บท 501: The Super Ojou-sama
Kaguya stood before a towering skyscraper, its structure soaring dozens of stories high. The massive building gleamed under the sunlight, with its glass windows reflecting the rays, adding to the grand, modern urban charm.
This was the largest jewelry store in the city, part of a global chain known for its exquisite craftsmanship. It was the go-to destination for wealthy elites worldwide to purchase luxury jewelry.
But Kaguya wasn't here to buy anything—she was here to sell.
As she stepped inside, the interior was lavishly decorated, with plush velvet carpets, intricately carved pearwood furniture, gold-plated wall decorations, famous oil paintings, and enormous crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The overwhelming opulence almost suffocated with its extravagance.
To Kaguya, however, this place reeked of nothing but the tastelessness of a nouveau riche. The gaudy decor felt vulgar, as if a country bumpkin had tried to cram every expensive thing they could find into one room, only to end up with something garish and unrefined.
No sooner had Kaguya stepped through the door than a smiling saleswoman greeted her warmly. "Welcome! How can I assist you today? Perhaps I could offer some suggestions to make your shopping experience more enjoyable?"
The salesperson's enthusiasm practically radiated, and Kaguya found it a bit overwhelming.
It was no wonder, though. In the salesperson's eyes, the silver-haired girl before her was strikingly beautiful—so much so that describing her as "a beauty that eclipses the moon and flowers" didn't seem like an exaggeration. Her elegance and grace were impeccable, far beyond what an ordinary person could possess. With years of sales experience, the woman had quickly pegged Kaguya as the young lady of some affluent family, out for a leisurely shopping trip. Only a family of immense wealth could cultivate someone with such refinement.
To the salesperson, people like Kaguya were a golden opportunity. Aristocratic families often spent extravagantly without a second thought, and the prospect of a hefty commission was tantalizing enough to make the saleswoman eager to please.
Meanwhile, outside the store, three schoolgirls stood by the window, gazing enviously at the jewelry inside.
"I wish I could buy jewelry from a place like this one day," sighed the tall, blonde-haired girl.
"Yeah, but everything inside is so expensive," added the brunette beside her. "I wonder when I'll ever save up enough. It'd be nice to afford something for my wedding."
"They sure make it hard to feel like you belong, huh?" the black-haired girl with glasses muttered softly.
Suddenly, their gazes shifted, and they spotted the silver-haired girl inside the store.
"It's her again," said the blonde. "I've seen her hanging around that genius from AST. They seem really close."
"I heard she's the daughter of some super-rich family," the brunette added, her tone filled with admiration. "Only someone like that could just waltz into a place like this and buy whatever they want. It's so enviable."
"It really makes you not want to get too close," the girl with glasses murmured.
Inside the store...
"What? You're not here to buy anything?" the saleswoman asked in surprise.
"That's right," Kaguya nodded calmly. "I never said I was here to shop."
The saleswoman's demeanor shifted slightly, though she maintained her professionalism and didn't walk away. "Is there something else I can help you with?" she asked, though her tone had lost much of its earlier warmth.
"I'd like to sell something," Kaguya said with a smile, "if your store buys such things."
"I'm sorry," the saleswoman responded, her tone polite but formal, "we don't purchase jewelry from customers. All of our materials come from renowned sources around the world, so we don't have a program for buying back jewelry. I hope you understand."
The meaning behind her words was clear—essentially telling Kaguya to take her business elsewhere, as they weren't interested in low-quality goods.
"Oh, I see," Kaguya said. "What about these?"
She pulled something from her pocket and held it out in her palm.
The saleswoman, already growing a bit impatient, had begun to mentally dismiss Kaguya as a fraud. Her earlier hopes of making a big sale had all but evaporated. But just as she was about to excuse herself, her eyes fell on what Kaguya was holding—and she froze.
In Kaguya's hand were several egg-sized stones, gleaming with dazzling brilliance. The light from the store reflected off them, casting sparkling rays around the room.
"Is this…" The saleswoman's eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched on her face.
"That's right," Kaguya said, her lips curving into a smile. "These are diamonds."
When Kaguya finally emerged from the jewelry store, it was nearly noon. The diamonds she had brought were incredibly large—even on a global scale, such stones were rare. As a result, the store had to call in a professional appraiser to verify their authenticity. After waiting several hours for the appraiser to arrive, the expert confirmed that Kaguya's diamonds were indeed the real deal, leaving both the appraiser and the staff utterly astonished. Even the appraiser, with decades of experience, had never seen diamonds of such size and clarity.
The saleswoman, who had been skeptical at first, was left speechless. It turned out she had misjudged Kaguya entirely—this silver-haired girl was indeed from a powerful, wealthy family. No ordinary person could casually pull out such priceless items as if they were nothing but ordinary stones.
In the end, Kaguya successfully exchanged her diamonds for a sizable amount of money. Due to the sheer value of the transaction, the store issued her a special black card, granting her access to their elite membership. They also gave her a beautiful card that offered "super VIP" privileges.
"Super VIP?" Kaguya looked curiously at the intricately designed card in her hand. "Is this by any chance related to Ma Huateng's business?"
She remembered how she had once been swindled by Ma Huateng's company, losing several months' worth of living expenses and being forced to scrape by afterward. Holding a grudge over that, Kaguya tossed the card away without a second thought as soon as she stepped outside the store.
This casual act only solidified the saleswoman's belief that Kaguya was indeed from an elite family. An ordinary person would have guarded that card with their life, but Kaguya discarded it as if it were worthless.
As Kaguya strolled down the street, examining her new bank card, a small figure suddenly came rushing toward her, colliding with her head-on.
Kaguya, caught off guard, almost stumbled from the sudden impact, while the small figure that collided with her was sent tumbling to the ground, appearing to have taken quite a hard fall.
"Sorry about that," Kaguya said, extending her hand to help the small girl up. But when she saw the girl's face, she paused for a moment and said, "It's you."
The pale-faced, disheveled girl in front of her was none other than the scruffy child Kaguya had seen earlier on the street. She hadn't expected to run into her again here.
"You... you can see me?" The little girl blinked in surprise, her big eyes wide with disbelief.
"What kind of nonsense is that? Of course, I can see you. Are you some kind of ghost?" Kaguya replied, a bit speechless.
The strange girl's already pale face turned even whiter, and without another word, she backed up a few steps before turning and bolting away in a flash.
Watching the girl flee, Kaguya felt a bit bewildered. Kids these days really were getting more and more ill-mannered, not even bothering to apologize after bumping into someone. But she didn't give it much thought and continued on her way home.
What Kaguya didn't realize, though, was that this seemingly insignificant encounter would lead to a huge headache for her later on.
For now, Kaguya planned to stop by the supermarket to pick up some groceries, thinking she could prepare a nice meal for the girls back at home. Though she had made some fairly elaborate meals before, her limited funds had restricted what she could cook. But now that she had money, there was no need to be as frugal anymore.
After selling the diamonds, her black card had been loaded with millions—or maybe even billions—but Kaguya hadn't paid much attention to the exact amount. As long as it was enough to cover her needs, she figured it would be a while before she ran out.
Just as Kaguya was about to enter the supermarket, she received an urgent notification from AST. The message explained that due to some internal adjustments, all personnel were required to return to the base for reassignment, and work tasks would be redistributed.
Kaguya thought it over for a moment. She didn't really want to go, but then again, even though she was technically part of AST, she had been absent for more than half of the time, skipping out on duties more often than anyone else. Given that the situation seemed fairly urgent, she decided it might be better to check things out. Turning away from the supermarket, she headed towards the AST base.
When she arrived at the AST headquarters, something felt off. It was unusually quiet—too quiet. There wasn't the usual bustle of activity, and what was even stranger was that the security checkpoint staff were nowhere to be seen. Even the guards who usually patrolled the perimeter were missing.
By now, it was almost noon, which should have been the lunchtime break. Yet, instead of the usual lively training grounds, the place was eerily empty, with not a single person in sight.
Kaguya furrowed her brow, then suddenly seemed to realize something. A smile tugged at her lips, and she called out loudly, "Alright, come out. There's no need to hide—I can see you."
As soon as her voice echoed through the air, the deafening roar of rushing wind filled the sky. Countless figures appeared overhead, blotting out the sun like a swarm of locusts. They were the AST members, fully armed and equipped with their Realizer Units, automatic rifles in hand, all aimed directly at Kaguya below.
"So, you really are a Spirit," said Ryouko Kusakabe, her eyes locked onto Kaguya as she pointed her gun at her, her voice heavy with accusation.
"Looks like I've been found out," Kaguya said, scratching her head, but her face was bright with a dazzling smile.
In hindsight, it made sense. The only ones who knew her true identity were Kotori Itsuka and her team, as well as the people from DEM. The DEM Corporation had even tried to use her identity to blackmail her recently, but they ended up getting a good beating for their trouble.
"What's your purpose for being here?" Ryouko demanded, her voice tense.
"You already have your suspicions, don't you? Why bother asking me?" Even when faced with such an overwhelming force, Kaguya remained unfazed, her smile never wavering.
"You infiltrated this place under false pretenses, so you must have some hidden agenda," Ryouko said, suppressing her growing anger. "Why would you do something like this?"
"Well, since you've already made up your mind, I guess I'll come clean," Kaguya shrugged and smiled mischievously. "Yes, I did trick all of you. My goal was to cause chaos, to destroy AST. I just didn't expect to be found out so soon. What a pity."
"No... I can't believe it," a soft voice suddenly cut through the tension.
Kaguya turned to see a petite, sweet-looking girl with twin pigtails and lovely features. It was Mikie Okamine.
"Oh, Mikie," Kaguya said with a gentle smile. "Sorry, but you were just a pawn for me. It's a shame I got exposed this early. I had hoped to use you to infiltrate AST's special unit, but I guess that plan's down the drain now."
"How could you...?" Mikie's eyes welled with tears, her face going pale from the shock. The innocent girl had clearly never expected to be betrayed in such a way.
"Why did you do this?" Ryouko's voice was full of fury. "Didn't we treat you well? Why would you betray us like this?"
A mocking smile spread across Kaguya's lips as she chuckled lightly. "Seems you've forgotten the truth about who we really are."
"The truth?" Ryouko was puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"
Kaguya let out a derisive laugh. "Did you forget who I am? I'm a Spirit, and you're humans. How could you not understand something as basic as that?"
Only then did it dawn on them. Perhaps Kaguya had seemed so normal most of the time, blending in so well with the humans around her, that they had all but forgotten the fact that she was, after all, a Spirit.
"I see now," Ryouko lifted her head, her voice grim. "I was too naive before, but not anymore. All units, prepare for battle!"
"Yes, ma'am!" came the immediate reply.
The moment Ryouko's command rang out, the crisp sound of rifles being loaded echoed across the base. The AST members chambered their rounds, their guns all trained on Kaguya.
"Do you really think you can defeat me?" Kaguya asked, her beautiful face twisting into a sly smile. "If you want to defeat me, you'd better come back in ten thousand years."
Her arrogant tone clearly enraged Ryouko. Her face flushed with anger as she shouted, "Attack!"
The instant she gave the order, the sharp crackle of gunfire erupted. Muzzle flashes lit up the sky as a torrent of bullets was unleashed, forming a steel curtain that rained down toward Kaguya like a relentless storm.
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