"Celeste, lend me some credits," Rowena said while turning to her with a smile.
"Huh?" Celeste replied in surprise.
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Did Diva Rowena not get paid this month. Kekeke.]
[LadyErkath (Deverinian Prime): You're a part owner of one of the biggest fashion companies in the universe, Rowena. Show some decorum.]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): This stream always finds ways to entertain.]
"How do you expect me to pay with my uniband when it hasn't been invented yet?" Rowena replied.
[Sparesomechangebro (Earth): I know your pain, Diva Rowena. Maybe the streamer will lend you some change since he has never lent me any.]
"Fine, but I expect you to pay me back, with interest," Celeste replied before handing Rowena her communicator.
"Sure," Rowena replied before turning to the person who was working the store and looking at them with confusion since she couldn't understand what they were talking about.
"Can I get your entire stock of this, this, this and this?" Rowena said as she began to point out several of the snacks that were on sale.
[Sparesomechangebro (Earth): Why do my friends never let me use their money like that?]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Face it, you need to get yourself some rich friends. Kekeke.]
[Sparesomechangebro (Earth): 😭]
"Hey! Do you think I'm made of credits?" Celeste asked in complaint.
"It's fine, I will pay you back," Rowena replied while waving her free hand back at her without turning around.
Adam just smiled and watched as the stall owner asked, "My entire stock?"
"Yup, is that a problem?" Rowena asked.
"No ma'am. Give me a few minutes to bag everything up for you," The stall owner said in excitement before getting to work.
"That's fine. We are going to continue looking around the festival. Let me pay for them now and come pick them up later, ok?" Rowena replied.
"That's fine. Thank you, ma'am." The stall owner replied before holding out their communicator, which Rowena tapped with Celeste's to transfer the credits.
"Thanks," Rowena said before moving away and continuing to look around at the different stalls.
"Can I get my communicator back?" Celeste asked with a frown.
"What if there are other things I want to pick up and take back with us? I would have to ask you for your communicator every single time. This way I can just pay for what I want," Rowena replied while flashing her signature grin.
[Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): I hope Celeste is made of credits.]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): I might be wrong. But I think Rowena is punishing Celeste.]
[Lizziethetruepower (Palaxia): Punishing her?]
[LadyErkath (Deverinian Prime): I think you're right. If I had to guess, it's punishment for following her and Adam.]
[Puntanghunter69Ver2 (International Space Station): Maybe she wanted to be alone with the streamer and Celeste is being a third wheel. 😏]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): Third wheel?]
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): It's a saying here on Earth. It's when an extra person, normally unwanted, tags along with another two. Often when they are on a date.]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): Ohhh, I see. 😏]
Rowena led Adam and Celeste through the stalls, occasionally stopping at any stall that caught her eye and sometimes buying items with Celeste's credits before telling the store owner or employee that she would pick up the items later.
"Do you plan to spend all my credits?" Celeste asked in annoyance.
"Of course not," Rowena replied before giving Celeste her signature smirk as she added, "If I did that, you wouldn't be able to make your company successful and produce the earring."
"My, how thoughtful," Celeste said while rolling her eyes.
Finally, they passed through all the stalls and as they pushed their way through the crowd, Rowena led them towards an open-sided hexagon-shaped pavilion with a glass roof that had many tables and chairs where the festival goers were sitting as they ate and drank together and talked about what they had already done at the festival and planned to do.
As Rowena led Adam and Celeste through the tables and chairs, many of the men and some of the women turned to stare at the two beauties, and while most went back to their conversation shortly after, one or two of the braver and drunker ones called out to them.
Celeste ignored the calls while Rowena smiled and occasionally winked at the people responsible before continuing to move towards the centre of the pavilion, where a hexagon-shaped pillar that was a couple of meters thick rose all the way to the ceiling.
Rowena led the other two around the pillar until they reached a certain section of it, where she stopped in front of it and started to closely examine the pillar as if looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" Celeste asked as several people started to pay attention to Rowena since she was acting strangely as she appeared to be studying at a plain pillar.
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): Don't tell me the entrance to the secret passage way is within that pillar. Does she really plan to open it in front of so many people?]
[Superior4horns (Vinox 3): Well, she did say that it doesn't really matter if this gets revealed since the Black Noir discovers it in the future.]
[HackerSu (Trillion): Maybe the Black Noir family knew about it because of Diva Rowena's actions right now. I mean, there are loads of people watching her right now.]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Ohhh, that would make sense actually.]
"Ah, found it," Rowena said as she pressed the palm of her hand against a specific stone in the pillar. The stone seemed to glow slightly before a red line quickly ran up and down the stone, scanning her palm.
After a moment, the stone returned to its normal colour before a clunk was heard and a section of the wall slid inwards slightly, causing dust from the stonework to fall to the ground.
Rowena turned to Adam with a smile before asking, "Would you be so kind?"
"What's wrong? Don't want to get your clothes dirty?" Celeste asked with a smirk.
"Would you, when there is a gentleman here to get dirty for you?" Rowena replied.
"A gentleman? This pedo?" Celeste asked with a raised eyebrow as she thumbed Adam.
"If you would stop calling him a pedo every time you talk about or to him, you might find out for yourself," Rowena replied as she moved away from the wall that had slid slightly inwards to allow Adam access to it.
[Whitehorn (Darah 5): Oh geez. I can't believe I called him a pedo so much back then. This is so embarrassing. 🫣]
Universal Year 3247
Within the city of Nyxburg on Darah Five, Horn Manufacturing, which had been run out of a small building on the outer edges of the city eighteen years ago, had now moved to one of the most impressive buildings within the city.
On the top floor of the building, Celeste was going over the day's figures on her console while asking her assistant, who sat on the other side of her desk, questions at random.
"How is production of the earrings going?" Celeste asked.
"Above your desired expectations," the assistant replied before asking, "Are we really going to just keep holding them in the warehouses? If you ask me, we have produced more than enough for us to supply the demand we will see when we finally release them."
Celeste sighed before saying, "I agree; however, the product does not belong to us. We need to wait for them to announce it and inform us where they want us to distribute them."
"Although it won't bankrupt us since you have made so many successful business decisions in the past, boss, the manufacture of the earrings with no sign of return is eating into our profits."
"I understand that, but considering how hot this product will be once it gets released, it's a safe gamble to take. Besides, I promised a friend I would do it this way."
"You always say that, but you never reveal who this friend of yours is," The assistant complained.
"You will find out soon enough," Celeste replied before adding, "That's all for today. Why don't you get off early and go see that little boy of yours?"
The assistant smiled brightly before nodding and getting up while saying, "I will take you up on that."
Celeste smiled and shook her head as she watched her assistant leave before turning her head back to the holographic screen above her console, only to see that a notification had appeared while she wasn't looking.
"A stream advert for some streamer called Spector?" Celeste commented dismissively and was about to clear the notification when a memory from eighteen years ago of Rowena telling Vlad about Adam's stream surfaced.
"It can't be," Celeste said with excitement as she quickly selected the notification, causing a new holographic screen to appear.
What she saw made her both happy and surprised. She was looking at herself from eighteen years ago while Rowena opened the secret passage into the Nosferatu estate as people around them watched and called out to them both.
"Finally, you sure took your time getting here," Celeste commented as she looked at the person wearing the basic-looking combat suit.
Celeste was about to type in the chat when she suddenly heard something that made her freeze and blush.
"A gentleman? This pedo?"
Universal Year 3229
"Would you, when there is a gentleman here to get dirty for you?" Rowena replied.
"A gentleman? This pedo?" Celeste asked with a raised eyebrow as she thumbed Adam.
"If you would stop calling him a pedo every time you talk about or to him, you might find out for yourself," Rowena replied as she moved away from the wall that had slid slightly inwards to allow Adam access to it.
[Whitehorn (Darah 5): Oh geez. I can't believe I called him a pedo so much back then. This is so embarrassing. 🫣]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Huh? Who is this new viewer who just appeared? 🫤]
[Emojisonly (Earth): 🫤]
[LadyErkath (Deverinian Prime): Celeste? 😮When did you get access to this stream?]
[MercheadAnderson (Palaxia): Celeste? As in the Celeste we are watching right now and the owner of Horn Manufacturing?]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): No way. What a time to make an entrance into the stream.]
[Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): So she's currently watching herself from eighteen years ago?]
[DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Well, this is a surprise.]
[Phoenixempress (Fenix Nest): A surprise? This is shocking. Who would have thought that she would appear in the chat to watch herself?]
[Whitehorn (Darah 5): I just got access a moment ago. I didn't expect to join just to watch myself calling Adam a pedo.]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): So you're addressing him by his name now and not as pedo? Although I found it funny, have you finally matured?]