Upon hearing Keiwa Sakurai's question, Tsumuri paused and replied:
"If you wish to, yes, you can."
After speaking, she noticed the gaze from Raven beside her, and with a slight flush, she hastily left in her high-heeled shoes.
Her mind was entirely consumed by the wish Raven had written.
She had never felt so flustered.
She also deeply didn't understand why, despite the DGP's official stance,
[It's written right on the card.]
"Can any wish truly be granted?"
Neon Kurama, at this moment, was lost in her own reverie. Her wish was simple: to find true love.
As this thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but glance secretly at Raven. She noticed that his attention was still fixed on Tsumuri.
There were only two women present. Yet, Raven's eyes lingered solely on the other woman.
Didn't that make her seem utterly charmless?
A flash of jealousy ignited within her. Should I try wearing tights too? she wondered. Perhaps that's the only difference between us.
Finally, as the session concluded, Michinaga Azuma cast a long, deep look at his sworn rival, Geats, before leaving.
This time, no matter what, he absolutely could not let the fox win again.
"No matter what kind of world you all hope for, the one who ultimately achieves victory will be me." Ace Ukiyo declared with extreme confidence, casting a look at everyone, especially Raven.
Even though Raven was the MVP this time and had completely stolen the spotlight, Ace maintained his signature self-assured demeanor.
With the game over, everyone returned to their respective homes. Raven also went back to the Gaim World with Mai, where they rested alongside Akira Kazuraba.
After a simple game of basketball, he briefly explained the Desire Grand Prix he was participating in.
"A game like that... it actually exists?"
Akira, wearing a sheer silk nightgown that did little to conceal her generous curves, was nestled against Raven's chest. She was utterly dumbfounded by what she heard.
She never expected that the competition Raven and the others were fighting in—transforming into Kamen Riders to battle monsters—was merely a reality show for the amusement of people from the future.
"Those people from the future are truly too bored. They're horrible." Akira said.
The thought of them turning a past spacetime into their server, arbitrarily modifying everything, or resetting everything, while the people living in that time never knew they were reduced to NPCs in a game—it horrified her.
She was relieved that their own world hadn't suffered such a fate. After all, they had Raven, a god, guarding it.
"Akira-san, don't worry. Raven-nii will definitely save that world." Mai, sleeping beside them, chimed in.
"Of course. Since the power of the Helheim Forest has also permeated that world, and the Golden Fruit has even begun to grow, then I absolutely have an obligation to help them get rid of this DGP." Raven stated responsibly.
Having acquired the Golden Fruit of the Geats World, he naturally became the equivalent of a god in that world. Eliminating the DGP was simply an easy task to do.
The next day, in the Geats World, Raven received an urgent summons for the contestants via the mobile phone provided by the DGP. He knew the second round of the competition was about to begin.
So, after sharing a morning kiss goodbye with Mai, he logged into his ID Core and entered the game lobby.
"Raven-san!"
Neon looked utterly shaken, breathing heavily. It appeared she had been running intensely just moments ago.
Not long before, she had been on the street, dragging a suitcase and livestreaming with a selfie stick, all while being chased by the two black-and-white suited bodyguards sent by her family. She finally managed to find an opportunity to log into her ID Core and enter the game lobby.
Upon entering, she immediately noticed Raven standing nearby.
Raven simply smiled and nodded at her, his gaze then settling on Tsumuri up ahead.
One had to admit, the extraordinary combination of black and white tights only looked uncannily natural when worn by Tsumuri.
Seeing Raven's continued attention, a hint of sadness darkened Neon's eyes. She, too, was wearing black tights today. Unfortunately, the moment she entered the lobby, she was instantly changed into the standardized contestant uniform.
Is it still impossible to catch Raven-san's attention? Neon sighed internally, a small pang of regret in her heart.
Then, an idea struck her. If that's the case, then I'll meet him in the real world! I absolutely must utterly captivate him with my beauty!
Just as Neon was contemplating how to ask for his contact information and arrange to meet Raven in the real world, Tsumuri, seeing that everyone had arrived, began to introduce the latest situation.
"To all contestants, the Jyamato have appeared again without warning."
"Starting now, the Desire Grand Prix Round 2, the 'Zombie Survival,' officially begins!"
Hearing the name of the game, everyone's hearts sank with a sense of foreboding. The previous treasure hunt game had already resulted in one elimination. This 'Zombie Survival' game was sure to be even more dangerous.
"Currently, a large horde of Zombie Jyamato is approaching the city from the suburbs."
"According to past procedure, the zombie hordes will appear a total of three times."
"Which means, if the zombies reach the city after the three waves, a great number of citizens will be injured and infected. That would be a major disaster!"
Tsumuri feigned a worried expression and gesture to emphasize the severity of the situation.
The others grew nervous. Only the veterans, Ace and Michinaga, remained unperturbed. They were already used to this. They all more or less knew that there was a connection between the Jyamato and the Desire Grand Prix. The so-called 'crises' were merely fabricated scenarios.
Raven, naturally, remained calm and composed. To him, the contents of these competitions were no different from a children's game; the difficulty was simply too low.
This gave Neon, who was following closely, a sense of security. No matter what, once the game started, she would cling tightly to the big-shot and follow him closely.
"So, we have to eliminate all three waves of zombies attacking the city, right?" Kanato Sumida asked.
"Yes. Additionally, this round is an elimination based on points..."
"In other words, the player with the lowest score when the game ends will be forcibly retired." Tsumuri explained the rules.
On the virtual screen behind her, various methods to earn points were displayed. But the most straightforward method was simply to kill the Zombie Jyamato.
"So, if we are bitten by a zombie, what happens..." Keiwa inquired.
Tsumuri quickly answered, "Of course, you will be infected and turn into a zombie! So, everyone, please be careful."
These words further deepened the cloud of dread in everyone's hearts.
Ace looked at the low-tier Buckle in his hand, wondering how he could use them to achieve victory. After all, in this game, even a person with superior skill and experience would struggle without the right equipment. They would be the 'clever housewife who can't cook without rice.'
However, this made him look toward Raven in the distance. He wanted to see what the other Rider would do this time.
Last time, Raven was able to deal damage and secure a kill by seizing the Jyamato leader's weapon, which was truly admirable. But this time was a straightforward horde battle. If he didn't have the right Buckle, even the best personal fighting skill would be useless.
Michinaga, who noticed Ace's strange demeanor, intentionally walked over to him to taunt, secure in the knowledge that he had the Zombie Buckle.
"What's wrong? You didn't get the Buckle you wanted. Are you scared?"
"Hmph. How could I be?" Ace immediately smiled, having already devised a winning strategy using the Water Buckle.
He glanced at the Zombie Buckle in Michinaga's hand and proposed, "Wanna make a bet with me?"
"If my score is higher than yours, you have to give me your Buckle."
Raven also noticed their conversation. This old fox, Ace Ukiyo, is already setting a trap for the honest Michinaga, he thought. He truly lives up to his name.
"Fine. If my score is higher, I'll take all of your Buckles." Michinaga agreed with great confidence. He firmly believed that with the optimum Buckle, he couldn't possibly lose to Geats.
"How about I join this game, too?" Raven stepped forward and addressed the two of them.
"The winner gets all of the Buckles held by the other two. How about it?"
Ace and Michinaga looked at Raven simultaneously.
Both were highly confident in themselves, and this was a prime opportunity to eliminate a strong rival. Thus, without any hesitation, they let Raven join the bet.
This greatly surprised the surrounding contestants. Are these guys playing for such high stakes? If they lose, they'll be left with nothing!
Neon couldn't help but worry for Raven. After all, both Ace and Michinaga seemed to be veteran players of this game. No matter how powerful Raven was, unfamiliarity with the rules could still lead to defeat.
"In that case, the mission begins now."