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"Sayaka..." Yukina interjected quickly, noticing the rising tension. She gently tugged at Sayaka's sleeve, whispering softly to calm things down.
"Senpai hasn't done anything bad to me at all. Actually, he's been incredibly helpful. Without him, I'd never have completed this mission."
"Oh... Really?" Sayaka's eyes softened slightly, clearly relieved by Yukina's reassurance.
Still, Sayaka remained wary, her gaze never leaving Bokue as she emphasized each word deliberately: "Just don't get any weird ideas about Yukina. Understood?"
Bokue stared silently at the fiercely protective brunette. Wordlessly, he exchanged a look with Yukina, who simply sighed helplessly behind Sayaka's back.
Bokue understood her concern.
Kids who grew up in the Lion King Organization's training grounds—children abandoned as orphans and raised without warmth or family—always placed great emotional significance on their relationships. To them, the word "roommate" meant much more than just someone you shared a dorm with at school. It was more like "family," even without any blood ties. He got that.
In fact, if it had been him seeing some random guy putting his hands on Yura, his younger sister, he'd have flattened that fool into the ground ages ago.
So, he chose not to react strongly to Sayaka's openly hostile stance.
"No, really, everything's fine," Yukina insisted once more, stepping in smoothly as mediator. "Senpai honestly hasn't done anything weird to me."
She quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, Sayaka, why are you suddenly back in Japan? And why did you come here with..."
She paused, eyes darting awkwardly toward Dimitrie, who was still firmly pinned facedown on the floor, gold hair plastered embarrassingly to the marble.
It was undeniably awkward.
Initially, Yukina had been nervous about tonight's diplomatic meeting.
After all, they were meeting a noble from the Warlord's Domain—essentially a formal international encounter.
Diplomacy usually involved careful exchanges, subtle negotiations, and tactful language.
Unfortunately, Yukina knew herself to be straightforward and blunt. She'd worried endlessly over whether she'd be able to handle such nuanced interactions properly.
But then Bokue happened—instantly proving, through sheer brute force, that diplomacy didn't have to involve clever verbal sparring at all.
You showed respect, you got respect in return.
You threw your weight around? You got thrown onto your knees.
It was all quite straightforward.
Sayaka glanced down briefly at the still-kneeling Dimitrie, her expression blank and indifferent. "Well, first and foremost, obviously, I came back to check on you, Yukina. When I heard the Warlord's Domain was sending envoys to Itogami Island, I knew our organization would respond. So, I volunteered, asked our Master, and received permission. Though I'll probably only stay briefly on the island..."
"Wait—back to the main point," Bokue interrupted sharply, nudging Dimitrie's face back toward the ground casually. He glanced toward Sayaka. "What exactly is the Warlord's Domain's real purpose in sending envoys to Itogami Island?"
Sayaka considered her words carefully before responding: "Have you heard of the Black Death Emperor Faction?"
At the mention of that name, Yukina's eyes narrowed, tense and alert.
Nagisa visibly paled slightly, quietly tightening her small fists.
This was the very terrorist group from the Warlord's Domain that had attacked her and her father years ago—an attack that led directly to Nagisa and Avrora's shared-body situation.
Yukina frowned deeply. "But the Black Death Emperor Faction was destroyed, wasn't it? If I recall correctly, the Warlord's Domain itself sent someone to personally eliminate two of their key leaders—and I believe the one responsible was..."
She awkwardly glanced again at Dimitrie, still sprawled facedown on the floor.
This should have been Dimitrie's shining moment of glory—the dramatic declaration of his mighty deeds, perhaps even with a suitably villainous smirk.
Instead, given his current humiliating position, it felt painfully ridiculous.
Sayaka gave a slight nod. "That's true—but not everyone from the Black Death Emperor Faction was eliminated. Some remnants escaped. Their current leader is a male beastman named Christoph Gardos. He's gathered the survivors and formed a terrorist group built around species supremacy, discriminating fiercely against non-beastman races. Recently, they've infiltrated Itogami Island."
"What's their motivation, though?" Bokue asked, genuinely curious. "Why target Itogami Island, of all places? Seems like an odd choice for terrorists trying to stir up trouble."
"Probably to influence international opinion," Sayaka shrugged lightly. "We don't have precise intel, so this is just speculation. Christoph Gardos might be trying to force the First Progenitor to step down by provoking worldwide terrorist attacks, weakening public opinion and allowing him to seize power."
Bokue paused thoughtfully, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
What kind of utterly ridiculous plot was this Christoph guy aiming for?
The First Progenitor ruled due to overwhelming power—not because he had stellar public opinion or strong international approval ratings.
If the First Progenitor could really be forced out by negative media coverage, this world might as well run on soap-opera logic.
Then again, Bokue reflected briefly—considering how Dimitrie behaved, ranting about "declaring war on the Warlord's Domain" and all that melodramatic nonsense—maybe soap opera logic wasn't too far off after all.
He released a deep, irritated breath, removing his foot from Dimitrie's head.
Yukina and Nagisa glanced over in surprise. Was he finally going to let Dimitrie off the hook?
Before they could even finish that thought, Bokue suddenly shifted, unleashing a brutal kick straight into Dimitrie's side with shocking speed. Dimitrie went flying, instantly accelerating from zero to full blast like a rocket, smashing violently into the ornate, castle-like banquet hall wall.
The sturdy wall shattered on impact, spiderwebbing outward instantly into a three-meter-wide crater. The sheer force shook the entire massive cruise ship beneath their feet.
Bokue rolled his eyes irritably, clearly unsatisfied.
"So, basically, the Warlord's Domain couldn't even clean up their own garbage properly—and now that mess has spilled all the way over to Japan?"
"You had such a simple explanation and you wasted this much of my time. You cause all these problems and still have the nerve to throw your weight around in my face? Really?"
Bokue's eyes narrowed sharply, voice cold as ice:
"I've clearly been far too nice to you."
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