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Having been in a position of both incredible authority and responsibility for longer than most youngsters had been alive, to say that the president of Oriana was resistant to shock would be an understatement.

Even when he realized that the precious artwork he received as a gift from the prime minister of Phoenix was many times more beautiful than even the one that caused a sensation at this year's Golden Crown, he wasn't really shocked to the point of disbelief.

Instead, he found himself indulging in the beauty of the artwork instead, as figuring out what its creator must have been thinking while creating such a masterpiece felt like quite a rewarding puzzle to solve.

After all, from the ferocious approach of the demons surrounding the goddess, to the way her long hair was suspended in the invisible air like sharp blades, it all made him believe that whatever idea the artist had at that time, it must have been quite profound.

Not only would it help him relax his mind a little, who knows, it might even give him some inspiration! Having worked so hard over the past few months, the president believed he well and truly deserved it.

But when the 'goddess' he had been appreciating just a moment ago seemingly disappeared into thin air, the president was justifiably baffled.

There was no sound of shattering glass, nor any shards on the ground to indicate that it had spontaneously exploded. There wasn't even any dust from it turning to powder. That left only two possibilities.

Either the precious figurine of the glass goddess had come to life and really ascended, or someone was both skilled and audacious enough to steal it from right in front of his eyes. Naturally, the president was smart enough to realize which of these possibilities could actually be true.

Before he could open his mouth to call someone in, however, a soft click made him turn around in surprise, and the sight that entered his eyes made the president both relieved and incredibly confused.

There it was, the missing statue of the goddess.

'But something isn't right…?'

The tiny goddess had been lifting up her spear with her left hand in front of the demons, but even with her back towards him, her posture indicated having just caught her spear with her right hand.

What confused him even more was the warm feeling in his chest after having found the goddess. Although it was undoubtedly beautiful, and he felt proud just imagining showing it off to others, the president never knew he could grow so attached to something in such a short amount of time.

Fortunately, the faint throbbing pain soon awakened him from his confused state, and the president looked down in shock and terror at the bloody hole in his chest.

The goddess of glass turned around at this moment, and the gentle smile he saw on her tiny face made it almost impossible for the president to associate her with his wound in his groggy state.

And so, his last words forever remained "What happened…?" as he collapsed on the floor face first, never even getting the chance to even realize who killed him, let alone express his hatred and unwillingness to the mysterious 'assassin'.

The fact that this beautiful, tiny little 'statue' that was even smaller than a five year old child had shot a ridiculously tiny spear through his heart so fast that he couldn't even see it never even entered his mind.

The 'glass goddess' sighed. 'If only your character was as admirable as your fortitude, I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble.'

Her partner couldn't help but chuckle. "Is my villainess finally learning the art of gloating over her enemy's corpse?"

Emilia rolled her eyes as she flicked the glass spear in her hand to remove any remnants of blood. 'I wasn't gloating, just lamenting the fact that some people decide to use their stubbornness and willpower just to make life worse for everyone else when they can use it for something much better.'

"Such as worshiping you?"

The crimson-haired girl snorted softly as she made her way over to the cabinet in the corner of the room. 'Coming from someone like him, I can't say I'd be particularly happy about it.'

Cynthia hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I'll admit he wasn't any more pleasing to the eye alive than he is dead, but there are plenty of people who worship you who can't be considered cute, right?"

"It's not just all about the face, but also the attitude, you know? All my children are very, very cute!"

The raven-haired girl giggled. "Or so you think. I can't wait to see your face when one of the really ugly ones tries to give you a hug, and one of your overzealous mortal monkeys takes on the quest of vanquishing the 'demon'. I wonder which side you will take at that time?"

Emilia only rolled her eyes as she found the dark cloak that had been hidden in a corner and draped it over her body before switching away from her 'glass goddess' form.

It might have been small and pretty, but it actually wasn't very practical to move around in. After all, while it looked like glass, her body in that form was actually made of a completely different material.

Taking inspiration from some transparent fish in the aquarium of Bella's mansion, Emilia only just managed to modify it enough to suit her needs. Though the changes made its weight by volume ratio about the same as that of gold, which was why Emilia turned so small after changing into the 'glass' form, that only helped her case.

After all, what could one hide inside such tiny, transparent figures?

Naturally, the form she switched to wasn't her original one either. As it had already been over eight hours since the last time she used her skill, Emilia had no need to use her saved states, and off-handedly created a form using a combination of features from her girlfriends.

-Ding!

—Used Skill: Shapeshift!

—Shapeshift is now in cooldown: 7 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds left till it is available again.

Cynthia mocked her for having created a monstrosity, but the crimson-haired girl knew that she was actually quite cute. It was a pity that no one could see her face.

Of course, even Emilia knew when not to be willful, which was why she'd made sure that the preparations for her escape were meticulous.

Jumping down from the window that had been carelessly left open into the blind spot, she spotted the missing camera at the blind spot with a smile before jumping off towards her getaway location.

How lucky does one have to be for a camera in such an important location to have malfunctioned and not be immediately replaced? Perhaps the now-deceased president's soul would screech in despair at the sheer incompetence of the staff and security had he seen this scene.

Unfortunately, the root cause of it all wasn't incompetence, but malice.

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It didn't take long for the whole world to learn of the apparent death of the president of Oriana, and needless to say, it completely swept over every other news story in an instant.

Oriana might not be the most prosperous or developed country in the world, but it was still considerably and strong and influential, and for its leader to have perished unexpectedly and without any prior warning was a shock in itself.

And when it was an assassination on top, the sensation it caused was naturally ten times worse.

With limited information available in hand, people couldn't help but worry and speculate about what might have happened, and what it could lead to.

"How the hell did that old bastard die?!"

"Don't tell me it was some major conflict… this won't lead to war, right?"

Of course, while many worried about how it happened and what would come next, others were more focused on who could have pulled such a thing off.

"No, in the first place, just how can someone kill a president and escape without anyone being the wiser? Weren't there supposed to be people watching him at all times?"

Unsurprisingly, the most common theory turned out to be that it 'must have been a conspiracy', and the people around the president himself must have done it. Otherwise, how could it have been so flawless?

At the very least, the people in charge of the investigation had to be involved!

Only those poor souls knew, however, just how dumbfounding the case really was. Aside from shattered glass from the broken statue and a hole through their president's chest, there was no other clue at all!

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