Robin's smile vanished.
To be fair, she had prepared herself for this.
After all, Miss Kallen had repeatedly insisted that she could not sing.
And from the look of it, that clearly was not false modesty.
But what Robin absolutely had not expected—
was that Kallen could sing this badly.
Her voice itself was lovely, perhaps even no worse than Robin's own. Yet the moment she started singing, it turned into something like the whisper of an ancient god.
It was beyond merely "bad."
It was a catastrophe that transcended every ordinary standard of judgment—pitch, rhythm, tone, all of it.
Robin almost began to suspect that Kallen might actually be a follower of Nihility.
Then the corners of Robin's mouth twitched.
"Pfft."
She laughed.
Even though she knew it was terribly rude.
But she simply could not hold it in. The contrast between Kallen's serious expression and that horrifying singing was too much.
Kallen, however, did not see it that way.
"Are you laughing at me?!"
She stared expressionlessly at the superstar in front of her, who was shaking with laughter, and her gaze gradually turned dangerous.
Ever since reaching full strength, no one had dared laugh at her.
Did Robin really think being a woman meant Kallen would not smash her head in?
"No, I'm not—" Robin tried to cover her mouth and deny it, but laughter still slipped through her fingers.
"I just… pfft…"
In the end, Robin had to take several deep breaths before she finally managed to pull her expression back under control.
But the crescent-shaped curve of her brows and the tears of laughter at the corners of her eyes betrayed her completely.
"Miss Kallen, you were right. You really… aren't very good at singing."
"But that's not a bad thing," Robin hurriedly added, worried she might have hurt this junior's pride.
"Everyone has different talents, and besides…"
She paused, her gaze falling on Kallen's face, which was now openly radiating annoyance.
Robin suddenly found her rather adorable.
Yes—adorable.
Miss Kallen had a face that could make countless people fall for her at first sight, and a presence as sharp as a drawn sword.
Yet when it came to singing, she was unexpectedly clumsy.
Like a cat trying very hard to roar like a tiger, only to produce a soft little meow instead.
Thinking that, Robin felt the corners of her lips lift again.
"All right, I admit it—I was laughing. But not because I was mocking you. I just thought you were… cute."
Kallen narrowed her eyes. "Cute?"
"Yes." Robin nodded, looking utterly sincere.
"With a face this beautiful, and yet so innocent… honestly, Miss Kallen, you're a little unfair."
She thought for a moment, then chose a gentler phrasing. "I didn't expect there to be a girl like you."
Kallen stared at her for three full seconds.
"Fine. I won't hold it against you."
She sat back down on the sofa and gulped half her cup of Sweetdream Flower Tea, trying to wash away the embarrassment of that vocal disaster.
Watching her like that, Robin suddenly found this so-called "coerced singer" far more interesting than she had imagined.
"Miss Kallen," she asked softly, "have you really never learned how to sing?"
"Never," Kallen answered without hesitation.
"Then… do you at least listen to music?"
"I do." Kallen thought for a moment. "I listen, but I don't sing."
Robin nodded slowly, as if pondering some very difficult problem.
A moment later, she put down her teacup and stood.
"Then let's begin with the absolute basics."
"What are the basics?"
"Breathing." Robin moved to the open space in the middle of the room and turned to face her.
"Singing doesn't come from the throat. It comes from breath. The reason your… well…"
She paused, tactfully skipping any further description of the performance.
"The reason it came out like that is mainly because your breathing was unstable, and your vocal placement was wrong."
Kallen rose suspiciously and walked over to stand in front of her.
"Watch what I do." Robin placed both hands over her abdomen and took a deep breath.
Her shoulders did not move at all, but her stomach clearly expanded.
"When you sing, you need diaphragmatic breathing, not chest breathing."
"When you inhale, imagine the breath sinking into your belly, filling it like a balloon. When you exhale, let it out slowly and evenly."
She demonstrated several times, then looked at Kallen. "Now you try."
Kallen copied her, putting a hand to her abdomen and drawing in a breath.
"No." Robin shook her head, stepped over, and gently pressed a hand to Kallen's lower belly.
"You're breathing too shallowly. The air's getting stuck in your chest. Relax. Imagine you've caught the scent of a flower—you want to breathe it in deeply and slowly."
Kallen closed her eyes and tried hard to picture what Robin was describing.
Then everything went black for a moment.
Just like that, two hours passed.
And Robin and Kallen's private lesson finally came to a temporary end.
Robin leaned against the arm of the sofa, sipping from a cup of Sweetdream Flower Tea that had long gone cold, her eyes slightly unfocused.
Clearly, something deeply terrible had just occurred.
Since becoming famous, Robin had taught many people to sing.
Newcomers just entering the profession, younger members of the Family who sought her out for guidance, even a few Hound Family members who could barely distinguish a scale.
But she had never met a student quite like Kallen.
It was not that Kallen was stupid. On the contrary, she learned very quickly.
Whatever singing technique Robin explained, Kallen grasped it almost instantly.
That kind of talent was enough to make even Robin feel inferior.
And that was exactly the problem.
"Just one more glance—just one more look and I'll explode. Come a little closer and I'll melt away—"
Kallen began singing again.
This time, the pitch was right. The rhythm was right. The breath was steady too.
And yet Robin's expression still twisted ever so slightly.
Because what Kallen produced was still terrible.
Robin lowered her teacup and thought seriously about it for a long time.
But no matter how she analyzed it, she simply could not figure out the cause.
Could this be genetic?
After all, Robin had heard that some strange bloodlines made certain abilities simply impossible.
Kallen, meanwhile, had finally had enough.
"I'm not singing anymore. You keep laughing at me!"
She threw the microphone onto the sofa and flopped down beside it.
Robin hurriedly covered her mouth. "I really wasn't laughing. I just thought Miss Kallen was trying very hard…"
"Heh."
Kallen had no intention of responding to that woman anymore.
With no other option, Robin finally invoked her brother.
"Miss Kallen, have you forgotten my brother's threat?"
"If you don't work on your fundamentals, what are you going to do when it's time to perform?"
Kallen: "???"
What was this supposed to mean? Robin had started threatening her too?
But Robin had no choice.
In her eyes, Kallen's singing was disastrous, yes—but honestly, Kallen was also exceptionally gifted.
Beautiful, with a naturally pleasant voice, quick to learn, and somehow capable of turning her singing into a form of Harmony power.
If trained properly over the next half month, she really might be able to replace Robin at the Charmony Festival.
Yes—Robin truly believed that.
Because Kallen had hidden away that Harmony necklace, Robin still assumed she possessed the same kind of talent Robin herself did.
But Kallen was not having it.
She had not come to Penacony to sing.
Her purpose here was simple: the stage was huge, and once the plot truly kicked off, she would be able to deceive a great many people all at once.
And besides, she was waiting for Jade.
More specifically, for Jade's cornerstone.
Given the nature of the Kallen persona, and the role she intended for it, sooner or later she would have to publicly betray Preservation before the whole galaxy.
But what if the old construction worker—Qlipoth—got angry and decided to hammer her for it?
Then Kallen thought of her passive skill.
Adapt to All Things
Unless struck by a one-hit kill attack, she can gradually adapt to anything and eventually become completely immune to it.
If she could take one of the giant hammers summoned by Jade's Preservation power, then perhaps she could build up some resistance to Preservation itself.
Immune to Qlipoth's attacks? That was probably a fantasy.
But a little resistance would still be nice.
Just then, a communicator rang.
It seemed someone was contacting Robin.
Robin glanced at the screen, and a faint crease appeared between her brows.
"Sorry, Miss Kallen, I need to take this."
Kallen nodded.
Robin rose and walked to the window, keeping her voice low—but Kallen's hearing was far too sharp.
"...Ah, is it time to teach the children today?"
"Yes, Miss Robin," came a gentle female voice from the other end.
"The children's Nihility symptoms seem to have worsened…"
Robin's expression fell. "All right… I understand…"
Hearing that, Kallen thought she understood what was going on.
Before coming to Penacony, she had already learned a little about Robin's charitable work.
Apparently there was a group of children suffering from Nihility contamination.
And Robin had previously been using her Harmony-infused voice to help treat them.
But now, having lost her Harmony voice, Robin clearly found the matter difficult.
At that thought, Kallen suddenly had an idea.
The moment Robin ended the call, Kallen stepped forward.
Then she put on an expression of deep melancholy.
"Senior… actually, I've been depressed too!"
As she said this, a strand of Nihility quietly began to spread into the air.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter222)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 190
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 215
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 200
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 61
Checking In in Demon Slayer 65
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 26
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