''And the winner is...!''

''Sylvie!!!''

'''' WOAHHH!!! ''''

Immediately, thunderous cheers erupt from the hundreds of observers around the stage.

'''' SYLVIE! SYLVIE! SYLVIE! ''''

A woman walks up to me, in her arms is a shiny gold trophy.

''Congratulations, Miss Sylvie!'' She hands me the trophy.

''Thanks...'' I reply awkwardly.

Nervously looking to the side, my eyes finally met hers. Her cute little face is crumpled, near crying, and she hisses at me like I'm her nemesis who just killed her whole family.

''Ahahah...''

How did I get myself into this...?

----------------------------------------

''-Would you like to put your giant breasts to good use?!''

'''' ... ''''

What the fuck??

Is she trying to recruit me into a brothel or something...?

''Hey, kiddo.'' Liana immediately grabs the girl's collar and lifts her off the ground. ''Fuck off, or I'll beat your ass.''

That's a killer stare. I would be scared.

''Wait, wait! I misspoke!'' The girl struggles, but can't escape Liana's grasp. ''It's a misunderstanding...!''

Wait, now that I think about it, they speak English here too? Whatever.

''Okay, calm down, Liana.'' I pat Liana's hand a few times. ''Let's hear what she has to say first.''

She hesitates for a moment but eventually releases the girl with a frustrated sigh.

''...Speak.''

''Um... Would you be interested in participating in a beauty contest?'' She regains her smile and pulls out a poster.

''Ranka's Miss Beauty...'' Anna ponders. ''I think I've heard this before...''

''Of course, Miss Cat! If you're a citizen of Ranka, then there's no way you wouldn't know this contest!''

''And what does that have to do with her chest?'' Tina chimes in, frowning slightly.

''Ah, I have a habit of speaking confusingly when I am excited, forgive me.'' The girl scratches her cheek, embarrassed. ''It's just that I saw Miss Elf here has such divine beauty and body, so I wanted her on stage...''

How? The window is tinted... Whatever, maybe her eyes are just good.

''Are you an organizer?'' I ask.

''Yes, Miss Elf! So would you like to participate right away? It'll only take an hour at most as the show is just about to start.'' She points to a stage in the distance where a crowd has already formed. ''Aside from the cash prize, the 'Miss Ranka' title is also extremely prestigious!''

Eh, I don't think it's more prestigious than my Saint title, or the Crown Princess title.

''What's going on here?'' Fox Saint approaches from the side.

''Ah, forgive me for intruding, I was just trying to invite Miss Elf here to a friendly competition!'' The bear girl hurriedly explains. ''Actually, any of these misses would make a fantastic candidate, if you're interested.''

Nah, I'm good.

''Sorr-''

''Go ahead then.'' Fox Saint interrupts me. ''Our driver, and it looks like your driver too, needs a break. I heard the conversation from earlier. An hour is good.''

Why bother asking then?

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

But looking at Justia, she does seem a bit tired... Sorry, Justia, for not realizing. I'll give you lots of sweets later.

''Alright then, do any of you want to do it with me?'' I turn to my fiancés.

''Nope.''

''Nah.''

''Probably not.''

''No...''

Little bastards.

----------------------------------------

''By the way, I forgot to ask your name earlier, Miss Elf.'' The girl says. ''Mine's Cindy.''

''Just call me Sylvie.'' I reply.

''Understood, Miss Sylvie!'' She notes my name down excitedly. ''I'll root for you!''

''Thanks.''

My team has already gone to find a place to watch the show while Cindy and I go to the prep room.

clack

Cindy opens the door, and the scene inside can only be described as chaos. Each contestant, I assume, sits at a dressing table with at least two people doing their makeup or hair. Hmm, the dresses that they're wearing are impressive too. Very professional.

''Please sit here, Miss Sylvie. I'll do some simple touches for you.'' Cindy guides me to an empty table in the corner. ''I'm confident that you can win with just that.''

That'll be great.

Hmm, the people here are real beauties, huh... Hm? Is that a cat girl? She has the same fur color as the cat grandma back in Xeno... I'll have to talk to her later.

''Whoa... Your skin is so smooth...!'' Cindy exclaims while putting on makeup for me. ''There and there...''

''...''

''Done!'' She nods contently. ''Please sit here for a bit, I'll go inform the judges of your participation!''

''Alright.'' I look at myself in the mirror and reply.

Not bad. Let's go talk with the cat girl~

''Hm~ Hm~'' I hum lightly while walking across the room, a few people look at me strangely, but it must be an illusion.

''Hello~?'' I approach the cat girl from behind.

The girl has silver hair, silver fur, and a pair of blue eyes, similar to Anna's. Different from other girls, she is wearing pants and a shirt, a unique choice, I like it.

She looks at me through the mirror, eyes widen for some reason.

''...Huh?'' She mutters. ''W-Who are you?'' She turns around.

''I'm Sylvie. Just your average elf girl.'' I reply. ''Can I ask you your name?''

''...Sara Felidae.'' She blinks a few times, looking at my face. ''Are you a contestant, too...?''

''Yeah, I got roped in just earlier.'' I pull a chair over using telekinesis and sit down beside her. ''By the way, perhaps you're from the cat-kin territory?''

''...''

...What? Why is she freezing like this?

''Excuse me-''

Suddenly, the door flings open with a loud thump.

''Dear contestants! Please prepare yourself to get on stage!!'' Cindy shouts, winking when she meets my eyes.

The cat girl stands up and briskly walks out of the room.

''...Eh?'' I mutter.

Oh well, let's finish the contest first.

----------------------------------------

clap clap clap clap

''That was an amazing dance coming from contestant Number 22!'' The MC - Cindy, shouts into the mic. ''Thank you, Number 22!''

The girl is visibly out of breath, but still does a deep bow and exits the stage elegantly.

I'm surprised that they even have a mic here.

''Coming up is Number 23, please welcome Natalie from the rabbit-kin clan!''

clap clap clap clap

Anyway, it seems like every contestant needs to demonstrate a talent as well, not just show off their beauty. Fair enough, I'll just sing or something. More like, I only know how to sing, or play instruments, but I like singing more.

There were quite a lot of girls singing from the beginning though, like this bunny girl... Maybe I'll do something different.

''Coming up is Number 24, the First Lady of the cat-kin clan, Sara Felidae!''

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

Oh, there she is.

The applause for her this time is noticeably louder than for any of the contestants before, and I can hear some whistles mixed in there as well.

''Hello everyone.'' Sara bows her head lightly. ''I'm going to perform my clan's traditional dance.''

Another applause. This traditional dance must be popular.

Sara snaps her finger, and music starts to play.

Damn, the music is fire though.

''Hm, hm.'' I nod my head along the beats, feeling kinda similar...

Wait. Isn't this 'Billie Jean'?! Their 'traditional' dance is pop dance??

I didn't think I would be hearing Michael Jackson's music here, you go, girl...!

Look at that moonwalk, damn.

----------------------------------------

The 'traditional' dance session was expectedly, well received. It was easily the most heated segment of this entire show. I thoroughly enjoyed it as well, but Sara gave me quite a smug face when she came back, so there's that.

''And now, the final contestant! Please welcome Number 25, the fairest elf, my personal favorite, Miss Sylvie!''

It is now my turn, and I need to top that performance earlier, though...

'''' ... ''''

Where's my applause?? Why are you all just staring at me?

Whatever, let's just do it. If Sara did pop, then rightfully, I can do rap too, right?

So I begin playing my music and raise my index finger in the air.

Look, if you had

one shot

or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted

in one moment

Would you capture it

or just let it slip?

You better lose yourself[modern_footnote]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlJ0Aj9y67c[/modern_footnote] in the music, am I right?

----------------------------------------

Okay, so I won the contest whole, but maybe I shouldn't have, these girls look like they're about to murder me any moment. And I made Sara upset as well.

''Um, Miss Sara.'' I speak up, enduring the glare from her. ''Can I have a moment?''

Cindy said earlier that she's the First Lady of the cat-kin clan, right? So I'll definitely have to talk to her now, information gathering is important.

''Hah... Excuse me.'' She immediately turns around and stomps to the exit.

...Okay, let's change the tactic. Worst, I'll just kidnap her for a moment.

----------------------------------------

''Good job, wifey.'' Emy plants her face in my neck, kissing and inhaling vigorously, while Tina and Liana are playing with the trophy.

Emy just woke up and chose to do this, and I love her for that. But what with the 'wifey' thing?

Oh, well.

''Anna, can you go talk to the silver cat for me? She seems mad at me.''

''You want me to go?'' Anna points at herself.

''Yeah.'' I reply.

''Sure, I actually wanted to talk to her since earlier too.'' Anna smiles lightly.

Go, agent Anna...!