Chapter 331: See That? This Is the Empire I Built!

The scene changed again.

Quite a bit of time seemed to have passed.

Aurelia and Selene were now girls of around ten years old. Their silver-white hair gleamed beneath the sunlight, while their gold-and-red eyes had grown even clearer and brighter.

But the sisters’ styles couldn’t have been more different.

Aurelia wore a simply tailored white overcoat over a black turtleneck, paired with ankle boots. Her overall look was clean, understated, and elegant.

Selene, meanwhile, wore an oversized hoodie covered in stars and moons, a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head, and a lollipop dangling from her mouth. Around her wrist were layer upon layer of colorful hair ties that nobody knew where she’d gotten from.

The sisters stood side by side on the rooftop of the Sun-Moon Group headquarters.

Selene spread both arms wide and gazed down at the ant-sized crowds below with a satisfied smile.

"Big Sis, see that?"

"This is the empire I built."

Aurelia pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Don’t refer to yourself like an emperor."

"Then what should I call myself?"

"Your CEO? Your Chairwoman? Your Highness?"

Selene pulled a lollipop from her pocket and shoved it into Aurelia’s hand.

"Here, Big Sis. Have some candy."

"Candy makes people happy."

Aurelia sighed softly, but still put the lollipop into her mouth.

"All right."

"Why did you specifically call me here from home?"

The instant Selene heard that, she pulled out a photograph and slapped it down in front of Aurelia.

"Look! This is that plot of land in Saffron City’s East District!"

"I’ve already secured it!"

"My next step is to build a Pokémon theme park there under the Sun-Moon Group!"

"People from all over the world are going to come visit!"

Aurelia picked up the photograph.

It showed a barren, empty stretch of land.

"And?"

"And that’s where you come in, Big Sis."

Selene clasped her hands together, sincerity written all over her heterochromatic eyes.

"We’re building a Psychic-type Gym Experience Center there, but we still need a spokesperson."

"You could do it yourself."

"Why do you specifically need me?"

"Obviously because you’re the face of our family!"

Selene wrapped both arms around Aurelia’s arm and rested her head against her shoulder.

"Besides, Big Sis, you look way too cool in that outfit today!"

"Put on that coat, stand there for a second, and you’re basically a walking billboard for the Sun-Moon Group!"

The tips of Aurelia’s ears turned faintly red.

She coughed.

"Then..."

"What do I need to do?"

"It’s super easy!"

Selene pulled out a piece of clothing from her bag and unfolded it.

"Just wear this and make an appearance on opening day!"

The instant Aurelia saw the outfit—

Her expression changed.

It was an entirely pink one-piece outfit covered from top to bottom in sequins.

A gigantic golden Mew was printed across the back.

The hood even came with a pair of fluffy Mew ears.

"Selene."

Aurelia refused without expression.

"I am not wearing that."

"Why?!"

"It’s adorable!"

"Look at these sequins!"

"I specially ordered this reflective fabric from Paldea!"

"Under sunlight, it’ll blind everyone who looks at you!"

"That makes me even less willing to wear it."

Selene pouted.

Moisture practically began gathering in her eyes.

"Big Sis..."

"This is the Sun-Moon Group’s very first major project."

"If it fails, Dad will be disappointed."

"Mom will be sad."

"Uncle Steven’s investment will go down the drain."

"The entire economy of Saffron City will fall into a slump, and then—"

"All right. Stop acting."

Aurelia rubbed her forehead.

"I can go."

"But I’m not wearing that."

"Sigh..."

"Fine. Let me look."

Selene rummaged through the sample outfits beside her.

"This is already the most formal outfit I have."

"How about this one?"

Aurelia stared at the suit covered in all kinds of bizarre patterns.

She fell silent for a moment.

Finally she nodded.

"...Fine."

"Yay!"

Selene threw herself straight into Aurelia’s arms and clung to her like an octopus.

"Big Sis is the best!"

"No one else deserves to be the Sun-Moon Group’s brand ambassador!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Bianca]: The value of seeing these sisters in the same frame just keeps going up! Aurelia and Selene both have such good fashion sense!

[Valerie]: Their regular outfits really are beautiful. It’s just that one-piece outfit... How should I put it? If someone wore that onto a fashion-week runway, security would probably escort them out immediately.

[Lisia]: And that suit too... Those patterns somehow give me a really ancient feeling.

[Cynthia]: Those designs look like something I’ve seen in ruins before...

[Lorelei]: Aurelia is simply too softhearted. She says she won’t wear it, but the moment Selene starts acting cute, she immediately compromises.

[Elesa]: Selene isn’t even that bad. If it were Tiana, Aurelia would probably wake up the next morning to find every outfit in her wardrobe replaced with identical pink jumpsuits.

[Diantha]: Excuse me, did anyone take a screenshot of that pink one-piece outfit just now? I suddenly feel like saving it.

[Misty]: You don’t want to "save" it. You’re looking for an opportunity to make Elaria wear it, aren’t you?

[Diantha]: Oh my~ You caught me~

The video continued playing.

Opening day of the Sun-Moon Group’s Psychic-type Experience Center.

Saffron City’s East District was packed with people.

In only three months, that once-barren stretch of empty land had been transformed into an enormous amusement park.

Life-sized statues of Mew and Mewtwo stood at the entrance.

The line outside stretched all the way from the East District to the entrance of Saffron Gym.

Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought Saffron Gym was handing out Badges for free that day.

Selene stood inside the VIP room on the second floor of the Experience Center, practically plastered against the window as she looked outside.

"Big Sis, look!"

"With this crowd and this kind of turnout, it’d be harder for us not to become a hit!"

Aurelia sat on the sofa nearby, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Selene."

"I want to confirm this one more time."

"All I really have to do later is walk out there for a moment, right?"

"Yep, yep!"

"Walk over, stop for a second, then come back."

Selene didn’t even turn around.

"But Big Sis, remember—you absolutely have to reach the exact center of the display platform before you stop."

"I installed the most powerful spotlight in all of Saffron City right over that spot!"

Aurelia lowered her eyes toward the "Selene Selection" suit she was currently wearing.

At first glance, it looked like something from a high-end designer label.

But on closer inspection—

The entire suit was covered in densely packed chibi illustrations.

A dancing Mew was printed over the left side of the chest.

A sleepy Mewtwo decorated the right cuff.

The back was embroidered with countless tiny stars and suns.

It was, by every reasonable standard, an utterly ridiculous outfit.

And yet somehow, on Aurelia...

It actually looked pretty good.

Selene pulled another strawberry-flavored lollipop from her pocket and pushed it into Aurelia’s hand.

"Here. Confidence candy."

"I don’t need confidence."

"Then call it an opening-day celebration candy."

"Come on, we’ll eat one together."

Selene unwrapped another lollipop and put it into her own mouth.

Then she reached over and straightened Aurelia’s clothes.

"Big Sis."

"Ready?"

Aurelia looked at her little sister, who seemed to possess an endless supply of energy.

At last—

The faintest smile curved across her lips.

"Mm."