U-Olga Marie opened her eyes.
The first sensation was vertigo.
Everything in her field of vision blurred into blocks of color, their edges swaying slightly.
She blinked, and as her pupils gradually focused, that blur reorganized into a clear picture.
She stared at the dimly lit sky for a few seconds before realizing she was lying on her back, the back of her head resting against a hard, slatted object.
She looked around.
This was a Park; she was currently lying on a Park bench.
This left her feeling a bit... dazed.
"Why am I here?"
U-Olga Marie propped herself up with her arms to sit up.
This simple movement caused her breath to hitch. A subtle sensation of fracturing came from inside her body, like the groan of ancient gears.
She looked down at her hands.
The skin on the back of her hands was intact, showing a normal complexion under the morning light.
But something was wrong.
She clenched her fists, attempting to circulate her Mana—
"Ugh!"
A sharp, stabbing pain exploded from her temples, instantly lancing through her entire cranium.
U-Olga Marie let out a muffled groan, instinctively clutching her forehead.
The pain came and went quickly, but the lingering aftertaste pricked at her nerve endings like needle points, causing her temples to throb.
Subsequently, she discovered to her shock that her bodily functions had actually sustained massive damage!
Just who did this? What exactly happened?
Her memory also seemed to have developed gaps due to the damage to her bodily functions.
She frowned, trying to trace back to the last clear image.
There was only static.
Then, a blank space.
It was as if someone had brutally erased a segment of recording from her mind, leaving only rough traces behind.
U-Olga Marie lowered her hand, stared at her palm for two seconds, and then curled her lip.
"Fine then."
She spoke in a low voice, her tone devoid of much emotion.
So she had lost part of her memory; it was a small matter.
As for the damage to her body, it wouldn't take long to recover, so that wasn't an issue either.
Thinking this, her mood inexplicably improved.
Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it.
U-Olga Marie stood up with a flourish.
This movement drew the attention of nearby pedestrians.
Almost everyone passing by stole a glance at her.
Some looked blatantly, others surreptitiously, but without exception, they all looked.
Their gazes roved over her silvery-white long hair, her alien horns, her exposed abdomen, and that far too conspicuous outfit.
Then came the whispers, voices kept very low, but with her hearing, she heard them crystal clear.
"What's that? Cosplay?"
"Those things on her head... are they props? They're huge."
"Isn't she cold wearing so little in this weather?"
"She has a great figure..."
U-Olga Marie stood her ground, letting those gazes fall upon her.
She tilted her chin up slightly. The last bit of daze in the depths of her eyes receded like a tide, replaced by a nearly flamboyant brightness.
She turned around, facing the gradually increasing crowd. With her hands on her hips, she threw her head back—
"Hahahahaha!"
Laughter exploded.
Clear, high-pitched, and unrestrainedly cheerful, it rippled through the morning Park.
Several birds perched on the treetops were startled into flight, and withered leaves rustled as they fell.
Every gaze focused on her instantly.
The Park fell silent for a moment, leaving only the echoing laughter.
U-Olga Marie scanned her surroundings, her gaze sweeping across faces filled with either surprise or curiosity, the curve of her lips growing wider and wider.
"I am—the Goddess who descended here from the Void!"
"I am an existence manifested to correct and abolish the evil upon this planet!"
"That is to say—"
U-Olga Marie spread her arms, her Cape billowing behind her.
"The President of the Earth, U-Olga Marie!"
"I am about to take command of this planet and lead humanity toward a new era!"
"Hahahaha! Adore me to your heart's content! Tremble! Worship me!"
Having finished, she held her head even higher, quietly waiting for the expected reaction.
Kneeling or screaming—at the very least, they should be fleeing in a panic.
Yet, there was nothing.
The Park remained quiet for a few seconds.
Then, someone held up a phone.
Click.
U-Olga Marie's laughter faltered.
She turned her head and saw a young man holding up a phone, the lens pointed straight at her.
Seeing her look over, the young man grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
Click. Click.
The sound of shutters rose one after another.
Chatter broke out from every corner, gradually growing louder.
"Is this a performance? Street art?"
"President of the Earth? What kind of setting is that? How interesting!"
"It's Cosplay, right? This look is amazing. Where did she buy the clothes?"
"What are those horns on her head made of? Aren't they heavy...?"
The smile on U-Olga Marie's face froze.
She blinked repeatedly.
Wait, this reaction isn't right!
She was a Goddess! The President of the Earth! A great existence come to rule this planet!
These mortals... these mortals were actually discussing her clothes and horns?
And they wanted to take pictures together?
U-Olga Marie's mouth twitched.
Her gaze swept through the crowd.
There was no reverence, no fear, no worship.
She even saw a blatant "this person is crazy" expression on one face.
Anger began to surge upward.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
Maybe... maybe there was something wrong with the way she expressed it? Something those stupid fools couldn't understand?
She cleared her throat, put on a more majestic expression, and lowered her voice with a threatening undertone:
"Why do you lot not revere me?"
The crowd went silent for a moment.
"Pfft."
Someone was the first to laugh out loud, and then the laughter spread like a contagion, soon joining into a single roar.
Some laughed while clapping; others recorded videos with their phones.
"Hahahaha, she's really putting in the effort!"
"Do it again! Do it again!"
"President of the Earth! Ruling the planet! Hahaha!"
"The lines are so chuunibyou but so cute!"
U-Olga Marie stood in place, her face rapidly turning red.
It was from rage! In all her years of existence, she had never suffered such an insult!
She clenched her teeth, her fists cracking.
Just then, a mother and daughter happened to pass by.
The little girl was about five or six, with two pigtails and a pink dress.
She tugged on her mother's sleeve and pointed at U-Olga Marie, her voice crisp:
"Mommy, mommy, what is that big sister doing?"
The mother didn't even turn her head:
"That is a very inexplicable weirdo. Don't go near her."
The little girl nodded obediently: "Oh."
Then she was led away by her mother.
U-Olga Marie stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
An inexplicable weirdo.
Don't go near her.
Those words looped in her head. Every time they played, her anger surged another notch.
Finally—
"Arrogant fools! It's time you learned your place!"
She raised her hand, fingers spread, aiming at the people laughing the loudest.
"Flame Burst!"
Mana surged inside her body, rushing through her meridians toward her fingertips—
And then it got stuck.
Like a flood hitting a steel gate, it stalled at the last point.
U-Olga Marie's pupils shrank, and she instinctively increased the output—
"Ugh!"
Stabbing pain exploded from her fingertips, lancing through her arm and back to her heart.
She let out a muffled groan, her arm trembling uncontrollably.
The expected flames did not appear. There was no explosion, no light, nothing at all.
There was only an even more enthusiastic round of applause from the crowd.
"Ohhh! That pose was cool!"
"It might be pantomime! That's popular right now!"
"The sister is so professional! Her expression was perfect!"
U-Olga Marie lowered her hand.
She stared at her fingertips for two seconds, then looked back at the crowd.
Those smiling faces, those lenses, those rounds of applause—every single one was like a slap across her face.
No, it wasn't "like" one; it was one.
This feeling of being played like a monkey in a cage made U-Olga Marie incredibly furious, yet she was helpless.
She could only repeatedly attempt to attack with words to teach these fools a lesson.
But the effect was negligible; they merely took it as part of her character and performance.
As for Faldeus and the police department, they had discovered her existence the moment U-Olga Marie appeared.
They also took in everything that was happening.
Immediately, both sides fell into the same silence and speechlessness.
This person... just what on earth is she doing? Is she performing a comedy?
Francesca, who was also watching this scene through a Familiar, was rolling around on her bed laughing:
"Hahahaha! That girl really has a talent for being a gag artist!"