138. Explosion
Wow, so beautiful.
The makeup artist said excitedly:
“Miss Elrose, you are truly stunning.”
“Thank you.”
Elrose scratched her head shyly,
“Um, may I ask a question? How much would it cost to buy this dress?”
“This dress was specially designed by a professional at the request of Miss Lulu, and it is not for sale.”
The costume designer replied: “But if I had to give a price, this dress would be around one hundred thousand gold coins.”
“One hundred thousand gold coins!!!”
Elrose gasped.
To be honest, Elrose didn’t have much of a concept of money.
In her past life, Zeke had no money at all, and although Gideon was wealthy, she never used it, relying mostly on theft to get what she wanted.
Her only measure of worth now was the salary she earned from serving plates.
One gold coin a month, so for a hundred thousand, it would be…8333 years.
“No, why can a dress be this expensive?”
Elrose said, bewildered.
“Well… how should I put this.”
The costume designer organized his thoughts before continuing: “This ‘Ocean Princess’ dress was designed by a Level 99 designer, and it features 108 gemstones, each the finest of the finest. More importantly, every thread and fiber was collected from spider demon beasts and enhanced by a Saint Tier enchanter, making it extremely durable.”
“So, this Ocean Princess dress is far more than just a dress; you can think of it as a beautiful and practical rare-grade armor.” The costume designer patiently explained.
“Is that so? I see now.” Elrose realized,
gently touching the dress she wore, feeling a bit disappointed.
Sigh, such a beautiful dress, and I can only touch it now,
it seems impossible to actually buy it.
One hundred thousand gold coins, I’d probably have to transform into Shadie and rob a bank to get that much money.
But… what a hassle!!
If only I could meet a couple of pretty rich ladies.
The type that’s beautiful and sweet-voiced, and especially wealthy, where I could just act a little cute and they’d buy me everything I want with just a small gesture.
“Ah-choo.”
At the docks, Alicia suddenly sneezed, wiping her nose with the ticket, gazing into the distance.
“What is Elrose doing? Why isn’t she coming? Can shopping really take this long?”
Alicia sighed softly:
“Sigh, never mind, I’ll go look for her.”
Lulu and Lantes slowly walked into the photography studio, a stunning figure immediately catching their eyes.
“Wow, so beautiful.”
Lulu exclaimed, having anticipated that Elrose would look fantastic in the Ocean Princess dress, but the extent was beyond her imagination.
Lantes stood frozen, wanting to take back what he had said to Lulu upon seeing Elrose for the first time.
That girl was simply too beautiful; even he was curious about how the Ocean’s Heart would look on her.
Lulu, excited, ran in front of Elrose: “Miss Elrose, you look so stunning! This dress seems completely designed for you.”
“Thank you.” Elrose gently replied, then added: “Um, Miss Lulu, can we hurry up? My friend is still waiting for me at the docks, and I’m afraid she’ll get anxious.”
“Of course, of course.” Lulu nodded repeatedly, then called out to the crew, “Lighting technician, cameraman, prepare the equipment and get in position quickly.”
“Yes.”
Then, Lulu took out the Ocean’s Heart from her pocket and approached, personally putting it around Elrose’s neck.
The large and exquisite sapphire sparkled in front of her, instantly triggering a reaction among the 108 gems on the Ocean Princess dress.
Seeing this, Lulu hurriedly commanded: “Lighting technician, turn off the lights.”
“Yes.” The lighting technician turned off all the lights in the room, plunging it into darkness.
But the next moment, a shimmering blue light floated up, layers of ethereal light and shadow immediately surrounded Elrose, elevating her aura to an unprecedented height.
“Ahhhh, this is simply wonderful!” Lulu exclaimed excitedly: “Cameraman, what are you waiting for? Quick, set up to take pictures!”
“Yes.” The cameraman replied, taking the camera to Elrose, “Miss Elrose, look this way.”
Elrose thought of the poses the stylist had taught her, then turned towards the lens, cradling her stomach with her hands, a faint smile gracing her lips.
“Good, very good.” The cameraman announced: “On my count, three, two, one.”
The cameraman pressed the shutter.
“Boom!”
A huge explosion erupted instantly.
“Miss Lulu, Miss Lulu.” Lantes was shaking Lulu’s body, calling her name.
“Uh… ah…” Lulu slowly opened her eyes, the scene before her was of a room with broken walls, even the thick walls were blasted through, allowing a view of the dusk outside, “Damn, what happened?”
“We were attacked.” Lantes said: “That camera seems to have concealed a bomb; it detonated the moment the shutter was pressed.”
“What did you say?” Lulu quickly sat up, looking around, several charred bodies lay silently against the walls.
Those… are all her family’s employees.
“Everyone…” Lulu’s fists tightened.
“I’m sorry, Miss Lulu; the power of that bomb was immense, and it happened so suddenly. I could only protect you.” Lantes expressed his deep regret.
Lulu gently shook her head: “I won’t blame you. We asked you to protect the Ocean’s Heart; our lives were not under your protection.”
“…” Lantes fell silent.
“What does that expression mean?” Lulu’s face darkened, “Lantes, where’s the Ocean’s Heart?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Lulu.” Lantes said, “After the explosion, the Ocean’s Heart vanished along with that girl; she was very close to the camera when it happened, so it’s likely that…”
“Then why didn’t you protect her?!” Lulu glared at Lantes, “Do you not understand what the Ocean’s Heart means to me? That’s why I asked you to protect it; I trusted you so much, but you…”
“But Lulu, if we lose our lives, then we truly lose everything.” Lantes said gently, “I already said, I could only save one person at that moment.”
“But…” Lulu gritted her teeth.
At that moment, soft footsteps approached, and the two turned to see a stunning beauty with blue and white long hair standing at the door, her face displaying a deep sense of despair at the scene in the room.
“What happened here?”
