﹂Why would anyone in their right mind even reject such an offer? Is he stupid, or something? 

﹂Nah. I think he just knows his limit. I respect him for that. He didn't let fame get into his head and chose to remain on the level he belonged. Still, doesn't it seem a bit odd that he gets proposed such an offer? No matter how competent someone may be, offering them such a deal... Something is fishy. 

﹂He should still ditch Blue Daisy. As fun as they are, their future isn't promising. 

﹂I agree. 

I stared at my phone and read through every single comment regarding me. The more I looked, the more I felt something boil within me. 

﹂Besides the little girls, none of the other girls seem that promising. Especially their leader who is already 24 years old. She's already old.

I wasn't one to let the hate get to me but my patience was being tested. 

I was fine with the comments that were being directed my way. 

What I wasn't fine with were the comments directed toward the girls. At least, not in the way the comments were doing. All their criticism stemmed from small clips being spread online due to their sudden rise in popularity. 

This wasn't outside of my expectations. 

With fame, came more scrutiny. 

"Manager." 

"Yes?" 

"Are the comments bad?" 

I raised my head to stare at Sarah. With her chin propped up by her hand, she looked outside the window of the car, her other hand moving from her mouth to the pack of candy on her lap. 

She absentmindedly stared at the ever-changing scenery outside, and I had a hard time reading her expression. 

"What makes you think the comments are bad?" 

"Your expression." 

"Ah." 

So it was that again. 

Really. 

She continued, 

"Your right eyebrow twitches whenever you see something that you dislike." 

"What?" 

My eyebrow did what now? 

Sarah's voice subsided slightly, 

"Your nose also wrinkles whenever you find something fun or are happy." 

"What? Really?" 

Since when did she notice? 

"Mhm." 

Leaning her head away from the window, Sarah leaned back on the seat of the car before looking at me, 

"...Do people recognize you when you go out?" 

The question surprised me, but I still nodded my head. 

"Yes. More than you can imagine." 

Ever since I reached the Celebrity rankings, people would look twice in my direction.

While I didn't have any fans, the fact that people were taking notice of me was already impressive. 

"Do you think people will recognize me?" 

When I was about to respond, I stopped myself and looked at her. She had stopped eating her candy, and her expression was grim. It reminded me of the time when I saw her wait outside of the training room when she was kicked out by her instructor. 

Because I didn't think her current mood was good, I spoke immediately, 

"One day. Not too far from now." 

"You think they'll ask me to take photos with them?" 

"For sure." 

"Ah, that's good. I hope that happens, but..." 

Sarah's expression turned even gloomier. 

"...Mia and the others told me I shouldn't take photos with other fans." 

"They said that?" 

"Yeah." 

Her head lowered. Was she disappointed or sad? Maybe both. 

"Do you have any idea why they said that?" 

Surely, they must have had a good reason for this. I doubted the girls said that to make her feel bad. 

"...They said that if I were to take a photo with others, they'd end up hating me." 

"For what?"

"Because they said I make them look like squids." 

"That..." 

I blinked, turning my attention toward the outside as the car made its way toward a familiar building.

"...I don't think they're wrong." 

In retrospect, now that I thought about it, they weren't wrong. Sarah did make others look like squids. 

There was hardly anyone that would look good when in the same frame as her. 

"So you think the same as them, manager?" 

Sarah's mumbled softly, her shoulders slowly drooping.

I would've said something to her at the moment, but my attention was directed toward the front where over a hundred people stood. They comprised of young men and women who all held up large signs in the air. 

When I opened the window to take a better look, I was surprised to see large banners hanging in the air. 

What's going on? 

Perhaps opening the window wasn't exactly the greatest of ideas as people started flocking to the car. I hurriedly rolled up the car window, afraid they'd try anything funny, and turned to Sarah. 

"Here, wear this. Make sure they don't recognize you." 

In my hurry, I handed her a hat and a pair of sunglasses which she quickly put on.  

The mob came, and upon spotting me, they all showed similar disappointed expressions before leaving. Some did turn to look at Sarah, but because the windows were tinted and she was disguised, their eyes didn't linger on them for too long. 

That kind of hurt. 

Still, I guess things did work out as I managed to finally get into the company where several men in suits were waiting for us. 

Of them, I was able to spot a familiar figure. 

"Ah, you two are finally here." 

Producer Maddison came to greet the two of us with a smile on his face. 

He shook my hand and turned to look at Sarah who had taken her glasses and hat off, his eyes opening wide for a moment as he mumbled, 

'Fuck me.'

Then, as if nothing had happened, he hurried us into the building. 

Sarah followed right behind me. 

"Manager, did you see how everyone turned away when they looked at you?" 

"Let's not mention that." 

I could still picture the disappointed looks on their faces as they looked at me. It was as if they had seen some sort of evil monster. 

"That—" 

"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me. I already know that my face is scary." 

"Is it?" 

Sarah blinked, 

"...I don't think so." 

The two of us were led to a small room. There, a couple of people took Sarah hostage and sat her down to do her makeup. 

Only that... 

"This doesn't look right. What to add?" 

"Maybe lipstick? And some blush?" 

"No, that's too much. She's... What kind of..." 

"Manager." 

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It was Producer Maddison who brought his thumb back to point at the door. 

Understanding his message, I followed him out quietly. 

I felt a gaze bear down on my back coming out of the room but I chose to ignore it. 

"Is there something?" 

"Actually, yes. There's a couple of things that I need to talk to you about." 

"Okay..." 

I frowned, finding the situation rather weird. 

Noticing my reaction, the producer grinned and shook his hands. 

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad. I was just about to tell you that after you are done, you can follow this path and go right upstairs where everyone is waiting. There, you will meet with the other contestants." 

He pointed toward the corridor in the distance and there I noticed the flight of stairs that lead toward the upper deck of the arena. 

"How many are there?" 

"About a fifty or so?" 

"That many?"

"Well, things turned out this way." 

With a helpless shrug, he continued, 

"In any case, they are all popular figures. All of them are more popular than Sarah, with most of them in the Celebrity rankings. I'm not saying anything will happen, but please do be careful. Some may think that Sarah being here might be due to..." 

"Favoritism?" 

I was suddenly reminded of the mob outside of the company and finished the sentence for him. 

The producer rubbed his nose, 

"Haha, was I that obvious?" 

"No, not exactly." 

I could understand where he was coming from in a way. If it was the case, and most of the contestants were popular Tier 1 Star Chaser. The company most definitely didn't waste any resources trying to recruit. 

Sarah's addition may seem a little... 

"There's no need to worry, producer."  

I threw all those useless thoughts away. 

"You've seen her already. She'll do well." 

"Hahaha, of course, she will." 

The producer laughed. This time, more genuinely. 

"I didn't call you here to tell you that. There's another reason why I called you here." 

"Oh?" 

With a small nudge of his hand, one of the men in black waiting outside came up to me, handing me a small package. 

"What's this?" 

I retrieved the package and looked at the producer in surprise. 

With a faint smile, the producer said, 

"Think of it as a little gift from me and the CEO. I've already given Sarah the first part of the gift, think of this as the second part."

"Yes?" 

He had already given Sarah a gift? 

When? 

"Do give that to Sarah when she's done." 

The producer left while I was still in the middle of my surprise  

Standing in the middle of the hall, my curiosity got the best of me and I carefully opened up the package. 

"Ah..." 

There were no words that could describe my current surprise as I stared at the contents of the package. 

Then, when I finally managed to get a grasp of myself, I found myself smiling. 

'This...'

What a wonderful surprise. 

I felt almost envious. 

But then... 

If this was merely one half of the surprise, what was the other half? My gaze fell on the room behind me, and taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. 

To Tok—!  

"Sarah." 

When I knocked, I noticed the slight tremble of my hand. 

I thought that Sarah was the only one nervous about the entire situation, but only now did I realize I wasn't doing much better than her. 

I was still new to this, and despite everything that had happened, from the interview, the call with the Guild Master, the visions, and the Dungeon Seekers situation, I felt my heart pound in my chest. 

I realized it now. 

This 'project' wasn't merely about Sarah proving everyone wrong. 

No, it was also confirmation for me. Confirmation that my eyes weren't wrong and that the path I was treading wasn't the wrong one. 

Clank—! 

The door opened. 

I had expected Sarah to be the one to open the door but I was surprised to see that one of Sarah's makeup artists had opened the door. 

When I took a step into the room, my eyes fell on Sarah. With her head lowered, I had a hard time seeing her expression. However, what I did see was the brand-new set of clothing she was wearing. 

The sleek, black material provided a streamlined look, perfectly hugging every curve of her body. The suit featured reinforced padding over her shoulders, chest, hips, and legs. 

The design wasn't anything outstanding, but it was certainly a massive upgrade compared to her previous suit. 

'So that's what the first part of the gift was.' 

Realization dawned on me, and I moved up to her. 

"Sarah, it's time. Let's go." 

She didn't respond immediately. 

Frowning, I was about to call out for her again when her head raised. The words that were about to come out of my mouth stopped. 

For the briefest of moments the world around me seemed to darken. Everything within my vision stretched as my gaze fell on the two brown pupils that were staring intently at me. 

The world around me stilled and a strange silence embraced me. 

My feet suddenly felt a little heavy. As if something was clamping down on them, and the faint sound of a heartbeat echoed in the background of the world, shattering the silence that was residing within. 

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump! 

My blood boiled at the sound of the heartbeat. 

'Ah, so that's what it is.' 

Everything shattered within moments and Sarah was standing before me again. 

As if possessed, Sarah continued to stare at me with lifeless eyes. It was as if everything around her seemed insignificant, and nothing to her mattered. 

Whatever nervousness I felt a moment prior shattered. 

Why did I even worry? 

The current Sarah was scary. 

"Manager?" 

Sarah's eyes returned to normal. 

No, not exactly. I could still see the lingering darkness hidden within them. 

I stretched my hand out to her. 

"Let's go. We're about to start."