Jiang Jian Yue felt that the biggest difference between her current self and her past self was that the consequences of getting into trouble were different now.
Take this moment, for example.
Once she regained her senses and realized the deep murderous intent she had felt toward Koji Hattori and the harm she had caused him, she felt nothing but an inescapable sense of guilt.
Other than that, Jiang Jian Yue did not have to worry about the repairs to the building at all.
The construction team working on the Sun Building next door could simply return and rework the damage—though the name “Sun Building” didn’t sound very good; it had a bit of a North Kingdom style to it.
These construction teams from Tokyo University did not care about the workload.
As long as the money was right, they were easy to deal with.
“Missy…”
The repeatedly injured Koji Hattori lay on the hospital bed.
He looked at Jiang Jian Yue, who stood before him with her head bowed, and spoke with a dying breath, “I have no regrets in this life…”
‘What an old cliché!’
“Rest well.”
Jiang Jian Yue sighed softly and turned to leave the room.
The fact that he was joking meant he was already fine.
She stepped out of the hospital room with her head down.
Her ash-gray hair fell forward, obscuring most of her face.
“…I’m sorry.”
She whispered the words softly, unsure if she was speaking to Koji Hattori or the scent of disinfectant lingering in the air.
The elevator at the end of the corridor gave a ding, and the doors slid open rapidly.
Yuki Asahi practically charged out.
He was wearing his training uniform, and the black hair on his forehead was matted with sweat.
He had clearly rushed here directly from the Athletes’ Village or the training base, not even taking the time to change his clothes.
“Yue!”
He reached her in a few strides, his voice raspy from his ragged breathing.
“I heard you—”
Jiang Jian Yue looked up and saw the panic in his eyes that was almost overflowing.
Suddenly, the tightness in her chest eased.
“Hattori just… has three… broken ribs… and a minor… lung contusion…”
Yuki Asahi acted as if he hadn’t heard her.
He reached out and cupped the side of her face, his thumb carefully brushing against the faint bruise under her eye.
“What about you?”
Jiang Jian Yue blinked, then shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
‘What could possibly happen to me?’
Koji Hattori had been the one on the receiving end of a one-sided beating.
The only injury on her face could have healed instantly—she simply hadn’t chosen to heal it.
She used the pain on her face to warn herself not to be so foolish and muddled next time.
“I should have been there. If I were, I could have—just like before—”
Yuki Asahi’s tone was full of self-reproach.
Jiang Jian Yue sighed, stood on her tiptoes, and gently rubbed the tip of her nose against his chin.
“Don’t blame yourself.”
Her voice softened.
“You… can’t… always… be by my side… every moment. Besides… you’re currently… the Captain… of the Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu. Why… did you… run over here?”
Yuki Asahi was silent for a few seconds before saying in a low voice, “You’re more important than the competition.”
Jiang Jian Yue pressed her lips together and turned her face away, pretending to look at a potted ivy at the end of the hallway that looked like it was about to wither.
She muttered softly, “So cheesy.”
Yuki Asahi let go of her face and instead grabbed her wrist, pulling the girl a step closer into his embrace so that her forehead rested against his collarbone.
Jiang Jian Yue didn’t speak; she just quietly buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.
The two of them stood in the corridor and hugged for a long time until the nurse in charge of the monitor poked her head out for the third time.
***
Half an hour later, inside Jiang Jian Yue’s office on the top floor of the DRG Headquarters.
Jiang Jian Yue had changed back into her daily black shirt and trousers.
Her hair was tied into a casual low ponytail, and she had regained her cold, detached demeanor.
“Changshi God hasn’t been captured yet.”
“However, his range of activity has been compressed to an area of less than 30 square kilometers west of Tokyo Bay.”
“We are searching the specific rooms based on the characteristics provided by the Miss. We will dig him out tomorrow morning at the latest,” Mark reported confidently.
“It better be.”
Jiang Jian Yue nodded.
The opening ceremony for the GSAC was tomorrow night; it would be best to crush that fellow, Changshi God, before then.
On the other side, Akimoto Miki saw that Mark had finished his report, so she cleared her throat and spoke up.
“My side is mainly about the Southern Cross…”
“Kazuki Hanatsubame’s current situation… isn’t great. she hasn’t emerged from the influence of the incense yet.”
“Bring her here now,” Jiang Jian Yue ordered.
Jiang Jian Yue wanted to test whether the Ability she had copied could control those influenced by the incense man.
If it could, then it wouldn’t be a problem.
The last to report was Morita Aoya.
The matter he brought up was far more serious than the previous two.
“War is about to break out.”
“There are indications that the European military, which was formally established after the new year, is mobilizing for final military exercises. Trade restrictions on DRG at the borders are also becoming increasingly strict.”
“Most of the think tanks at DRG Central Africa believe that Europe is truly going to use force.”
‘Hiss… this is getting a bit serious.’
War was something most people could predict, but exactly when it would start and how the situation would unfold was difficult to guess.
The main reason DRG was thriving in Japan right now was the supply of resources and jobs coming from Africa.
Once war broke out, it was hard to say what would happen.
All resources would surely be prioritized for the war effort.
When that time came, DRG Japan’s status in the country would undoubtedly plummet.
‘This is tricky…’
‘Well… I’ll worry about that when the time comes. If things really go south…’
Jiang Jian Yue glanced at Yuki Asahi, who was sitting on the sofa nearby drinking tea, waiting to have lunch with her before leaving.
She suppressed the words she wanted to say.
Yuki Asahi would certainly not approve of her methods.
After the others left the office, only the two of them remained.
There was still some time before lunch.
Jiang Jian Yue walked over to the sofa and leaned in toward Yuki Asahi, who was scrolling through his phone.
“What are you looking at?”
“Uh… I’m looking at data on potential opponents.”
Yuki Asahi snapped back to reality and shifted his body to make room for her, then felt her weight against his arm.
A faint scent of shampoo wafted into his nose—as for the “maidenly fragrance” that often appeared in novels, such a thing did not exist, at least not on Jiang Jian Yue.
Jiang Jian Yue rested her head on his arm.
Seeing that he was indeed scrolling through data compiled by netizens on a forum, she felt a bit more at ease.
“Are there any… opponents… you’re concerned about?”
“Uh… you’ll see once you look.”
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Yuki Asahi’s face.
Jiang Jian Yue was curious about his reaction, so she sat up straight but remained pressed tightly against Yuki Asahi’s shoulder as she carefully examined the content on the phone screen.
Team Name: Pepe’s Kitchen.
A team composed of members from the anonymous American forum 4chan.
Their promotional video was incredibly trollish and bizarre.
They even titled the video “Attack on Japan,” and they were suspected of having white supremacist racial tendencies.
‘What on earth is this?’
As she scrolled down the screen, an image of someone in a furry costume appeared before her eyes.
Team Name: Furry Industrial Complex.
As the name suggested, this was a team composed of five furry enthusiasts from the United States.
Their promotional video didn’t look like a call to arms for a competition; it looked more like a video of an underground furry rave.
Seeing this, Jiang Jian Yue’s face was full of confusion.
She had thought the American teams would be the stereotypical “War Hawk” types that often appeared in novels.
Why were they all post-modern eccentrics?
‘Where is my Uncle Sam?’
Oh dear god