Time Warden's Popular Phase

Chapter 2: A Girl That Was Like a Pandora's Box

After some time, Kronii's labors finally bore fruit as her practice continued to improve.

"Hey, that's pretty good! Nice one, Kronii!"

Irys finally gave out a sincere compliment after Kronii gave it another try, following her advice.

"Seriously? You're not kidding, right?" Kronii asked in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Irys properly complimented her without teasing her.

"I'm serious! When have I ever not been serious?"

'Since the start of the practice, you smug asshat!'

Kronii kept her retort to herself, knowing that Irys' teasing would only get worse from hearing it.

"Alright, fine. I really did get this far thanks to your help, after all." Kronii sighed in resignation before thanking Irys.

"E-Ehem, no problem! Why don't we check out the recording?"

"Sure."

Kronii agreed to Irys' offer without much thought as they sat together in front of the laptop. Irys pressed play on her laptop, and Kronii's singing played alongside the music's instrumental.

"Ugh, it feels weird listening to my own singing..." Kronii cringed from hearing her own vocals.

"Hahaha, you just have to get used to it if you wanna keep doing covers in the future," Irys remarked after hearing Kronii's comment.

Kronii inaudibly grumbled for a moment, but she resumed listening to her own recording. The melody between her own singing and the instruments continued on.

'Hm, now that I keep listening, it doesn't sound that bad anymore.'

Kronii couldn't help but admit that her singing began to grow on her. She took a glance at Irys, who was listening to it with her eyes closed. Her head swayed left and right slowly with the beat of the music as her hair followed along softly. A smile was pursed lightly on her lips, showing how much she enjoyed the music.

As the recording stopped, Irys opened her eyes and asked Kronii, "So, how was it? Pretty good, right?"

"Y-Yeah, it's not bad." Kronii muttered while turning her eyes away, worried that Irys would notice that she'd been staring at her.

"Right? This is pretty good for your first try at it, but there's more room for improvement." Irys commented before turning back to her laptop. "Like, for example, if you can go a bit higher on this part, it would be perfect. And then..."

Irys continued to comment on parts that Kronii could improve on, but Kronii had started to tune out of her explanation. Instead, she began staring at Irys again, who was excitedly pointing out parts of her recordings. Seeing her glimmering eyes as she continued her explanation really showed how much passion she had in this field. Kronii couldn't help but chuckle at how delighted Irys was.

"It's kind of cute to see you this excited." Kronii murmured before her eyes shot wide open.

'Oh shoot, did I say that out loud?'

Kronii had intended to keep that thought to herself, but she accidentally let it slip out instead. She would love to blame her mind that'd been worn out from the practice, but she had bigger problems at her hands.

"Huh??"

Irys exclaimed in surprise, a hint of blush was visible on her face as she turned towards her in confusion.

"Wha- Where did that come from?!" Irys stammered out, blindsided by Kronii's confession that came out of nowhere.

Kronii attempted her best to defuse the situation, "It's not like that! It's just that I like how you're so excited to share your passion, that's all!"