It took everything Konrad had to even stumble off the stage.
The first time was rough, but this—
Much worse, much better.
He looked like he had run the marathon in full armor rather than playing his guitar. And let's not forget the singing—or screaming until his throat felt like sandpaper.
It was five minutes. Only five.
But to say he had overdone it would have been an understatement.
No sound came out of him anymore. Not even a whisper.
But hell, was it worth it?!
Had the cheers not been enough, the jealous glares drove the point home. The rival band stared daggers in their backs as they retreated to the green room.
Konrad grabbed his sword, too, though he didn't intend to fight them.
He had to transfer some of his mana into the adamantite blade instead.
Otherwise, he would have overflowed.
In that regard, the concert was a huge success.
Much more than he had hoped for, and they still had three songs left.
The big guns. Except, well—
"Bet you killed your vocal cords, Baka," Kaede towered over him with the menacing aura of a true dragoness. "The always rational Prodigy of Haiten screaming his heart out like a maniac."
Um, yeah, that summed it up alright.
But as terrifying as she sounded, her touch was soft and warm.
Blistered fingers wrapped around his throat, making him shudder.
Right as the excess mana left his system, the familiar feeling of her healing magic washed over him. It came in soothing, warm waves, bringing back vague memories he couldn't pinpoint.
From that missing person—the one he fell in love with.
Did she have anything to do with Kaede's healing? If only he had the chance to ask.
But he still couldn't speak, and the dragoness held up a shushing finger, too.
"Ten minutes. Don't talk or your vocal cords will fuse," she warned, voice stern. "And while ripping 'em off is fun, regrowing them takes a lot more mana—not to mention the pain."
He gulped, which in itself was a perilous affair now.
"Kon-chan," Yuki yelped, running closer with wide eyes. "Baka, you held nothing back."
Her, too? And yeah, whose fault was that?
He shot a glance at the Demon Lord, who rushed to get the song started before they were even on the stage. And then at the emo girl, who stopped to argue with her old bandmates.
Not that he could scold either of them right now.
Not without telepathy, and he had better use of his mana.
Even if his veins were still prickling, long after the next song had already started.
Yuki-san's old band must have dialed up the heat, too.
Konrad didn't recognize the song. It might have been an original. But this was the first one that resonated with him. And if he thought the crowd went wild during the Black Parade—
Think again. The screams filtering through the green room's walls were something else.
"Heads up, our little success was creating some waves," Kaede noted, pulling his palm away. "It will make us easier to find for Lucifer's lackeys. If you have enough mana to do that thing—"
Her voice trailed off, looking at Midori-kun.
Yeah, Konrad tried to learn his spell without telling him why. But the Demon Lord wasn't stupid. Even if he didn't spell it out for him, he must have figured it out by now, anyway.
Ah, he didn't want to waste magic on this, but shaking his head wasn't enough.
'I have the mana, but we're not done yet,' he thought. 'It takes too long to cast the time-trap, and I'd only have enough for a single shot. Plus, we'd let Yuki-san down if we left now. Plus Midori—'
Their mental connection snapped.
"I picked up a signal," Kaede said, looking uncertain for a moment. "Or rather, a dozen."
Whatever she did to sever their usual bond, it swept over him, the room, and the entire block.
Like a submarine's ping, the Demon Lord's head swiveled around, too.
"Anything dangerous?" he asked, all that enthusiasm wiped from his face without a trace.
"Wouldn't say so." The dragoness shrugged. "Only enough mana to show up on my scan. But they could always have a knife or a gun, or something."
Poor Yuki-san's already fair face turned even paler. Her mismatching eyes flashed.
"W-wait. Like the guy with the steel balls?" she asked, shuddering. "The hitmen after me?"
Right, for some reason, Lucifer targeted her, too.
Konrad squeezed her shoulders, the best he could do at the moment. Kaede was more helpful.
"My birds are looking at them now. Don't see anything obvious yet. And, well, the club's already over capacity, so if they have a half-decent bouncer, they won't come in."
Fair. The crowd was a solid protection against a direct attack
Or a liability. If those bastards started killing them without a second thought—
"Not sure what you're planning," Midori-kun chimed in. "But if you cast something big, that would only agitate them. I'm also here, and recovered a lot of magic already."
He didn't say it outright, but the message was obvious.
If it came to a fight, he was ready and willing.
Konrad was, too.
Kaede nodded, and as if not to freak Yuki-san out any more than she already was, she said nothing more about the matter. Her familiar thoughts echoed inside his head instead.
'So far, twelve thugs, no weapons. Normal human. But if they ever get in, they'll stick out.'
Konrad remembered the first attacker, who only looked like one at a fleeting first glance. Those glowing eyes still haunted him, but the dragoness shook her head at the thought.
'Nothing like that. They must be small fry, but still—they're all male.'
Oh. Well, the club was full, filled to the brim with high school girls wearing something pink, so yeah. Picking off a man in the crowd would have been the easiest thing right now.
And one entered the green room the moment he thought that.
"Seems like they're about done, so, uh, are you ready for the next song?" the manager asked, rubbing his hands. "Things are starting to heat up for real. I haven't got a spicy evening in—"
"Shoyusha-san," Yuki interrupted, grabbing his arm with trembling fingers.
Wait. She wasn't about to freak out now, right?
According to Kaede, the danger wasn't that bad. This girl was also pretty chill about their magic shenanigans until now, but—
"You've bouncers, right?" she asked. "You won't let in more people, even if those fans storm the building, right? Because it's getting very crowded, and I'm freaking out."
Huh? No. Actually, the way she said that was the opposite of panicked.
Smart girl. The manager gasped from her green-and-brown puppy eyes.
"Wha—? No, of course not, Yuki-chan," he said. "The doors would only open from the inside. I promised your Dad to keep you safe no matter what. I'm not that greedy to compromise—"
Hmm, so this was what it looked like when people had connections?
And a chaotic personality with a smart brain.
Unable to talk, Konrad caressed her back, giving her a thumbs up.
The concert was still on—and next, they would play the very thing they got their names after.
The Immigrant Song.