Eve’s costume kept secrets.
There were many reasons for it, but a major one involved ruling a country without anyone realizing she was immortal.
To justify this, she established a precedent where each king wore a similar costume, and the royal family, fearing assassination, never showed themselves in public.
It was a very bizarre, unnatural lie to spin, but Eve had held onto power. Her support was so strong no one thought better of it. In fact, they thought it rather strange that other kings didn’t wear costumes. Did they not realize the risks? She had redefined normality and won the war.
But the other reason for the costume—and the more important one—was to conceal the fact that President Eva was possessing Asako Ishikura’s body from Alka and the other lab scientists.
This body was borrowed through unscientific means, and she wasn’t sure what would cause Asako to awaken. As she investigated the ins and outs of her current state, she wanted to eliminate as many external factors as she could, and that led her to hide her identity.
Once she had a degree of control on Asako’s mind and could keep her comatose, she then kept hiding things just in case they proved useful later. Also, the mascot thing had caught on, and she couldn’t take it off if even she wanted—like a comedian whose signature joke involved a distinctive outfit.
She said, “If things get this weird, you just gotta have fun with it!” Eve Profen was all about excess and hedonism.
Before founding a country in her old world, she had been the latest in a long line of successful fortune-tellers. The bigwigs of every big country trusted her, and they often consulted her on what paths their nations should follow.
She practiced everything from astrology to palm reading, and the knowledge she’d accumulated would put the average politician to shame. She knew the statistics underlying those fields, the psychology required to reassure your clients, the political science needed to adequately advise a government.
She said what they wanted to hear, encouraged them when they needed it, left the big decisions up to them, staying well clear of blame—Eva herself once bluntly called herself a blue-blooded cabaret girl.
That work persisted after she became head of the household…and she grew increasingly bored with it.
Then one day, she decided to change her approach.
At first, it was just a game. How much of the world could she make dance in her palm by manipulating her clients?
Fueled by curiosity, Eva’s natural hedonistic streak and innate immorality quickly got her fingers in deep in world affairs. She’d force politicians to act, drive them to their downfalls, cause wars and stop them, then use the “favor” to call in more.
Eva was soon a central figure in the world’s economy, surrounded by those who wanted to tap into that vein, and use her for their own gain.
They were like ants on a sugar spill—and that was Eva’s goal. Like an anteater luring her prey in with sugar.
What she wanted wasn’t money or men, but information.
As she played at making the world dance for her, she used her position to gather all manner of intel, playing those cards as needed.
And one day, that led her to hear about an island with a mysterious power.
Most would have raised an eyebrow at this, but Eva had long made her living in the supernatural arts. Smelling potential, she launched an investigation.
The results were a huge success. She found a place radiating unnatural, inexplicable frequencies, which gave her an idea.
“I’m going to found a new country here on this island, with myself as president. If we can get to the bottom of this power, I can monopolize everything it leads to.”
At that point, there was no one capable of stopping her. Everything fell into place, and that’s how a simple fortune-teller became president.
And as ruler, she used her connections, gathering talented personnel to research the mysterious power.
Rien Cordelia had proven a bit of an outcast—too talented, too unpredictable—but with her in charge, Eva founded the Cordelia Research Institute.
When their research showed this power was what the ancients had called magic, Eva’s heart danced. “Such a fascinating way to make the world mine!”
If things went well, she might even gain immortality. Eva was positively giddy.
But her smooth sailing wouldn’t last.
No one could stop her—except her own body. She was getting on in years but no less energetic. And just as she hoped to make herself young again, she found her body ravaged by a serious illness.
An illness modern medicine could not cure.
It was depressing, but she soon shook it off, and took action.
“If god sent me a trial, then by getting through it, I shall become this world’s new god! Challenge accepted! Come on, immortality!”
She changed the focus of their magic research from world conquest to overcoming death.
She found a girl with the same condition—Asako Ishikura—and a father desperately searching for a cure—Jin Ishikura—and invited them to the lab. Claiming she wanted to solve the world’s environmental problems, she launched a big new project and gathered the best of the best—which included Alka, Eug, and Seta.
Outwardly, they were securing rare metals to slow global warming, prevent famines, control natural disasters, and heal tricky illnesses. Yet, the results were weaponized meteors, self-sufficiency in case of economic sanctions, at-will rainfall to secure drinking water and flood enemies, and a means by which she could heal herself. All endeavors that suited President Eva’s personal goals.
And in the new world, she became Eve. But her goals never changed. All she ever wanted was to play her game to the bitter end.