Ignis's Secret Studio and the Special Guest

What's this I've been listening to lately? Crying is crying, but I still gotta do what needs doing...

I glanced back at Ivy gripping the steering wheel. No matter how I looked at her, I couldn't believe it.

That's Ignis?

Compared to other magical girls, Ignis had way more exposure to the public.

She debuted in the early 4th generation, so the internet was flooded with memes and clips of her. I'd always prided myself on knowing more about her than I did about Sword.

But she doesn't match up at all.

The Ignis in my memories felt like a completely different species from the Ivy in front of me.

Ignis's concept was cyber tech. Black ponytail hair, cyberpunk outfit.

She wielded a flame-wrapped bat that smashed monster skulls with killer impact, and her trash talk was legendary. I remembered her having a passive "random muttering" thing.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Sure enough, she was one of the noisiest in the group chat. Where did all that nonstop lolololol energy go? How was this elegant lady sitting here instead?

"So, where are we headed?"

"To my studio, obviously. We'll record Neff's voice there... er, I mean, sample it."

"Pardon?"

Did she just say sample? Nah, probably not. How long had we been driving?

"We're here."

The car pulled up in a quiet suburban villa district, right in front of an old-fashioned mansion with tall walls overgrown with ivy.

"Out you go, ladies."

"Um... are you really Senior Ignis? Like, maybe your little sister or...?"

"Oh my."

She covered her mouth with her hand and smiled softly, like she'd heard that question a million times before.

"This is me in reality. The magical girl form is like an alt account."

Swinging a bat for stress relief and dropping dad jokes? That sounded even scarier. Though, yeah, not every toxic gamer is a social misfit.

After mulling it over, the "alt account" idea made sense. Heck, I was kinda the same—Seol Ha-rin and Neff were "different people," right?

Anyway, unlike the other veterans I'd met, she seemed to take the whole magical girl thing pretty lightly. And Ignis pops red pills without hesitation too.

Sword, and now Ignis. At this point, maybe that's normal. Why bother hiding identities from fellow magical girls protecting civilians? It's just awkward.

Lost in thought, staring blankly at Ivy, Frost whispered,

"Back in the day, Unnie came to me first and sent a file asking me to listen to a theme song she'd made."

According to Frost, Ivy really was a rich heiress, just like she seemed.

Not just any rich—her dad was a big-shot businessman with international clout. The real deal.

Her family was strict, super controlling, so she'd started composing as a kid to blow off steam from all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that repression.

"So Ignis's concept comes from that too...?"

"Yeah. Probably. Imagine how much she had to hold back all those years."

She'd focused especially on magical girl theme songs, dreaming of her music playing as BGM when they showed up.

She kept shoving demos at magical girls until Frost finally took one, and that's how she dove headfirst into official theme song composing.

"Truth is, I knew Unnie was a magical girl even before she debuted."

"I see."

"As Frost, it was better to have a magical girl who actually got us making the songs anyway."

Then she debuted as a magical girl herself by chance and kept at it. If Seol Ha-yoon fan-girled over designing costumes, music was Ivy's equivalent.

Different field, but damn, we're alike.

"What're you all doing? Come on in, no need to be shy."

At Ivy's words, Frost and I stepped into the mansion.

The interior screamed nobility—chandeliers, marble floors, walls lined with masterpieces. No doubt about it.

But the studio she led us to was the total opposite.

Instead of paintings, walls crammed with audio gear. Dead center: a mixing console straight out of a movie.

And the room was huge.

Hmm. Meanwhile, Seol Ha-yoon scrunched fabric with scissors in a cramped 5-pyeong room. Give me back my kinship.

Even I, who knew zilch about music, felt my heart race in that space. I go nuts for setups like this.

"Make yourselves comfy. I'll brew some tea."

While Ivy vanished into the kitchen, I plopped onto what looked like top-tier luxury sofa.

"Haaah..."

A moan slipped out. This sofa was cushier than my bed—I might melt into it like a slime.

"Incredible, right? Frost was shocked the first time too."

Frost sat beside me like it was no big deal.

"Heeeh..."

She let out a soft sigh too, her tiny frame getting sucked right in.

Two magical girls side by side, absorbed into the plush sofa. Kinda surreal picture.

Spacing out at the massive speakers, a random question popped up.

"How much would all that gear cost combined?"

"Hm... who knows? That main speaker alone's probably around 100 million won."

"100 million..."

Looking again, it wasn't a speaker—it was a gold brick.

Moments later, Ivy returned with a tray of black tea and macarons.

She set down the cups, slid into the main console chair, and bam—her vibe flipped 180 to pure producer mode.

"Shall we get to business?"

She rolled the mouse like a pro, pulling up a monitor screen.

"Truth is, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already finished a guide demo for Neff's theme song."

"Already? You said today was your first time seeing me."

"Hehe. I said seeing you in person was first. We've crossed paths indirectly plenty—internet, news, communities."

Her eyes sharpened.

"The moment Neff joined the chat, my composer instincts screamed: I have to make this kid's theme song!"

Ivy clenched her fist, ranting passionately.

"Ahh, I get that feeling."

Frost chimed in from the side.

Huh? I don't get it at all.

"Well, give it a listen."

Ivy hit the spacebar with confident flair.

[Neph_Theme_Demo_ver.final.wav]

The woofers vibrated as music poured out.

♪ Prororong~ Pang! Parapara pangpang! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠♪ ♪♪

I glanced over—Frost and Ivy were already nodding along to the beat.

After about three minutes of listening...

"So? It's my masterpiece."

"Whoa! It's amazing! Perfect match for Neff's image!"

They stared at me with puppy-dog eyes begging for praise.

Um...

One thing to address here.

Theme songs as a genre? I like 'em, but they're niche. Polarizing, basically.

Magical girls all have one, but they're not essential, and worst of all... they feel super childish.

Shining's Kirakira Shining is idol-pop listenable, at least.

The rest? Neck-and-neck with Pororo or Pinkfong themes—nursery rhymes or old-game BGM level.

Of course, theme songs need that childish vibe to hit right. That's the appeal for me.

It's not childish—it's pure! Thinking it's childish just proves you're a jaded adult.

But sadly, my soul—Seol Ha-rin's—is a full-grown adult soaked in reality.

And Ivy's track nailed the theme song essence too faithfully. In a word: cringy. Cringe so hard my hands and feet curl up.

Biggest issue, though:

"What'd you think, Neff?"

Her most recent theme song was Bella's, from five years ago.

Trends froze there. Five years is like five whole eras changing.

No matter how much soul she poured into her inspiration, it's still five-year-old vibes.

Might fit my looks, but...

Honestly, my magic resistance is too low to handle it.

Listening's tough enough. Sing vocals over it myself? No way.

But shooting down an expert's work outright? Awkward.

"So? Like it?"

Ivy asked with sparkling eyes. The look screaming, Just say yes.

But accepting this tanks my magical girl career to Pororo level. Rejection locked in—I need an excuse. But I should offer an alternative, right?

Blind contrarians with no suggestions are the worst.

I pulled out my phone. Not personal files—searched YouTube Music playlists.

What's this I've been listening to lately? Top video title...

[The Fun of Dda-it]

Huh?

[Game Where You Make Money from Loans - Concert Ver.] [Selfish Jerk, Go Bankrupt. This?] [Direct Reboot Normalization]

Disaster! Playlist overrun with K-pop flops. Rest was AI songs.

Below: famous anime OSTs. Tons of game BGM tagged "work songs."

An 8-year-old's taste? Nah, just average dude in his 20s.

Couldn't help but chuckle at myself.

Wait... actually, this isn't bad.

Magical Girl Raising's main players overlap big with these playlist fans.

I'm debuting my theme on stream anyway. This might stick in ears better.

Imagined a failed upgrade with that ddait! sound effect. Kinda memorable.

Cautiously, I held up my phone to show them the playlist.

"Um... what if we went with something like this?"

Ivy and Frost's eyes locked on my screen.