"Everyone, nice to meet you. I'm Yotsuba Miyuki." Miyuki introduced herself with a presence and momentum that really wasn't something you could just brush off lightly.
Even when her eyes met Testarossa's, there wasn't the slightest hint of fear or hesitation in her gaze. As everyone here more or less knew, Testarossa was a dangerously powerful primordial—someone whose very aura felt completely different from ordinary people. And yet, even that overwhelming presence wasn't enough to make Miyuki flinch.
"My name is Testarossa. I'm Tatsuya's… friend."
"Ara~ ara~ what a strong feeling you have there~ My name is Kurumi, nice to meet you."
"Aiz Wallenstein. You can call me Aiz."
"I'm Mako—"
"Alright, nice to meet you."
Poor Makoto. He got cut off before he could even finish introducing himself.
Even Tatsuya couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.
"Ahem! Miyuki, give Makoto a moment to introduce himself."
"Who's Makoto?" Miyuki glanced around for a moment before her eyes finally landed on him.
Makoto looked so frustrated he was practically on the verge of tears.
Realizing her mistake, Miyuki quickly apologized with complete sincerity.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
"Guhk!"
Rather than making him feel better, that only made things worse. Makoto looked like he'd just sunk even deeper into despair.
"I get it, it's fine… I'm already used to being ignored in this group anyway."
Miyuki tilted her head, clearly not understanding what he meant.
Makoto let out a helpless sigh before finally managing to introduce himself.
"My name is Misumi Makoto. Since you all know Tatsuya, you can just call me Makoto."
"Alright, Makoto-kun."
Miyuki's voice was so soft and gentle that it instantly struck Makoto right in the heart.
He ended up spacing out, staring at her without even realizing it.
"Ahem!"
Tatsuya's cough immediately snapped Makoto back to his senses. He gave an awkward smile and quickly looked away.
"Tatsuya, with this many people around, it's probably better if we talk somewhere else," Mikihiko said seriously.
Tatsuya looked around for a moment before nodding.
Thanks to the charm of the girls in his group, they had already become the center of attention for everyone nearby. Quite a few people were even trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"You're right. Let's move somewhere else."
Everyone nodded in agreement and followed Tatsuya as they left the stands.
They moved to the VVIP section, a place that could only be accessed by certain people—like the heads of the Ten Master Clans or political figures on the level of a prime minister.
Leo and Mikihiko started chatting with Makoto, while the girls naturally gathered around Tatsuya.
Erika, Mizuki, and Miyuki stood on his right side, while Testarossa, Kurumi, and Aiz took the left.
From the perspective of Leo, Mikihiko, and Makoto, Tatsuya looked exactly like some kind of harem king—it was enough to make anyone feel jealous.
Leo didn't seem to care that much, but Mikihiko and Makoto were clearly a bit bothered by it.
Once the conversation shifted to something more serious, the atmosphere in the room immediately changed.
"So Miyuki understands now. They came here to help deal with the Black Mist problem, right?"
Tatsuya nodded in response.
At the same time, Miyuki quietly observed Testarossa and Kurumi. The two of them were the most dangerous ones if they were allowed to stay close to Tatsuya.
She couldn't help but worry that her place might be taken by them—especially by Kurumi.
"Don't worry, we're not going to take Tatsuya away from you." Testarossa winked one of her blood-red eyes as she gave a playful smile.
"Ara~ ara~ Tatsuya cares about you so much, there's no way we could steal him from you~."
"Really? Hee…" Miyuki brightened up instantly, grinning so much she couldn't stop herself.
Erika and Mizuki exchanged glances, then let out helpless sighs with wry smiles.
Miyuki really was that easy to win over, as long as someone brought up Tatsuya. Erika and Mizuki both knew it was a problem, but there was nothing they could really do about it.
Aiz didn't say anything, but she kept nodding repeatedly.
No one could really tell what she was thinking, but chances were she had some kind of "brilliant" idea she wanted to try.
"The Black Mist isn't something you can just take lightly. Are you really sure you can fight them?" Erika asked with a sharp tone, her gaze sweeping across everyone before stopping right at Aiz.
Aiz tilted her head, her expression blank and innocent in that way that was so typical of her.
"Erika, cut it out. Your swordsmanship is better than mine, but Aiz is stronger than you, especially when it comes to swordsmanship."
"Ho… hoo…" The atmosphere around Erika instantly turned sharp and cold.
"Eh?" Tatsuya froze for a split second, quickly realizing his mistake.
"My swordsmanship is worse than yours? Then how about we test that?"
"Wait, Erika—"
"I don't mind." Aiz accepted the challenge without hesitation.
"Tatsuya-kun, you'll be the referee."
"Well… we'll do it after the competition is over."
"Ehhh, that's way too long!" Erika complained loudly.
"If you don't want to wait, then forget it. Right?" Tatsuya glanced at Aiz and gave her a small wink.
Aiz immediately understood what he meant and nodded with her usual cool, expressionless face.
To be continued…