"Congratulations! You're the first team to advance to the main tournament in this year's Festa!"
The moment they returned to the preparation room, Yabuki was the first to greet them with a beaming smile, practically fawning like an eager sycophant.
Julis couldn't bear to look at him.
"Senpai, h-here, some tea!"
Kirin, her cheeks slightly flushed, handed Roy a porcelain cup filled with perfectly warm tea.
"Thanks, Kirin."
Roy smiled, ruffling Kirin's hair before taking the cup and draining it in one go.
"Alright, stop embarrassing yourself. You'll still get your interview rights."
"Much appreciated!"
Julis' gaze unconsciously lingered on Kirin's head. Seeing the girl's shy yet blissful expression as she melted under Roy's touch, Julis' lips twitched, and her fingers tapped against her arm twice as fast as before.
She felt a faint pang of envy—wishing she could muster the courage to express her own feelings so openly.
But whenever she saw Claudia and Kirin being affectionate, she could only suppress the irritation bubbling inside her.
Truthfully, she also wanted Roy to pat her head.
But she stubbornly held back, refusing to say a word.
Later, Yabuki got his wish and interviewed Roy and Claudia, gathering their thoughts on advancing to the main tournament.
Roy openly admitted that he felt their opponents this round were slightly stronger than those in the first match. Once this interview was published, it stirred quite a commotion among the students of Queenvail Girls' Academy.
"Nothing else to do now, right? Should we grab lunch somewhere?"
After the interview, Roy stood up from the couch, stretching before glancing at Claudia and the others.
Julis and Kirin both nodded in agreement. Their match was scheduled for the third round in the afternoon, so waiting around now would mean killing time for hours.
"You all go ahead. Reserve a spot—I have something to take care of first."
Claudia waved them off with a smile.
"I'll pass too. I need to get this article published ASAP!"
Yabuki energetically clutched his camera, his eyes gleaming with ambition to captivate audiences worldwide.
"Then we'll head out first. Same restaurant as last time."
With that, Roy left with Julis and Kirin.
Only Claudia and Yabuki remained in the preparation room.
"Phew..."
Claudia exhaled deeply, her smile gradually fading.
"You have something to say to me, don't you, Yabuki?"
"Haha, saw right through me, huh?"
Yabuki chuckled.
At the same time, his usual frivolous demeanor vanished entirely, replaced by a sharp, calculating grin.
"As sharp as ever, President. That's reassuring."
"Cut the flattery. Is it true what you said earlier—that your father has come to Asterisk City?"
Claudia's expression turned icy, her eyes no longer warm but piercing as they fixed on Yabuki.
"If his own son says so, how could it be false?"
Yabuki shrugged helplessly, shamelessly selling out his own father like a rebellious child.
"He called me last night, said he'd arrive in Asterisk City today, and ordered me to cooperate with his mission—to help complete Ginga's task."
Ginga's task?
At those words, Claudia's expression darkened further, as if something unpleasant had crossed her mind.
"As the head of the Yabuki clan, one of Ginga's Night Emit units, coming personally to Asterisk City must mean something extraordinary is happening, right?"
The Yabuki clan had been passed down in this island nation for a thousand years. Even before the Invertia, they were already a renowned family in Japan's underworld.
After the Invertia occurred, conglomerates rose to dominate the world's power structure. The Yabuki clan then pledged allegiance to Ginga, which controlled Japan, becoming one of Ginga's combat units.
Their codename: Night Emit.
"About that, I only have some speculations myself."
Yabuki Eishirou shrugged with an air of indifference.
"My old man seems to have come here to hunt someone down. The previous combat units sent after that person were all wiped out without a trace, so the conglomerate dispatched my father."
"In that case, there's only one person your father could be after."
Claudia's tone was firm.
Although Ginga had recently launched investigations into the self-proclaimed terrorist group "Akatsuki," they were still in the preliminary stages—the true identities of its members remained unknown, let alone any pursuit.
There was only one criminal currently being relentlessly hunted by Ginga, with wave after wave of combat units sent after them.
"Yeah, eighty percent chance it's that Evil Eye Sorcerer!"
Yabuki's gaze fell on the table as he picked up a slice of apple carved into a rabbit shape from the fruit platter and took a crisp bite.
"After escaping Tokyo, Ginga has been sending forces to hunt down that Evil Eye Sorcerer—whether it's a 'he' or 'she.' At first, they could still track his movements, but a month ago, he inexplicably vanished without a trace. To this day, he hasn't been found. Ginga's investigators initially reported he'd fled overseas, but recently, there's been a new development—shockingly, it seems the Evil Eye Sorcerer has escaped to Asterisk City!"
"I was stunned when I heard. Can you believe it? After offending Ginga, instead of leaving the country, he went deeper into Japan's heartland, straight to Asterisk City. It's like he's spitting in the conglomerate's face! Haha, what an interesting guy!"
Yabuki slapped his thigh and burst into laughter, thoroughly amused by this so-called Evil Eye Sorcerer.
Thinking about it, the "fleeing overseas" story was probably a deliberate smokescreen. His real goal must have been coming to Asterisk City all along.
But what could he possibly do here?
In Asterisk City, the conglomerate's eyes and ears are everywhere. Surrounded by water on all sides, if he's exposed, there's nowhere to run!
"Asterisk City isn't just Ginga's territory—the other five major conglomerates are here too. To maintain the Festa, the other conglomerates won't allow Ginga to act recklessly."
Claudia's expression remained calm as she made her analysis, seemingly unfazed.
Within each conglomerate, the highest-ranking executives undergo mental adjustments, making them virtually monolithic, with all forces aligned toward a single purpose. There's almost no chance of internal collapse.
But between the conglomerates, it's a different story. After all, conglomerates are capital entities—each views the others as thorns in their side, all vying to crush their rivals and become the world's sole ruler.
The major conglomerates had indeed waged wars against each other. Decades ago, in their bid to dominate the world, they had resorted to large-scale military force. The result was nothing but wasted resources and lives, with no clear victor. Realizing that continuing down this path would lead to mutual destruction, the conglomerates finally laid down their arms and actively established the current world order.
They would not allow any single entity to gain overwhelming dominance, so the conglomerates both cooperated and restrained one another.
This rule was even more pronounced in Asterisk City, the stage for the Festa. Each conglomerate had planted numerous informants here. Any significant move by one would easily provoke the others. If the other five joined forces against one, no conglomerate could withstand the pressure. Thus, the balance of power among them in Asterisk City was far more delicate than anywhere else in the world.
Any conglomerate wishing to make a major move here had to tread carefully, ensuring they didn't touch upon the others' sensitive points.
Ginga was no exception.
They would never casually deploy their combat forces to Asterisk City. This time, however, they had even sent the Yabuki clan—including its patriarch—indicating their absolute resolve to eliminate the Evil Eye Sorcerer.
But the question remained: under normal circumstances, would a mental interference ability user warrant such an extreme response from a conglomerate?
History had seen mental interference ability users cause trouble before, yet the conglomerates' reactions had never been as severe as this one against the Evil Eye Sorcerer.
There must be other unknown factors at play here.
"Do you have your father's contact information?"
"Of course, President. Do you have something to say to my old man?"
"Give me his number."
Claudia lowered her head slightly, her expression flickering between light and shadow.
No one could tell what she was thinking at that moment.
***
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