"Perfect, yet built upon lies—that is what makes you..."
"A genius idol!"
As the music flowed on, the girl onstage gradually began her performance.
Her captivating singing and practiced dance moves seemed to proclaim to everyone that she truly was a genius idol.
Even Petra, who had seen countless idols before, stopped in her tracks at that moment and quietly watched the distant girl perform.
"Those words definitely aren't a lie."
"I love you all!"
As the final lyrics fell, the girl's performance finally came to an end.
Only then was Petra, who had been absorbed in the song, able to properly look around.
"There's... no one here?"
Petra frowned, but she quickly realized something.
Wasn't it class time right now?
Why wasn't the girl in front of her attending lessons in the school building, and instead singing alone in this open-air plaza?
Thinking back to the girl's performance just now, Petra's eyes practically lit up.
With more than ten years of experience in the industry, Petra could tell very clearly that the girl before her possessed tremendous potential.
For Queenvail Girls' Academy, becoming an idol required several prerequisites.
The first was appearance. After all, humans were visual creatures, and first impressions truly mattered.
Queenvail even had appearance requirements in its admissions standards. A student had to possess a completely natural body, without any artificial alterations, before she could truly be called beautiful!
Queenvail had always adhered to this principle, and the outside world generally agreed with it.
The second requirement was talent. As an idol, one had to have something to rely on, right?
Singing, dancing, playing instruments—there had to be something. Otherwise, why would someone apply to an idol academy in the first place?
Everyone in the world knew that Queenvail followed the idol route.
So becoming a genuine idol was anything but easy. Queenvail had produced a large number of idols over the years, but there were only a handful at the very top.
Yet Petra saw something different in this girl.
She seemed exceptionally passionate about being an idol.
Of course, some people might not understand that description. This was an idol academy, after all. Who here wasn't passionate about becoming an idol? Otherwise, they wouldn't have come.
But this girl was completely different.
Her eyes seemed to be burning. Throughout the entire four-minute performance, the passion in them had never once gone out. That was extremely rare.
Even after finishing the song, the girl remained standing where she was, repeatedly correcting the dance movements she had just performed.
So Petra decided to approach her and get to know this girl properly.
But what happened next was something Petra hadn't expected.
Even after she had already walked beneath the open-air stage, the girl above continued doing her own thing, as though she hadn't noticed Petra at all...
No!
It wasn't that she hadn't seen her!
It was precisely because Petra had drawn this close that she could observe the girl more clearly.
She realized that the girl seemed to have completely immersed herself in her own world, possessing no awareness whatsoever of anything outside it...
Even the artists under Petra's own management would struggle to achieve that level of concentration!
This was someone who had genuinely devoted everything she had to being an idol!
"What a promising talent!"
Even the stern director couldn't help praising her at that moment, because she had now truly recognized the girl's potential.
She absolutely had the ability to reach Sylvia's current level!
With just a little guidance, she would inevitably become another world-class idol!
Petra respected people like that, so she chose not to interrupt her. Instead, she quietly sat down in the audience area beneath the stage and watched... though in reality, the "seats" were only a few stone blocks.
But that didn't affect anything.
As the girl continued nodding to herself, her attention finally shifted away from reviewing her performance and toward other things.
It was only then that she noticed someone beneath the stage.
"Eh? What a surprise!"
The girl covered her mouth in astonishment and looked at Petra below with obvious delight.
She seemed not to have expected that someone would actually come listen to her sing during class time.
"There's nothing surprising about it."
Petra smiled, looking at the girl as though she were an unpolished gemstone.
"Your performance was excellent. I've watched performances for many years, and I can say with certainty that the number of people who surpass you can be counted on one hand."
Petra didn't hold back her praise, because the girl genuinely deserved it!
"But there were still quite a few small problems with your performance. Why aren't you in class?"
Queenvail Girls' Academy was a school dedicated to cultivating stars. Its teaching staff certainly wasn't lacking!
Whether in the humanities, sciences, or arts, the teachers it hired were all elites in their respective industries!
The entire purpose was to ensure that the students here received the best possible education, along with training in even more talents.
From a few small details, Petra could tell that this girl had clearly never undergone systematic training. There had been many minor flaws in her performance just now.
A student who had properly attended lessons would never make such basic mistakes.
So there were only two possibilities. Either she was a poor student who didn't pay attention in class, or she was a newly transferred student whom Petra hadn't investigated yet.
The moment the subject of class came up, the girl immediately puffed out her cheeks. If one looked carefully, one could even see her face turning red.
After fidgeting awkwardly for quite some time, the girl finally answered Petra's question.
"...I got lost."
"I got lost."
Seeing her reaction, Petra had already guessed most of the situation. After all, only a new student would be unfamiliar enough with the academy to get lost.
"If that's the case, then come with me. I'll take you to the school building."
Petra stood up from her seat and spoke to the girl.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
The girl lit up with delight, jumped directly down from the stage, and wrapped both hands around Petra's arm from the side.
"..."
It had been a long time since Petra had experienced someone linking arms with her like this. She hadn't expected it to happen with such a young girl.
"Oh, right!"
As though suddenly remembering something, Petra spoke to the girl.
"I haven't asked your name yet. Which class are you in?"
That purple-black hair, combined with those extremely rare star-shaped eyes—once someone saw her, they would never forget her!
Yet Petra had absolutely no information about her, which meant she could only be a transfer student.
Someone capable of transferring in at this point naturally possessed extraordinary potential.
If possible, Petra intended to cultivate her as Sylvia's successor.
The girl proudly puffed out her chest, a radiant smile blooming across her face.
"Ai Hoshino!"
"My name is Ai Hoshino!"