The commotion in the fitting room soon came to an end, and Elise and Laetitia continued strolling through Asterisk's commercial district.
After all, this was a near-future world. There were far more entertainment options here than on Earth, and even the gaming facilities were much more novel.
If Elise's original world continued developing normally, it should eventually become something like this too... right?
"Probably not."
After all, this world possessed special things like the Starpulse Generation and Prana.
Unless Earth experienced a Rain of Falling Stars too, there was no way it could ever develop into something like Asterisk.
Moreover, this world's political and economic system also had major problems. It was actually controlled by Foundations?
Even though Elise had already taken control of one of them herself, that didn't stop her from disliking the group as a whole.
But in a sense, this was probably the ultimate form of the Japanese and Korean conglomerates Elise knew about, wasn't it?
In any case, Elise didn't particularly like them. If she ever had the opportunity in the future, she would definitely change all of this and let the entire world bask in the radiance of God!
With Elise's strength, she could absolutely do it!
"So, is there anything else planned next?"
Without realizing it, evening had already arrived. Under Laetitia's arrangements, Elise really had spent an exceptionally fulfilling day. Now it depended on what Laetitia had planned next.
"Of course. For the very end, there's still one more place we have to go..."
A smile appeared on Laetitia's face as she pulled two tickets from her pocket.
But when Elise saw what was printed on those tickets, she was completely dumbfounded.
Because displayed on them was someone she knew extremely well...
"Sylvia?!"
...
"Let's sing the next line together!"
The concert venue inside Asterisk had long since become packed with people, because the person holding a concert here today was none other than Sylvia Lyyneheym, the girl known as the world's number-one songstress.
The incomparably beautiful girl stood onstage with a smile on her face, greeting all the fans present.
The moment she opened her mouth, the venue fell briefly silent before erupting in earth-shaking cheers.
Yet no matter how loud the audience became, Sylvia's voice remained just as clear and ethereal.
Her singing didn't distort in the slightest because of the surrounding noise.
However, without anyone realizing it, two figures were moving at speeds too fast to see toward empty seats in the front row.
Elise looked at Sylvia onstage, then at Laetitia beside her, who was holding her hand, and remained silent for a long time.
She seemed to have figured out why Laetitia had brought her here.
Could it really be that kind of drama?
Although Elise felt a little sorry for Sylvia, she still decided to go through with it.
Back at the Church headquarters, Elise had already noticed several problems with Sylvia. She seemed to have misunderstood something, which had created some distance between them.
Sylvia hadn't proactively contacted Elise for quite a long time!
That wouldn't do!
How could she allow her best friend to forget about her?
So Elise was going on the offensive!
Of course, by "going on the offensive," she didn't mean sending Sylvia a message or anything like that. She meant doing something that would make Sylvia contact her first!
That was why Elise had come here together with Laetitia—to display her intimacy with someone else right in front of her best friend!
Surely Sylvia wouldn't be able to restrain herself after seeing that and would contact her, right?
At the same time, Elise could also enjoy herself together with Laetitia. It was simply killing two birds with one stone!
But how could she make Sylvia notice her with so many people in the venue?
Being too deliberate wouldn't work. It would look like she was showing off, as though she were saying, "Hey, Sylvia. After you left, I found someone new. Jealous?"
If she did that, Sylvia would definitely be unhappy, so Elise could only create an "accident."
She would let Sylvia accidentally notice during the concert that Elise was listening together with Laetitia, perhaps even doing a few intimate things... Actually, that didn't sound much better either.
But since she was already here, how could she not do it?
So, Sylvia, hurry up and come find me!
The songstress onstage had no idea that her best friend was currently preparing an enormous conspiracy aimed directly at her.
"Phew! All right, next up is the final song!"
"Before everyone leaves, let's have one last celebration together!"
Only one song remained before the concert ended. Sylvia looked drenched in sweat, so it seemed this concert had consumed a considerable amount of her energy.
But was that really the truth?
No. Although Sylvia appeared to be performing and interacting with the audience, her thoughts had actually wandered far away.
Could things really be exactly as Fan Xinglou said?
After the previous Six Garden Council ended, Sylvia received an invitation from Fan Xinglou for the first time.
At first, Sylvia assumed it wouldn't be anything serious, but once they actually spoke, she learned something earth-shattering from Fan Xinglou!
Elise might no longer be Elise.
When Fan Xinglou explained her reasoning, Sylvia had been so shocked that she couldn't even speak, because it completely exceeded her understanding.
A human being turned into a puppet?
How could that possibly happen?
Had Arlequint already developed technology like that? But even the lunatics at Arlequint Academy couldn't possibly be that insane... right?
At that moment, Sylvia thought of a crucial issue.
Arlequint might not go that far, but what about Rewolf Black Institute?
One couldn't forget that chaotic academy had the Tyrant among its ranks!
Although it wasn't an official title, the fact that so many people called Dirk the Tyrant was enough to show how ruthless his methods were!
Turning a person into a puppet probably wouldn't be beyond him at all, would it?
And that brought out another problem—Rewolf Black Institute and Arlequint Academy had joined forces!
Two academies backed by enormous powers had actually mixed together... Even Sylvia found that difficult to imagine.
With her strength alone, there was no way she could turn the situation around.
But Fan Xinglou had said she was willing to help!
"For something this wicked to appear in the world... although this old woman normally wouldn't care, if it's allowed to continue, the consequences will definitely become even more severe!"
Those were Fan Xinglou's exact words, and her tone had been filled with concern for the future.
If even someone as powerful as Elise had fallen victim, then wouldn't Fan Xinglou herself eventually be targeted too?
And so, in order to protect this beautiful world and spare more people from suffering persecution, the two of them decided to establish a new organization—Masquerade!
It would exist specifically to oppose the mysterious organization hidden behind Elise!
In order to find the people behind everything, and also to avoid drawing "Elise's" attention, Sylvia hadn't contacted her during this period.
But...
Perhaps it was an accident, or perhaps it was fate. At that critical moment, Sylvia's gaze accidentally drifted toward the audience seats close to the stage.
There, two blonde girls were holding hands, talking and laughing together... They were even drinking matching couple-style milk tea!
And so, under the gaze of more than ten thousand people, Sylvia simply froze in place.
At that moment, silence spoke louder than words.
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