Julis's country was extremely impoverished.
Originally, the Kingdom of Lieseltania was merely a puppet state established by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation to control the Beltis ore within its borders. To maximize their control over the nation's politics and diplomacy, the Foundation freely manipulated economic measures, reducing the country to Europe's notorious pauper. The wealth gap within its borders surpassed that of 90% of nations directly controlled by the Foundation—since maintaining their economic influence required ensuring a certain number of impoverished citizens, every country under the Foundation's rule faced massive, if not greater, wealth disparity issues.
Julis's greatest wish was undoubtedly to free the Kingdom of Lieseltania from the Foundation's control, but this was an immensely difficult task that couldn't be accomplished easily. It required long-term planning.
Her most urgent wish at the moment was to purchase several orphanages within the country.
"I was quite mischievous as a child and often sneaked out of the palace to play. Once, when I encountered some bad people, it was the folks from the orphanage who saved me. After that, I became friends with everyone there..."
However, the orphanage was barely sustained by a few nuns, and the pressure kept mounting. Debts piled up, and it was on the verge of financial collapse. If things continued this way, the entire orphanage might fall into the hands of the Foundation.
In this world, driven by the Foundation, research on Genestellars never ceased, and the buying and selling of Genestellars occurred frequently. Unfortunately, the malice toward Genestellars in society was immense, and impoverished people were all too willing to sell their Genestellar children to the Foundation. If the orphanage fell into the Foundation's hands, it would mean the Genestellar orphans living there would likely be taken away for human experimentation.
Despite receiving substantial monthly bonuses as one of the Page One Twelve, Julis lived a relatively frugal life because she sent most of her earnings back to the orphanage to help alleviate its debts.
A malicious smile crept onto Roy's face.
"How despicable these Foundations are."
"Yes, but right now, the Foundation dominates the entire world..."
Lost in her emotions, Julis didn't notice the unusual malice in Roy's expression.
"One day, I'll drive the Foundation out of Lieseltania! But for now, solving the orphanage's urgent crisis is more important."
That was why her wish for participating in the Festa was to obtain a large sum of money.
Frankly, Roy thought her wish was somewhat shortsighted. Simply asking for money seemed too simplistic—it would have been more strategic to request something like a patent, ensuring long-term benefits. But her desperation to save the orphanage made her choice understandable.
"Leave it to me!"
Roy lowered his head and gently patted Julis's head.
"Eep!"
Julis let out a short, surprised sound, her face instantly turning bright red.
Yet her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was enjoying it.
"Your wish—I'll take care of it!"
Roy withdrew his hand and walked toward the hospital room door with a smile.
"R-really? Is that okay?"
Julis snapped back to reality, her gaze evasive as she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Even without a mirror, she knew her face must be burning red right now.
"One person can only make one wish, you know?"
"Mhm, the bolder the person, the grander the wish!"
Roy chuckled lightly, then closed the door behind him as he exited the hospital room.
It wasn't just Julis's wish.
He intended to fulfill Kirin's wish all at once too!
After he left, Julis slowly lay back on the hospital bed, burying her face in the blanket.
Could he really do it? Julis's mind was in turmoil. She didn't know if Roy could pull it off, but if he actually succeeded, wouldn't she owe him another huge favor?
How was she supposed to repay that?
***
"How did it go?"
Downstairs in the hospital ward, Claudia approached Roy as he stepped out of the elevator, her voice laced with concern.
"Should be fine."
"Both physically and mentally?"
"Both."
"That's good."
Claudia let out a relieved sigh.
"Now there's only tomorrow's finals left!"
This year's Festa had reached its climax, with only one final match remaining.
Winner takes all, loser takes nothing—everything would be decided tomorrow!
"Whether it's Okita Souji or Stella, they're both opponents far beyond imagination. I might just become dead weight."
Walking back to school, Claudia pondered strategies for the finals, but the more she thought, the more anxious she became, unconsciously biting her nails.
If only she were stronger. Even if she had just a little more of Pan-Dora's remaining capacity left... But she'd nearly exhausted it all during that incident. The more she reflected, the more foolish her past self seemed.
For safety's sake, Roy hadn't enhanced Claudia's physical body. While her sudden mastery of prana outburst techniques could be explained as training results, a dramatic physical transformation would raise too many eyebrows.
"Don't worry, leave tomorrow's match to me!"
But unlike Claudia, Roy wore a smile brimming with confidence.
Just wait and see what happens in tomorrow's finals!
His expression radiated nothing but self-assured composure.
For some reason, he suddenly chuckled as if amused by a private joke.
Claudia didn't know what he was thinking, but her anxiety instantly dissipated.
She'd come to fully understand Roy's ways. If he said it would be fine, she was willing to cast aside all rationality and blindly believe in him.
...
By late August, this year's Phoenix Festa had quietly reached its final day.
The Sirius Dome was packed to capacity with countless spectators, while the surrounding streets overflowed with tourists from around the world, all eyes fixed on the spatial screens set up along the roads.
The entire Asterisk City—no, billions worldwide—had their attention focused on the Sirius Dome this day.
Inside the dome, the special viewing rooms reserved for each academy were unusually all occupied today.
In Saint Galahadworth's special viewing room, the academy's top-ranked student and "Holy Knight" Ernest Fairclough chatted amiably with the second-ranked "Winged Witch" Leticia, third-ranked "Royal Spear" Leonel, fourth-ranked "Black Shield" Kevin, and fifth-ranked "Grace Knight" Pashiva.
"Speaking of which, both Roy from Seidoukan and Okita Souji from Queenvail are incredibly skilled swordsmen, Erenest. They might just threaten your position as the Fifth Sword Saint!"
Black Shield Kevin sprawled casually on the sofa, his left ankle resting carelessly on his right thigh, with his shirt collar dramatically open, exuding an air of utter rakishness.
Kevin of Saint Galahadworth was notorious for his philandering ways, yet equally famed as a handsome playboy—rumor had it he'd been involved with no fewer than a dozen beauties.
Among the Six Flowers, only those swordsmen who dominated an era and commanded universal respect could be called Sword Saints.
In this generation of Six Flowers, the one renowned for reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship was Saint Galahadworth's Holy Knight Erenest. Hailed as the foremost swordsman among the Six Flowers, his mastery far surpassed the still-developing skills of Toudou Kirin.
"I never truly believed I deserved the title of Sword Saint to begin with," Erenest replied with a gentle smile, his demeanor serene and noble. His character was famously humble, courteous, and fair—the very image of aristocratic refinement.
"Still, I do hope to see more exceptional swordsmen emerge. It would make the Six Flowers all the livelier."