Angelia's answer caused a trace of surprise to ripple through Togawa Sakiko's heart.
A fairly good relationship?
What kind of "fairly good" relationship would allow her to bring two bands with barely any fanbase onto the stage of a top-tier venue like the dome?
"Thank you for your kindness, but with our current level, we're not ready for that stage," Togawa Sakiko said softly, shaking her head as she declined.
The Spark Flow Band had grown at a speed that felt almost like cheating. Their first solo performance had been at the Budokan. The second time, they appeared as a band. No matter how one looked at it, they seemed like a group of young ladies who had just debuted.
Yet by their third performance, they had already reached the standard of a professional band.
If they performed together, it would essentially be a showdown between bands.
With their current strength, going up there would only make them look foolish.
Although Angelia's skill was more than qualified, the other members of CRYCHIC and Ave Mujica lagged far behind.
Sakiko also had to consider whether someone might suddenly develop a second personality like her childhood friend Wakaba Mutsumi. Besides, the audience attending would mostly be Spark Flow's fans. That kind of traffic was something they simply couldn't ride.
"If you don't want to go to the dome with them, then let's go to the Budokan instead," Angelia Schariac said casually, as if she were discussing something utterly ordinary. "Don't worry about the money. I'll cover all the expenses."
As she spoke, she took out a black card and handed it toward Togawa Sakiko. "There's one hundred million US dollars in here. Use it. If it's not enough, tell me."
"Wow! One hundred million dollars!" Yuutenji Nyamu's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg. "Angelia-chan, you're way too rich!"
Chihaya Anon's eyes widened in disbelief. "Huh? One hundred million dollars? Angelia, you're not joking, right?" That wasn't one hundred million yen. Converted into yen, it would be fifteen billion!
Yahata Umiri frowned slightly. As a support musician who played for dozens of bands at once, her instincts told her this band probably wouldn't last long.
However, this Miss Angelia was undeniably generous.
"Money is nothing more than a number to me," Angelia Schariac said calmly, as though wealth truly meant nothing in her eyes.
With her abilities, making money was effortless.
Togawa Sakiko hadn't expected Angelia to be this lavish. Compared to the system's rewards, she was far more generous.
Last time, for ten million yen from the system, she had nearly lost her soul.
"Angelia, that wouldn't be appropriate," Sakiko said with a smile, refusing to accept the money.
"Umiri. The money's yours. Make the arrangements. I'll notify the Budokan to cooperate with you," Angelia Schariac said.
Holding the black card between two fingers, she flicked her wrist lightly, sending it elegantly and casually toward Yahata Umiri.
"Understood." After catching the card, Umiri glanced at Sakiko before nodding.
Although Sakiko had been the one to recruit her, within this band, Angelia was clearly the boss.
Sakiko said nothing at the sight. Judging from Spark Flow's extremely low ticket and merchandise prices, they had never intended to make money in the first place.
Angelia was clearly with them.
This was nothing more than a group of absurdly wealthy young ladies playing house.
She could tell Angelia didn't truly take the band seriously.
"Sigh."
Togawa Sakiko let out a silent breath.
After all, Angelia wasn't Uika. They weren't familiar with each other. To Angelia, playing in a band was probably just a pastime.
Under Angelia's overwhelming financial power and extraordinary abilities, CRYCHIC and Ave Mujica's live at the Budokan concluded smoothly.
Soon after, the members of both bands received text notifications on their phones confirming their qualification for the Elf Girl Music Competition.
Essentially, any girls' band that had performed at the Budokan or the dome could qualify for the competition.
Inside the lounge.
Chihaya Anon complained, "This Elf Girl Music Competition is so mysterious. They only told us the time, but not where it's being held."
Yahata Umiri looked toward Angelia. "Miss Angelia, is your goal the competition's mysterious reward?"
"Yes. That's the only thing I'm interested in," Angelia Schariac replied calmly, her expression betraying neither joy nor anger.
Yuutenji Nyamu asked curiously, "Angelia-chan, do you know what the mysterious reward is?"
"No." Angelia shook her head. She truly didn't know.
"And you're still willing to spend that much money!" Nyamu sounded envious. Whether they won or not, Angelia would give them a large sum. If they became champions, she was even willing to add another billion US dollars to purchase the mysterious reward.
The rich really were willful.
After attending classes for two days, Angelia went to the principal of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy and arranged for a leave of absence.
She then searched outside for powerful girls' bands to invest in.
Time passed quietly.
On the day of the Elf Girl Music Competition, seven hundred million people across the world were transported into a massive spectator arena. Each person was separated by an invisible barrier of air, and before everyone stood a dazzling stage within arm's reach.
[The Elf Girl Music Competition officially begins.]
[This competition is sponsored by Miku Izayoi, Eden, and Kiki.]
[In the spirit of fairness and justice, all participants are prohibited from using extraordinary powers.]
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
[The winner of this competition will be decided jointly by judges Miku Izayoi, Eden, and Kiki, along with seven hundred million audience votes. The three judges' votes account for 30%, and the seven hundred million audience votes account for 70%!!]
...
Streams of information flashed rapidly through everyone's minds.
Inside Spark Flow's lounge.
"This is insane. Hosting a music competition on this scale—seven hundred million live audience members and a global broadcast," the Herrscher of Sentience said with her arms crossed. Earlier, she had assumed it was just an ordinary music competition. It turned out that anything connected to the Will of Ruler was never ordinary.
The Herrscher of Fire Kiana asked, "What do we do now?"
Raiden Mei replied, "We compete normally. We never intended to cheat with our authorities anyway."
The Herrscher of Sentience frowned. "Can we really win like this?"
Seele said, "We'll win. Let's do our best together!"
Bronya remained silent.
Although Spark Flow as a whole had reached the level of a professional band, their training time had been too short.
More importantly, in this world where musical emotion was emphasized, Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Fire Kiana, Seele, the Herrscher of Sentience, and Bronya played almost entirely with technique and very little feeling.
In the quarterfinals, they lost to Roselia.
Ave Mujica was also eliminated in the round of sixteen, losing to RAISE A SUILEN.
The ban on using abilities had erased Angelia's greatest advantage.
There was also Chihaya Anon, a newcomer who had only been practicing guitar for a short time.
What surprised Angelia Schariac slightly was that CRYCHIC advanced all the way to the finals.
However, in the semifinals, CRYCHIC still lost to Roselia.
If CRYCHIC had won, it would have been somewhat troublesome for Angelia Schariac.
The final was Poppin'Party versus Roselia.
In the end, Kiki cast her vote for Roselia, giving them a three percent lead over Poppin'Party and crowning Roselia as champions.
The competition concluded.
Minato Yukina, Imai Lisa, Hikawa Sayo, Uehara Himari, and Shirokane Rinko received the 16.8 billion prize, along with the mysterious reward.
An elf's Honkai Spirit Crystal.
After receiving the crystal, Minato Yukina looked in Angelia's direction.
Even before the official competition had begun, Angelia had signed a betting agreement with them.
If they became champions, Angelia would pay one billion US dollars to purchase the mysterious reward. If they failed to win, they would still receive ten million US dollars.
The ten million had already been paid in advance.
Seeing Minato Yukina look over, Angelia Schariac merely smiled faintly.
She had signed similar betting agreements with almost every selected and capable girls' band.
No matter who ultimately won, the mysterious reward would belong to her.
As for whether the champions would honor their promise after claiming the title and hand over the reward, she did not concern herself with it at all.
Even if they broke their word, what she would lose was nothing more than ordinary human currency circulating in this world.
In her eyes, it was utterly insignificant—hardly worth mentioning.