Chapter 332: Ciallo~ (∠・ω＜ )⌒

The video continued playing.

The grand opening ceremony of the Experience Center officially began.

The host was already warming up the crowd onstage.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Trainers!"

"The opening ceremony for the Sun-Moon Group’s Psychic-type Experience Center begins now!"

"And next!"

"Please welcome, with your loudest applause, the Sun-Moon Group’s brand ambassador—Miss Aurelia!"

Click!

Every spotlight came on at once.

A silver-white figure stepped out from behind the side curtain.

Twelve spotlights struck Aurelia simultaneously from different angles.

The sequins and reflective fabric covering her suit instantly lit up making her look like a rotating disco ball.

It genuinely was bright enough to blind people.

Several spectators in the front row immediately covered their eyes.

Farther back, the glare reflecting off an elderly woman’s dentures nearly caused a secondary reflection powerful enough to injure the person sitting beside her.

Aurelia naturally possessed a rather cool, aloof air.

Combined with this utterly ridiculous suit, however—

The contrast somehow produced a bizarre yet strangely effective chemistry.

That gap instantly shattered the audience’s defenses.

"Oh my god, she’s so cool!"

"She isn’t even looking at us!"

"That’s exactly why she’s cool!"

"Big Sis, please look at me like I’m trash!"

"...Get out! This is a children’s amusement park!"

Aurelia first waved toward the audience.

Then she clasped both hands in front of her chest, tilted her head slightly, and revealed a smile.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to the opening ceremony of the Sun-Moon Group’s Psychic-type Experience Center!"

"I’m Aurelia, and I’ll be performing here throughout the entire day!"

The audience immediately exploded.

"S-So bright—!"

"Did the sun itself just descend?!"

"My eyes took reflected damage from the light! Are you taking responsibility for this?!"

One of the staff members filming nearby held up his camera and whispered to his partner:

"Hey, wasn’t this completely different during rehearsal yesterday?"

"Why do you care? The crowd loves it!"

The two exchanged a glance.

Then, in perfect agreement, they hoisted their cameras and moved another half-meter closer.

Aurelia smiled again and walked to the edge of the display platform.

With one hand resting on the railing, she leaned slightly forward and made a heart toward the audience.

"As the big sister, I’ll be appearing at Sun-Moon Group events pretty often from now on."

"So if you like what you see, please continue supporting the Sun-Moon Group~"

Then she winked.

"And of course..."

"Please support me too~"

"Ciallo~ (∠?ω＜ )⌒★"

The audience fell silent for three full seconds.

Then—

They exploded all over again.

[VIP Chat Group]

[May]: Huh? Th-This is Aurelia?

[Iris]: Hahahahahaha! Aurelia wasn’t like this before, was she?! Where did that calm and composed Aurelia go?!

[Skyla]: It’s not like that much time passed this time either, right? How did Aurelia’s personality change this much?

[Elesa]: I know someone who’s usually pretty quiet too, but the moment she gets onstage to perform, she becomes a completely different person. So I don’t think it’s impossible that this is simply another side of Aurelia.

[Erika]: But Aurelia has always been so steady and mature ever since she was little. Why would she suddenly become like this? Does she have a split personality?

[Diantha]: Rather than a split personality, I think "stage persona" fits better. For the sake of a performance, many entertainers deliberately adopt a particular personality while they’re onstage. Elaria, you should learn from this too~ That way, you’ll be able to appear in even more kinds of movies in the future.

[Elaria]: But Mom... I’ve never seen Big Sis Aurelia act like this before.

[Acerola]: Do you think maybe Aurelia’s psychic power is so strong that she releases her emotions like this to relieve stress? I’ve heard that quite a few psychics have lost control because their mental power became too strong.

[Sabrina]: ...I don’t understand.

[Diantha]: Really? Based on your earlier behavior, I think this might actually be hereditary.

[Skyla]: What? What?! @Diantha, Master, elaborate!

[Sabrina]:@Skyla, would you like to become a doll?

[Skyla]: ...Ahahaha. Actually, I’ve suddenly realized I don’t want to know at all. I’m not a gossip, after all.

[Raihan]:@Skyla, can you even say that with a straight face?

[Elesa]:@Skyla, whenever there’s gossip, you’re always the first one rushing over.

The video continued playing.

Backstage at the Experience Center—

Selene was lounging deep in a sofa with a lollipop in her mouth, both legs draped over the armrest.

Seven or eight financial statements floated in midair under her psychic power, automatically flipping through their own pages.

When {Aurelia} pushed open the door and entered, Selene didn’t even change positions.

She merely lifted her eyelids.

The smile on her face was so sweet it could practically stretch into syrup.

"Ohhh~ Your performance today was absolutely incredible!"

"Especially that wink at the end!"

"The backstage staff said the livestream chat completely exploded!"

{Aurelia}’s movements stiffened slightly.

But she quickly returned to normal.

"...It was fine."

Selene wrapped both arms around {Aurelia}’s arm and pulled her toward the sofa.

"Come on, come on!"

"There’s chilled juice in the office!"

"And your favorite little honey cookies!"

After the two sat down, Selene pulled another sheet of paper from her pocket.

"Oh, right!"

"This is the Sun-Moon Group’s brand ambassador schedule for the next three months."

"You’ll need to attend all of these~"

{Aurelia} lowered her head and stared at the schedule which looked long enough to cover half the room.

"...Isn’t this a little too much?"

"Not at all!"

"It’s only three events every day."

Selene pulled out a remote control.

"But forget about that for now!"

"Take a look at the outfit I specially designed for your next appearance!"

Selene pressed the button.

Beep!

A clothing rack in the corner lit up.

More than a dozen outfits were neatly arranged across it.

At this point, the clothes couldn’t even be described as merely absurd anymore.

There was a horizontally striped one-piece outfit modeled after Beedrill.

A Quagsire-colored mascot costume.

And even a Gyarados-themed bodysuit with an angry Gyarados face specially sewn onto the chest which puffed in and out every time the wearer breathed.

{Aurelia} stared blankly at the outfits.

It looked as though her soul had been completely sucked out of her body.

Selene proudly planted both hands on her hips.

"Well?"

"Don’t they have incredible visual impact?"

{Aurelia} slowly turned her head.

The cold aloofness in her heterochromatic eyes had almost completely shattered.

In its place was an extremely profound internal struggle.

"I... could try one?"

Selene’s eyes curved happily.

"Of course~"

{Aurelia} took a deep breath.

Then she slowly reached toward the Beedrill bodysuit.

"Stop."

At that moment—

A cold voice came from the doorway.

Another Aurelia stood at the entrance to the office.

White overcoat.

Short silver-white hair.

Arms folded across her chest.

Her heterochromatic eyes were as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Her gaze first fell upon {Aurelia}’s hand, still suspended in midair.

Then it swept across the row of outfits that bordered on crimes against humanity.

Finally—

Her eyes slowly shifted toward Selene.

"Selene."

"You actually wanted ’me’ to wear something like this?"

Aurelia stepped forward.

"Have I been too lenient with you lately?"

"W-Well..."

Selene clasped her hands together.

"I just thought Big Sis’s aura was a little too cold!"

"Changing styles once in a while lets your fans see a richer side of you."

"Your commercial value would double!"

"I only agreed to let it take my place onstage."

Aurelia lightly knocked Selene on the head.

"I never agreed to let you do anything else."

...

TL: Took me a while to find it, but apparently "Ciallo" comes from Meguru Inaba in Sanoba Witch—I could be wrong tho.