Finally free of the deafening headphones, Amelia Lockhart felt the world grow wonderfully quiet.
Then, she was suddenly enveloped in a hug by Iris Yates.
Iris Yates looked at her with a mournful expression.
“How could you two have a great method and not share it!
We only got three right.
We really are the unluckiest couple!”
Amelia Lockhart gave an awkward laugh.
“It was Ethan Quinn’s idea.
My brain could never have come up with it!”
At the same time, the production team, burning with curiosity, asked, “How did you two manage that?”
Only then did Ethan Quinn calmly explain, “If the answer order is different, you just have to pick the longest option, the one with the most character strokes.
But time was tight, and on one question, they all felt about the same.”
Amelia Lockhart chimed in to explain, “For example, for the question about animals, the choices were crocodile, cheetah, Siberian tiger, and mammoth.
The word ‘mammoth’ was clearly the longest option with the most strokes.”
Rhett Reynolds had a moment of realization.
“Oh, so that’s how it was!
New skill unlocked!”
Anna Summers said with a smile, “Ethan Quinn really is amazing.
He found the most effective method in such a short time.”
Ruby Sawyer immediately chimed in, “Yeah, it’s not easy to find a solution that quickly!”
Facing everyone’s praise, Ethan Quinn was unfazed.
“I just watched a few extra rounds,” he said nonchalantly.
“It’s nothing impressive.”
“Alright, with the highest chemistry score, we have Ethan Quinn and Amelia Lockhart!
Please choose the characters you’d like to portray, then head to the makeup room to get into costume!”
Amelia Lockhart wasn’t about to make the decision herself, so her eyes went to Ethan Quinn, waiting for him to choose.
Ethan Quinn glanced at the costume displays again.
“Let’s go with *Love Between Fairy and Devil*.”
Amelia Lockhart immediately nodded.
“I’m fine with whatever.”
And so, Ethan Quinn and Amelia Lockhart received the Caspian Easton and Little Orchid costume sets!
As the runners-up, Anna Summers naturally picked the *Dream of Splendor* costumes.
In an ancient town like this, historical attire was bound to be more photogenic!
Ruby Sawyer watched helplessly as the two pairs ahead of her took both sets of historical costumes.
Left with no other choice, she had to take the Evan Thorne and Elara Miles school uniform set.
‘But I don’t look good in a school uniform!’
Finally, when Iris Yates and Rhett Reynolds went to claim their mascot costumes, the scene was one of utter misery.
The live comments, however, were full of gleeful laughter.
[Unluckiest Couple status: Confirmed!]
[And we’re back in a world where only Iris Yates and Rhett Reynolds get hurt!]
The makeup room was exceptionally quiet.
While the stylist was putting the finishing touches on her hair, Amelia Lockhart secretly watched Ethan Quinn in the mirror.
Ethan Quinn’s hair and makeup were nearly complete.
All that was left was to change into his costume.
Amelia Lockhart watched Ethan Quinn in the mirror, his current appearance merging with the image of the God of War who had won his fame in a single battle thirty thousand years ago.
Her breathing involuntarily grew lighter.
Thankfully, to maintain a sense of mystery, the production team hadn’t installed any live-streaming cameras in the makeup room.
Otherwise, the fans would have gone absolutely wild.
While there were no live cameras, there were regular ones—probably to capture footage for a behind-the-scenes special.
Amelia Lockhart tried to control her gaze, but she couldn’t help it.
Her eyes kept drifting back to him.
‘Thirty thousand years ago, I was just a Phoenix Egg,’ she thought.
‘And yet, I feel like I’ve seen the God of War before.’
‘Am I becoming obsessed?’
Suddenly, her eyes met Ethan Quinn’s in the mirror.
Amelia Lockhart quickly looked away, her heart pounding as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.
Then she chided herself.
She shouldn’t have looked away; maybe he was just glancing around.
When Amelia Lockhart looked up again, she caught sight of Ethan Quinn’s back as he carried his costume into the changing room.
“Ms.
Lockhart, your look is complete.
You can use this changing room to get into your costume.”
The voice pulled Amelia Lockhart from her thoughts.
She finally turned her attention to her own reflection and, for a moment, it was as if she were seeing someone else in the mirror.
‘How strange.’
‘She was still young.
She loved running wild on Mount Cinderwood with her hair down, and would only tie it up in lopsided double buns when she got tired of her big sister’s nagging.’
‘She was quite good at Spells, but she could never get her hair right.
Her sister always made fun of her for it.’
‘The person in the mirror wore Little Orchid’s hairstyle.
It should have been unfamiliar, yet it felt strangely familiar.’
“Ms.
Lockhart?
Are you not happy with it, Ms.
Lockhart?”
Amelia Lockhart finally snapped out of it and smiled at her.
“It’s beautiful.
I’m so envious of your skilled hands.
As for me and hairstyles…
it’s like they say, smart about nine things, but a complete dunce about the tenth.”
After her little self-deprecating joke, Amelia Lockhart took the costume and went into the changing room.
It was a set of Little Orchid’s clothes in the color of The Brine Sea.
The rare shade of blue made the wearer seem more ethereal, like a wisp of mist rising from the surface of a deep blue ocean.
Amelia Lockhart quite liked the unique color.
She quickly put on the outfit, and after checking to make sure everything was in place, she pushed open the door and stepped out.
At that exact moment, the door across from hers also opened, and Amelia Lockhart’s eyes immediately fell on Ethan Quinn, now in full costume.
He looked like an Immortal who had just arrived on a blanket of snow—soundless, traceless.
The white robes he wore seemed to hold the profound stillness of a remote, empty mountain, setting him apart from the rest of the world.
Amelia Lockhart blinked.
‘So this is what it was like,’ she thought.
‘No wonder so many Immortal Fairies fell for him, one after another.’
Amelia Lockhart felt a surge of gratitude that she’d still been a Phoenix Egg thirty thousand years ago.
Otherwise, she would have certainly been one of the countless Immortal Fairies who admired the God of War.
‘Ethan Quinn’s charm was just too potent!’
‘Now I’ll have new bragging rights when I go back to Mount Cinderwood.
Maybe I should set up a storytelling stall at the foot of the mountain.
I could probably earn enough to trade for some of my sister’s wine.’
The moment Ethan Quinn opened the door, his eyes naturally fell on Amelia Lockhart as well.
He’d had some idea of what she might look like, but he hadn’t expected the outfit to suit her so well.
It didn’t look strange at all; in fact, it was a perfect fit.
It wasn’t that her costume was breathtakingly stunning.
It was more that she seemed innately suited for such ethereal, flowing robes.
“You look amazing, Ethan Quinn!” Amelia Lockhart commented earnestly.
“You look good as well, Ms.
Lockhart.”
Amelia Lockhart was satisfied.
‘How many people in this world have the honor of being called ‘good-looking’ by Ethan Quinn, even if it was just a polite compliment?’
The live stream camera was pointed at the four doors of the makeup rooms, where countless fans were waiting in eager anticipation.
When Briar and Bramble came out arm in arm, everyone burst out laughing.
[HAHAHA!
The production team is so savage!
They’re actual mascot costumes where only their faces show!
Someone calculate the unluckiest couple’s trauma levels!]
Next, Anna Summers and Vincent Vance emerged in their *Dream of Splendor* outfits.
Anna’s historical look was, of course, flawless.
The odd one out was probably Vincent Vance; it was obvious that historical attire didn’t suit him, and he looked much better in modern clothes.
But when Leo Bishop came out, the live comments exploded.
“My 2D boy Evan Thorne finally has a real face!”
Because Leo Bishop’s portrayal was so stunning, hardly anyone even noticed Ruby Sawyer.
Just as everyone was still reeling from Leo Bishop’s stunning appearance, Ethan Quinn pulled his door open, and for a moment, everything went silent.
How could a word like “stunning” even begin to describe it?