge even further down that path. I didn’t want to give you advice that wouldn’t be helpful to you.”
“Right, I see… So, Shiika… You’ve been worried on my behalf this whole time…”
Erio’s voice trailed off, losing strength.
Shiika shook her head.
“No, I didn’t know all that. But the color of your voice… It was too forced.”
“Color…?”
“Yeah. All the sounds in nature have beautiful colors. Whether they occur naturally or are constructed. But the color of your singing voice was distorted.”
“So why didn’t you just dismiss me as no good? Why did you try to save me?”
“Because it seemed like a waste.”
“Like a waste?”
“Your original voice is a gorgeous color. It just has that bad, distorted color painted on top. I wanted to see the true color underneath.”
“Right… I see… It makes sense now…”
Shiika seemed to have expressed her thoughts, however clumsily. As Erio listened to her stumbling explanation, her expression gradually grew more and more morose.
As a third-party observer, I thought it seemed like they were both as clumsy as the other.
Shiika was a poor communicator who stayed locked up inside of herself and kept her words in her own heart.
While Erio was weak at communication and violently expressed her emotions with a barrage of words.
Both of them were clumsy and inept—and only able to convey messages to others through their music. They probably needed this grand battle as an excuse to finally have this conversation.
Erio bowed low before Shiika, still looking morose, seeming like she was struggling to hold back her emotions.
Then, in a trembling voice, she said:
“…Sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I said such terrible things.”
Moving forward and burying her face in Shiika’s chest, Erio’s entire body shook.
Shiika looked up at me with a worried expression, as if she didn’t know what to do.