After what could only be described as a great battle against years of accumulated dust, the cleaning was finally over. The abandoned clubroom looked completely different from when Lorain had first thrown open the door, with the floor finally visible again, the furniture wiped clean, and even the old broadcasting equipment no longer buried beneath a layer of dust.
Once Knox was satisfied with the result, he exchanged a few words with the Shadows who had helped them before allowing them to return to their realm. One after another, their figures sank into the darkness beneath their feet, leaving the clubroom considerably emptier than before.
There was, however, one exception.
Click. Click.
The soft clinking of porcelain came from behind Knox as several teacups were gently placed on the newly cleaned table. When he turned around, he found a breathtakingly beautiful woman with long pink hair standing there with a cheerful smile, looking more like someone who had stepped out of a painting than one of his summons.
"Here you go, Master~ As usual, your favorite iced tea ♪"
"Haha, thank you, Cyrene."
Knox accepted the cup without hesitation and took a refreshing sip, while Lorain reached for another one beside him. However, rather than drinking immediately, she found herself staring at Cyrene for a few seconds before releasing a helpless sigh.
"No matter how many times I see this, I still can't stomach it. This unbelievably beautiful woman who looks like a painting brought to life is actually that pink, fluffy, cute bunny, Mem."
"Hihi, thank you for the praise, Lorain~" Cyrene's smile immediately became even brighter as she brought her hands together. "To think I'd receive such praise from a beautiful and cute girl like you makes me very happy!"
Lorain's expression twitched slightly at the enthusiastic response, but unlike their earlier interactions, there was considerably less awkwardness in her reaction this time. Watching the exchange from beside them, Knox couldn't help but smile into his glass.
Haha, to think Lorain went from being awkward around Cyrene to already being able to talk with her like this. As expected of you, Cyrene.
His gaze briefly settled on the pink-haired woman before another thought naturally entered his mind.
Is this your natural ability, or is it because you're related to Elysia?
Knox took another sip of his iced tea, only for his thoughts to wander somewhere they probably shouldn't.
Speaking of Elysia... I wonder if I could pull her too.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, an image immediately formed inside Knox's head.
Cyrene on one side. Elysia on the other.
Two beautiful pink-haired women standing beside him, both possessing bright and cheerful personalities capable of lighting up an entire world.
At first glance, it seemed like a wonderful sight.
Yet for some reason...
A small shudder suddenly ran through Knox's body.
...No! Just imagining two pink heads standing in front of me is already terrifying enough.
Then, as his thoughts shifted specifically toward Elysia, his expression became even stranger.
Especially Elysia...
If that Yuri Queen ever comes here, wouldn't all the girls in this world be in danger?!
Knox fell silent for a moment.
...Maybe pulling her isn't such a good idea after all. Well, for now.
"Knox?"
Lorain and Cyrene tilted their heads almost simultaneously after noticing his strange reaction. Knox looked between the two of them before immediately putting on an innocent smile, deciding that explaining what he had just imagined would only create problems for himself.
"Haha, it's nothing. Anyway, it looks like the instruments Sister Jane ordered haven't arrived yet."
Using that as an excuse to change the subject, Knox set his glass down and began wandering around their newly cleaned clubroom. There wasn't much to examine yet since most of the equipment for their new club was still on its way, but the things left behind by the former Broadcasting Club were more than enough to attract his attention.
Before long, he stopped in front of a large device resting on top of one of the tables.
Even without knowing exactly how it worked, anyone could tell that it was more sophisticated than an ordinary communication device. Numerous cables ran neatly from the back and connected its different components, while several mana crystals had been installed throughout the machine, glowing faintly as they supplied energy to the system.
Knox leaned forward slightly as his eyes traveled across the unfamiliar controls.
"Hmm... so this is the broadcasting equipment, huh?"
He spent a little longer examining it, his curiosity gradually growing when he remembered what Lorain had told him earlier. If the old club had truly used this equipment to broadcast news, gossip, and various other information throughout Kizen, then theoretically...
An idea suddenly occurred to him.
"Aha!"
Lorain and Cyrene looked over at the sudden exclamation, only to see Knox already reaching into his subspace and taking out a communication crystal. Neither of them knew what he was planning yet, but the suspiciously cheerful expression on his face was enough to make Lorain feel that he had probably come up with something troublesome.
Knox activated the crystal, and after waiting for several seconds, a familiar childish voice finally came through from the other side.
"Knox? That's quite rare for you to call me~" Nefthis sounded amused from the very beginning. "Tell me, you must have some request, right?"
"Haha, Nefthis, how could you make me sound so evil?" Knox replied in the most innocent tone he could manage. "Can't I simply miss you and call because I wanted to hear your voice?"
"Even dogs wouldn't believe you! Right, Jane?"
Knox hadn't expected Nefthis to immediately drag someone else into the conversation, but before he could say anything, another familiar voice came through the communication crystal. Compared to Nefthis's playful tone, this one was considerably colder and more composed.
"Sigh... alright, Knox. We're going to be busy soon, so state your request."
"Hmm? Sister Jane?" Genuine surprise briefly appeared on Knox's face before it was replaced by a smile. "What a coincidence!"
"Actually, Lorain, Cyrene, and I are inside the former Broadcasting Club room right now. We just finished cleaning everything, and while I was looking around, I found the old broadcasting equipment."
Knox glanced toward the device again before lightly tapping the table beside it.
"So I was wondering... can I test it?"
"Hmm? Cyrene...?" Nefthis tilted her head for a moment before realization suddenly dawned on her. "Ohh! You mean that pink puppy, right? The name of her human form you told me about before!"
Before Jane could say anything, Nefthis continued with a hearty laugh.
"I heard from Jane that you and Lorain were starting a new club, and apparently it's going to be related to music."
Her smile immediately widened. "Hahaha! Good, good! Young people should have fun!"
"Exactly!" Knox happily agreed, although Jane clearly wasn't going to let him escape with such a vague explanation.
"What exactly do you mean by 'test it,' Knox?"
Her question made him chuckle.
"Well, since it's broadcasting equipment, obviously I can't properly test it without broadcasting something, right?"
"..."
Another silence came from Jane's side. This one felt considerably more dangerous.
Knox wisely continued before she could interrupt him.
"Hehe, don't worry. I was only thinking of playing some music and broadcasting it live throughout Kizen. The instruments Sister Jane ordered haven't arrived yet, so I'll probably just use a piano for now."
He paused briefly before deliberately softening his voice.
"How about it? Can I? Please~"
For several moments, Jane didn't answer.
Unlike Knox, who was treating the idea casually, she immediately began considering the practical problems involved. He hadn't received formal authorization to operate a broadcasting system capable of reaching the entire academy, and even if the content itself was harmless, suddenly playing music throughout Kizen could easily disturb students who were studying, attending club activities, or simply trying to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Before Jane could finish considering whether there was a reasonable way to permit it, however, Nefthis cheerfully made the decision for her.
"Alrighty! No problem!"
Jane's thoughts came to an abrupt stop.
"It's been a long time since I heard you play music anyway!" Nefthis continued happily, sounding considerably more interested in the prospect than someone responsible for managing Kizen probably should have been. "Go ahead, Knox!"
"..."
Jane could only remain silent for a moment after her superior casually approved the request she had still been evaluating.
In the end, however, there wasn't much reason for her to object anymore. Nefthis had already given Knox permission herself, and as long as they made sure he didn't interfere with anything important, a short musical broadcast wasn't going to cause any serious problems.
Besides, there was another reason Jane couldn't bring herself to argue too strongly.
Although she would never admit it as enthusiastically as Nefthis had...
She also wanted to hear Knox perform again.
***
Once Knox received the green light from the supreme being herself, Nefthis, the rest became considerably easier.
Of course, permission didn't come entirely for free. After some shameless negotiations and a promise that he would personally prepare plenty of desserts for her later, Nefthis immediately became even more enthusiastic about the idea and told Knox to leave everything to her.
Whatever arrangements were necessary to make sure his sudden broadcast didn't cause trouble elsewhere in Kizen, she would handle them!
After talking for a little longer and confirming that everything was fine, Knox finally ended the call and put away the communication crystal. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he turned back toward the broadcasting equipment.
"Great! Alright, then... it's showtime!"
Knox raised his right hand, and with a brief fluctuation of mana, a grand piano emerged from his subspace and settled onto an open section of the clubroom floor.
Seeing that Knox was finally beginning his preparations, Lorain and Cyrene immediately made themselves comfortable. The two sat side by side near the table, where Cyrene had already prepared drinks and several snacks for them, giving them the perfect place to watch the performance.
Lorain glanced at the snacks in front of her before looking toward the grand piano only a short distance away. With good food, refreshing drinks, and a private live performance happening right in front of them, she couldn't help but feel that they had somehow gotten the best seats in all of Kizen.
Knox, meanwhile, turned his attention toward the old broadcasting equipment.
It took him some time to familiarize himself with the controls and make sure everything was connected properly. Although the system was different from the broadcasting equipment he remembered from his previous life, the basic principles weren't particularly difficult to understand, especially once he figured out how the mana crystals interacted with the rest of the device.
While he worked, Lorain and Cyrene began chatting behind him.
Knox paid little attention to their conversation at first. Most of his concentration was on preparing the broadcasting system, so their voices simply blended into the background as he adjusted one part of the device after another.
However, several familiar words occasionally reached his ears.
"Trailblazer.... Okhema... Amphoreus..."
Knox remained facing the broadcasting equipment, but his expression became slightly strange.
...I think I know exactly what they're talking about.
He was tempted to turn around and join their conversation, especially after hearing those particular names coming from Cyrene. However, with the preparations nearly complete, Knox ultimately suppressed his curiosity and finished adjusting the last few controls.
There would be plenty of time to ask her about that later. For now, he had an entire academy waiting for him.
Once everything was ready, Knox walked over to the grand piano and took his seat. He adjusted his position until he was comfortable, briefly testing a few keys before turning his attention back toward the broadcasting equipment on the other side of the room.
There was no need for him to get up again.
A faint glow appeared in Knox's eyes as he used telekinesis magic, and several controls on the broadcasting device moved by themselves. One switch flipped, followed by another, before the mana crystals embedded throughout the system gradually began to glow.
A low buzzing sound immediately spread throughout Kizen.
It emerged from the broadcasting devices installed across the academy, reaching classrooms, hallways, club buildings, offices, and many other places throughout the enormous campus. Students stopped what they were doing, staff members looked up from their work, and even several professors paused when the familiar sound suddenly reached their ears.
"Hmm? What's that sound?"
A student walking through one of the corridors slowed down and looked around, while another nearby frowned as though trying to remember where he had heard it before.
"Wait... isn't that the sound they used to play before the Broadcasting Club started a broadcast?"
"Huh? But wasn't that club disbanded?"
Similar conversations began appearing throughout Kizen as more people recognized the familiar buzzing sound. For older students in particular, it brought back memories of a club that hadn't made a broadcast in quite some time, making the sudden return of its system even more confusing.
Before anyone could figure out what was happening, however, the buzzing gradually faded. For a brief moment, silence returned.
Then a pleasant male voice flowed from every broadcasting device throughout Kizen.
"Testing, testing. One, two, three~."
Knox's voice flowed clearly from the broadcasting devices installed throughout Kizen. Despite sitting several steps away from the equipment and not speaking directly into anything resembling a microphone, the system captured his voice without the slightest difficulty, delivering it across the academy with a level of clarity that would've made even some of the equipment from his previous life feel inadequate.
After confirming that everything was working properly, Knox smiled and continued.
"Kizen, can you hear me?"
Across the academy, many students were still trying to figure out why the long-silent broadcasting system had suddenly come back to life. However, for those familiar with Knox, recognizing the owner of that voice took only a moment.
"Huh? Isn't that Knox's voice?!" Cindy exclaimed.
Beside her, Claudia stared toward the nearest broadcasting device with a look of resignation already appearing on her face.
"This... what kind of shenanigans is he going to pull this time?"
Similar reactions appeared elsewhere. Simon, Benya, and the other members of the Mutant Club were still gathered inside their clubroom when Knox's voice reached them, and almost everyone who had spent enough time around him recognized it immediately.
Back inside the former Broadcasting Club room, Knox remained comfortably seated in front of the grand piano.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Knox Aznable, a first-year student from Class A, Batch 329. Some of you are probably wondering why I'm suddenly talking to the entire academy like this."
Knox chuckled softly before continuing.
"Long story short, I've decided to create a new club called the Light Music Club. As the name suggests, we'll mainly focus on music, especially styles that lean toward the more modern and newer side."
He briefly glanced around the room that had become his clubroom less than an hour ago.
"Somehow, we also ended up inheriting the former Broadcasting Club room. And after finding equipment capable of broadcasting throughout Kizen sitting right here, how could I possibly stay quiet and ignore something this fun~?"
"Fortunately, after some negotiations, I managed to receive permission from our one and only, the mighty President of Kizen, Madam Nefthis!"
Knox straightened slightly, and without even a hint of embarrassment in his voice, he declared with absolute confidence,
"Madam Nefthis is peerless! Madam Nefthis is unrivaled! Madam Nefthis is an inimitable beauty!"
"..."
For several seconds, an entirely different kind of silence descended across Kizen.
Students who had been listening curiously froze in place, while several professors suddenly found themselves staring at the broadcasting devices with expressions that were difficult to describe. Even those who knew Knox well were left wondering how he had managed to say something like that with such confidence in front of the entire academy.
Inside the new Light Music Club room, Lorain suffered more than anyone else.
Her face stiffened the moment the first praise came out of Knox's mouth, but by the time he reached 'inimitable beauty', she had already lowered her head and covered part of her face with one hand.
Of all the people Knox could shamelessly praise like this...
Why did it have to be her mother?!
Overwhelmed by embarrassment, Lorain curled her toes so hard inside her shoes that, at this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if they dug straight through the ground beneath Kizen, continued all the way through the earth, and somehow emerged on the other side in Teyvat.
Perhaps somewhere in Mondstadt, a certain slacker, drunken green bard who loved saying "Ehe~" would suddenly sense a mysterious hole appearing somewhere in his beloved nation.
While Cyrene covered her mouth beside her, her shoulders trembling as she desperately tried not to laugh.
Meanwhile, the other person responsible for Lorain's embarrassment was having the exact opposite reaction.
"Hahahahaha!"
Inside her office, Nefthis stood proudly with both hands planted on her hips, laughing so smugly that anyone entering the room might have assumed she had just conquered another country.
"As expected of Knox! That child truly knows how to recognize greatness!"
Jane, who had been standing nearby throughout the broadcast, slowly turned her gaze toward Nefthis.
Her expression remained as cold as ever. Only the tightly clenched fist at her side betrayed what she was currently feeling.
Back in the clubroom, Knox conveniently moved on before anyone could question whether those praises had anything to do with the large quantity of desserts he had promised Nefthis earlier.
"Ahem! Anyway, since this is a club related to music, naturally, what I'm going to broadcast today is music."
His fingers lightly brushed across the piano keys without pressing them yet.
"But! The Light Music Club was born less than an hour ago, so we don't exactly have much equipment to work with. The instruments Vice President Jane prepared for us haven't arrived yet either. Fortunately, though, we somehow managed to get our hands on a piano~."
Knox adjusted himself comfortably on the bench before placing both hands above the keys. The playful tone that had filled his voice throughout the announcement softened slightly as he prepared to begin.
"But I think this should be more than enough for our first broadcast."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Anyway, everyone..."
His fingers settled gently against the keys.
"Please enjoy the music."