Chapter 76: Reinauguration

Chapter 76: Reinauguration ++"How's everyone! Are you guys tired?"++ The Novus' greatest idol said from her stage, in front of over 200 people. Her two companions, Nebuline and Celestine, were at her side, waving at the public. ++"Do you still have the energy to sing with me?"++

+"Yeees!"

++"Raise your voice, all the Guilds that followed me on this whim of mine!"++

+"Yeah!"

++"Now, raise your voice, let me hear you citizens of New Unus City!"++

+"Yeah, we love you Miss Cosmica!"

++"It still sounds like 'anus', but what can we do about it, right?! Tee-hee!"++

The entire audience burst out laughing while jumping and cheering.

"Is it my imagination, or does she sometimes sound very passive-aggressive?" Alan asked aloud from their sitting place atop their rebuilt house.

"She's always been like that," Amelia said, half-smiling. "And we love her just the way she is."

"I know this is a time for celebration, but we have not discussed yet what we are going to do next," Ashley said by Alan's side, making him fold his arms.

"Yeah, we haven't talked about that yet. What to do?"

"It's obvious," Amelia added. "We can't stay here. If the Singular attacks us again, it'd undo this city's progress. We should move to another, higher-level city. One where its citizens can defend themselves if hell breaks loose again."

"I do not think the Singular would try another full-front attack again," Ashley commented. "They will be more careful next time."

"If they even keep considering us a threat," Alan interjected, without taking his eyes off the concert. "This time, The Singular escaped knowing two things. They know a version of Isabella it's here, and it doesn't matter how many times I contact other Administrators, we Phantom Seekers won't reveal this information to the public. We're in some kind of stalemate. They'll continue doing their thing and leave us alone for the moment, and as long as we don't push their buttons too much, we won't have to worry about them bugging us for the time being."

"A stalemate, huh?" Amelia sighed. "That'd actually help us. We could go on the offensive next time."

"Are you kidding me? I'm still the weakest User in all The Novus. I don't feel prepared in the slightest."

"Well, you're Alan 'Problem Fixer' Warden. I think you're doing great."

"What's with that surname?"

"I came up with it!" Clara Dominguez shouted enthusiastically behind them, jolting him.

"Holy Space Jeezus! What are you doing here?!"

"How rude! Is that how you receive the new member of Phantom Seekers?!"

"Pardon me?"

"I accepted her solicitude," Amelia said, giving Alan an apologetic smile. "She helped us a lot during the fight, didn't she?"

Alan grimaced. "Request denied by the Guild Master."

"W-What?! Why?!" Clara cried.

"For being too noisy. That's my job."

"True, you two act alike..." Amelia said, looking away.

"Why don't you say that to our face?!" Alan and Clara cried in unison

"Fine, on one condition." Alan pointed at the Marco Souza lookalike, waving at the group from behind his master. "Get rid of him."

"Denied!" Clara spat at every word. "He's my current soulmate!"

"Change his face then. Now."

"NEVER! Such perfectness shall be preserved."

"Why do you want to join us, anyway? Didn't you say that you sucked at fighting? Admit it, you haven't even unlocked your Unique Talent yet, that's why you didn't help the NPCs restrain the 'affected'." Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"I'm not going to confirm nor deny that. Besides, my job won't demand any physical confrontation." She made her drone camera appear. "I'm your official camerawoman!"

"Alan," Ashley called in a soft tone of voice. "Having someone with the ability to record at any time could be of help to our mission. That is what helped us summon Jane Andersen."

"F-Fine," he stuttered, wrinkling his nose. "But just because my co-co-leader says so."

"Yay! You won't regret it, boss!" Clara dashed to hug him, but immediately backed off after glancing at Amelia. "Oh, sorry. I know my boundaries, okay?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Amelia asked, given her a funny look.

"Oh, please. Everyone in New Unus City knows about you two."

"What do you--?"

Clara unzipped her jacket, revealing a t-shirt with a printed photo of Amelia on her Super Form, kissing Alan. "I made a little fortune selling this."

"Sorry Alan, I'll kick her out of the guild myself."

"You don't have to worry about me stealing your boyfriend, friend," Clara said, elbowing her playfully. "Why would I settle with an ordinary man, when I already have the fastest hips on this side of The Novus." Clara pointed at her NPC, who gave a thumbs up from a distance.

"G-Gross!" Amelia cried, shaking her head as if multiple dirty images had been injected inside her brain.

"Clara, tell us the truth and you can stay," Alan continued. "You don't want to work as a mayor anymore because the city has become bigger, right? That'd mean more work for you."

"L-look! Miss Cosmica is flashing her boobs!"

"NO WAY!" Amelia and Alan turned their gaze to the concert at the same time, but the enormous digital screen above her stage showed her dancing and singing normally.

"She got away, Master," Anastasia informed.

"Well, I don't see a problem in her joining us," the NPC Bella said in a gentle, big-sister-like tone. "She's quite nice."

"Oh, sister, you say that because you haven't worked for her," Anastasia replied, repeating the same tone of voice. "She can be quite problematic sometimes."

"I see. I'll be careful when approaching her in the near future then, sister, tee-hee."

**What the hell is going out back there?** Alan thought, watching the NPCs.

"Amelia, do you really think I behave like her?"

"Alan, dear, if you suddenly turned into a woman, I could not tell you both apart."

"Wait, no, no, no! Clara acts a little crazier than me. I'm not that clownish. Am I?"

"You're right. I'd describe you more as a lovable oaf. Is that better?"

"Not really."

***

**

*

The following day, the guild received an offer that made Alan narrow his eyes and left Amelia speechless.

"Excuse me.... Could you repeat that again, please?"

The idol in front of them folded her arms and leaned back in her seat. "I want to sponsor your guild, Alan Warden. That's why I bothered coming here in the first place."

"You want to sponsor us?" Alan shook his head and glanced at Amelia, who shared his bewilderment. "Why?"

Miss Cosmica made a hand sign, and one of her partners activated a drone camera. It was slick, pink, and of better quality than Clara's. It projected a video hologram in the middle of the room and played high-fidelity sound.

++"If what you really want is to watch another boring max-level battle, then switch channels, you bastard! There are thousands of streams for that already! But how many channels depict the struggles of the underdog? Have you, my dear audience, forgotten what being powerless used to be, back when--"++

The video was paused, showing Clara's frozen face before the hologram disappeared.

"This is why," Miss Cosmica said, smirking. "Don't underestimate the power of nostalgia, Alan. My first hit was a cover of an already existing song."

"Digital Tender Love!" Amelia cried, and Miss Cosmica winked at her.

"Ten cosmic points to you!"

Amelia clapped, excited, making Alan stare at her. **Who is this girl beside me?**

He remembered Amelia's excitement when he told her about the meeting. **She spent like three hours in her room, trying out different outfits.**

They were in the living room, Amelia and Alan sitting on the couch and the two maid NPCs standing behind them. The star comfortably rested on the armchair with her companions by both sides. Ashley could be heard munching from the dinner table, tasting the cookies Miss Cosmica had gifted them.

"But," Alan muttered. "Would people really want to watch our--?"

"Show him," Miss Cosmica said aloud, and her assistant opened the Novus' intranet, using the drone's hologram to show the top trending streams.

Clara's stream of Phantom Seekers was in ninth place. "Oh! That... that's neat? I think."

"Alan," Amelia called, tapping his knee. "We could have a stable source of income if we stream and keep hitting the trending list like that."

"By just streaming?" Alan said, frowning before the hologram disappeared, inadvertently crossing his eyes with the idol. "What would be the terms?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She giggled, and a system window appeared in front of him. "That's the contract. Read it thoroughly, but I can give you a summary. You'll give me exclusive rights to your streams, and in exchange, I'll promote you on my channel. Ask your friend about it."

"Miss Cosmica has this brand, called Cosmic Nation, where she features some of the best guilds and warriors that take part in official, competitive PVP battles," Amelia explained, making the idol nod satisfied.

"Beautifully explained. Another 10 cosmic points to you! That's right, Alan. I could feature your guild there, so you could potentially reach thousands of viewers. But, making entertaining content would fall entirely into your hands. My advice? Just be yourself."

"I don't even know why people enjoyed watching us struggle," he said in a tiny voice. "And what would you gain from this?"

"As the contract says, we would split the revenue earned from paid exclusive content, tournament rewards, and merchandise. 20 - 80."

"You want 80%?"

"No, Alan. You'd keep the 80%."