Chapter 254: Night of Universal Hallucinations 『 Part Three 』
「 "I told him right then and there: 'I can swear whatever you want, but can you pull me out of this hole first?'—and he said no! Tell me, is that any way for a person to behave?"
"I had no choice. My life was on the line, so I just repeated after him: 'The Peerless Beauty, the Goddess Adrila, possesses beauty unrivaled in the world!' But then he corrected me: 'It is Idrila, not Adrila.'"
Velite grew more exasperated as he spoke. "Who would pick such a tongue-twisting name? I'm just an ordinary salaryman; what do I know about some Star God of Beauty? Of course, to save my own skin, I said it again—The Peerless Beauty, the Goddess Idrila, possesses beauty unrivaled in the world!"
And that was how things ended up like this. Velite lamented that he was just a background extra in the grand scheme of things, but after meeting Argenti, he felt his life had reached a turning point—perhaps he could even make a small fortune off the knight.
"A knight as handsome and imposing as him… If we packaged him right, he'd be a hit, wouldn't he?" Velite's tone finally shifted toward excitement. "I pitched the idea to him. I told him he could propagate Beauty by making currency itself a part of that beauty, which would make the spread much more efficient. He was utterly shaken by the concept and kept praising it."
"I plan to contact the Strategic Investment Department and make him the company's product spokesperson! And I'll be his manager. Do you think this kid is better suited as an idol or a serious talent?"
"Idol," Stelle suggested earnestly.
"You're absolutely right! Not going the idol route would be a waste of that pretty face." 」
「 .....」
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
New Eridu—
"I feel like the serious talent route would be better…"
Wise sat on the sofa, pondering for a moment.
"Being an idol is fine and all, but the path of a serious artist is much broader in the long run. Wouldn't becoming an idol be a waste of his martial prowess?"
"Bro! You are so wrong!"
Belle suddenly bounced up from the sofa.
"I think Argenti should become a VTuber!"
"A VTuber?"
Reminded by Belle, Wise did recall that there was a virtual idol group online that generated a lot of discussion and buzz.
"But if he becomes a virtual idol, won't his advantages in strength and physical appearance be completely nullified?"
"Bro, times have changed. You have to realize, even though Argenti is genuinely good-looking, the IPC connects so many planets that handsome guys and beautiful girls are a dime a dozen. As the saying goes, 'No one is eighteen forever, but there is always someone who is eighteen'—of course, if Argenti is a Xianzhou native, then forget I said anything."
"In the traditional idol or talent market, a handsome guy isn't anything fresh. But in the VTuber lane? Argenti's looks would absolutely be top-tier, the ceiling of the industry!"
Although Belle was trying hard to explain, Wise remained confused.
"But if he's a virtual idol, what use is being handsome?"
"Bro, 'virtual' is just a way to add mystery and novelty. You must always trust in humanity's desire to explore!"
Belle continued with a serious, matter-of-fact expression.
"Think about it… Suppose The Queen(Astra Yao) was a virtual idol and you never knew what she looked like. After being drawn in by her singing, wouldn't you be curious about her real face? Could you resist the urge to use Fairy to search for it?"
"…You mean Argenti's appearance would be exposed sooner or later?"
"It's hard to say for sure; that depends on the Interastral Peace Corporation's operational strategy. But his looks are definitely a great gimmick to gain fans. When the time comes, he could do a livestream, and facing thousands upon thousands of viewers, shout out, 'The Peerless Beauty, the Goddess Idrila, possesses beauty unrivaled in the world!'—wouldn't that be way more efficient than what he's doing now?"
—
「 Since they had nowhere else to go for the moment, Velite decided to help Stelle and the others first. Suddenly, the Express shook violently, accompanied by Pam's miserable shrieks of "AHHHHHH!" Aside from Argenti, who was simply enjoying the present moment, everyone in the carriage jumped in fright.
"There—there's a strange noise! Scary, so scary-pam! Did you hear that?"
Pam's two large ears looked ready to curl up in terror. "With how well I know the Express… that was absolutely, absolutely not a sound the train makes-pam!"
Himeko wondered if the earlier tremors had damaged the train, allowing something unexpected to slip inside. Although the implication was frightening, March 7th decided to check her room first.
Not checking would have been fine, but checking made things even more terrifying. Standing right there in her room was someone who looked exactly like her, smiling back at her.
This March 7th had no light in her eyes, and her tone was devoid of any emotional fluctuation as she spoke plainly: "I understand your past. What you wish to see, to touch, to know… your hometown, family, friends, emotions, love and hate…"
The stranger claimed to be the complete March 7th, which scared the real March half to death. Fortunately, Himeko's voice came through the earpiece just in time, ordering her to retreat immediately.
Little March hesitated, wanting to speak. "B-But…"
The mysterious March 7th merely tilted her head, watching her quietly. After a long silence, a meaningful smile surfaced at the corner of her mouth. 」
「 .....」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"I mean, I've definitely imagined what March 7th would be like with a different personality…"
Stark rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.
"But this is way too creepy! Her eyes are even emptier than a demon's!"
Beside him, Frieren and Fern didn't respond to his comment, instead falling into a contemplative silence, lost in memory.
"A duplicate… Can it copy abilities perfectly, too?"
Frieren looked at the duplicate, identical to March 7th yet completely lifeless. It all felt like deja vu—after all, they had experienced this firsthand in the labyrinth of the Spiegel(Ruins of the King's Tomb).
"Is it something like Water-Mirror Demon? …That body does look as if the soul has been hollowed out, yet it seems to retain a certain degree of personality and consciousness."
"Frieren-sama, I believe this is fundamentally different from Water-Mirror Demon,"
Fern speculated, her finger resting on her chin.
"Water-Mirror Demon creates independent duplicates that are highly aggressive. But in March 7th's case… There must be some kind of monster whose nature acts like a mirror, where different people see different versions of themselves."
"So you mean… Dan Heng, Argenti, and the others have also encountered 'themselves'?"
"Yes. This fake March claims to be the 'complete' March 7th, so I suspect this monster possesses a deceptive nature. Just like when we entered the Ruins of the King's Tomb—from the moment we stepped inside, we had already fallen into its trap."
—
( Translator-kun: Evernight's first appearance is here! )