Thanks to her immense capital, the Eden had single-handedly revitalized almost the entire economic development of Australia.
Though she hadn't yet made a personal appearance—since the concert stage construction hadn't reached the phase requiring her inspection—her reputation within the Australian branch had already soared to a terrifying degree, surpassing even "Little Medic Fairy" and sitting just below Himeko's.
After all, if Himeko could be considered the savior who pulled Australia back from the brink of collapse, then the lady Eden was practically a living bodhisattva leading the Australian people out of poverty and toward prosperity.
As for little Seele, whose fame had previously been strongest within the military, she could now only be considered the third most prominent figure.
But for Lunelle, reputation had never mattered much anyway.
And considering she'd been edged out by Eden—a lady who was both her waifu and a veritable sugar mama—Lunelle certainly wasn't going to complain.
Meanwhile, the technicians under Eden's command, as always, reported the latest stage construction progress to their lady.
Even though she wasn't physically in Australia yet, she still held veto power over this world-class project.
"Oh? It seems the locals are working quite efficiently. To have the stage largely completed to meet my performance needs in just over a month…"
Receiving the latest update from Australia, Eden, who had been sipping wine from her favorite golden goblet while flipping through the latest volume of "Seele-sensei's" newly serialized novel, showed a faint flicker of surprise.
She had expected the notification for on-site inspection and early rehearsals to come in another week or two.
'But this works out fine,' she mused.
'If it weren't for needing a legitimate and prominent public identity to go to Australia openly, I wouldn't have had the patience to wait even for this one incredibly fast month! So, my dear "Seele-sensei," the day of our official meeting is finally approaching!'
The thought of soon being able to meet the long-admired "Seele-sensei" under a perfectly legitimate pretext caused Eden's elegant, noble face to flush with a hint—no, a 'heaping' amount—of unusual color.
Whether it was the wine or some other indescribable, 'you-know-what' reason was unclear.
Though, in Eden's current private resting room, the walls plastered with various close-up photos of little Seele made it abundantly clear that her devotion as a "Seele-fan" was probably second only to the world-renowned "Number One Seele Supporter and Head of the Seele Fanclub," Dark Seele herself.
Still, to leverage the grandest, most massive world-class project of the Previous Era, all just to provide a little cover for her "fan pilgrimage" to Australia…
Across the entire Previous Era, only a lady of Eden's caliber had the capital and capability to pull off such an unbelievable feat.
So, once she had her reasonable excuse, Eden quickly made arrangements for the 'heaping' number of little preparations she'd previously set in place.
Early the very next morning, she boarded her private jet and sped off toward Australia under the pretext of "advance rehearsals" for the concert.
Seeing their boss in such a frantic hurry, as if delaying a single second would cause something catastrophic—acting like the 'King of Impatience' himself—left Eden's employees utterly baffled. They couldn't understand what their big boss had to be so anxious about.
After all, nearly everyone knew the super-sized stage in Australia still had some way to go before full completion. Multiple real-time communications with the on-site technicians confirmed progress was smooth, with no shocking bad news that might affect the concert's hosting.
If Eden hadn't provided a somewhat plausible official reason for the trip, her team might have started imagining some colossal disaster had struck Australia, one requiring their boss's personal intervention!
So, Lunelle, who thought all this had nothing to do with her and was perfectly content to stay out of it, remained completely unaware.
As Eden's concert stage construction progressed, a stage for a personal showdown aimed squarely at her was being quietly assembled right under her nose.
Just as Eden formally set off for Australia, Himeko—who was cozily holding the sweet, soft little Seele tightly against her as they slept—unexpectedly received a call.
The name on the display sparked an immediate and 'heaping' amount of irritation within her.
'Shit! That damned nuisance calling me now of all times absolutely means no good. To avoid disturbing my adorable little Seele's sleep, I'd better take this elsewhere.'
Looking down at the cute little Seele in her arms, wearing a thin nightgown, her pretty face slightly flushed from breathing softly against her…
With a sigh of helpless admiration at how the Seele she'd set her sights on was becoming increasingly and unfairly adorable, Himeko forcefully suppressed any dangerous thoughts and gently laid the little darling down.
Then, she found a corner where she could talk without disturbing Seele and answered the call from someone who almost never contacted her proactively.
Addressing this man—who had once tried to pressure her for favors back at headquarters, only to be thoroughly disciplined by her and nearly lose his manhood in the process—Himeko couldn't even be bothered with formalities the moment the call connected.
She got straight to the point.
"Well, if it isn't the Logistics Minister who holds such a grudge against our Australian branch. What wind suddenly blew a money-grubber like you my way?"
"You have thirty seconds to state your business. Unlike you desk-warmers at HQ, my time is precious."
Hearing Himeko's voice, so enchantingly husky yet her words so bluntly disrespectful, the Logistics Minister on the other end felt his veins bulge in anger.
But since this call did involve needing Himeko's cooperation, he had no choice but to swallow his rising fury.
"Branch Leader Himeko, I heard Miss Eden has decided to hold the final stop of her world tour in Australia. Over this past month, you must have managed to skim a pretty penny from the proceedings, haven't you?..."
"You have fifteen seconds left!!!"
Listening to this grating, utterly disgusting chatter, Himeko, who was counting the seconds, unceremoniously cut in to remind this stinking rat, who came sniffing for grease, that her patience had limits.
"Himeko! You can't be thinking of taking it all for yourself, can you? Don't forget, your authority in the Australian branch was given to you by the organization!"
"My willingness to discuss this with you is just so we can both profit more. If headquarters has to step in, you'll be—"
"Piss off!!!"
Seeing the thirty seconds were up, Himeko, long out of patience, succinctly delivered a single "Piss off" and unceremoniously hung up the call.
After all, these ugly capitalists are just flipping back and forth, eyeing this barren patch of land that no one used to care about, only to now find it suddenly noticed by top-tier global capital.
So, driven by the prospect of profit, they shamelessly rush over at the last minute, trying to cozy up to me in hopes of snatching a slice of the pie from this guaranteed, world-class project.
But Himeko—back in her younger days at headquarters—was the kind of "madwoman" who dared to publicly tear into and even strike a higher-up who tried to leverage her looks for underhanded favors!
When it came to being targeted and suppressed by the brass, her experience clearly wasn't just a one- or two-time thing!
What gave this worthless, money-grubbing hack the nerve to come and threaten her?
Seems like she'd gone too easy on him last time—so easy that he now had the gall to shout and curse at her!
Still, matters like these were mere trifles in Himeko's eyes. After muting her phone, she quickly put it all out of her mind.
After all, snuggling up with the sweet, soft, and adorably clingy little Seele for a nap was the highlight of Himeko's day now.
Wasting such precious time chatting with that lowlife, even for just over thirty seconds, left Himeko feeling as if she'd lost out on a fortune.
Hehehe~ Sweet, soft little Seele, big sister's coming back for more cuddles! (¯﹃¯)
--+--
Meanwhile, far across the ocean at Fire Moth headquarters...
"Gaaaaaaah!!!!"
After being bluntly insulted by Himeko, the logistics director had now devolved into a furious, desk-clearing maniac, sweeping everything off his workspace in a frenzy.
"Fuuuuck!!! Damn that Himeko, damn that Herrscher!!"
"What the hell is Cocoon even doing?! That damned Herrscher's Honkai Energy was sealed and she was dumped in Australia—how is that unstable element still alive and kicking?!"
After two consecutive months of noticing a sharp drop in medical supply requests from the Australia branch, a certain branch logistics director—who particularly loathed Himeko's "arrogant" and "disrespectful" attitude—soon realized that the Herrscher, whom headquarters had urgently exiled to Australia as a "hazardous asset" just over a month ago, wasn't just still alive and well.
No, that eyesore of a Herrscher had somehow managed to single-handedly produce a string of research breakthroughs in that backwater, drastically improving the medical supply shortages in the Australia branch.
And now, her progress was seriously cutting into his profits!
In other branches, things like anti-Honkai protective suits or various amenities to improve barracks life were easy, steady sources of kickbacks.
Under normal circumstances, once branch personnel suffered moderate or higher Honkai infection, it was pretty much a death sentence.
But the logistics director overseeing the Australia branch never expected that damned madwoman Himeko—not only a fearless lunatic in her youth—would also breed soldiers just as crazy as she was!
In all his years managing logistics and skimming profits, he'd never seen a branch like Australia's.
Despite the brutal frontline conditions, their demand for anti-Honkai protective gear—which could effectively reduce infection rates—was far lower than any other branch!!!
In fact, the Australia branch's highest-demand items were high-damage anti-Honkai weapons and serums.
Especially a type of instant-detonation grenade with staggering explosive power—though it carried a high risk of friendly fire—its demand absolutely crushed every other branch's!
But this logistics director, who only knew how to sit in his headquarters office and complain about not making enough, clearly never considered that precisely because the situation in Australia was so dire and intense, the soldiers fighting day and night there, once realizing their bodies were heavily infected with Honkai, would almost without hesitation strip off their still-usable protective gear.
Then, before the erosion could turn them into zombies, they'd charge straight into hordes of Honkai Beasts—with zero protection—literally becoming "suicide troops" in the human sense, turning their final moments into a brilliant, blazing "firework."
It was exactly this kind of reckless, insane combat style that allowed Himeko to suppress the Honkai running rampant across Australia in just a few short years after taking command, quelling what had once been a crisis spanning the entire continent!
And because the Australia branch consistently showed unusually high weapon demand, the capital-heavy brass at headquarters, while indeed wanting to suppress Himeko, were forced by the severity of Australia's Honkai situation—and their need to keep Himeko's blade sharp—to avoid tampering with the weapons supplied to her.
Their strict oversight on weapons naturally meant the logistics director couldn't skim profits from that area.
So, within the Australia region, the most stable and lucrative source of kickbacks left to him was the trade of anti-Honkai serum!
The serum business was also the one deal headquarters tacitly allowed the logistics director to manipulate—their only concession to help achieve the goal of keeping Himeko in check.
For capitalists with such vile faces, taking their money is almost like killing their parents.
And now, Lunelle's shining contributions in the Australia branch were practically like dancing a jig on the graves of his non-existent parents.
Not only had his last remaining serum trade been ruined by that Herrscher Lunelle, but Himeko now making money without cutting him in was the final straw that broke the camel's back!
"If I can't profit, then none of you will have it easy either!!"
A sly, malicious gleam flashed across the logistics director's ugly face as he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.