"No problem."
Seeing Roy's sudden smile, Madiath felt a stir in his heart, a faint suspicion arising within him.
Something wasn't right.
Looking back at the wishes Roy had just proposed, their scale and scope had been downgraded step by step... Could it be that this had been his plan all along—to haggle and test Madiath's bottom line?
As the chairman of the Festa, Madiath was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the event, including inquiring about and reviewing the champions' wishes before submitting them to the Foundation for fulfillment.
From the Foundation's perspective, of course, the simpler and more easily achievable the champion's wish, the better. After all, the Foundation prioritized its own interests above all else.
Thus, Madiath's hidden task was to negotiate down the champions' wishes, making them simpler and more feasible—balancing these ambiguous demands.
But Roy's earlier obstinacy had exaggerated his wish to such an extent that Madiath, in his efforts to scale it back, had inadvertently revealed his bottom line.
After carefully piecing it together, Madiath was astonished to realize this speculation might very well be true.
"In that case, let's proceed with the chairman's proposal."
Roy smiled faintly, the reckless impulsiveness he had displayed earlier vanishing without a trace, replaced by an inscrutable gentleness.
"However, I should be allowed to choose which prefecture, right?"
"If possible, I'd prefer you avoid the metropolitan areas and the two urban prefectures."
Madiath could only spread his hands, putting on a pained expression.
The prefectures were Japan's first-level administrative divisions, with "metropolitan" referring to Tokyo, "circuit" to Hokkaido, and the "two urban prefectures" to Osaka and Kyoto. Beyond these, there were 43 other prefectures, similar in status to China's provinces and autonomous regions.
"I choose Miyagi Prefecture."
Roy answered almost without hesitation, selecting one of the 43 prefectures rather than the metropolitan or urban areas.
This was certainly not out of deference to Madiath. Given how swiftly he had made his choice, it was clear Roy had already set his sights on Miyagi Prefecture—this was merely a convenient opportunity.
"Understood. I'll report this to the Foundation accordingly."
Madiath nodded with a smile. Though he had been slightly outmaneuvered in their battle of wits, he didn't mind in the slightest. The sooner Roy—this troublesome figure—was sent away, the better. Keeping him around any longer might just shorten Madiath's lifespan.
"Miss Claudia, what is your wish?"
Having settled Roy's request, Matthias felt considerably more at ease and turned his attention to Claudia.
As a member of the prestigious Enfield family from Europe, with her mother being one of Ginga's highest-ranking executives, surely she wouldn't propose a wish that would trouble Ginga? Moreover, given her background, there were few things she couldn't accomplish on her own. There had been a time when she was frantically searching for someone, but now she seemed much calmer. Would her wish still be related to that search?
"I'll reserve my wish for now."
Claudia covered her lips with a light laugh, choosing not to provide an answer.
Madiath's eyebrows rose slightly.
"In that case, I won't say more. Miss Claudia must be quite familiar with the champion's wish system. Please come to me within a year to make your wish, as it cannot be processed after the deadline."
"I understand."
Madiath stood up and escorted the two out of his office.
Just as they were about to leave, Madiath suddenly adopted an expression as if remembering something important, looking at them with urgent yet sincere eyes.
"By the way, regarding the Gryps Festa to be held next year, do either of you plan to participate? From my position, I sincerely hope you both will. After all, the more lively the Festa, the better, isn't it?"
"Well, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably participate."
Roy thought for a moment before giving an uncertain answer, then turned and left side by side with Claudia.
Madiath stood alone at the doorway for quite some time before finally returning to sit behind his desk.
"My oh my, seeing how fiercely he fights, I thought he was just a greenhorn. Never expected him to be unexpectedly deep!"
Madiath muttered to himself with a helpless expression.
...
Roy's desire for Miyagi Prefecture was genuine.
But his wish for Japan was equally real.
The reason was simple.
He wanted to establish a forward base in this world.
Since he intended to develop here long-term, having a fully controlled forward base was crucial.
In the future, when transferring personnel from the Type-Moon world, identities could be arranged swiftly. It would also facilitate resource collection to be sent back for rebuilding Fuyuki City, which currently lay in complete ruins, requiring reconstruction from the ground up.
As more worlds became accessible for crossing, unique resources from other worlds could also be transported here, creating an interconnected resource network.
In this process, a relatively stable and secure forward base was absolutely essential.
However, Rome wasn't built in a day. Attempting to swallow all of Japan at once would be overly ambitious. As Madiath said, becoming king wasn't so easy—issues like manpower and military strength were real obstacles. Therefore, it was better to lower expectations for now, starting with an autonomous prefecture.
With corporate backing, carving out a prefecture from Japan's central government and internalizing all its administrative power would be child's play. Moreover, Miyagi's existing officials wouldn't abandon Roy—they'd see their status elevated with no superiors above them. They'd fight tooth and nail to preserve Miyagi's autonomous status, providing Roy with a ready pool of personnel without provoking backlash from the Japanese populace.
Roy wouldn't need to lift a finger—just a bit of hypnosis for these bureaucrats, and everything would fall into place.
But a single prefecture couldn't satisfy Roy's ambitions.
His future plans were too numerous and vast for one autonomous region. Whether to gradually consume Japan from within, subjugate its government by force, expel Foundation from the nation, or even overturn this world's capitalist-dominated order... these were considerations for another time.
And Miyagi Prefecture wasn't chosen at random.
Miyagi Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region of Japan, relatively close to Asterisk City and economically developed, making it a good candidate. However, there was an even more important reason for choosing Miyagi Prefecture.
***
The Foundation acted swiftly. Under their influence, the Japanese government had no choice but to hold a press conference. Following the customary "sumimasen" (apologies), they announced that Miyagi Prefecture would henceforth become an autonomous prefecture, handling all internal affairs—including amendments to laws and regulations—independently.
A week later, Roy completed his school withdrawal procedures and boarded a plane to Miyagi Prefecture.
Accompanying him was Kirin, whom he hadn't seen in several days.
"Senpai, is everything really settled now?"
On the plane, Kirin sat beside Roy, clutching his arm tightly, her eyes filled with both anxiety and hope as she looked at him.
"Yeah, I've taken care of everything. You'll be able to see your father as soon as we arrive."
Roy reached out and gently patted Kirin's head with a smile.
Normally, Kirin would blush furiously and shyly nuzzle against his hand. But today, she was brimming with excitement, her mind wholly occupied by the joy of reuniting with her father.