Their Steps Are Too Weak

"Seriously..." Idia muttered in deep thoughts and he muttered, "I don't even watch boy bands all that often either. My only idols are mostly the girl bands, but that doesn't mean I only watch them. Still, if Lotus said is true that he's never seen one before and wants someone to show him the ropes, can't I also just give him a brief instruction of the situation? This is also my last chance to take part in the VDC, but what if the spell doesn't work?"

"Wow! This is a big chance, big brother!" Ortho shouted excitedly, "You should really go! Then, you can tell me all about it when you come back!"

"Ortho..." Idia looked to him hesitantly.

Lotus chuckled, "Sorry I can't invite you with us, Ortho."

"It's fine!" Ortho responded with a wide smile, "I get to hear all about it from Big Brother later, anyway!"

"I'll help get you some souvenirs when we return, but I first need your brother's decision." Lotus responded with a wide smile, "The performance will begin soon. So, I'm afraid that I can't give you a few days to contemplate it."

"I know that!" Idia shouted in disappointment before he heaved a long and heavy sigh, "I really, really want to refuse. Besides, I can always watch the VDC with three dimension hologram and I can eat my Junk food here, but... Ugh..."

Seeing the sparkle in his little brother's eyes, Idia sighed in defeat, "Fine. I'll give it a try."

"Yay!" Ortho cheered happily as though he was the one going instead.

"If I get caught, I'm never coming out again!" Idia warned her firmly.

"All right, all right." Lotus smiled knowing that her persistence finally paid off.

Idia grumbled in annoyance before taking his pen out and deep breath before chanting out the spell. Before long, Ortho cried out in bewilderment, "Big Brother?! Where are you?!"

"Huh? Ortho, I'm right here." Idia responded with a raised brow, "I haven't moved an inch yet."

"What?!" Ortho's eyes widen in disbelief, "But, I don't see you or sense you at all!"

"What did you say?!"

Lotus laughed, "Don't worry. I can see you just fine. I asked Ren to help me create this stone that can help me see you."

She took out a large blue crystal and said, "As long as a living person uses it, it would work just fine. No magic required."

Confused, Little Jun called out in confusion through her mind, "But, isn't that just a regular low rank spiritual stone?"

"Yeah, but it's not like they know about it." Lotus responded telepathically smirking inside, "I can't just say that the spell won't fool me because my eyes are special. I've already done my best with hiding my own presence. I can't say the same for my eyes."

"Anyway, you're ready?" She questioned curiously.

"H-Hold on! I need my glow sticks and snacks and, and-!"

"I have it all ready!" Ortho responded and dropped a small backpack of snacks and glowsticks.

Seeing the dust on the bag, Lotus knew that Ortho had been planning to get his brother outside with him for a very long time with this bag.

Lotus nodded with a smile and took the bag before dragging Idia with her, "Thanks, Ortho! I'll be sure to take pictures to share with you!"

"Have fun!!!"

...

They hurried through the streets with Idia kicking up minor fusses once in a while that was usually about him doubting that anyone's seen him before she pulled him away to the stadium. After a brief talk with the guards, she was allowed into the stadium through the back and took Idia up the stadium as everyone else cries out with excitement.

Idia hunched over his back as he quietly made his way to the stadium's seats. They took their seats from the center of the stage.

"A-Are you sure that no one will see me?" Idia shivered nervously.

"Yup." Lotus nodded, "There's Malleus, but he's too far high up to recognize you from this mass of people. The spell won't work as well if the magician is incredibly powerful. At this point, only Malleus would fit that category, but, from what I know from the way he speaks, he has no interest in poking at you anyway. He did say that he wished you had told him that there was the orientation that day you wore the ceremonial robes."

"The... Ceremonial robes?" Idia's eyes widen in bewilderment.

Lotus nodded, "He said that he thought you were going for a walk but he didn't understand why you were taking a walk in your robe. but he didn't realize that you were wearing it for the orientation that day. As a result, he completely missed the orientation and was bummed for the rest of the day."

"Seriously?!" Idia's jaw dropped in disbelief once he heard this, "I thought he was there to insult me. Seriously, so he wasn't poking fun at me... No, wait, but what if he was only saying this to make himself look good or even-"

Lotus sighed, "If he was seriously going at you with those intentions, he wouldn't waste his time in using complicated words to insult you. Besides, if there's anyone he doesn't get along with the most and insult at, it would most likely be Leona. I heard from Ruggie that those two have been arguing against one another since the two got their robes mixed up this year. So, like I said, if he really wants to insult you, he wouldn't waste a breath to do so and, if he dares to insult Leona in a roundabout way, then he would've already done so for you. However, according to the way Leona says it, it sounds like the only way for them to communicate and get to known one another is through arguments anyway. Well, at least, they aren't raining lightning and summoning sands in actual fits of anger."

"Hah? But that just sounds like something in an anime plot! It makes no sense at all!"

"Anime?" Lotus looked over to him curiously, "What's that?"

"That's-!" Idia sighed in defeat and shook his head quietly, "Nevermind..."

"Oh, it's starting!" Lotus looked up to the stage as the music began.

Turns out that there was more performer than just Niege's group and Vil's group. There was a total of ten performances that took place over the course surprising Lotus quite well. As the groups continued their performances, Idia coached her on the aspects of pop music dances and their significance of them. She didn't stop questioning her until Vil's group was the first to appear. Upon arriving onto the stage, the crowd instantly cheered upon the sight of Vil on stage.

"Wah..." Idia sighed sarcastically in disdain, "As expected of an idol..."

"I'm surprised that Vil and Niege are all so famous to this extent!" Lotus looked around in disbelief, "I've heard of their popularity, but I never realized the extent of it till Vil explained it later on."

"You've never heard of them before?!" Idia looked to her in disbelief.

Lotus shook her head, "My home is very remote from civilization. Even going to work, I don't get to interact with media very often. My family also isn't too fond of humans. I'm the only human they wanted to adopt into the family so far. Even the nearest town isn't close to civilization that connects to outside."

"No way..." Idia's eyes widen in horror, "Just what rock is this that you're living under?!"

Lotus laughed, "I guess it's better late than never."

"Still-!"

"...the representatives from the host school, Night Raven College. They will be performing 'Absolutely Beautiful'!" The announcer's voice called out over the speakers.

With that, the group stood in place as Lotus watched curiously the group began their dance with the music. Lotus watched from the sidelines as the group made their dance moves. Seeing them dance, Idia raised a brow, "I thought that the show would be good, but... it feels like something is off about them..."

Lotus leaned back against her seat and sighed, "It's too weak."

"Eh?" Idia looked to her in confusion, "Too weak?"

Lotus nodded, "I've seen it before. From their dance to the dances of others online. With the way you described it, it would seem that each and every move has a loud cry that should resonate in us. It was the same for other idols online. Even when they tire, you can see them continuing to fight off the weariness and continue dancing for their audience and their own voices. But, what about here? While they start off with a bang, their weariness is already weighing down on them. You can see how tired they are with each step they take."

"That's it!" Idia gasped upon realization before he frowned after a glance over his phone, "But why is that? And the system..."

After narrowing his eyes in deep thought, he shook his head. It couldn't be, right?