The Six Garden Council.
Normally, each of the six academies would send one representative to attend, and under ordinary circumstances, that representative would be the academy's student council president.
Dirk Eberwein Black Institute, Claudia of Seidoukan Academy.
Sakon Shuma of Arlequint Academy, Sylvia Lyyneheym of Queenvail Girls' Academy.
And Fan Xinglou of Jie Long, along with Ernest of Saint Galahadworth Academy.
As long as the student council presidents hadn't changed or some special circumstance occurred, it was usually these six who attended the meetings.
Occasionally, one person would be absent. After all, Sylvia held concerts all over the world and couldn't remain in Asterisk all the time.
But today, things were a little different.
"What a rare sight. Lady Diva actually came to attend this meeting."
Claudia, who had arrived on time, looked toward another seat with some surprise. Sitting there was an incomparably beautiful girl.
"After all, it wouldn't be good for me to stay away from Asterisk forever. This is part of my responsibility, after all."
Faced with Claudia's question, Sylvia patiently explained.
"Hmph. You call it a responsibility, but haven't you skipped plenty of meetings?"
Dirk wouldn't be polite even when dealing with a woman, and what he said was also true.
Even if Sylvia had attended this time and said something like that, it didn't change the fact that she had skipped many meetings before.
"It can't be helped. My schedule is completely packed."
"Sacrificing a little in order to bring greater profits to the Integrated Enterprise Foundation is perfectly normal. You agree too, don't you, student council president of Rewolf Black Institute?"
"Naturally."
Dirk clicked his tongue and simply closed his eyes to rest, no longer paying Sylvia any attention.
Sylvia, however, was different. Although she appeared to be chatting with Claudia the entire time, her gaze occasionally drifted toward Dirk.
Of course, Sylvia's furtive glances at Dirk had nothing to do with the feelings of a bashful maiden. Rather, she had sensed a trace of familiarity from him...
That voice and manner of speaking. Hadn't she heard them somewhere before?
Sylvia thought hard, and soon found her answer!
There was no mistake. That voice was exactly the same as the one from the call at the Church headquarters!
"Could it be that the person who contacted Ely back then was Dirk?"
Dirk's public identity was the student council president of Rewolf Black Institute, but he was far more than merely a student council president.
Rewolf Black Institute was an academy deeply involved in underground businesses, so Dirk undoubtedly possessed even more identities in secret.
Even if he were a member of some mysterious organization, Sylvia wouldn't find it strange. If anything, it would make far too much sense!
His methods were so ruthless that he was even known as the Tyrant, and countless members of the Starpulse Generation served beneath him...
What if Elise was also one of those members of the Starpulse Generation?
Once that thought appeared in Sylvia's mind, she could no longer get rid of it.
Sylvia had heard that Rewolf Black Institute's student council even had structures resembling prisons.
Just imagine it. A girl shining like gold, imprisoned in a pitch-black cage because she had been coerced, tears filling her eyes...
"Sylvia... save me..."
No!
Sylvia hurriedly covered her expression with one hand and warned herself not to think any further. If she kept going like this, she was afraid she would lose control and attack Dirk!
"What's wrong, Sylvia?"
Yet at that tense moment, a familiar voice came from not far away, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
"Ely?"
Even without looking at who had arrived, Sylvia could tell from the voice alone that it belonged to the dear friend who had just appeared in her imagination... Elise!
But the instant Sylvia turned her head, she froze.
It wasn't only her. The other student council presidents also stared dumbfounded at the scene before them.
Two people were walking toward them.
One was a blonde girl around sixteen years old, while the other was a little girl who looked less than ten.
Without a doubt, they were Elise and Fan Xinglou.
Everyone clearly knew both of them, yet seeing the two walking together left them completely bewildered.
Elise looked like a mother, wearing a gentle smile as she lightly held Fan Xinglou's hand.
Meanwhile, Fan Xinglou, whose hand was being held, made no movement whatsoever, and her expression was exceptionally obedient. On the surface, she looked exactly like a sensible little girl!
But this was strange!
Who was Fan Xinglou?
She was Banyuu Tenra!
The inheritor of Jie Long's legendary title!
Although all of those inheritors had technically been herself...
But the title alone was enough to show just how much power and influence she possessed!
So why did she look no different from a helpless child in Elise's hands?
"What's wrong?"
Ignoring everyone else's gazes, Elise directly brought Fan Xinglou over to Saint Galahadworth's seat.
After smoothing out her skirt, Elise sat down under everyone's watchful eyes.
But it still wasn't over!
After sitting down, she gently waved toward Fan Xinglou.
Aside from a very small number of people present, everyone noticed Fan Xinglou's body tremble slightly before she resolutely walked toward Elise.
Looking at the purple-haired little girl right in front of her, Elise directly placed both hands beneath Fan Xinglou's arms and lifted her entire body into her embrace.
Then those two enormous marshmallows squeezed Fan Xinglou's head between them...
Fan Xinglou: ???
Everyone else: ???
At this point, it wasn't only Satou Kazuma who would have something to say. Everyone else did too.
Is this really the Fan Xinglou I know?
Where did that wild, unruly attitude of yours go?
The student council presidents had dealt with Fan Xinglou countless times during the Six Garden Council, so naturally, they understood her personality to some extent.
But the more they understood Fan Xinglou, the more unbelievable the sight before them became.
How could Fan Xinglou possibly be held in Elise's arms like a little child?
And yet it had happened. No matter how much they denied it, they couldn't change that fact.
So what exactly had Elise done?
"You certainly seem to be... enjoying yourself."
While everyone else remained silent, Dirk finally spoke. He shifted his backside somewhat uneasily, seemingly wanting to move farther away from Elise.
"Of course. After all, I'm with Xinglou."
Elise replied with a smile, but Dirk's face really wasn't pleasant to look at, causing her brows to furrow slightly.
But in Sylvia's eyes, the exchange between the two carried a completely different meaning.
Judging by his tone, it sounded as though he had known Elise for a long time.
And the way Elise frowned and Dirk's gaze drifted aside seemed exactly like they didn't want anyone else to notice their relationship!
Through these little gestures, Sylvia once again confirmed the connection between Dirk and Elise!
Silently, she made up her mind. She would definitely free Elise from this sea of suffering!
Even if the price was everything she had!
"I ran into Xinglou downstairs, so we came up together!"
"We haven't seen each other in such a long time, so we got a little affectionate. Ehehe!"
"Right, Xinglou?"
As Elise's tone shifted, she abruptly opened her eyes and stared directly at Fan Xinglou.
At the same time, Fan Xinglou felt a chill run through her body, as though something terrifying had locked onto her. When she trembled and turned her head, what she saw were Elise's deep blue eyes.
Terrifying!
It was her eyes. Merely looking into Elise's eyes made it difficult for Fan Xinglou to even move.
If she suffered a fatal attack at this moment, she would basically be certain to die.
What in the world happened to this girl?
From the moment she encountered Elise, Fan Xinglou had been wondering what exactly this child had experienced to become so powerful.
To discover the reason behind it, Fan Xinglou chose to swallow her pride and pretend to be an obedient little baby while staying by Elise's side.
This was a strategy. She definitely wasn't doing it because she'd been frightened into submission, okay?
Hard work eventually paid off. After repeatedly amplifying her perception, Fan Xinglou successfully discovered the problem with Elise.
Time!
The flow of time around Elise was abnormal!
Fan Xinglou understood time extremely well, because she had an excellent rival who used time!
Chronotemis Helga Lindwall, one of the strongest Stregas in the world!
After fighting such a master of time manipulation for years, combined with Fan Xinglou's own deep research into time, she had developed quite a few talismans related to it.
Her understanding of time was also considerably deeper than that of ordinary people.
Even so, she had only barely managed to notice the problem with Elise, because there were far too many things mixed together within her.
Even Fan Xinglou, a thousand-year-old immortal, couldn't completely see through this body!
"This woman..."
Fan Xinglou had already stopped calling Elise "this child" and switched to "this woman."
It was precisely because she could observe Elise from such an extremely close distance that Fan Xinglou discovered something astonishing. Time around Elise wasn't flowing at all?
That was utterly impossible!
Even Fan Xinglou herself could only maintain such a state briefly using Seisenjutsu, because it was equivalent to a complete stop in time. A person caught in such a state couldn't even think.
And then there was the strange energy within Elise. Unless her body was being controlled by an outside force, there was simply no way she could move... Wait!
"Could it be?"
Fan Xinglou thought of a possibility. It was also the explanation that best accounted for why Elise had suddenly become so powerful.
Could it be... that someone was controlling her?
As an old monster who had lived for a thousand years, Fan Xinglou wasn't merely powerful. She was also extremely knowledgeable, and she quickly thought of those legendary forbidden arts!
If someone were turned into a puppet, they could indeed become like Elise, increasing in strength by more than one level and even achieving immortality in a certain sense!
Scorpion approved.
But the birth of such a puppet also meant a price had been paid!
Even Fan Xinglou was gritting her teeth in fury now.
Such an evil art still existed in this world?
Although she and Elise had a few minor conflicts, none of them were irreconcilable. Wasn't it perfectly normal for friends to roughhouse a little?
If Elise was gone, then who was Fan Xinglou supposed to settle the score with for the humiliation inflicted on her backside?
So she absolutely wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.
But just as Fan Xinglou intended to turn her head and continue observing Elise, that sensation appeared over her body once again...
Without a doubt, Elise was staring at her again!
"This is a warning!"
Cold sweat flowed down her forehead, and for a moment, she even forgot to breathe. After all, this awful feeling was genuinely difficult to endure.
I have to find a way to rescue this little brat from this state, but there's absolutely no way this old woman can do it alone...
And so, Fan Xinglou looked toward the girl not far away who had been staring in their direction...
Sylvia Lyyneheym!
Everyone knew that Elise and Sylvia had a special relationship. Calling them best friends wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"If it's her, she'll definitely be willing to help, right?"
Before everything came to an end, Fan Xinglou would absolutely rescue this young girl from the mastermind's scheme!
...
What's wrong with Fan Xinglou?
Although Elise really had threatened Fan Xinglou just now, it shouldn't have been enough to make her show an expression like this, right?
From Elise's perspective, Fan Xinglou's expression had been changing constantly. To remind her that they were currently in a meeting, Elise had opened her eyes and stared directly at her.
Little did she know just how much pressure this placed on Fan Xinglou, or what kind of wild scenario the immortal had imagined because of it.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin the Six Garden Council!"
"The main topic is what we need to do with the Phoenix Festa approaching."
To be honest, Elise knew absolutely nothing about these matters because none of them had originally been her responsibility.
Still, she nodded symbolically. After all, because of her presence, several people here had already started acting according to her reactions.
For example, Claudia, who had sworn loyalty to Elise a long time ago, Dirk, who belonged to the Golden Bough Alliance alongside Elise, Fan Xinglou, who had been threatened by her, Sylvia, her best friend, and Sakon Shuma, who was basically thinking, I don't understand what everyone else is doing, but following along can't be wrong.
Time passed little by little, and they discussed matters concerning the Festa for quite a while. Elise also took notes so she could report back to Ernest afterward.
Overall, there shouldn't be any problems now, right?
"Then I'll be leaving first. If any of you need anything, you can contact me afterward!"
After playing around with Fan Xinglou in her arms for a little longer, Elise completely lost interest in the meeting.
Following a brief farewell, she transformed into points of light and disappeared before everyone's eyes.
But... several people had no intention of letting things end so simply!
"Xinglou, there's something extremely important I want to discuss with you. Do you have time?"
"Coincidentally, this old woman also has something important she wants to tell you, Lady Diva..."
On the way out, Sylvia approached Fan Xinglou, hoping to obtain some information from her.
After all, Elise had spent the entire meeting treating Fan Xinglou like a doll. Surely that meant Fan Xinglou knew something, right?
What surprised Sylvia, however, was that the other party also seemed to have something important to discuss with her.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded at each other as a gesture of goodwill.
This really wasn't a suitable place. If they wanted to speak more deeply, they would have to go somewhere more private.
"Come to this old woman's Huangchen Hall. There's still some risk, but it's safer than anywhere outside."
And at that moment, the alliance to rescue Elise was born.