Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

Eriri Sawamura's breathing was rapid, a mixture of complex emotions such as anger, frustration, and panic.

This is so absurd that anyone would feel completely lost!

My online name, my identity, my information were stolen and used to create an identical person online, making me the fake one!

No one likes another version of themselves in the world, especially when that version is also recognized as real by more people.

"...You stole our virtual identities, but reality can never replace us!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her red lips tightly, as if grasping at the last straw, and loudly retorted.

"Really?" Tsugumi asked with a half-smile.

"Is it really true that a real identity cannot be created out of thin air?"

He twirled the silver coin in his hand, speaking casually as it danced in his palm:

"How much do you think an account with millions of followers across multiple platforms can earn in a month?"

"Accepting advertisements, selling goods via live streaming, boosting rankings through tipping, and oh, content production with the assistance of my state-of-the-art AI."

"Even if I signed a contract where I receive 99% of the profits and he only gets 1%, there would still be plenty of people eager to sign such a contract!"

He paused for a moment, then looked at the two of them and sneered.

"Just like I said before, only people who are not short of money can say such stupid things as not caring about money. You can say it because you are not short of money, but there are plenty of people in this world who are short of money!"

"Humans are the most valuable and the most worthless thing. Many would sell their souls for the benefits I offer. Do you think you're so unique?"

"I...you can't find anyone to replace me." Eriri bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

Tsugumi looked at Eriri with disdain.

"Don't think you're something special just because your surname has Spencer in it. Let's not even talk about whether people acknowledge you as a descendant. Even if they do, you're just a distant relative, not even a fallen noble! And if you really want to talk about it, didn't your ancestors buy their titles?"

"I can buy as many noble surnames as I want if I have the money; I can even buy the title of king!"

"Just because I flattered you a bit and you're trending doesn't make you think you're something special. Besides the buzz, your surname doesn't bring you anything useful. Damn it, I hate aristocrats the most!"

That's the truth. Times have changed. Today, it's a world of capital, not a world of bloodlines. What good are those great, ancient noble lineages? They were worthless a hundred years ago.

Eriri retreated repeatedly, then suddenly squatted down and buried her head in her knees, her golden twin tails trembling slightly.

What Tsurugi said was cruel, but it was absolutely true.

As long as you pay enough, there are plenty of people willing to undergo full-body plastic surgery to earn that money, and as for their past experiences and history, it's incredibly easy to fake them.

While the pen may not be as powerful as the gun, for the general public, the pen can truly make them see whatever they want.

"...Did you go through all this trouble just to humiliate us?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha broke the silence that had been building up, taking a deep breath and looking defiantly at Tsugumi.

"To be honest, this is boring," Tsugumi shrugged.

"But humans are creatures who do boring things to pass the time. I want you to sign a contract with me and obediently walk the path to stardom that I've created for you. But it doesn't seem to make much difference to me whether you're here or not, um... so I'll only give you one chance."

He walked up to Kasumigaoka Utaha, bent down, and pressed his handsome, bewitching face against the voluptuous, black-stone beauty. A glint of light flickered in his eyes, and his voice became seductive and deep, carrying a strange, electric current.

"Are you planning to gracefully abandon all of this only to be helplessly crushed, or do you want to first become a successful person in the eyes of the world?"

"If you want to showcase your talent, you need a stage. I might create many things for you that don't belong to you, but wouldn't you like to try to absorb the essence of these articles and create your own fruits of talent for everyone to see?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's reddened eyes became somewhat lost and struggling—she couldn't deny that even the so-called top female student who ranked first in the school was nothing more than a tiny speck of dust in the vast sea of ​​people once she entered society.

She had to consider her future development, and the overwhelming power of AI had almost cut off her path to advancement—she didn't know where she could go from literature and light novels.

Isn't this an opportunity? Although she had no idea whether this devilish CEO was truly inviting her out of boredom, but...

Turning away with backbone is indeed cool, but the price is not only missing an opportunity, but also watching helplessly as a fake takes away everything, and she has to give up everything and start all over again.

"I...accept." Kasumigaoka Utaha answered with her eyes closed after struggling for a moment.

Eriri's eyes widened as if she wanted to say something, but suddenly she found herself speechless. Tsugumi held up a finger, then smiled and handed over the prepared contract.

"Great, then let's have a pleasant collaboration!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha took the somewhat strange contract and actually signed her name directly.

The contract was taken by Tsurugi, who then tossed a thick stack of papers over.

"Here's the contract. Take it back and read it yourself. You can hire a lawyer or use the company's AI directly. I recommend the latter, but just trust me. Although I'm a devil, I'm a player with style. Even though you're dispensable, you don't need to worry that I'll force you to do anything that will be unacceptable or painful for you."

He paused, then shrugged.

"Even if you sign the contract and continue to stay at home as a good-for-nothing, the money will still be deposited into your account, and the PR team will handle everything for you—tsk, so what's the point of you guys? How come I've never encountered such a good company before?"

Tsugumi started muttering to herself with a hint of resentment, sounding somewhat neurotic. Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Utaha, seemingly snapping out of her daze, looked at the contract in her hand, her eyes filled with more confusion than anything else.

ding dong~~~

Her phone rang, and when she picked it up, there were two text messages.

One of them was an apology text message from Aki Tomoya, apologizing for trampling on his senior's feelings. He said he would give up using VOX's AI and hoped to work with his senior to create a more perfect script.

The other one was a very direct bank transfer SMS – a full 25 million yen!

"I'll give you your base salary for this month first. I won't interfere with your private life. Do whatever you want. Ugh, the longer I see you guys, the more I feel like you're parasites sucking blood from my company—get out of here!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the neurotic man in front of her with a strange expression. One second he was showing off the power of capital to him, looking like a rich and wicked uncle, but the next second he was like this.

But whatever the case, she had to admit that, even without any respect involved, Kasumigaoka Utaha was already in a state of 'submission' to Tsugumi.

"I understand, boss... I'll take hers too."

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded, picked up Eriri's contract, turned around, and pulled Eriri away. Tsugumi's gaze narrowed slightly as they left.

As he said, it was indeed a losing proposition no matter how you looked at it. But money itself had little value to him.

This is just an experiment, using real people to create stars and characters that attract attention and focus, and leveraging the power of idols created by themselves to control this field!

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who signed a soul contract with him, and Sawamura Eriri, who is about to sign a contract, are different from the stars launched by the mass entertainment company. The rest of that contract is not the point; the point is that Tsugumi can draw on the magic of those emotions through them.

Of course, he would never engage in any underhanded business dealings. He doesn't need to, and wouldn't, do such things. In any country, even in the more open West, a pure and innocent image is always a more appealing option for mainstream celebrities.

Moreover, even if we take a step back and assume that his power in this area really requires him to engage in some kind of business of forcing women into prostitution, he will not hesitate to abandon this power—he finds it disgusting!

Games are meant to please, not annoy, you. If this class system were truly such a fucking rip-off, he would never make himself feel disgusted!

That's his moral standard; give him a suitable excuse and he'll sound the horn of destruction without hesitation. But he'd rather die than do something so disgusting in front of him!

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, he watched as the two female passersby walked out of his building, pulling and tugging at each other.

They argued and debated, and it seemed that for the time being, they could only obtain the power of one of the contracts.

He wasn't in a hurry, not at all.

Shaking the cola in his wine glass, the media devil, pretending to be the mastermind behind everything (and indeed he is), sets his evil gaze on Kasumigaoka Utaha.

She alone is enough.

Let's use her to try out the magic of the Ring of Desire, which I just obtained from the Goetia Spellbook.

Having transmigrated, my only purpose is to kill, kill, kill! : 19. Utaha Kasumigaoka, the Fallen Evil

"I'm not like you. I absolutely will not sign this nonsensical document!!!"

Leaving VOX Technology, Eriri, as if waking from a dream, angrily threw down the contract in her hand amidst the fluttering white papers, and said...

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't speak, but simply looked up at the fallen papers and said in a cold and weary voice...

"What's the point? Don't forget that the account that stole your name is still running. If you don't sign, you don't even have the basic right to control things."

"I don't care about these things," Eriri said defiantly.

"At worst, we'll sue him and go to court. I have plenty of time and energy to deal with her!!!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Eriri with almost indifferent eyes, and after she finished speaking, she said softly...

“But I didn’t.”

“Eri Sawamura, you have a wealthy family, a powerful father, and a family that can support you. But... I don’t.”

—Your social classes are ultimately different.

These were the cruel words that Tsurue said to her in a mocking tone before leaving.

Perhaps within the school, family background and social class don't seem to affect their relationships and friendships much, because it's an ivory tower where grades, social circles, and friends are valued.

But once they leave school, the differences between them become apparent instantly.

Some people are born to be beasts of burden, while others are born in Rome. Some people's starting point is so high that others can't even see it through generations of effort. Without a doubt, Eriri Sawamura is one of those people who is born in Rome.

Even though Tsurugi looked down on her ridiculous aristocratic surname, her father, Leonard Spencer, was still a high-ranking British diplomat, and her mother was a wealthy young lady who could be described as having "a certain level of financial strength" compared to her father.

She not only owns a large apartment, but also has villas in several other parts of Tokyo. Her innate wealth is enough for her parents to support her unrealistic, even undignified, ideals.

Therefore, she has the ability to fight a lawsuit against a behemoth like VOX Technology. Whether she wins or not is another matter, but at least she doesn't have to worry about paying legal fees.

And what about Kasumigaoka Utaha?

Her family wasn't bad off, but it was nowhere near as good as Eriri's. And being from a "normal" family meant that she had to work hard for her future.

What will her life be like after high school and college? Will she be able to write novels for the rest of her life? Will she encounter any difficulties in her life?

These were all unknowns, all uncertainties. She couldn't provide answers, but before her lay one path that would allow her to live a life free from worry and to freely pursue herself, and the other, the opposite, that would not only lead her back to anxiety but also to confront that colossal behemoth that filled her with despair.

She once sold her own love metronome. In those years that nearly ended, was her sorrow and pain merely the sadness of not being accepted?

People seem ashamed to talk about pursuing money at the expense of other things, considering it vulgar and base. But the lives of ordinary people are indeed vulgar; nobility is merely a fleeting aspiration.

It is said that youthful spirit is an irreplaceable and precious thing, but aren't we all people who stand firm in reality giving up this youthful spirit ourselves? Only when you have money do you have the right to be sentimental about spring and autumn; when you don't have money, youthful spirit is a worthless thing.

She couldn't possibly write light novels forever, and she also knew that her light novels probably wouldn't have a chance to sell well in the future.

"You can hold out against VOX Technology because even if you fail, someone will bail you out! But I don't. I only have my own life, a life that I can mess up at any time!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Eriri and said, word by word...

"Perhaps we shouldn't have started talking in the first place. In the end, my connection with you is only because of Rinri-kun."

After saying that, she crumpled the contract into a ball and threw it at Eriri, then left without looking back.

As for what Eriri will think afterward... it doesn't matter, she doesn't care anymore.

Since we're destined not to be in the same circle, let's just leave it at that. We'll each go our own way!