Chapter 1358

<1358th Chapter> 1358. Spirit’s Atlantis

Elena arrived at Sector 6,700 much faster than I expected. I thought it would take at least half a day… but she got here in just an hour.

What’s surprising is that she came straight to the practice room without me even giving her the exact location.

“To think you’d get here so quickly. So, you secretly wanted to be an idol too?”

“Ha! As if. I’ve just decided to work, that’s all. No dilly-dallying. By the way, I found the tickets in the family vault. Some guest gave it as a ‘gift’ when they visited our house long ago.”

“Really a gift?”

“You don’t actually think it was a real gift, do you?”

It was probably a bribe disguised as a gift. The higher your status, the more of these “presents” you receive—something I’m well aware of.

I nodded casually while staring intently at Elena.

“Is that really you, Elena?”

“How dull of a question.”

Elena smirked slightly.

This Elena looks a bit different from the one I know. She’s using illusion magic to alter her appearance. Her short hair remains the same length, but her blue hair has turned red, and her azure eyes are now deep brown.

Her facial features have also changed subtly. It’s hard to recognize her by her face alone. But her unique aura is unmistakably Elena.

“I know it’s an illusion… but aren’t you worried? Can you really hide your identity this way?”

“It’s fine. A person’s impression changes drastically with just a hair color change. And not many people know my face anyway. Outside of nobles, there are practically no commoners who recognize me.”

Elena isn’t the type to rally the masses out in the open. She prefers mystery, fitting for someone known as the Illusionist.

Anyway, her presence here means she’s completed all her preparations. With how thorough Elena is, there’s no need for me to worry about her.

“By the way… Yuria. Long time no see.”

Elena’s eyes lit up as she looked at Yuria. The look of someone spotting talent. She hasn’t given up on Yuria yet, it seems.

“Yes, it’s been a while. Lady Elena.”

“You’re still the same. And over there… is that a fox?”

Next to Yuria stood Mireung, whose fox ears and tail were proudly on display. She won’t bother hiding them even during her idol debut. While therianthropes aren’t common in Atlantis, they’re not unheard of either. Mireung’s fox traits will definitely become her charm point.

“I have a name, you know. It’s Mireung. Yes, I’m a fox, but still… you’re quite… unusual. Your illusion isn’t layered on top of your appearance… it’s woven from within your body?”

“Ho ho. So you noticed that, huh? You’re no ordinary fox.”

“My name is Mireung!”

“Fair enough. Mireung. Interested in working under me? I sense great potential in you.”

“No thanks. I’m not really into working.”

“What a shame.”

Their brief conversation ended there.

“Hey, you two. Wait here for a moment. I’ll go bring Seohyun too.”

I stepped out of the practice room.

Before leaving, I saw them standing there with their arms crossed, eyeing each other. The atmosphere was somewhat intense. Those girls…


I was curious about what kind of conversation we’d have, but bringing Joo Seohyun here was urgent.

“Joo Seohyun, Yuria, Mireung, Eleena. Who would’ve thought all four of you would gather! This entertainment world? We’re gonna crush it like peanuts!”

Joo Seohyun, who had been pestering me since dawn, was still lying in bed asleep even though the sun was high up in the sky.

After bringing Joo Seohyun back to the practice room,

Seohyun’s eyes widened as soon as she saw them. She couldn’t hide her shock. And well, no wonder—every single one of the girls gathered in the practice room was a beauty queen. Even Joo Seohyun, who’s quite gorgeous herself, seemed overshadowed. These women were on an entirely different level when it came to looks alone—entertainment-world-crushing levels.

“Alright, girls. I’ve brought your leader.”

I gave Seohyun’s frozen back a firm push with my palm. With a dazed expression, Seohyun stepped forward.

“I… I’m Joo Seohyun.”

“Yuria.”

“Eleena.”

“Mireung. I’m the youngest, so please take care of me, Seohyun-ssi.”

Mireung approached Seohyun with quick steps and grabbed her hand, shaking it enthusiastically. Seohyun awkwardly nodded her head. Unlike Mireung, she wasn’t exactly known for her social skills.

Inside, I was surprised by Mireung’s words.

‘The youngest is Mireung?’

As far as I knew, Mireung was hundreds of years old. Sure, she calls Yuria “sister,” but there’s no way she could be the youngest.

At that moment, our eyes met. Mireung winked at me with one eye. I shook my head.

“Girls, Joo Seohyun will be the group’s leader. Anyone dissatisfied?”

Truthfully, the title of ‘leader’ didn’t really matter much either way since I planned to actively interfere anyway. The reason I gave Seohyun the title was simply because I intended to center the girl group around her. After all, this girl group started with Seohyun.

“Hmm… I don’t particularly have any complaints. But does being the leader mean having actual power? Like, do we have to obey everything the leader says?”

Mireung was circling around Seohyun, inspecting her body carefully.

“As far as other girl groups go, I don’t know… but in ours, everyone is equal. Just listen to me.”

“Hmph. If there’s no power in it, then there’s no real reason to be the leader.”

Eleena showed disinterest in the leadership position.

I glanced at Yuria just in case. Though Yuria seems uninterested in the leadership role… I didn’t jump to conclusions. For all I knew, she might surprise me and want it.

“I don’t have any objections either. Besides, I don’t know much about idols anyway.”

Yuria calmly replied. When it comes to idol knowledge… well, Seohyun probably knows even less, but I kept quiet.

“Since Unni Yuria and Tiara-unni agree with this… let’s just make Seohyun-unni our leader.”

“…Feels like you’re just passing the buck because it’s troublesome.”

Seohyun had good instincts.

“…Tiara-unni?”

Without realizing it, I turned to Eleena and repeated the name. Eleena confidently declared:

“It’s a stage name. Did you really think I’d use my real name?”

“Well, no, that’s not it. Of course, you’d use a stage name… but ‘Tiara’? It doesn’t really suit you.”

“It’ll grow on you.”

Once introductions were over, I gathered them together.

There was something very important to discuss.

“Now, we need to decide on a group name. Any good ideas?”

“Me! What about Fox Era?”

Mireung enthusiastically threw out the suggestion. I didn’t like it. In fact, I disliked it so much that I unconsciously spat on the floor.

“Tch.”

“Producer-sama! You didn’t have to go that far! That’s so mean!”

“…Producer-sama?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected honorific, Seohyun narrowed her eyes and glared at me. Come to think of it, the issue of honorifics needed addressing too.

“While active as a girl group, call me Producer… or rather, Manager. That sounds better.”

It’d be a hassle if any scandals broke out because they called me ‘Master’ or ‘Lord’ during official activities.

“Producer! Not bad at all. Honestly, I wanted to use that title myself, but since you insist, Producer-sama, I’ll step aside.”

“Thank you for stepping aside…”


“Thank you. And about that Fox Era thing you mentioned… it’s pretty bad. Too countryside.”

“You’re way too straightforward. So what does the producer think?”

“Me? I’m… Bojiax.”

“Huh?”

“Bojiax. It means constellation. Even though I look like this, I’m the ruler of the Bojia constellation. So Bojiax sounds cool and fits you guys who shine like stars.”

“…”

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy.

Confused, I just rolled my eyes around.

It was Yuria who finally spoke up in the freezing atmosphere.

“Producer, the word for constellations isn’t Bojiax but Zodiac.”

“Eh, really? Then let’s go with Zodiac.”

“Producer! Zodiac has a negative image. There’s a serial killer called Zodiac!”

“…If that’s the reason, there’s nothing we can do. Then how about Virgin Flower… matches our pure concept, right?”

“Our conscience won’t allow us to use that name.”

Elena shuddered and looked around. She scanned each member one by one and asked,

“Is there anyone here who’s still a virgin?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

No one raised their hand. Every member of this idol girl group had experience with men. Of course, that man is me.

“How about other suggestions…? You guys should give some opinions too.”

“How about the Women of Frucus…? What do you think?”

Yuria gave her suggestion. It was a very intuitive name. I liked it, but Elena shook her head in disgust.

“The public doesn’t know what Frucus is. If they find out, they’ll hate it even more… Not suitable as a girl group name. Fox Era might actually be better.”

“…Really?”

“How about Ice Wine? The name is cute, and the word sticks to your tongue nicely.”

“That’s a type of wine. We probably shouldn’t use alcohol names.”

Elena frowned but didn’t argue back.

I turned my gaze to Juseohyun. She was the only one who hadn’t spoken yet. The other members also looked at her. Juseohyun hesitated under all the attention before speaking.

“…Saber. That’s all I can think of right now.”

“Sohyun-ssi! Saber as a girl group name?! That’s so not fitting!”

“It’s better than Fox Era.”

“What’s wrong with Fox Era?!”

“Fox Era… makes us look too old.”

“Too old, you say…”

Mireung lowered her head in shock but soon lifted it again, listing off names that came to mind. Several names were suggested, but none of them really clicked.

While I was pondering what to do, the practice room door opened, and Lilith walked in.

“Manager Sung! I saw your text. All members gathered, right? Juseohyun should be enough, right?”

Lilith, who had rushed in while talking, widened her eyes when she saw the members gathered around me in the center of the practice room. She gawked at Yuria, Mireung, and Elena in turn.

“Fantastic… Manager Sung! This is insane! Where did you find girls like these?! Just visually, they’re already top-tier! My instincts are telling me! They’ll explode in popularity once they debut! Stars yaahhhhhh!”

Lilith was overly excited. She screamed and jumped around uncontrollably.

“Director, there’s something more important.”

I honestly told her we hadn’t decided on a group name yet.

“Hmm? Still haven’t picked a name? As the director, I can’t just sit by. How about Pobitz?”

“Pobitz?”

“Forbidden fruit. Short for Forbidden Fruit. And since there are four of you, Po(four) Bits(beats). Doesn’t that sound good?”

Pobitz. Pobitz. Pobitz.

As I let the name roll around in my mouth, I nodded. Looking around at the members, they all seemed to like it too.

“Director, that’s quite clever.”

Lilith smirked, then put her hands on her hips and shouted,

“Manager Sung! I’m Director Lilith!”