“Next, we recalculated the total scores between all contestants, and finally, one contestant surpassed Liz, who had previously held first place steadily, winning the title of the first ever Carillian Academy Beauty Pageant champion, the champion is Miss Winiya!”
“Let's give her our congratulations!” As the spotlight landed on the blue-haired girl who wore an expression of utter confusion and bewilderment, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. No one knew who started clapping, but the applause came anyway, filling the hall, echoing beneath the astonished stares of the other contestants and the dazed expression of the newly crowned champion.
Wait, what the hell is this?!
Inside, Winnie felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stamped through his soul.
‘Why are you clapping? Why are you congratulating me?! I don't even know how I won, how can you just cheer like that?!’
‘Wait, how did I even become first?!’
‘My talent performance was just messing around on stage! Do these audience members seriously love such unconventional styles that much?!’
Maybe singing and dancing is too ordinary, everyone's sick of it. So doing something unexpected actually worked?
Winnie thought he'd barely make the cut, but never expected something like this to actually happen.
Still, Winnie couldn't wrap his head around it, what was wrong with this audience? Why vote for him? Just because he messed around?
He just didn't get it.
“Yesss! Truly deserved! I can't accept anyone but Miss Winiya as champion!” Then came cheers and shouts from a group of die-hard fanboys in the audience.
“Lasy Winiya is so cool, I love her so much aaaaah!”
“Aaahhh, I was born just to meet Miss Winiya!”
“Indeed, beautiful appearances are all the same, but an interesting soul is one in a hundred thousand, she's so fascinating!”
After the initial applause, the rest of the audience joined in, accepting Winnie as the pageant champion.
Slowly, the applause in the hall grew louder and louder.
In response, Liz also offered her own applause, as did the other contestants. Whether out of sportsmanship or genuine goodwill, they all clapped, symbolically offering their congratulations.
“As the beauty pageant champion of Carillian Academy, we believe the most important qualities in a woman are self-assured confidence and relentless effort. Therefore, I myself cast my precious vote for Miss Winiya, because despite its roughness, I saw in her an unrestrained persistence and confidence, something truly rare and valuable.” After announcing the winner, the host continued speaking.
Of course, this wouldn't satisfy everyone completely, take, for example, Alaya standing at the edge of the stage.
She didn't clap at all, didn't even pretend. Her expression was clear.
But even if she or others were, they still had to accept it.
Others might not have voted for Winnie, but the majority did. The judges gave him the highest scores, that was an undeniable fact. Therefore, no one could reasonably complain.
No one dared cause a scene here.
Logistics staff, hosts, stage setup, all provided by the organizers. They gave every participant a chance to showcase themselves and gain recognition. And as the final prize, the Ice-element Elixir, everything was provided by the organizers. The final result, decided by voting, belongs to the one with the highest total score and popularity. No objections could be raised.
“Now, please let the ultimate champion, Miss Winiya, stand at the center. Let us shine the spotlight on her, and allow her to deliver her acceptance speech!” With that, the other contestants on both sides stepped back voluntarily, letting Winnie stand alone at the stage's center.
Thus, under the spotlight, only the bewildered blue-haired girl remained in the center of the stage, still seeming unable to comprehend that she had actually won.
No, this can't be right... this isn't right?!
‘I only joined on a whim, yet I actually won?!’
‘Does this even make sense?!’
‘Carillian Academy's first beauty pageant, and I, a man, ended up winning?! Now they want me to give a speech? Does any of this make sense?!’
Winnie stood frozen, unable to speak for a long time.
“Come on, please say a few words for your acceptance speech. Share some insights on how you achieved victory,” the host approached, handing Winnie a magical device resembling a microphone, enchanted with amplification magic.
“I…” Winnie took the enchanted microphone-like item. After a moment of silence, he recalled the standard template for acceptance speeches from his past life. “Ahem... First, I want to thank everyone for your support. Without your support, this young lady wouldn't have made it this far.”
“Besides that, I also want to thank... uh... thank...? Hmm, in short, I want to thank a lot of people!”
Wait, no, doesn't that sound kind of weird?!
“Ahaha, well, it seems my jokes were still liked by many of you, huh?” Winnie remembered the host had asked him to summarize his winning experience, so he casually said that.
“Yes yes yes! I absolutely love Miss Winiya's cold jokes, ahhh! Even if I freeze to death from her cold jokes, I'd gladly do it!” Before Winnie could continue, the audience went wild again.
After Winnie finished speaking, cheers and shouts rang out, although even Winnie himself wasn't sure what they were cheering for.
“Ahem, excuse me, gentlemen, please allow our beauty pageant champion to finish her speech. Don't interrupt her,” the host couldn't help but intervene, losing his composure.
“Oh, oh, sorry sorry, Miss Winiya! I just wanted to express how much I support you!”
“…” Winnie wanted to say something, but stayed silent, utterly speechless.
A man being fawned over like this by another man? Isn't this just utterly disgusting?!
Winnie pursed his lips, which had been coated with lip gloss.
‘Whatever, whatever. No matter what, it'll all be over soon. I've already gotten what I wanted. Can't say I lost anything.’
‘Alright, just end this farce quickly! Hand over the elixir, and I can leave immediately, then pretend none of this ever happened.’
‘Even if someone saw me, they have no proof it was me. Even if someone recognized me, it doesn't matter.’
“Next, we will present the champion of the first-ever Aesthetic Competition with her medal, prize, the Ice-element Elixir, and this year's additional beauty pageant reward: the Golden Branch Flower!”
“Oh, excuse me, wait, sorry everyone, this award ceremony won't be conducted by me, but by the event organizer personally.” Suddenly reminded of something, the host stepped off stage.
The organizer themselves will present the award?!
Winnie raised his eyebrows slightly, his mind involuntarily wondered what the organizer looked like.
And from the way he said it, could it be that the organizer is just one person?!
That'd be impressive. Such immense resources and alchemical expertise, this organizer must be someone extraordinary.
But judging from them organizing a beauty pageant, Winnie didn't have a good impression of them. Probably just some lewd, sleazy old man, huh?
Yeah, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
Tch! And it seems that sleazy old man might've taken a liking to me?!
Oh no, don't tell me it's really like that?! No way! I should've known guys could be targeted too...
As Winnie mentally ranted about what kind of person the organizer might be, the light tap of high-heeled boots approached from the side of the stage.
Only then did Winnie notice that every contestant's gaze had simultaneously turned toward that direction, deeply captivated, utterly stunned.
What's going on here?!
He followed their gaze, and upon seeing the elegant white-clad figure walking from the side of the stage, carrying a tray, the silver-haired girl, his pupils shrank, his mouth agape.
It's her?! Why is it her?!
Ah, ahhh?!
This makes no sense at all... Wait, no? Wait a second?!
Massive financial resources, organizing a beauty pageant, and possessing exceptional alchemical skills?
Ah, how could he not have realized it earlier? These traits, they could only belong to...
“Congratulations, Lady Wini-ya-~” Before he could fully react, the silver-haired girl had already arrived before him, smiling brightly. Whether intentional or not, she deliberately separated the “Ni” and “Ya” in his name.
Black large bow, radiant silver hair, dazzling violet eyes, elegant attire, black high-heeled boots, and above all, that peerless, glittering face, as if adorned with stars and jewels.
Who else could possess such grace and beauty, if not Aesphyra?
The moment she appeared, everyone else paled in comparison. Even contestants who had once believed in their own beauty and charm now deeply understood the gap between themselves and this silver-haired girl.
At the instant Aesphyra stepped onto the stage, every eye in the hall, onstage and off, locked onto her, unable to look away.
“It's the campus idol Aesphyra!” Many audience members recognized the silver-haired girl handing out the awards, exclaiming in awe.
In that moment, every other flower in the hall seemed to wilt in shame, as if existing only to highlight the dazzling brilliance of the silver-haired girl.
It could be said that with her entrance, she completely stole the spotlight from every other contestant. Yet no one dared protest, not just because she was the organizer, but because in her presence, no one dared utter the word “beauty” about themselves.
This gap was so obvious that anyone, expert or not, could see it.
“Congratulations on winning the first Carillian Academy award ceremony I hosted. Here is your prize, please accept it.”
“Oh, and I also used my precious vote for you, you know~” Aesphyra leaned in slightly, whispering with a playful wink.
With that, she handed Winnie the black tray with gold trim. Inside lay a pure gold Golden Branch Flower, an exquisite gemstone champion's medal, and, the prize itself, a vial of Ice-element Elixir glistening with dew-like.
Exactly the same prize as promised.
Yet Winnie remains silent, standing frozen, failing to accept the award.
Aesphyra didn't mind. She simply continued gazing at Winnie with a deep, amused smile, clearly enjoying this moment.
'Virtue + 80.'
'Current Virtue: 11584.'
“Ahem, Miss Winiya, please accept your well-earned reward, and then thank the organizer, Miss Aesphyra,” the host, unsure of the situation, could only cough awkwardly and remind Winnie. After all, he knew very well who paid their salaries.
You could offend anyone, but never the one holding the purse strings.
Winnie's lips trembled. At that moment, he desperately wanted to shout, “You organized this whole competition?!” “You wretched silver-haired nut, how dare you mock this young master?!”
But he knew he couldn't.
Not only were there so many people watching, but speaking like that would only further confirm he was Winnie!
No, no! Suppress your anger! He must suppress it!
He absolutely couldn't vent his rage right now!
But... Now he understood. Now he finally understood?!
So that damn Nut Ball was actually this considerate and thoughtful? Turns out she was just waiting for him here all along?!
He originally thought that silver-haired nut was just messing with him, making him suffer a humiliating defeat and sending him crawling back. But she even predicted him, and calculated that he'd cross-dress to participate?!
Was this also part of your plan, Aesphyra?!
Now it all makes sense.
This entire setup was orchestrated by this scheming dwarf, just to lure him into a trap?!
Damn you, Ah! How can you be this evil?!
‘No, wait, didn't I already know this girl was full of malicious schemes, rotten to the core?!’
‘No wonder, no wonder my Virtue value kept rising! I was wondering why, but it turns out she was secretly watching the live broadcast from somewhere?!’
‘Wait, was it also her who arranged for me to bypass the student ID requirement and participate without verification?!’
‘Aaaaaah, Aesphyra, you!’
If not for the crowd of people watching, Winnie would've laughed from sheer frustration.
Never before in his life had he felt so helplessly, utterly toyed with.
With so many people watching, Winnie knew he couldn't remain motionless any longer. He reluctantly stretched out a trembling hand, slightly lifting his gaze to avoid locking eyes with this silver-haired nut.
He took a deep breath, slightly composed his emotions, and accepted the prizes from Aesphyra's hands.
“Thank you, Miss Organizer,” Winnie said in a forced feminine voice. These few words were the last of his strength. After speaking, he felt completely drained, nearly collapsing on stage.
“Make sure to hold on tight, Miss Winiya~” Aesphyra tilted her head, smiling brightly, her tone filled with meaning and a subtle hint of teasing.
‘You damn well keep provoking me?!’
For the first time, Winnie, the legendary “Camella Idea King,” the master strategist, felt utterly powerless against anyone.
Can't insult her, can't curse her, can't fight her, and when it comes to schemes, he was utterly outplayed, constantly manipulated, constantly controlled.
He's tired.
May the next life escape this world of silver-haired nuts.
Winnie stood there, holding his prizes, forcing out a stiff, awkward smile.
He should've won, so why does it feel worse than losing?