At the [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival] venue, Stelle brought March 7th along.
"To help revitalize Jarilo-VI catch up with the latest trends faster, the Competitive Association deliberately chose this planet... Guess they just can't let go."
Stelle didn't mind much. The Company had conveniently renovated the old testing grounds on Jarilo-VI anyway, and this time, the main goal was just to play games—no malice there.
"Two beautiful young ladies! Welcome to my arena!"
A voice suddenly piped up from behind Stelle. Without hesitation, she summoned her bat and swung it straight at the intruder's face.
"Hiss... Miss, your vigilance is impressive..." Giovanni dodged just in time—not surprising for a Nameless from the Astral Express; their situational awareness was top-notch.
"If I'm not mistaken, you two must be Stelle and March 7th, right?"
"Could it be you've heard of the [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival] and come to show off your skills?" Giovanni greeted them politely.
Right in front of Giovanni, March 7th whispered to Stelle: "Hey, Stelle... Check out his mask. Pretty cool, huh?"
"How do you know our names? Masked weirdo... State your business!"
"Haha, look at me—such a faux pas!" Giovanni chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Forgot the introductions—I'm Giovanni di Giorgio da Epsilon."
"A humble merchant from Epsilon, the sole sponsor of this [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival]."
"Thanks for the introduction, Mr. Giovanni di... whatever-the-rest-is."
His self-introduction had rambled on forever; March 7th only caught the first few words.
"You sound like a big shot... What brings you here?"
"Why not show your real face? Mind taking off the mask for a peek?"
"Hahaha, you're quite the comedian! But alas, this mask is tied to my very safety... Let's leave some personal space for each other, shall we?"
"Besides, I got a little injury the other day, and this mask was barely patched on. See here."
Giovanni pointed out the damage on the mask—sure enough, there were traces of tape holding it together.
"Now, to answer Miss March's question... As you can see, the [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival] is about to take place on this beautiful planet..."
"And as the sole sponsor of this event, inspecting the venue's operations is only natural."
"Moreover, I'd love to get to know the players in the tournament—and you two... In this vast universe, friends are never too many. If you're willing to call me a friend, that'd be my greatest honor!"
Listening to Giovanni's flattery, March 7th glanced at Stelle.
"Hm... This guy's got a mask, acts all creepy, and he's a bigwig... But he seems harmless, pretty approachable even. What do you think?"
"I'm standing here thinking."
"Oh, come on, be serious!"
"Ahem..." Stelle's tone suddenly turned dramatic: "To our friendship—cheers!"
"Mm, I trust your judgment too! Pleased to meet you, Mr. Giovanni."
What kind of bad guy wears a mask anyway?
"Making friends like you two—today's the happiest day of my life." Giovanni clutched his chest in an overly theatrical performance.
"As for the game 'Aether Frontline,' I'm sure you've learned the details by now. So, let me clear up any questions about the [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival]!"
"So... What is this place?"
The Company's debt issue had resolved too smoothly, leaving the Trailblazers with no chance to visit Jarilo-VI's newly restored areas.
"This? Belobog's weapons testing ground... At least seven hundred years ago. During the restoration, we uncovered several long-sealed automaton soldier assembly lines."
"A few hundred years back, Belobog's people tested mech performance right here on this site."
"And now, with my sponsorship, the Company and the Aether Frontline Competitive Association have transformed it into the tournament arena... In other words, this is now my [Arena]."
"I see... Wait, is this construction even legal?" Stelle raised a doubt.
"Of course it is! The project received personal approval from Belobog's Architects' Guild president and the Minister of Culture..."
"As for whether they got the Supreme Guardian's nod on it, that's not for me to pry into."
Even so, Stelle still felt something was off. After the [Release Gang] incident, her wariness toward strangers had shot up a whole level.
"Hahaha, too much suspicion isn't good for your health. Rest assured, ladies—I just love enjoying the thrill of games, watching players compete fiercely yet band together in the spirit of fun."
"That's all—no other motives! I swear it... On my reputation and this mask!"
...
In the Goethe Hotel, Adrian flipped through a virtual newspaper, browsing the Church's regular weekly report.
"[Butler Screwlloyd missing for several days; missing persons notice issued. The Church has reason to suspect abduction by the Antimatter Legion—or it may tie to Grand Duke of Netherfire Afrit's recent declaration...]"
"[Pontiff Blake and Pontiff Freesna both unreachable; Knight Captain Bertnis blackout drunk and unresponsive. The Church faces its greatest crisis in history!]"
"[We beseech eternal divine punishment upon the Annihilation Gang and Antimatter Legion! To avenge the fallen Butler Screwlloyd!]"
A barrage of messages flooded Adrian's mind. The proxy priest already assuming Screwlloyd was gone?!
"By the way, this [Inter-Astral Tournament Festival]'s sponsor... Seems to be some Mask of Fools named Giovanni."
"Mm, who knows what that masked guy's scheming?" Silver Wolf admitted; she didn't like the Mask of Fools.
"You're scared?"
"As if—but his motives are hard to read. What if he's fishing for enforcement, tossing me to the Company to watch me flop?"
Silver Wolf suddenly recalled: Blake could count as half a Mask of Fools himself, or so she'd heard—he frequented the [Tavern].
"You never know what a Mask of Fools might pull just for a laugh..."
Mid-sentence, Silver Wolf caught the key phrase: [Never know], [eternity]...
"Tch, [Eternity] meddling in the shadows again! Is this guy connected to the Church or what?"
So, dealing with masked folks required caution—and even soap-wielders needed watching.
"Sounds like... You know him well?"
Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum: "He's probably the flashiest Mask of Fools in the universe—who hasn't heard of Epsilon's masked tycoon? I'd be weirded out if I didn't know him."
"But I'm not interested; too lazy to dig up his dirt. Enough of that—come on, let's do a thrilling round of [Aether Frontline]!"
Seeing Silver Wolf's eager expression, Adrian couldn't bear to shatter the dream, but her enthusiasm was overwhelming...
No helping it—time to let Silver Wolf witness the terror of [Eternity]!
This game used [Aether Duplication] tech, right? A slight modification, then...
[Eternal Duplication], activate!