Meanwhile, Trizha walked across the sprawling plaza.
The finely polished floor reflected the elegant architecture surrounding her, and the gentle, constant rush of water from nearby ornamental rivers provided a soothing backdrop.
The air was filled with the lively chatter of students, some engrossed in conversation, others simply pausing to admire the sheer scale and elegance of the La Luna Sangre Hotel's exterior.
A few moments later, Trizha stopped, captivated. Directly ahead stood a massive fountain, centered by a striking statue of a human figure holding a perfectly round, full moon.
Her attention was immediately seized by the water—the graceful arcs of the jets, the clear, cascading tiers, and the misty sprays that caught the sunlight, shimmering with a thousand tiny, artificial sparkles.
She gasped softly, her eyes wide with unfeigned amusement. Automatically, she pulled out her phone, snapping pictures before switching to video mode.
"You just gotta give credits to the engineers…!" she declared to her camera, tossing her hair with a playful, teasing giggle.
She was about to turn and continue her exploration when she looked up. Her breath hitched. Her mouth dropped open slightly, the playful grin dissolving into a look of pure shock.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze towards the single, impossibly tall structure dominating the hotel complex—a monolithic Tower that stood right at the establishment's heart.
This structure wasn't just part of the hotel; it was the focal point, commanding all attention. Trizha didn't know its practical use beyond being a powerful visual magnet, but a sudden certainty settled in her gut.
This was the main Prom venue.
"Whoa..." she whispered, truly dumbfounded by the sight.
The moment was broken by a sharp, loud shout.
"Okay, gather up, gather up everyone!!"
The voice, belonging to a young woman, was commanding and slightly theatrical.
Students nearby immediately turned, a crowd beginning to form near a short staircase that led up to a massive, ornate gate—the official entrance to the La Luna Sangre Hotel.
Trizha, startled, was drawn into the gathering throng.
Emerging from the crowd was the source of the commotion: a tall woman with disheveled white hair, dressed sharply in a black suit with a long coat trailing dramatically behind her containing rose-like armaments.
In her left hand, she held a wooden baseball bat. Beside her stood a perpetually frazzled assistant.
The woman raised the bat, not threateningly, but as a showpiece. "Listen up, everyone!! I am Yuri Calypso, owner and founder of the La Luna Sangre Hotel!"
A ripple of surprise went through the student crowd. Whispers of astonishment about the hotel's legendary founder being right in front of them spread quickly.
Yuri then aggressively pointed the wooden bat toward the students, her expression alight with a bold, almost predatory desire.
"You people are from the JT International High School, right?! Hopping on to have a vacation in my place?"
The response was a mixture of nervous nods, nonchalant shrugs, and general agreement, even though its Yuri Calypso herself who forced them here.
Yuri's grin widened. "I see... in that case, HAND OVER YOUR WALLETS!"
A stunned silence gave way to gasps of genuine shock. An aggressive, forceful demand—practically a stick-up—from the owner of a luxury hotel was the very definition of unexpected.
SMACK.
The assistant beside Yuri—a man who clearly lived a difficult life—struck her sharply on the back of the head with a rolled-up magazine.
"Are you out of your mind?!" he hissed.
Yuri rubbed her head. "What? This is business, as you can see—"
"HOW'S THAT BUSINESS?! YOU ARE STRAIGHT UP ROBBING THEM!"
"So? All in exchange for their enjoyment," Yuri countered with a playful, utterly serious grin and a little giggle. "Great deal, right?"
She then turned back to the students, her confident demeanor instantly restored.
"Anyways... without further adieu...! Let's all enter my hotel made by me brick by brick!" she shouted, dramatically pointing her bat toward the massive gates, then suddenly hurling the bat away without a care if anyone gets hit.
Just as the students prepared to move, the assistant groaned. "Admit it. All you did was sit down in a pile of cash while construction workers suffered to build the entirety of the hotel."
"Eh. At least I did the blueprint," Yuri dismissed.
"Lies! You forced me to draw the whole thing without any break!"
"Alright, enough talk."
Yuri strode forward. Teachers began ushering the students, and Trizha, along with the ludicrously near-death Wyne and the ever-smiling Margaret, followed the flow.
Everyone passed through the colossal gates and into the inner sanctum of the La Luna Sangre.
As they entered, the unified gasp of the students was louder and more heartfelt than before. The sight inside was a pure explosion of beauty and architectural elegance:
Lush green bushes and meticulously kept foliage surrounded the infrastructure.
Massive, connecting buildings of long width and length formed an imposing, octagon-shaped formation.
The entire yard inside was a courtyard enclosed by these buildings.
Towering over everything was the main focus: the single, thin, but enormously long building from earlier—the Tower—three times the size of any other structure.
The overall sight was magnificent, almost heavenly and unexplainable.
"Whoa... will you look at that..." breathed one student.
"The structure, the curves, the design... all of it is just amazing..."whispered another.
"Oh, now Mom would be proud of me for witnessing such heaven...!" a third exclaimed, eyes wide.
Watching the students admire the architecture, Yuri stood a short distance away, her hands planted firmly on her hips.
Her face was a mask of utter satisfaction. She was smiling proudly, her expectations not just met, but exceeded.
"Hahh... I love this feeling...!" she murmured to herself. "Good work, my amazing imagination and hardworking skills of 10 years!"
The Assistant, Ramoss, stepped up and lightly chopped the back of Yuri's head with his hand. "Oy." He did all of it, after all.
Meanwhile, Trizha was setting up a live vlog nearby on her phone. A few feet away, T. Myrcella was frantically trying to revive Wyne by slapping her cheek repeatedly on both sides, while Margaret watched with a sympathetic wince.
"Heya, everyone! Izha here, in the La Luna Sangre Hotel...!" Trizha said brightly, turning her camera to capture more of the incredible surroundings.
She continued walking, touring her viewers as she toured herself. Comments were already flooding the screen.
"Is there anything deep about the hotel, you guys ask? No, I just got here. But don't worry! Once we enter the inside, I'll show you all around! They even said that there's a pool here... wow!" she said cheerfully, giggling with genuine excitement.
"As you guys can see... this Hotel is really huge! But not as huge as that one fat streamer," she paused for a beat, leaning in conspiratorially. "HAHAHAHA no, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, don't send hate—"
Suddenly, her train of thought, and her vlog, shattered.
In the corner of her camera view, she saw him. Nomoro. His back was turned to her, and he knelt down on the pavement, gently and softly patting a black cat.
Trizha's smile faded instantly. The playful light in her eyes went cold as she looked at the cat—the same cat she had ignored long ago.
The moment was a sharp, painful reminder of things she had done, and things she hadn't.
A bead of sweat tracked down her temple. A heavy pang of guilt and nervousness slammed into her as she remembered the truly horrible way she had treated Nomoro days ago.
She stared at him through the screen, her heart hammering against her ribs, before she abruptly—without warning or saying goodbye to her viewers—cut the live vlog and turned off her phone.
This was highly irregular.
Trizha was the type of person who would never cut off a passion project mid-stream for anything. She performed until the video was wrapped.
But that last painful encounter with Nomoro seemed to have fundamentally changed her approach to everything, even her beloved vlogging.
She stormed away from the crowd, making herself small, her sole mission to avoid catching Nomoro's attention.
And when Nomoro finally noticed a change in the atmosphere and turned to look for the source…
...she was already gone.