"I've understood the situation."
Jaden stood on the balcony of the small inn, phone pressed to his ear, eyes drifting over the quiet mountainside scenery below.
The night air was cool. Calm.
His voice was steady as he spoke.
"The situation here isn't as complicated as I initially thought. Everything traces back to Toyo Electric's original plan to build a nuclear power plant here. However, they outsourced the demolition work to a real estate company."
He paused briefly, gaze unfocused.
"They're only pushing things from behind. They haven't sent any technical personnel of their own, so it's hard to tell what their detailed intentions actually are."
The inn was quiet. Only the sound of wind brushing against trees reached his ears.
"But given the current circumstances," Jaden continued, tone unchanged, "handling this won't be difficult."
As he said this, his eyes shifted downward.
In the courtyard of the inn below, Azami Nakiri and his entourage were waiting beside a car. Azami looked like he had just woken up, his posture slightly stiff, his expression unreadable.
Jaden watched them for a moment.
Then he spoke again.
"Oh, right, Erina. I saw your father."
There was a brief pause on the line.
"He served as a judge for my shokugeki with Hayama Akira. And he used the name Azami Nakiri, not Nakamura."
Jaden's gaze narrowed slightly.
"You mentioned before that he was expelled and stripped of his surname. For him to return so openly... he must be planning something."
He stopped speaking.
On purpose.
He gave Erina time.
As expected, silence answered him.
On the other end of the call, Erina stiffened the moment Jaden mentioned her father. The shadow of her bangs covered her eyes, hiding her expression completely.
She didn't speak.
Time passed.
Jaden waited.
Finally, he let out a soft sigh and broke the silence himself.
"If you don't want to see him, he's within my line of sight right now."
His tone remained calm.
"If I 'talk' to him and 'reason things out,' I believe he'll understand and leave the country again."
As he spoke, Jaden quietly activated his Curse skill.
Its range was limited to what he could see.
For non-living targets, the effect was immediate.
For living beings, a choice appeared.
Lethal.
Or non-lethal.
Jaden could feel the options clearly.
And despite himself, his thoughts lingered on the word lethal.
"If you're really scared," he continued, voice measured, "you don't need to worry about anything."
He glanced at Azami again.
"His health doesn't look good. He fainted inexplicably while judging today. Maybe he's seriously ill. Or maybe it's incompatibility from being away from the country for too long."
It was a roundabout question.
A careful one.
Jaden wasn't asking directly. He was probing for Erina's stance.
If the trauma Azami left behind was truly something she couldn't face, Jaden wouldn't allow him to see her again.
But no matter what, Azami was still her father.
That decision had to come from her.
Jaden would respect her choice.
And then decide how to handle everything that followed.
"I see..."
Erina took a deep breath.
It was clear, even through the phone.
When she spoke again, her voice had steadied.
"Jaden... you don't need to worry about him."
Her words came slowly at first.
"Now that he's back, let him do whatever he wants."
There was a brief pause.
"But I won't let him do whatever he pleases either."
Her hesitation faded.
Her tone grew firm.
She had already made her decision.
"I will resist."
Jaden's gaze softened slightly.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Mhm..."
On the other end of the line, Erina stood in the moonlight, wearing her pajamas. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger, her face faintly flushed.
If she were standing in front of Jaden right now, she probably wouldn't be able to say anything embarrassing.
Even being alone with him in person would be difficult.
But this was different.
It was just a phone call.
Not seeing him made it feel distant. Safer.
Like those times she practiced dialogue after reading shojo manga, talking to a doll in her room.
With that thought lingering in her mind, Erina spoke again, her voice soft and shy.
"But... it would be nice if you could face him with me~"
Hiss-
In Jaden's memory, Erina was usually dominant, with a trace of fragility beneath the surface.
Like a balloon.
Left alone, she looked perfectly full.
Poke her even slightly, and she'd deflate instantly.
That was Erina.
He had only ever seen her in those two states.
Confident.
Or vulnerable.
Sometimes gentle.
Sometimes sharp.
And there were moments when her brilliance shone so clearly that Jaden couldn't help but admire her.
But this-
This was the first time he had ever heard her speak to him like this.
So.
He could handle it.
He could handle anything.
Forget facing Azami Nakiri.
He could even face Yujiro Hanma.
Jaden shouted this internally.
Outwardly, his voice remained controlled.
"Mhm... I'll be there for you."
"Mhm~"
After that, silence settled between them again.
It wasn't awkward.
Just quiet.
After a while, Jaden cleared his throat.
"Ahem... Erina."
He shifted his focus.
"As long as you have things under control, that's enough."
Below, Azami Nakiri and his people got into their car. The engine started, and the vehicle slowly drove away from the inn.
Jaden watched until it disappeared from view.
"Next is Toyo Electric."
He returned to the topic smoothly.
"You mentioned the Kengan Annihilation Tournament before. Is Totsuki participating in it?"
Recently, he had been hearing that name far too often.
He had looked into it.
"Mhm..."
Erina responded after a moment.
"It was proposed by the Chairman of the Kengan Association this time. Whoever wins the Kengan Annihilation Tournament will become the next Chairman."
Her tone was calm, factual.
"And changing the Chairman is extremely important for the Association. A Chairman's term defines the style of an entire Kengan era."
She paused briefly.
"So even if Totsuki doesn't have any particular ambitions regarding it, we'll probably still participate. At the very least, to observe the situation."
Jaden let out a slow breath.
"Then I'll be direct."
He didn't waste time.
"Putting aside my personal involvement, we're already in conflict with Toyo Electric. If they become the new Chairman of the Kengan Association, wouldn't that put Totsuki in a very difficult position?"
"Mhm..."
Erina thought it over.
Then she understood.
"Jaden," she said slowly, "are you planning to use the Kengan Annihilation Tournament to strike Toyo Electric directly?"
"Mhm."
His answer was immediate.
"Their recent actions have all been directly or indirectly preparing for this tournament."
He spoke evenly.
"I don't think simply defeating their 'Fighter' in a Kengan match a few days from now will solve anything."
Then his tone sharpened slightly.
"But Erina, if you become the Chairman of the Kengan Association..."
He paused.
"Wouldn't we regain the initiative?"
"We could even use the tournament to further cripple Toyo Electric."
"To truly shake them at their foundation."
"And even-"
Jaden stopped.
Erina finished the sentence for him.
"...And if we achieve overall victory, we could even attempt to acquire Toyo Electric, right?"
"Mhm."
Silence followed.
Erina's thoughts raced.
If Jaden didn't exist in this world-if this were purely Food Wars!-she would likely become the Director of Totsuki Academy next year.
The mindset was already there.
The methods too.
What she lacked was experience.
And because she wasn't yet burdened by excessive caution, she was bold.
She knew what needed to be done.
After thinking for a while, she smiled.
"But all of this depends on one thing."
Her voice was light.
"You must not lose."
"I won't."
Jaden replied without hesitation.
"Then the rest is up to you."
He smiled faintly.
They both understood.
Nothing more needed to be said.
The plan didn't require every detail to be spoken aloud.
They had already reached an agreement.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Jaden hung up the phone.
His system had an alarm function that would wake him early the next morning.
If he stayed up any longer, tomorrow would be miserable.
Before sleeping, he picked up the information he had manually recorded earlier.
Notes about Megumi Tadokoro's family.
"Toyo Electric isn't handling the demolition themselves," he muttered.
"They outsourced it to a real estate company."
He flipped a page.
"Yukinoshita."
A local affluent family.
Heavily family-run.
Small in scale.
Jaden yawned.
"If they were directly managing the demolition, this would be easier."
He set the papers aside and lay down.
"I'll sleep for now."
"And tomorrow..."
A faint smile appeared.
"I'll go have a chat with the Yukinoshita family~"
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