— — — — — —
"Excuse me."
Athena smiled at the catgirl blocking the way, her manner calm and gracious, as if she owned the place.
"L-Lady Athena…"
Caught completely off guard by the sudden greeting, the catgirl faltered. "I, um… I was here to speak with Arcadia's leader… that is…"
"I'm afraid Arcadia's leader already has an appointment with me today," Athena replied with a gentle smile. "If you have time, perhaps you could make an appointment for the day after tomorrow?"
"Y-Yes…" Already flustered, the catgirl instinctively stepped aside.
Ryo let out a quiet sigh and linked arms with Athena as they walked into the inner hall.
"I… I actually spoke to Lady Athena…" Only after they'd passed did the catgirl murmur to herself, staring at Athena's retreating back.
"Looks like nothing blew up," Leticia said, having watched the whole thing from start to finish.
She withdrew her gaze, then glanced at Black Rabbit, who was drawing plenty of attention nearby. Not particularly worried about Black Rabbit's ability to manage the crowd, Leticia turned to Sita and Lancelot behind her.
"Are you two heading into the inner hall as well?"
"I'll stay out here," Sita replied with a bright smile. "Everyone inside is a four-digit powerhouse. That's a bit too much pressure."
"I have something I want to look into," Lancelot said calmly, making it clear she had no intention of entering either.
Hearing that, Leticia turned toward Mandora and Sandora.
"And you?"
"Thank you for the invitation," Mandora said, lowering his posture noticeably. "But Salamandra has already been demoted to five digits. If we rush into the inner hall, we might upset some… sensitive figures."
After seeing how close Athena was with Ryo and Black Rabbit, Mandora had already figured out which side he needed to be on.
Leticia glanced at him and nodded.
"That's true. If anything comes up later, you can contact Black Rabbit."
She lifted her hand as if to pat Mandora on the shoulder, but her height made it impossible to reach.
Realizing this with a start, Mandora quickly bent down, lowering himself to her level.
Leticia's eyes flickered. She said nothing, simply patted his shoulder and whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Next time, don't send your letters to the wrong place."
Letters? Mandora froze for a split second, then his expression stiffened completely.
The letter in which he had unilaterally declared Salamandra's withdrawal from its alliance with Arcadia… was in Leticia's hands?
Cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead. By the time he came back to himself, Leticia had already headed toward the doors of the inner hall.
Mandora's pupils shrank. He understood at once. She was letting him off this time.
He took several deep breaths. Only then did he notice how clammy his back felt. His clothes were soaked through with sweat.
"Mandora-nii?" Sandora waved toward Leticia's retreating figure, then turned back, puzzled by her brother's pale face.
"I'm fine," Mandora said.
Turning around, he realized that the other members of Arcadia had already dispersed into the crowd.
He looked toward the central stage, where Black Rabbit was explaining the details of tomorrow's Gift Game, and let out a quiet sigh.
"Sandora… how about we stay here a few more days?"
"Okay!" Sandora answered without hesitation.
Mandora nodded slightly, saying nothing more. In his heart, he was already calculating what Salamandra would have to give up to earn Arcadia's forgiveness.
Lady Canaria would be easier to deal with, given the favor owed to their ancestors. But Yagami…Thinking of that name only made Mandora feel more helpless.
New rulers, new rules.
— — —
In a corner of the outer hall
Willa sat resting on a bench by the window, watching the figures heading into the inner hall. Only after Ryo disappeared from view did she softly say, "It's different."
"Different? What's different?" Ayesha sounded surprised and followed Willa's gaze to the now-closed doors. She huffed in irritation.
"Seriously, what's up with Arcadia's leader? He didn't even say a word before leaving. He could've at least come over and said hello. Willa went out of her way to help, you know!"
"Ayesha." Jack lightly tapped her on the head and sighed.
"Ryo Yagami doesn't even know us. Why would he come over to talk to Willa?"
Besides, if he really did come over, that would just make things awkward… Jack silently grumbled to himself, then turned to Willa. "Looks like Arcadia doesn't need our help."
With Athena holding down the fort, anyone who came into the inner hall just to stir trouble probably wouldn't even dare breathe too loudly.
Greece's acknowledged god of war was Ares, but the most ruthless and terrifying one was that seemingly gentle, intellectual goddess, Pallas Athena.
Who would be reckless enough to act up in front of her?
"It's fine," Willa said softly.
"It's a good thing if Ryry-chan doesn't need help."
Jack and Ayesha both froze, their expressions instantly turning strange.
Thank goodness that Yagami hadn't come over. If he really had spoken with Willa, Jack suspected he'd never live down whatever nickname she decided to slap on him.
Just imagining it made him cringe.
"Huh? So you were here to back up Arcadia?"
A sudden female voice caused all of them to stiffen.
"Oh dear. Looks like we've been noticed," Jack said, a surprised smile appearing on his pumpkin-shaped head.
He slowly turned his head and saw a woman perched sideways on the armrest of the sofa to his right, dressed in a vivid red kimono.
She looked no older than twenty, strikingly young, with a pure, almost girlish air about her.
Long, snow-white hair was tied into a side ponytail that fell over her chest. Her eyes were a deep ruby red, her nose delicately shaped, and a faint smile played at the corners of her lips.
She was the kind of beauty that could stun the world with looks alone.
Yet Jack's gaze wasn't drawn to her face. It was fixed on her head, on the pair of pure white horns rising from it.
An oni… but white horns? A hybrid of an oni and a god, perhaps? Jack quickly speculated about her origins before speaking up.
"And you are…?"
"Just call me Asura," the woman replied, smiling sweetly.
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