Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Forget It

"Ugh... I can’t sleep..."

Elolo tossed and turned in her bed, finding it impossible to sleep.

’After all, how could I possibly fall asleep? I haven’t showered, changed my clothes, or even eaten my cake.’

She reached for the stuffed cartoon octopus by her bed. It was fluffy and had an anthropomorphic handlebar mustache and an ostentatious top hat, giving it a certain lordly elegance and a charmingly goofy look.

For the past sixteen years, whenever she couldn’t sleep, a hug from this octopus plushie was all it took for her to drift off.

But for some reason, she felt no drowsiness at all tonight.

She finally slipped out from under the covers, took off her little pink skirt, leaving just her undergarments, and then, on long, fair legs and delicate, bare feet, carefully padded over to the edge of the balcony.

In all her sixteen years, this was the first time she had ever done something so bold—instead of staying obediently in bed at bedtime, she had gone out onto the balcony to gaze at the City of Joy by night.

The City of Joy was a kaleidoscope of neon lights under the night sky, and she could faintly hear all sorts of cheerful melodies drifting from afar.

The City of Joy was the youngest of humanity’s six cities. It hadn’t merged into a single entity like Radiant City, but instead maintained a structure of separate towns, waiting to gradually expand and connect, eventually becoming a megalopolis like Radiant City.

This gave the city a childlike, fairytale feel. There were Ferris wheels, carousels, and circus tents everywhere. The buildings all had a cartoonish roundness to them, and multi-colored neon lights flickered all night long.

Even though no one ever used the amusement rides, even though the amusement parks had never been open for a single day...

The city was like a fairytale world that refused to fall asleep—or perhaps, one that refused to wake up.

’What kind of city am I really living in?’

Elolo asked in a low voice.

In all her sixteen years, this was the first time she had ever asked this question.

She suddenly felt an itch on her neck and reached up to scratch her slender, graceful throat, elegant as a swan’s.

Beneath the fair, delicate skin, there was a faint, almost imperceptible raised curve, as if a thin thread were embedded just beneath the surface, wrapped around her neck.

Just then, a gust of night air blew past. Standing barefoot on the balcony, she felt the wind chill her bare legs, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

’I should just go to bed...’

With that, Elolo climbed back under the covers and stared listlessly at the ceiling.

The cartoon-style stars on her ceiling, illuminated by the shifting, flickering lights from outside, seemed to brighten and dim as if they were breathing.

Elolo couldn’t help but hug the big octopus plushie tightly.

’This painting... it feels fake...’

’Maybe it was always fake...’

A few of the cartoonish golden stars seemed like pairs of eyes, quietly sizing her up. As the light shifted, they appeared to blink incessantly.

For the first time in her sixteen years, she thought the painting looked... terrifying...

"Mmm... Supreme One... Bang Bang..."

Elolo let out a pitiful whimper and squeezed her eyes shut.

But she immediately shook her head vigorously, burrowed under the covers, and whispered:

"No... I have to be strong! I’m not scared... not scared... not scared!"

...

The first thing Lloyd did after waking up the next day was return to the Thought Realm to check on the new sprouts that had appeared the night before.

After observing them for a while through their glass enclosure, he saw that they looked fine, and neither his inspiration nor his Intuition was warning him of anything amiss.

’They should be fine, right?’

Lloyd relaxed a little, then left the Thought Realm, got out of bed, and started his day.

While combing Evelor’s hair, he made a point to remind her of something:

"If you have time today, you should buy a newspaper and take a look."

According to the agreement he’d made with ’Critic Gedok,’ the man’s first article would be published today, firing the first salvo of their counterattack.

"Mmm, okay. If I’m not too busy."

Evelor nodded, then looked at herself in the mirror. She tilted her head slightly and smoothed the ends of her hair where they rested on her shoulders.

’Did my brother part my hair a little differently than usual today?’ she wondered.

’It looks better, though. More mature.’

So she just smiled sweetly and nuzzled the back of her head against Lloyd’s stomach.

After the two siblings went their separate ways, Lloyd first stopped by a newsstand to buy a copy of the day’s paper. He skipped the front-page headlines and flipped directly to the opinion and commentary section, where his eyes immediately fell on the article he had commissioned:

Meaningless Criticism and Nitpicking Are Stifling the Very Roots of Creativity

The article that followed was written in a scathing and serious tone. While it feigned an "attack the issue, not the person" approach, its prose was clearly aimed at the entertainment section, and it absolutely tore into the editor who had written the shoddy review.

Satisfying!

After reading it, Lloyd felt a satisfying sense of vindication. The money had been well spent.

He then flipped to the entertainment section, which was usually his favorite part of the paper.

To his surprise, he found a published response, explaining that their strict standards were for the sake of their readers, blah, blah, blah.

Unfortunately for them, the rebuttal was lame and feeble. It did nothing to hide their malicious habit of quoting out of context and nitpicking. The tone was flustered and defensive—they were clearly triggered. It was safe to say they had been utterly obliterated by the previous article.

Sweet!

Lloyd’s mood improved even more.

The so-called "showdown" was only a complete victory when you not only provoked a response from your opponent but also made them get defensive, and then left them utterly speechless.

If the other side hadn’t responded at all, it would have been pointless.

But after savoring the victory, Lloyd shook his head with a wry smile.

’A critique published today gets a response on the same day... That’s a little too fast...’

Still, having two sections of the same newspaper publicly feuding was great for generating buzz and grabbing readers’ attention. It was bound to give sales a boost; when Lloyd went to buy his copy, the stand was already more than half sold out.

’Even without the internet, these people sure know how to generate traffic...’

’Oh well. All that matters is that I got to vent.’

Lloyd shook his head.

’Speaking of my sister’s magazine, though... Weiya still hasn’t returned that first issue I lent her...’

’It’s been several days. She must be done with it by now, right?’

’Could it be that she liked it so much she wants to keep it?’

’Oh well. Weiya’s so good to me, it’s fine if she keeps it as a memento.’

As his mind wandered, Lloyd began his daily routine.

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