— — — — — —
On a quiet street, Ryo Yagami sat on a bench, eyes closed, fully focused on reading Sasha's diary—until a sudden chill touched his cheek.
"...?"
He snapped his eyes open, only to see Leticia grinning mischievously, holding an ice-cold bottle of orange soda right up to his face.
"Want a sip?" she asked, clearly enjoying the surprise on his face.
Ryo glanced at the watermelon juice in her other hand, said nothing, and just took the orange soda from her.
"Damn. Didn't even notice you coming," he muttered, taking a swig.
"Exactly," Leticia sighed—half joking, half serious. "You've classified me as a 'safe person,' so you let your guard down completely. Looks like training you is gonna be a handful."
She gave him a look and added, "I thought you only did that with Black Rabbit."
It wasn't strange in Little Garden to treat those you trusted as "non-threats." Sure, there were hyper-vigilant gods and warriors out there, but they were definitely the minority.
Ryo took another sip and replied, "The way you put it makes me sound like a scumbag... I don't even guard myself around Canaria, Shiroyasha, or the kids either."
Leticia smiled as she stared at him for a few seconds, then said sweetly, "My dear Leader, funny how most of those people you trust just so happen to be women."
"…"
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched. He decided it was best not to go down that rabbit hole and changed the subject.
"Where's Perseus's people?"
"They left... on the surface, anyway," Leticia said, walking over and sipping through her straw.
The watermelon juice she drank had been specially mixed with a touch of blood—tailored for vampires. It was a specialty drink sold in Little Garden specifically for bloodline types like her.
"On the surface, huh?"
Ryo's brow lifted slightly. He figured Aishelia must've already made contact with Scathach.
So now his little community had become the meeting point for both the Greek Pantheon and Queen Halloween? Great. They were treating him like he was running an underground network or something.
He sighed. "Tell the kids to keep their distance. They don't need to get involved. Wouldn't want them seeing anything they shouldn't."
"Got it. I'll have Jin and Lily spread the word."
Leticia nodded. She had already guessed that the Greek gods and Queen Halloween were secretly making moves, so she understood the need to keep the younger community members clear of danger.
If one of the older children stumbled upon something they weren't supposed to... well, there was a good chance they'd end up silenced for it.
As Ryo watched Leticia sip her blood-infused watermelon juice and send messages using her phone-shaped Gift, he squinted a little, looking almost tempted to mess with her—then thought better of it.
Leticia finished her message and tilted her head toward him.
"Your aura's changed again. Picked up some new tricks, didn't you?"
Although she hadn't been teaching him for long, she was still Ryo's combat instructor. She was very familiar with the usual feel of his spiritual presence.
But right now... she couldn't sense anything from him.
The slight heat from his fiery powers and the odd energy fluctuations from his Zanpakutō were completely gone.
What replaced them was something unfamiliar. Foreign.
Knowing Ryo, the ten-seconds-to-learn-anything prodigy, he'd clearly picked up another deadly skill.
Was it from Scathach? The aura didn't really match her style though.
Leticia smirked and teased, "Wanna test it out on me?"
"Way too dangerous."
Ryo shook his head. He'd just uncovered a new technique in Sasha's diary—something from the world of Saint Seiya—and had used the Hōgyoku to recreate it in rough form.
Of course, he was tempted to try it out...
But Cosmic energy with atom-shattering power? Yeah, no way he was using that on Leticia just for fun.
"Dangerous, huh..." Leticia sighed again. "I'd love to say 'don't learn reckless moves like that'—but it's clearly too late now."
She figured he'd probably learned some ultimate ace-in-the-hole from Scathach. The Witch of Dún Scáith did love collecting rare combat styles. Teaching Ryo a couple moves as a favor to Canaria made perfect sense.
Leticia took another slow sip of her watermelon juice, savoring the mix of sweetness and blood. Then she said softly:
"When you're out there taking risks, just remember—you're not alone. You've got your community backing you up."
She knew saying that might pressure him a bit. But considering Ryo had a habit of picking up suicidal techniques, she figured a gentle reminder couldn't hurt.
If it could stop him from throwing his life away someday... even better.
"Staying alive matters more than winning."
After she said that, and before Ryo could respond, Leticia pulled out a Gift card and held it out.
"To change the mood a little—here. Just joined a few Gift Games earlier. This is what I brought back."
"Huh?"
Ryo blinked, taking the card and skimming it over. Then he froze.
"...100 head of Tajima cattle, 10 tons of Champa rice seeds, ..... and finally two of Artemis's sacred deer?"
He stared at the list, then gave Leticia a look.
"How many communities did you rob?"
Tajima cattle—basically top-tier Kobe beef. Fine. Whatever.
But Champa rice? That mythically fertile, triple-harvest-a-year rice? Even in Little Garden, it could make barren lands produce crops three times annually. It was the holy grail of rice seeds in the lower tiers.
And Artemis's deer? Those things were insanely rare down here. Their antlers and blood alone could feed hundreds of beastkin a year.
Just those two deer were probably worth more than [No Name]'s entire net worth right now.
To get that much loot in the lower layers of the seven-digit gate... yeah, Ryo was seriously starting to wonder if Leticia went full highway bandit.
Leticia's expression twitched. She looked away and mumbled, "…Just happened to see the prizes while I was passing by. Couldn't help myself."
---
Meanwhile, across the street in a small shop, a worker wearing an apron was talking with the store manager.
"Mr. Charlie, the boss said if a blonde girl with red eyes who looks about twelve tries to join the Gift Game again, you have to turn her away."
"Huh? Why?"
"She baited the boss into a match and walked off with everything—including our treasure prize, Artemis's sacred deer."
"Say what?!"
"Y-Yeah, I'll go add a new restriction to the game rules right away…"
---
Ryo casually took a sip of juice and whistled.
Yeah, Leticia looked really embarrassed now.
"Ahem!" she coughed awkwardly. "I just… got a little excited. Maybe used a tiny bit of trickery…"
"I understand. Totally reasonable."Ryo gave a solemn nod, trying not to laugh.
"…"
Leticia lowered her head, her face flushing red. She was too embarrassed to speak.
Watching her like that, Ryo almost burst out laughing.
And right then—
A ripple in space appeared behind him.
Without a sound, Maxwell suddenly emerged—five fingers outstretched, aiming straight for Ryo's throat.
He'd struck at the perfect moment, while Ryo and Leticia were chatting and relaxed.
But— before that, a black shadow spear appeared in Leticia's hand.
And before the before that, Ryo had already raised his hand to his shoulder, his index finger glowing brilliantly.
It wasn't ordinary light—it was the radiance of a burning Cosmos.
—The Lightning Plasma!—Unleashed in a flash!
.
.
.