On the day of the accident Rose gained hair that people would consider beautiful, but in return, she lost her voice.

To Rose, her voice was as precious as her life. Her parents' favorite song. It was the means by which she could show affection toward the blood relatives who had raised her with love.

That's how much singing meant to Rose.

Whenever difficult times came, it was the power of song that allowed her to endure. Even if she lost everything else, as long as she could sing, she would be fine. If a person has something to lean on and aim for, they will never collapse no matter what hardships they face.

-Ah, uh.

That's why being unable to produce her voice was no different from receiving a death sentence. The dimension of despair was different. When her parents were hurt, when she did hard labor to earn money for their hospital bills, when she received all kinds of unfair treatment while working. It was never to this extent.

"I seriously thought about dying."

That day, Rose cried endlessly. Because she had lost her voice, her cries were soundless. No one could hear her. Not friends, not family, not even herself.

If she couldn't sing, she couldn't be comforted. If she couldn't sing, she couldn't comfort others.

Then what meaning could there possibly be in this life?

Rose was forcibly discharged from the hospital because there was no money to pay the hospital bills. Rose limped as she walked the night streets. She looked up at the sky with empty eyes.

Tirna's sky is dark. No stars are visible, only smog filled with pollution.

Rose used to imagine that people's attention would become light that illuminated her. A future where she would be brilliantly celebrated like the countless starlight adorning the night sky.

But that future had disappeared. What remained was just a body that had nothing at all.

Rose clenched her fist.

Her voice wouldn't come out. She could no longer sing. Even so, she wanted to sing.

Whenever despair tormented her, she sang. If reality prevented her from singing, she sang even louder.

Even if her voice had been taken away. Even knowing it was impossible. She couldn't give up this easily. She never wanted to.

-Ah, ahh.

What came out of her open mouth was only breath-like sounds close to death throes. Cracked, broken, powerless. Her natural beautiful voice still wouldn't come out. Even so, Rose squeezed out her voice. Blood vessels stood out on her neck and her clenched fingernails dug into her palms. She was prepared to cough up blood like this.

Suddenly Rose realized that some light was illuminating her. She carefully opened her tightly closed eyes.

-Ah.

At that moment, she could see the world of stars spread beyond the wide-open night sky. A festival of lights densely embroidered like a masterpiece. The vast Milky Way flowing as one giant stream. The harmony of various colors.

All that light was illuminating her as if comforting Rose.

-Pretty.

Rose, who was captivated by that sight, belatedly remembered that she had made a sound.

-My voice, it came out?

Rose looked around. In front of her eyes, a cluster of pink light was floating. A fluorescent light approached from the side, and another blue light appeared.

The lights circled around Rose as if comforting her.

It's okay. Cheer up. We're here.

Rose tried to touch the light, then looked at her palm. The wound where her fingernails had dug in and drawn blood had disappeared. The same was true for the knee wound from stumbling and falling.

Rose's face showed she had realized something, and she ran frantically through the night streets. Arriving home like that, Rose went to the bedroom where her parents were lying.

-Please.

Rose pleaded desperately. But the light didn't move at her request. Rose realized after brief contemplation how to make the light move.

What she could do. What she was good at. There had always been only one thing.

Rose sang in a quiet voice. The still light shimmered beautifully as if blessing her song.

*

"That's how it happened. This power is close to something that awakened suddenly at some point."

"You must have suffered a lot."

Losing one's voice when you love singing was a terrible thing that could be understood even without experiencing it directly. Even so, Rose overcame it.

Was it because of the innate power she possessed as a priestess?

No. This wasn't something that could be done just by being born with power.

It was because she didn't give up. Even in despair and frustration, she didn't let go of hope, of will. Her intense and firm belief in something made her potential bloom.

If she had lacked even a little faith or if her conviction had wavered even slightly it would never have happened. It was truly a miracle.

It was something that was possible only because it was Rose.

Lorraine and Diolan, who heard Rose's story, also became solemn. They hadn't known that such sad events lay behind the top star everyone admired.

"I suddenly had such a thought. How did I come to obtain this power? There must surely be a reason. Perhaps, there's something I need to do."

That's why Rose sang. Louder, reaching farther. So that more people could hear.

She put power into her songs to heal the hearts of wounded people and plant hope in a world that was only chaotic.

Of course, it wasn't easy. Even if she gave hope, there were many people who couldn't leave it alone. There are reactions in the world. No matter how good the intention, there can be no absence of backlash. Still, Rose didn't stop. Even in moments when her life was threatened, she sang.

"After experiencing the incident at today's concert, I understand. My power was perhaps needed for this very moment."

Rose gazed at Osian.

"I'll join you too."

The recruitment of the most important [Priestess] ended successfully like this. Of course, they had only just overcome one important barrier.

"Since you've just made a comeback, you must be very busy with concert-related matters."

"Still, I can make time."

"It might be incomparably harder than anything you've experienced so far. It involves direct fighting."

"But if I don't do it, who else could?"

Indeed, Rose was stubborn. Having such a firm personality was probably what allowed her to climb this far.

"I'm not one to forcibly stop someone who says they'll fight. But I'm saying to prepare sufficiently before fighting."

"Sufficient preparation, you mean."

"For instance, regarding how you can use your power. It's not just about healing people by singing songs, right?"

At those words, Rose withheld her answer and fell into thought. She would know it herself. Healing is only part of the power she possesses. Actually, her songs went beyond healing to instill strength in people.

'It's a kind of blessing and buff. Even that isn't everything.'

In the game, priest classes also had attack skills. Cases where they dropped pillars of light from the sky or exploded divine power. Only the power used was different; the method itself was close to that of a mage.

Rose wasn't utilizing even half of the power she possessed.

"Hmm. No matter how much I think about it, I'm not sure."

"That would be the case."

How could someone who had only been singing suddenly know how to fight when told to do so? But her potential was overflowing. If a frail young deer says it will fight, you'd sneer, but if an elephant that doesn't know it's big says it will fight, it becomes reassuring.

And Rose wasn't stupid either. She had no intention of rushing into a completely unknown field barehanded.

"Then please teach me."

Rose said boldly. To gain something in a field you know nothing about, it's effective to listen to advice from experts in that field. Rose had no reservations about such things. Pride as a top star or whatever didn't help with what was to come.

"Teach you, you say. Certainly, there's nothing better for achieving the best results in a short time."

At those words, Rose smiled brightly. Just as Osian needed Rose, Rose also had considerable fondness for Osian.

She had been sorry to part ways like this, but being able to stay longer under the pretext of receiving teaching was a joyful thing for her.

"When would be a good time?"

"Since the first concert is over, the next one is in a week. There's plenty of time until then. I can't neglect concert preparation, but who do you think I am? I can do well."

Osian nodded satisfactorily.

"Then let's start as soon as possible. Is tomorrow right away possible?"

"Absolutely!"

Rose clenched her fist and shouted.

And so, the very next day, Rose, who had successfully finished her concert the previous day, immediately put on her disguise artifact and headed to Violet Fox.

"You're here."

Osian welcomed Rose as if he had been waiting. Lorraine and Diolan were with him. While the two were happy to see Rose, they had strangely worried expressions.

"Where are we going?"

"There's a separate training ground. We'll go there."

Rose followed behind Osian with curiosity, walking along. This man leading the way never turned to look back at her.

'Strange.'

This man showed no sign of being attracted even when the superstar of the century approached and acted friendly. It was the same now. No matter how disguised she was, if he knew who the other person was, wouldn't he turn to look?

'Other people tried to exchange even one more word with me.'

Lorraine and Diolan walking beside her were clearly eager to strike up a conversation. Osian's attitude of showing no interest went beyond strange and now felt absurd.

Though she wasn't usually the type to show off, Rose felt a strange sense of defiance.

"Did you see this?"

Rose showed Osian a newspaper she had prepared in advance. Osian turned his head to look at the article Rose had spread out.

The article covered the concert that had taken place in District 31 the previous day. Rose Melody's glamorous comeback and a successful mega-concert that showcased performances worthy of it. The photos were well-taken, the reactions were good. And the majority response was anticipating the second one next week.

Considering that until then, media outlets had only reported on protests with harsh stories about who was dying or killing whom, this was truly remarkable.

"Among them, there's a part people are really curious about."

Rose showed him a photo printed in the newspaper. There was Rose singing while being escorted by White Knight.

A star was indeed a star. Even though it wasn't a high-definition photo of the 21st century, her beauty could be felt completely. Of course, Rose wasn't the only one who caught the eye. Osian was also captured there.

"Everyone's curious. Who on earth is this? In the meantime, sharp-eyed people seem to know it's you."

It couldn't be helped. The Starlight Armor was now one of Osian's trademarks. Though it wasn't well-known to the general public, once rumors start spreading, it happens in an instant.

"You'll become even more famous."

"I see."

Osian's actual reaction was calm. Rather, Rose, who had brought up the topic, was the one who felt bewildered.

"Do-don't you have any thoughts about it?"

"Rather than that, let's focus on the upcoming training."

"......"

Rose was left speechless. That was the right thing to say, but was that really all he had to say?

The place Osian brought Rose to was exactly the training ground where knights were being nurtured. There were still people who had come to become knights, but it wasn't as bustling as last time.

Osian entered with Rose.

"You've arrived!"

The Starlight Knights who recognized Osian greeted him loudly. Naturally, Asmer was at the front.

Rose looked around inside. It was full of all kinds of equipment for physical training.

"So this is what you meant by training?"

"You're less surprised than I thought."

"Did you forget? I'm a top star. To sing on stage for long periods, I naturally have sturdy stamina."

Physical strength is absolutely essential to handle performances on stage for long periods. That's why Rose had been doing steady training even in her daily life.

"Is that so?"

Osian's voice became noticeably brighter, as if he was pleased by those words.

"Then we can skip the basic stage."

"Excuse me?"

Rose was about to ask what that meant. But Osian spoke first.

"Everyone, say hello. This is Rose Melody. Some of you may know her, some may not, but she'll be training here with us for a while."

"Nice to meet you!"

The Starlight Knights greeted her vigorously. Among them were also second-generation members who had recently joined.

"Oh, oh. Nice to meet you too."

"That's enough for greetings. Since you've come all this way, we can't waste time. Let's start right away."

"Yes!"

The knights moved busily, and Rose moved along while flustered. Lorraine and Diolan watched such Rose with pitying looks.

"Huh?"

Rose, who had somehow gotten dressed in comfortable clothes, unconsciously placed a barbell on her shoulders while floating a question mark above her head.

"Huh huh?"

What? Why am I here, and why am I doing this? Before such questions could come out of her mouth.

"Begin! One!"

At Asmer's shout, she unconsciously lowered her body.