Julian hummed the chorus softly, letting the melody fill the quiet room.
"Let it go, let it go!"
"Turn around and slam the door!"
"I don't care what they're going to say!"
"Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway..."
Julian's English was far from fluent, but his memory of the classic localized hook was surprisingly sharp, even if his recall stopped right at the end of the chorus. Beyond those lines, he could only fill in the rest of the melody with a series of light "la-la-la"s.
To March 7th, however, the brief musical sketch sounded incredible. The idea that he could casually hum a tailored theme song on the spot felt almost unreal. Her eyes sparkled as she listened, especially during the wordless bridge; even without lyrics, the soaring melody carried a sudden, intoxicating sense of absolute freedom, as if a heavy pair of shackles had just been shattered into pieces. It fit her ice princess concept to perfection.
When Julian ran out of tune and brought his humming to a stop, March immediately broke into a round of enthusiastic applause.
"Hey, hey, you don't need to clap that hard," Julian chuckled, his skin long since thick enough to claim the melody as a sudden burst of personal inspiration. "It's just a rough piece of work from a passing idea."
"A rough piece? That was incredible!" March insisted, shaking her head.
Julian smiled, taking the praise in stride before continuing. "If you want to weave this story and music into your routine, you're welcome to use them. But you'll have to build out the rest of the arrangement and choreography yourself."
"Wait, really?!" March gasped, her eyes widening. She had assumed he was merely offering a conceptual example, never expecting him to hand over the rights to the creative concept so freely.
Combining that soaring melody with the visual image of an ice palace rising from the snow field... she couldn't even imagine how breathtaking the final performance would look on a real stage.
"Of course," Julian nodded gently. "Though if you decide to use this specific concept, I strongly suggest saving it for the grand Contest Celebration. I can share a little insider news with you ahead of time: our studio is about to announce a major structural reform for the Celebration's performance bracket. We're scaling up the venue size significantly."
"A massive narrative routine like this would feel cramped on a standard qualifier stage," he explained. "Saving it for the Celebration will give your team the physical space you need to bring the full vision to life."
"Assuming, of course, that you secure your official tournament pass first."
Julian added with a playful grin, "Your current routine is already quite solid. You can choose to stick with your original choreography, or you can use my framework to tell a complete story through your performance. Either way, it will keep your routine from feeling shallow."
With his feedback delivered, Julian prepared to log out.
"Thank you so much for your help, Julian!" March bowed deeply to show her gratitude.
"In the end, it all comes down to your execution on stage," Julian said, offering a warm, encouraging smile. "Good luck out there. I look forward to seeing you take this story all the way to the Grand Festival."
"I won't let you down!"
Though the musical concept and narrative beats were still in their early stages, Julian knew that with the Express crew's resources and connections, flushing out the rest of the song and choreography would be smooth sailing. Giving March 7th that push left him genuinely curious to see just how far she could take the concept.
Once Julian departed, March felt a surge of creative ideas rushing through her head. Recognizing that some of her thoughts might be impractical, she immediately sought out Himeko in the lounge car to help refine her notes.
Using the train's built-in holographic projector, she didn't even need to log back into the game client to demonstrate her ideas. As Himeko listened to the story structure and musical outline Julian had provided, she couldn't help but feel a wave of deep admiration for the developer. As expected of the Father of Pokémon, she thought with a warm smile. The mind behind the entire Contest framework truly operates on a different level.
Not long after March finalized her plans, Bronya paid a visit to Julian's reception room down in Belobog.
"You wish to introduce the Pokémon franchise to Jarilo-VI's public networks?" Julian asked, pleasantly surprised by her request, though a bit curious about her sudden motivation.
"Yes," Bronya explained carefully, her posture formal and earnest. "Belobog has been isolated from the broader galactic community for a thousand years. Rejoining the interstellar network abruptly could expose our people to unnecessary risks before we are ready. Utilizing your platform as an indirect bridge seems like a safe, manageable way for our citizens to learn about the stars."
Julian's lips twitched slightly at her extreme caution, though he quickly understood her reasoning. When a civilization has spent centuries fighting for survival in total isolation, stepping onto the galactic stage requires immense prudence. Being the weaker party meant taking every possible precaution to protect her people.
Connecting to an interstellar game, however, required network infrastructure. While the sheer volume of cosmic traffic meant a few thousand new accounts from a freshly connected world would easily blend into the noise, the economic logistics presented a real hurdle.
"Technically, it's very doable," Julian noted, keeping his tone practical. "However, maintaining access to the interstellar network incurs substantial data fees. Currently, Belobog doesn't hold any standard galactic currency to settle those accounts."
"To earn foreign capital, your government would eventually need to establish interstellar trade, which brings you right back to connecting with external factions."
Julian paused, offering a constructive alternative. "My suggestion? Consider establishing official contact with the Xianzhou Alliance first. If you have security concerns, you can send a diplomatic representative aboard my ship on our next trip. Your team can observe their societal structure firsthand before making any formal commitments."
"Once trade routes open up with the Xianzhou, you can also import the heavy machinery and raw resources needed to accelerate your planet's reconstruction."
Hearing his proposal, Bronya realized her initial plan had overlooked the financial framework of interstellar networking. Still, Julian's solution offered a clear, safe path forward. Given that this was the man who had saved her world—and whom the crew of the Astral Express trusted implicitly—she was more than willing to take the step.
"Then I must trouble you to guide our delegation when the time comes, Mr. Julian."
"It's no trouble at all. I'll let you know before my ship departs so your council can select your envoys."
Bronya nodded gratefully, adding, "In the meantime, I would still like to begin promoting the offline title locally. Belobog's current entertainment options are extremely limited, and our people could use the comfort."
Julian had zero reason to decline. Even if Jarilo-VI's population was small compared to a massive star-system, he welcomed every new player into the community with open arms.
"That's easy enough. I can provide your administration with the server core for our first-generation game. You can host it across your local planetary grid so your people can get used to the mechanics. Once your external network link is live, your citizens can download the full client directly from our official portal."
Bronya expressed her deepest thanks. From her perspective, Julian was effectively subsidizing their world out of sheer goodwill. She initially hesitated to accept such a generous gift without compensation, offering to trade local mineral rights, but Julian politely waved off her offers, convincing her to accept the setup.
Meanwhile, an official announcement flashed across Arceus Studio's primary portal, confirming a major update for the upcoming Contest Grand Festival:
[Official Update: Contest Grand Festival Stage Enhancements]
The performance phase for the upcoming Grand Festival will undergo a comprehensive structural overhaul!
Qualified finalists will gain access to custom, fully modular stage environments. Finalists may submit specific design requirements directly to our development team, allowing us to reconstruct tailored arenas complete with custom environmental effects, dynamic camera tracking, and specialized stage props.
This system would allow top-tier performers to push their creative vision to breathtaking heights, though it would also highlight any lack of preparation from weaker contestants. To maintain fair play across standard brackets, these custom options would remain exclusive to the Grand Festival, while weekly qualifiers would continue using the standard arena layout.
The community's response to the announcement was overwhelmingly positive. While the venue size was a relatively minor detail that most developers might have ignored, fans deeply appreciated Arceus Studio's rapid responsiveness and dedication to player experience—a sharp contrast to corporate giants that only communicated when their profit margins were on the line.
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