Fang Li and Sylvia's dance in front of the bonfire spread across the world at an astonishing speed.
It had already been turned into a video and uploaded online, where billions of viewers around the world saw it.
Previously, Sylvia's merely returning to Academy City had already caused a huge commotion. Then, by transferring schools and making Fang Li her deskmate, she instantly turned Fang Li into a celebrity as well.
And now, Fang Li and Sylvia had actually danced a folk dance together at the after-festival party of the Daihasei Festival. The rich pink romantic atmosphere radiating from that scene made it impossible for anyone who had witnessed it in person to believe that those two were dancing together as just ordinary friends.
Under such circumstances, the uproar it caused naturally became worldwide as well.
That day, the onlooking crowd exploded with excitement afterward.
That day, Fang Li and Sylvia's classmates exploded with excitement.
That day, a group of young ladies from the School Garden exploded with excitement.
That day, everyone in the entire world exploded with excitement.
And then came the collective meltdown.
The first to explode were the young ladies inside the School Garden.
"I never thought Fang Li-sama was actually so close with Sylvia-san…"
"But are they really just close?"
"They feel more like lovers…"
"Could it be that the two of them are dating?"
"As expected of Fang Li-sama, even Sylvia-san has fallen for him."
Not only were the young ladies not discouraged, but they admired Fang Li even more.
Of course, there were three exceptions among them.
"H-He actually did it so openly! And he even told me they only knew each other! How could this atmosphere possibly be just acquaintances?!"
Misaka Mikoto was utterly depressed.
"Onee-sama! You saw it too, didn't you? That bad bastard really is no good! I knew he'd definitely make a move on the Diva! Onee-sama, you absolutely must see through this guy! …Though honestly, I'm also shocked he really managed to flirt with the Diva…"
Shirai Kuroko first enthusiastically tattled on him, but afterward was equally puzzled.
"..."
As for Shokuhou Misaki, after watching the video, she said absolutely nothing. However, Hokaze Junko, who was accompanying her, watched as Shokuhou silently stuffed several cakes in front of her into her stomach in a frenzy, stress-eating so much that even the weight of her "second heavenly body" increased noticeably.
Besides that, Fang Li's school as well as Scorpius under his command also fell into huge commotion.
It was said that a certain trio of idiots even spent the entire night consoling each other in a room, hiding away while doing who-knows-what. All the neighbors could hear was them laughing and crying at the same time. The next day, a student who came knocking on their door even saw all three of them sleeping naked under the same blanket, embracing one another.
This horrified a bunch of male students while delighting a bunch of female students.
And the heavy smell of alcohol filling the room told everyone that these three idiots had drunk themselves into a stupor, which was why such a scene had occurred—though whether anything really happened remained unknown.
Presumably, once the three of them sobered up, it would turn into quite an entertaining spectacle.
Additionally, since high school students obviously weren't allowed to drink alcohol, Komoe-sensei declared that she would definitely have a serious talk with the three idiots afterward.
Because of all this, the matter caused an enormous uproar overnight, to the point that Sylvia was even asked to hold a press conference to properly explain herself.
Unfortunately, with her contract already expired, Sylvia gave no explanation at all. Instead, she dropped an even bigger bombshell.
"I'm already considering whether I should retire at this point. And if I do retire, then getting into a relationship doesn't sound like such a bad thing."
What kind of devastation this bombshell would inflict on her billions of fans around the world was already easy to imagine.
Only, all of that no longer had anything to do with Fang Li.
At least, at this moment, Fang Li had no need to think about any of that.
He had something even more important to do.
…
"Huuuu…!"
The wind blew noisily through the air.
Today was a beautiful day, with not a single cloud in the sky.
According to Tree Diagram's weather forecast, it wouldn't rain at all today, though there would be level 3–4 winds throughout the day.
In the city itself, winds like that weren't much of an issue.
After all, with all sorts of skyscrapers and buildings blocking the airflow, it was possible to walk through the streets without feeling any wind at all.
But things were different in the suburbs.
And this place happened to be a rather vast natural grassland on the outskirts of Academy City.
Since no one had maintained it for years, weeds grew wildly everywhere.
Under normal circumstances, probably no one would come all the way here for no reason.
Yet today, there was one person here.
A tall figure stood bathed in sunlight. It was a girl dressed rather revealingly, with a two-meter-long nodachi hanging at her waist, standing with her back facing Academy City.
Her jet-black long hair, tied into a ponytail, spread out like splashing water and fluttered in the wind.
The girl simply stood there on the grassland, silently waiting for the arrival of the person she had arranged to meet.
"Tap…"
At a certain moment, an extremely faint sound of footsteps rang out.
The girl did not turn around, merely speaking in a calm voice.
"You've come?"
Her voice spread clearly with the wind.
But the newcomer did not answer. He merely raised his head and looked toward the Saint named Kanzaki Kaori.
A trace of pressure, like invisible gravity, gradually rippled outward from Kanzaki's body.
It was a kind of pressure that anyone lacking sharp senses would absolutely fail to notice.
Although Fang Li clearly sensed it, he knew that if it were Kanzaki truly unleashing her aura, it would be far more oppressive than merely this.
Thus, Fang Li spoke first.
"You're not still planning to persuade me to hand over the Book of the Law directly and avoid a meaningless battle, are you?"
That single sentence instantly silenced Kanzaki.
Clearly, Fang Li had guessed correctly.
At this moment, Kanzaki had not yet entered combat mode.
That was why her presence was only at this level.
"But talking is pointless, you know?"
Fang Li spoke somewhat indifferently.
"Although fighting isn't the best way to solve problems, you can't deny that it's still the method many people choose. It's simple and direct, doesn't require much effort, and can even serve as an outlet for the dissatisfaction inside people's hearts. That's why, in many situations, battle becomes either the first choice, or the final one."
Fang Li's voice carried even more clearly through the air.
"Perhaps, in your eyes, the battle between us could be completely avoided. But that only works if your own objective is fulfilled. As for me, handing over the Book of the Law brings me no benefit whatsoever. Even if you planned to exchange it for the Original Grimoire in your possession, I still wouldn't agree, because I have my own objectives as well. In the end, your idea would most likely just turn into me trying to forcibly seize the Original Grimoire from you. Isn't that exactly why you chose not to suggest an exchange and instead challenged me to a duel?"
Fang Li's words caused Kanzaki to fall silent.
After a while, Kanzaki let out a sigh.
"It seems talking really is pointless."
Kanzaki slowly turned around.
At that instant, the oppressive aura from her body surged explosively.
"In that case…"
Kanzaki cast a sharp, resolute gaze toward Fang Li.
"Then let us decide this with a duel!"
Hearing this, Fang Li suddenly smiled.
In his hand, he gripped the dagger that would soon transform into a lethal weapon.
His eyes were fixed straight ahead.
The battle was about to erupt at any moment.
(End Of This Chapter)
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