Chapter 318: Surely Nobody Actually Thinks This Is Magic, Right?

The video continued playing.

Above the stage, the sun and moon slowly revolved.

Glittering particles of light fell like rain, bathing the entire stage in a dreamlike glow.

Selene tilted her head back, practically unable to tear her eyes away from the silver crescent moon.

"Dad, is this our birthday present?"

"That’s right."

Asher extended his right hand and lightly swept it through the air.

The sun and moon simultaneously descended a little farther, stopping not far above the twins’ heads.

"But a present only counts if you pick it yourself."

Selene was already too impatient to wait.

She lifted herself with psychic power and shot toward the moon like a tiny cannonball.

The moon flashed and instantly shifted to the other side.

Selene missed completely.

She spun three times in midair and nearly went headfirst off the stage.

Aurelia wasn’t having much more success.

She steadily approached the sun with psychic power, taking things one step at a time.

But the moment her fingertip touched the edge of the glowing sphere—

Boing!

The sun bounced away as though it were deliberately teasing her.

Selene landed back on the stage and puffed out her cheeks.

"Dad!"

"You’re cheating!"

"These presents won’t even let us touch them!"

"Hehe."

Asher winked.

"If you can’t get them yourselves, you’re allowed to ask for outside help."

"It is your birthday, after all."

"Did you really think Dad was the only one here to celebrate with you?"

Selene’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Mom!"

"Where’s Mom?"

Aurelia also began looking all around.

But there was no sign of Sabrina anywhere.

"Look up."

"Above you."

The moment Asher finished speaking, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers again.

Click.

Every light above the stage went out at once.

The entire venue was plunged into darkness.

Then—

A pillar of silver-white light shot straight down from directly above the stage.

Within that light a figure descended from the sky.

Sabrina wore a pale-gold dress.

Her long black hair scattered through the air in the wind, making her look like a goddess who had fallen directly from the moon.

She descended steadily straight into Asher’s waiting arms.

"See?"

Asher supported Sabrina around the waist with one arm and spun halfway around, catching her as effortlessly as though she’d been a feather.

"There’s your mom."

Sabrina wrapped her arms around Asher’s neck.

A faint blush colored her cheeks, but she still played along with him.

"Mm."

"I’m here."

"Mom!"

Selene ran over and looked up at her.

"Dad told us to catch the sun and moon ourselves!"

"But they’re impossible to catch!"

"I understand."

After Sabrina was set back on her feet, she raised her gaze toward the two glowing celestial bodies leisurely circling overhead.

"Those two?"

"Yes!"

"Those ones!"

Selene nodded vigorously.

An extremely faint blue light flashed through Sabrina’s eyes.

The next second—

Invisible psychic power poured outward from her body.

Like an unseen net, it enveloped both the sun and moon in midair at the same time.

"Go."

Sabrina spoke softly.

The sun slowly floated down in front of Aurelia.

The moon descended before Selene.

Both girls reached out simultaneously.

The instant their fingers touched the glowing spheres—

Cracks spread across them like eggshells.

And curled up inside each one was a tiny, fluffy Pokémon.

One Ralts had a golden, mushroom-shaped crest.

The other had a silver one.

Both Ralts opened their eyes at the same time.

They tilted their little heads and let out soft cries toward their respective new Trainers.

The children in the audience instantly lost all control.

One little girl had already started spinning in circles on the spot.

"IT’S RALTS!"

"How can Ralts even come in colors like that?!"

"My dad bought me a Caterpie last time and told me it was a baby Legendary Pokémon!!!"

"My dad’s even worse!"

"He doesn’t even give me allowance!"

The parents sitting in the back row wore expressions as complicated as though they’d each swallowed an entire lemon whole.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Bianca]: Waaaaah... I want to marry Aurelia’s dad... Wait, no... I want to be Aurelia... That doesn’t sound right either...

[May]: Bianca, snap out of it!

[Bianca]: I can’t! This is too sweet! They’re way too adorable together! Waaaaah...

[Iris]: At this moment, I genuinely think they’re the happiest family of four in the entire world.

[Lorelei]: I used to think "protagonist aura" was just an exaggeration. After seeing Asher, I completely believe in it now.

[Brock]: At this moment, I’ve finally realized something profound! My greatest dream isn’t actually becoming a Master Pokémon Breeder! It’s becoming the kind of father who can make my daughter the envy of the entire school during a kindergarten event! Master Asher, please teach me magic!!!

[Max]: Maybe start by learning how not to propose on the spot every time you see a pretty older woman. That’ll probably help you more than magic ever will!

[Solana]: What I’m more curious about is... Were those Celebi actually part of the magic trick, or were they real? Because they looked almost exactly like the one I’ve seen before...

[Winona]: Knowing Asher, they were probably real.

[Steven]: Surely nobody actually thinks this is magic, right? For Brother Asher, calling in the real thing probably isn’t any harder than setting up some elaborate illusion. And I wouldn’t be surprised if none of those stage effects were props either. At its core, this "magic show" is basically just a Legendary Pokémon show.

[Raihan]: Good grief. The instant it involves praising Asher, Steven’s ability to construct sentences starts increasing exponentially.

[Volkner]: A day in Steven’s life: wake up, dig for stones, praise Asher in the group chat, get yelled at by Wallace, go to sleep.

[Flint]: You forgot one. Getting pressured by Mr. Stone to get married.

[Bill]:@Asher, hold on. How are there golden and silver Ralts now?! Just how many colors can Ralts come in?! At this point, I feel like all my analysis has become completely meaningless.

[Lucian]: Hmm... Perhaps giving up on trying to explain Asher scientifically is, in itself, a tremendous form of progress.

The video continued playing.

After the parent-child event ended, the other children at the kindergarten still refused to go home.

A crowd had gathered around Aurelia and Selene.

Aurelia held her Ralts in her arms.

Selene, meanwhile, was holding an entire stack of "share subscription certificates."

"Miss Selene, can we still invest?"

"Of course."

Selene handed over a subscription certificate.

"Write your name here, and write what you’re investing here."

Aurelia watched her little sister skillfully assign positions to everyone and let out a faint sigh.

A little girl with twin ponytails approached Aurelia and looked at her expectantly.

"A-Aurelia..."

"Could I have your dad’s autograph?"

Before Aurelia could answer—

Selene popped out from behind her.

"Of course!"

"One autographed photo costs only five hundred points!"

"Points?"

The girl with twin ponytails stared blankly.

"Sun-Moon Group membership points."

Selene produced another card.

"Sign up now, spend just five hundred League Coins, and you’ll receive one autographed photo!"

The little girl’s eyes instantly lit up.

"I want to sign up!"

"Selene."

Aurelia reached out and grabbed her little sister by the wrist.

"Don’t cause trouble for Dad."

"Oh, come on, Big Sis! I’m not!"

Selene pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket.

"Look!"

"This is the authorization Dad wrote for me last week!"

Aurelia took the paper and looked at it.

Written across it in extremely casual handwriting were the words: I hereby authorize my daughter Selene to represent me with full authority in all commercial activities. Valid permanently.

The handwriting really was Asher’s.

Aurelia fell silent for two seconds.

"Why does Dad keep writing things like this for you..."