Elesis Fredream

The red-haired girl's voice directed Karen and Callisto's attention towards her. The excitement in her crimson eyes were as vivid as the blue sky above them.

Karen analyzed the incoming individual from head to toe and figured she was as tall and as old as Callisto. As for the reason why she was running straight towards them, Karen had no clue so far.

"Do you know her," Karen asked, her gaze remained on the red-haired girl.

"I do remember seeing her in the Megaverse store, but..." Callisto replied, her features filled with wonder. "... Somehow I feel like I've seen her before. Maybe when I was little?"

The red-haired girl's stride went on hold as she stood right before Callisto.

"I saw you in the book store yesterday," she said in an excited voice. "You look so pretty!"

Callisto forced a laugh, the soft expression on her face belied the curiosity she had about the red-haired girl.

"I could say the exact same thing to you."

"Oh, thank you."

What Callisto meant to say was that she also saw the red-haired girl in the book store yesterday. Although she couldn't bring herself to correct her response for she wasn't wrong even in the slightest. In Callisto's eyes, the blushing red-haired maiden was indeed pretty.

The girl's crimson eyes darted from Callisto's face to her cat ears.

"The silver hair and cat ears look so real, you wouldn't think it's actually a wig," said the red head, her one hand seemingly urging to touch Callisto's cat ears, but dared not to stretch forward any further.

Callisto quickly searched for the right words to respond.

"T-That's right. It was tailor made for me."

"Tailor made for you?"

The red-haired lady's eyes widened, a surprised gasp escaped her lips.

"You must be a pro cosplayer then!"

All Karen and her boss's daughter could do was to force a laugh as they feel overwhelmed by the red-haired lady's blinding enthusiasm.

"So, who are you cosplaying as? Is it a character from an anime, a manga, manhwa, or a novel? Who is it?"

Karen and Callisto glanced at each other, feeling tensed. While Adela's assistant was on the ready to take action should Callisto need her help, the silver-haired girl found herself scraping through the very corners of her mind like a cat, desperate to find the one character from the novels she once read that could fit her appearance.

"Uh..."

Karen looked at the young lady, her concern hidden underneath her nonchalant demeanor.

"What should I do," she asked herself. "Please let me know when I should intervene, Callisto."

Callisto did not think someone would approach and bother ask her of such a thing. A drop of sweat sweat ran down her cheek as her search went on, digging deep with ferocious desperation. She had to find an answer or the red-haired girl would grow suspicious of her.

"I..."

Callisto could not think of any character that would fit her appearance. However, her efforts wasn't exactly in vain.

"... I'm cosplaying myself."

Karen wasn't well-versed with anything related to cosplaying. So when Calli gave her answer to the red-haired girl, the assistant could not help but feel uneasy.

"Oh, you mean an OC."

Karen's eyes widened out of cluelessness. When she thought about what OC meant, the thing that came to mind was a personality disorder. Callisto and the other girl was obviously talking about something else. Her gaze shifted from the red-haired girl to the silve-haired one.

Callisto nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

"OC?" Karen muttered out loud, stealing the attention of both Callisto and the other girl.

"OC stands for original character," explained the red-haired. "They are usually fictional personas made by someone to exist into someone else's already existing story. Of course, that doesn't mean you cannot create an OC to exist in your own story."

Thanks to the red-haired girl's explanation, Karen now understood the exchange between the two young ladies. It also gave her an idea about who and what kind of person the crimson-eyed girl was.

She did not approach Karen and Callisto with malicious intent hidden underneath her bubbly front. She was simply intrigued by Callisto's appearance just like the people they came across earlier. But definitely more enthused than everyone else.

The red head apologized for suddenly running to them without introducing herself first. She could not help her excitement when her eyes caught the sight of Callisto who looked like a cosplayer.

"My name is Elesis Fredream."

Callisto's cat ears twitched upon hearing the name of the red-haired girl.

"Fredream..."

Her mind quickly drifted towards the past.

There was a time when Callisto entered kindergarten. However, the first time she came to class was also the last.

"My name is Callisto Mandjet," she said to the red-haired girl. "We were classmates in kindergarten, although it was only for just a day."

"Callisto Mandjet?"

Deep lines formed around Elesis's forehead as she pondered the name Mandjet. She remembered it. It didn't take long for her to find the reason why.

"Ah!" Her voice went up in shock, pointing a finger at Callisto. "You're the one who was sitting next to me! Callisto Mandjet!"

Callisto smiled softly.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I see. So it was you. Wait..."

Deep lines formed on the red-haired girl's forehead once more.

If Callisto truly was the person who was sitting next to Elesis on the first day of their kindergarten and her last name was truly Mandjet, that means...

"Your parents are Raymond and Adela Mandjet, right?"

The silver-haired girl affirmed Elesis's query with a nod.

The one who was with me in the book store yesterday was Papa," she added.

For a moment, Elesis was rendered speechless.

"I can't believe it," she broke her silence, a glint of disappointment in her eyes. "To think I missed such a very important person... I always wanted to talk to him in person, but I don't think an opportunity like yesterday will come by again."

"If there's something you wanna tell Papa, I'll be glad to pass it to him for you," Callisto's voice was kind as well as the look on her face.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Elesis's features brightened as she expressed her appreciation to Callisto. Her expression softened.

"Every hospital we went to refused to perform the cardiac surgery on my grandmother because we didn't have the money for it. But, Raymond Mandjet himself accepted us with open arms. Because of him, my grandmother is still alive. That's why I am forever grateful to him."

Callisto felt her heart wrench when she learned Elesis's grandmother had to go through such a thing until her father met them. The grandmother's helpless situation felt really close to home.

She was glad to know that the red head's grandmother lived thanks to her papa, a proud smile pulled up the corners of her lips.

"I'll make sure your message reaches Papa no matter what," Callisto assured with unwavering confidence.

Elesis's smiling lips parted. "Thank you."