Chapter 223: The Selection Assembly (3)
Loki let out a helpless sigh after being completely ignored.
Chris, finally realizing what happened, burst into loud laughter and slapped Loki on the shoulder.
"Ah— I forgot. Sorry, sorry! After Noa made his offer, I assumed it was my turn next. Next time, I'll give you my turn, okay?"
"It's fine. It's just a matter of getting one round earlier or later."
Loki smiled gently. As long as the player he wanted wasn't taken, it didn't matter.
Then he lifted his head.
"Charles, come here."
"300 million. You've always wanted to get back on the field and take revenge on Shinichi, right? Now's your chance."
Loki spoke confidently.
Charles rested his hands behind his head with a lazy sigh.
"Ehh~ but I still wanna hear what the others offer~."
"Then go ahead."
Loki nodded, knowing exactly how playful Charles could be.
Chris, returning the earlier courtesy, instantly wrote a big fat zero as his offer.
Loki smiled and nodded back.
Lavinho, however, perked up with interest.
"Heh heh… since you're letting us make offers, then I won't hold back. Kid, I've watched your matches. Your passing is way too free and unruly—so much that barely anyone can fully receive your balls. But I love free spirits like you."
"A wild dancer like you, paired with a mischievous troublemaker like me… don't you wanna know what kind of music we'll create?"
Lavinho scribbled his number: 300 million and 100,000.
Despite his dramatic speech, the difference was basically him adding one extra unit onto Loki's price.
Shinichi followed with a flat, uninterested: "250 million."
Charles visibly deflated.
He turned next to Snuffy—but the mentor who was both his teacher and his friend responded with the same dismissive attitude.
Snuffy wrote: 250 million and 1—just one unit above Shinichi.
Shinichi shot Snuffy a tired glare.
And then—
Noa began his offer: "320 million."
"—!"
Everyone turned toward him in shock—especially Loki, who jumped to his feet.
No one expected Noa to actually fight for Charles.
Then Noa said a single sentence:
"Don't you want to know what it feels like to coordinate with the world's number one?"
Charles's eyes lit up instantly.
"Ah… uh…"
He was clearly tempted, but also nervous, glancing toward Loki.
"Um… I…"
"It's your right to choose. As long as it's within the rules, you can do whatever you want."
Loki took a deep breath and calmed down.
After the initial shock and irritation, he realized this wasn't a bad thing.
On one hand, Noa already had the perfect midfield partner for Charles at his club. Loki wasn't worried Charles would be utterly stolen away.
On the other hand—Loki was sure Charles wouldn't last long under Noa's rigid, machine-like system.
Letting Charles experience stricter discipline for once might even be good for him.
As Loki regained his composure, Charles brightened even more.
"Alright then! I wanna see if the world's number one can handle my imagination!"
And like that, a mind-blowing transfer was completed—Charles joined Noa's team.
Everyone's predictions about the lineup suddenly became uncertain.
It was now clear that this Selection Assembly would produce far more unexpected signings.
....
"So it's finally my turn, huh."
Lavinho grinned as the spotlight moved to him.
He shot Noa a mischievous glance, cleared his throat dramatically, and spoke:
"Gagamaru — want to join my team?"
"…Huh? Me? Why so early?"
Gagamaru pointed at himself in confusion.
He never expected to be picked so soon — usually the highest-valued players were chosen first.
Lavinho explained:
"As a striker, I have absolute confidence in scoring even without great teammates. But that also means I need a solid guardian behind me — someone who lets me attack without worry."
"You performed very well in Stage One. Your physique and reaction speed far surpass the other Blue Lock keepers. I believe you can become a true guardian god for our team."
"So I want to secure you early."
He offered plainly:
"50 million. That's the highest I can go."
"I don't really care. As long as I get to play in real matches, that's enough."
Without even listening to the other mentors, Gagamaru accepted.
He liked the offer and didn't care about anything else.
Noa's temple twitched.
Lavinho had stolen a player straight from under his nose — and annoyingly, Noa didn't have any keeper he wanted as much.
....
"Hiori — 300 million."
Right after Lavinho finished, Shinichi spoke simply.
Hiori agreed instantly.
Shinichi's pick ended in seconds, leaving the other mentors stunned — but none objected.
In the original New Hero program, elite midfielders were rare: Charles, Hiori, and Ness (questionable).
If you didn't trust your midfield, it was better to rely on solo breaks.
So Hiori, who had the potential for real synergy, shouldn't be allowed to slip away.
But with the addition of Sae Itoshi and Pablo Cabassos in Stage Two, midfielders were no longer scarce.
And since Shinichi didn't lower the price despite their connection — even offering a slight premium — the mentors let it pass.
.....
Chris, however, immediately understood Shinichi's intention.
"Ah… so he really wants to defeat all of us under completely fair conditions."
Chris knew the game perfectly.
Shinichi wasn't abusing relationships or taking discounts — he wanted everyone to acknowledge his strength without excuses.
If Noa happened to end up with a weak lineup, Shinichi might even intentionally overpay for certain players to keep things balanced.
Chris knew how this worked…
Because he had always done this himself — preserving his long-established team rather than jumping to RE-AL just to beat Noa once.
....
Thus ended the first round of offers.
The selection turn returned to Snuffy.
He didn't hesitate.
He wrote the number before even announcing his target.
"I'm offering 500 million."
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