The Yggdrasill Tower. In a large conference room.
Sid, the Lock Dealer, sat at a long table, reading aloud from a detailed investigation report. Standing in front of him, pacing back and forth, was the head of the Yggdrasill Corporation, Takatora Kureshima.
"Oren Gennosuke."
"Fifteen years ago, he went to France to become a pastry chef. After acquiring French citizenship, he joined the military, serving in the paratrooper unit, and participated in wars in the Middle East and various parts of Africa."
"After his discharge, he took the name Pierre Alfonzo, obtained a top-tier pastry chef qualification, and returned to Japan last year." Sid finished reading and put the file down.
"So he's a special forces elite with extensive combat experience?" Takatora stopped pacing and demanded, his voice filled with displeasure. "How did such a dangerous individual get hold of a Driver?"
"I have no idea." Sid took a slow sip of his coffee, unhurried. "The owner of the Driver isn't necessarily the person who first obtained it."
"It's possible it was initialized after being handed over to someone else."
Takatora wasn't satisfied with this simple explanation. He addressed Sid sternly: "How do you plan to take responsibility for this, Sid?"
Suddenly, the large screen in the conference room lit up. The person who appeared was DJ Sagara.
"Don't get too worked up. Unexpected situations are inevitable," DJ Sagara said with the tone of someone enjoying the chaos. "Director Kureshima, it seems even you have misplaced a certain Suika Lockseed, haven't you?"
"It's not proper to only reprimand subordinates who make mistakes."
Takatora was momentarily speechless. Sid, who had just been scolded, smiled at this.
Takatora then spoke: "Regardless, it's too dangerous to have a genuine combat expert using a Driver. We must recover it immediately."
"Is that so? I think it's quite excellent," DJ Sagara said carelessly. "This is only going to make our show more popular."
"Your whole farce is merely a means of information control," Takatora said, pointing at the screen with sharp eyes.
Directly rebuked by his boss, DJ Sagara adopted a helpless expression, not daring to talk back anymore.
At this point, Sid stood up and began to explain: "However, Professor Ryoma is quite pleased. He says he's collected valuable, unprecedented data."
Just as Takatora was about to say something else, a voice came through the audio system into the conference room: "That's right. While it's an unforeseen development, it's within tolerable limits as far as the overall plan is concerned."
This was Ryoma Sengoku, the head researcher at the Yggdrasill Corporation, in charge of developing the Drivers using the power of Helheim.
"How about we just observe for a while, Takatora?"
With Ryoma Sengoku weighing in, Takatora was less insistent in his opposition. He had no choice but to compromise. As he left, he threw out one last command: "Continue to monitor those people on the street. Don't let up. If there are any strange signs, report to me immediately."
"Yes, yes, understood." Sid replied in a casual tone.
In truth, Takatora Kureshima had been effectively sidelined by Ryoma Sengoku, with nearly all the people around him having been turned. Sid had long since defected to Ryoma Sengoku's side.
"The next phase of the game may bring another surprise we never expected." DJ Sagara concluded with a mysterious smile before cutting the communication.
....
Elsewhere.
Oren and Kaito of Team Baron clashed in an abandoned factory. Against Oren's superior combat skill and wealth of real-world experience, Kaito was naturally beaten to a pulp. He lay on the ground, watching as the last remaining Banana Lockseed was snatched away, feeling intensely frustrated.
What is happening to Zawame City these days? Absurdly powerful oddballs are popping up one after another.
Oren, however, gave Kaito some praise. He walked over, tossed the acquired Banana Lockseed back to him, and said with concern: "You seem quite promising. Train up some more and come challenge me again."
After dealing with Baron, Oren set off to find his next target, Gaim.
The members of Team Gaim were currently practicing a performance on a public stage. A crowd of spectators had gathered beneath them. Just as they were getting into the groove, Oren walked up and unplugged the audio speaker, bringing the performance to an abrupt halt.
"Oren-sama!" At the sight of Oren, Mai instantly became a fangirl, as he was a famous pastry chef who had been featured in magazines and on TV numerous times.
"To use such a thing on a public stage, it must pass a strict inspection," Oren said to the Team Gaim members in a thoroughly condescending tone.
While the team on stage was arguing with Oren, Kouta Kazuraba, who was handing out flyers and happened to pass by to watch his former teammates perform, walked over.
"Hey, what exactly do you want?" Kouta stepped up to Oren, looking annoyed. This guy had been harassing the street dancers for days. Furthermore, when Kouta had tried to apply at Oren's dessert shop, Oren had rejected him immediately, claiming their astrological signs clashed, and had inexplicably lectured him.
"It's you again, you country bumpkin." Oren scoffed when he saw Kouta Kazuraba.
His sharp eyes noticed the flyers in Kouta's hand. He promptly snatched them away.
"What's this? You're working for this shop?"
"Give them back!" Kouta panicked.
Oren let out a chuckle and mocked him: "The desserts from this shop are just like you, only people with no taste would eat them."
With that, Oren scattered the flyers from Kouta's hand all over the ground.
"Sweets made by a shop that specializes in coffee can only be considered half-baked counterfeits. How could they possibly compare to mine?" Oren stated haughtily.
His shop had indeed lost a lot of business to Raven's Amazon Café dessert shop recently, but he firmly believed this was merely an illusion created by coupon-based marketing. After all, the manager of that rival shop was not a famous pastry chef and probably didn't even have the relevant certifications.
"You bastard! I won't let you trample on my Manager's good name!" Kouta immediately exploded in anger. He pulled out his Orange Lockseed and began to transform.
Mitsuzane on the side also took out his Grape Lockseed.
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