199 Aren’t the top three supported by Raven?

Theresa crossed her arms and let out a frustrated "Humph!"

Of all the things to dream about! In China, didn't they say dreams were supposed to come true? So why did her perfect victory dream end up being completely wrong? It didn't make sense, and it was definitely annoying.

Although, even though she originally didn't care so much about rankings, she would still be disappointed if she still didn't win the award despite having put in so much effort.

It's not that she cares about the prize; it's just that she doesn't want to admit defeat.

Okay, maybe she cared a little about seeing her exclusive story if she win.

"So, did you secretly help Raven or something? How'd she climb the ranks so fast?" Theresa grumbled.

Honestly, she'd figured it'd be her niece or Bronya surpassing her. Those were the students she saw every day. Losing to them would be strange, but at least familiar. This... well, this just felt weird.

Luo Mo shook his head. He'd considered boosting Raven's votes earlier, but then he saw her numbers skyrocket all on their own. Suddenly, she was in fourth place! With momentum like that, there was no need for him to interfere. Maybe she could even make it into the top three(now one).

Luo Mo was also a little confused about this situation.

This was all a bit baffling to Luo Mo. In his previous life, the idol competition had Ai-Chan, Tesla, and Raven vying for the top spot. Back then, Raven crushed the competition, leaving the others devastated.

That time, I heard Ai-chan lowering her head in her seat, biting her fingers, and sobbing.

That time, I saw Tesla closing her eyes with tears streaming down her face, unable to face the facts before her.

As for the raven, after seeing the first two people, her eyes turned black, and she was(now) a little autistic.

This time around, there was no sign of Ai-chan in the competition. But once again, Tesla ended up crushed by Raven's popularity. Even with Einstein beside her, the two of them just couldn't compete.

Maybe Raven just had a natural talent for commanding the spotlight.

Luo Mo secretly admired her ability, even as he prepared the three-piece Stigmata set – Step, Roll, and Lament – just for Raven.

"She's soaring in the rankings even without any tricks(who will tell him?)," he muttered.

"ahh I hope she doesn't reveal her true identity as a secret magical girl or something. That would be seriously unfair."

Theresa watched him, a thoughtful expression on her face. She began gently nibbling at her finger, leaving a faint mark. Noticing Luna mimicking her behavior, Theresa quickly waved her hand in disapproval.

Theresa's eyes darkened for a moment. Raven? A magical girl? Was that... no, she quickly dismissed the thought. Luo Mo must be talking about her embarrassing past! Why would she ever bring that up?

If her students found out...

Just imagining their stern, serious principal shouting "Magical Girl Teriri! Time to transform, and take off!" would make them question their entire existence.

They'd probably never look her in the eye again! The shame would be unbearable.

"Absolutely not. Never!" Theresa decided firmly. That part of her history needed to vanish forever, never to be seen again.

...

Hidden in a shadowy corner of the villa, a pink-haired girl whispered urgently to her blue-haired Sister.

"Liliya, Liliya why are we at the bottom of the rankings? Do you think we just don't have what it takes to be idols?"

"Rozaliya, our opponents are tough. They're well-known, and they got a head start on us," Liliya hushed back, cupping a hand over her mouth to keep her voice down.

"That makes sense," Rozaliya sighed. "But don't worry! Next time, we'll take that top spot!"

Rozaliya was full of confidence, raised her arms slightly forward, and smashed down, showing an attitude that she was determined to win.

"What are you two whispering about while you eat?" Bronya stood in the open doorway, her expression blank as she watched the two naughty sisters.

Ever since Cocolia handed these troublemakers over to her, Bronya's free time had vanished. Now, even her precious downtime with her notebook was interrupted by their antics. It definitely wasn't the most enjoyable situation.

Speaking of notebook, I discovered after taking them out that they actually have a certain amount of delay. In other words, although they have many advantages,

But if in the intrinsic world, technology seems to be more convenient, now it is purely reserved for collection, and if you can communicate across the world, you will no longer be afraid of Seele getting lost.

"Well, sister Bronya, we're talking about idols!" Rozaliya giggled, then teased Bronya, "We were saying how your ranking is way too low – you've got to work harder!"

"You two… I have no interest in being an idol. And don't think I've forgotten about the last two messes you made!" Though small, Bronya's stern glare made her seem much taller as she prepared to scold the girls.

Thanks to them, she'd been called into Principal Theresa's office more times than she could count. Something was always broken, or they'd been too noisy and disturbed the other students.

The absolute worst was when they decided to hide in the garden for a middle-of-the-night 'singing' practice. Their voices...well, let's just say they needed some work. Unfortunately, a few students studying late heard the whole thing! They ran off screaming about St. Freya Academy being haunted. Bronya didn't find out until a furious Teacher Himeko came back that night, dragging the girls by their ears.

The whole embarrassing story was the top headline in the campus news the next day.

Afterwards, the girls tried to explain that they'd seen some great idols on TV practicing late into the night, so they wanted to be just like them. But they conveniently forgot to mention that they'd slept all day. Practicing late at night doesn't mean you start practicing late at night!

Most of the time, people were pretty forgiving of the twins because, well, they were adorable in game.

But how can I put it? Bronya didn't look too happy when she became famous before she even entered school.

"Look, sister Bronya! You're already at number five! Why not debut with us and become an idol? We'll help you reach the top!" Rozaliya's eyes sparkled as she pointed excitedly at Bronya's position on the screen.

Not only was she unrepentant, but she was actively trying to recruit Bronya too.

Bronya's headache returned. She felt the urge to toss the twins straight into prison to keep her mother company. Maybe that would give Cocolia some company and let her enjoy a peaceful two-person world with Seele... at least that was the idea.

"...Let's go eat. Besides, Bronya doesn't want to be an idol – she wants to make games... Ugh, never mind, I shouldn't have said that." Bronya finally abandoned her wild idea of throwing the twins in prison.

Instead, she led the two girls, who were still buzzing with excitement about their idol careers, to the dinner table.

"Wow, is this Sister Mei's cooking? It looks amazing!" The twins' earlier disappointment vanished at the sight of the delicious spread. She was worthy of being a person who could perform cooking tutorial into an idol performance!

This power is really terrifying!

As soon as Rozaliya tasted the first bite, her eyes lit up in pure delight. This food was incredible!

Naturally, The two little ones eagerly followed Bronya into Himeko's villa, and Seele came along too. Luckily, there were still two spare rooms available.

Bronya offered to share with Seele, but Rozaliya, ever the dramatic one, wouldn't hear of it. She wouldn't dream of displacing her sister! With a flourish, she declared that she and Liliya would happily share a room.

Bronya looked grateful, perhaps a bit too grateful, as Rozaliya and Liliya quickly moved in and settled themselves. Now, all of them were gathered around the table, enjoying the delicious meal made by the Herrscher of Thunder... well, her rice cooker, at least.

...

Time flew by, and suddenly, it was two days later.

The results of the idol competition were in, but they weren't quite what everyone had expected. While the overall rankings didn't change, the vote counts were much higher.

In the final tally, Raven managed to surpass Theresa and secure second place, sadly bumping Theresa down to third. Luckily, the top three had pulled even further ahead, leaving the rest of the competitors far behind.

The top positions were now decided: Fu Hua in first place, followed by Raven and Theresa.

 Most fans had no complaints about the top three. After all, these Valkyries were incredibly popular, and the support for them was overwhelmingly positive.

Raven's position, however, seemed to spark a bit of controversy...

"How did Raven get so far ahead? There's gotta be something shady-deal going on," someone grumbled. He was confused. Theresa and Fu Hua, with their dedicated fans and huge online presence, made sense. But Raven? She seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Beats me," his friend mumbled, scratching his head. "I guess I kinda voted for her on a whim... though honestly, I mostly voted for Sele, my favorite."

If Veliona had been there, she'd be furious. She'd probably grab her scythe and go after this guy for daring to call himself a Seele fan but voting for someone else. It's easy to imagine her saying something like:

"Are you even a real fan? You voted for someone else AND can't even remember Seele's name? How dare you walk the earth!"

Suddenly, the air filled with a sense of menace - Veliona was probably nearby. You could almost hear her voice, icy and furious, as she hunted down those mispronouncing Seele's name.

(The point is these two 希尔Xī ěr 希儿xī er or whatever )

"Honestly," someone piped up, completely unfazed by the imaginary carnage, "I voted for Raven because...well, she's got the biggest assets," he gestured crudely.

"Comrade, You've got a point," another guy agreed. "Think about it – Raven's probably carrying the average for the top three. Otherwise, those figures might not look so impressive."

It seems that he is not afraid of any force at all; the warning of opening the skull and smashing people is correct; after all, most ordinary people still don't know the existence of the Valkyrie.

"Ah, that makes perfect sense now!" The first guy exclaimed, like he'd discovered the secret to the universe. Suddenly, his voting choice seemed a lot more justifiable.

"..." The first two people looked at the two heretics in front of them. They suddenly understood where Raven's votes came from, and they looked at each other.

The original two exchanged a knowing glance. They finally understood where Raven's surge of votes had come from. It wasn't just a few weirdos having some fun – there was a whole hidden faction at work here!

This is the common nemesis of the small breasts faction and the lolita faction!!

With a quick glance at the rankings, they saw it was true – most of those votes had come from accounts that supported undeveloped girls. Raven's unexpected assets had become a rallying point.

The two stood silent for a beat, then launched themselves at the 'heretics'. A full-blown brawl erupted, and the four of them were soon rolling around on the floor.

Not surprisingly, the police showed up. But when questioned, none of them could come up with a good explanation for their fight, so they all ended up getting carted away in the end.

..

another place

"Honestly, I'm relieved I didn't come in first," Raven admitted, studying the final rankings. Second place wasn't ideal, but considering those... unique votes that had propelled her so high, maybe it was for the best.

Was Gray Snake really that influential, or was something else going on? As a villain who preferred the shadows, she'd rather leave the spotlight to others.

She wants to say that she is a mercenary who hides in the dark, and others should do the work of showing her face.

But the leader choice in front of her and Gray Snake, had already done this, so she naturally had no choice but to listen.

"No, Raven, amazing as I am, only about a fifth of those votes were mine," Gray Snake replied calmly. There was no point in lying about something like this. He'd planned to activate more bots if Raven's numbers were lacking, but her unexpected popularity had surprised even him. She was indeed his favorite cadre.

"And get this," Gray Snake continued, "I double-checked – all those extra votes? They're from real people. No sign of bots or manipulation on your behalf."

Raven stared at him, silent.

"Look, even without my help, your original popularity would have easily landed you in third place," Gray Snake explained. "That's why I stopped pushing things the moment I realized. As for first place... well, Master Fu Hua's a legend, a former Flame-Chaser, now hero of china region."

"Half the World Serpent probably voted for her, not to mention her massive fanbase in China. It was never worth the risk to push you any higher. This level of success is more than enough."

"So...are you saying I actually have what it takes to be an idol?" Raven asked, a note of disbelief in her voice.

"Whoa, sorry! Barring some major disaster, that's not going to happen. I still dream of opening my own tavern – small, quiet, the perfect cozy spot," she lowered her hood, hiding her face. "I'm not cut out for life under the spotlight."

"Don't worry, nobody's pushing you into the idol business. Though honestly," Gray Snake chuckled, and somehow you could just tell he was smiling despite his mechanical body, "with a bit of World Serpent marketing, you'd probably rake in enough cash for a whole mansion. Think about it, Natasha – doesn't that sound tempting?"

Gray Snake smiled – it was a mystery how his mechanical body managed that, but you could tell this was a gray snake with a sense of humor.

"..." Raven looked at the gray snake in front of her and confirmed that he was actually joking. She loyally offered an opinion, full of sincerity: "With all those bodies of yours, have you considered becoming a female idol? You could absolutely take the stage!"

Gray Snake burst out laughing, but didn't elaborate further.

Clearly, the idea didn't appeal to him. "What a shame," Raven thought, a note of disappointment in her voice.

"Forget it; instead of this, let's think about how to appease Sora and the others when we go back today. They watched the video of me on stage receiving the award several times during the game. They also asked themselves if they really planned to become idols. They said they would definitely go. On-site encouragement..."

"Seriously, let's not give them any ideas... My only dream is to be a bartender, preferably one who never has to stress about paying the rent."

---

Ah, there's still a lot that hasn't been edited... who cares, it's better to sleep