“We aren’t the Southern Cross Team; we’re the Supernatural Club!”
“Wow, thank you for the donation! Mwah~”
“Come back next year? ‘Of course, as long as Senior Jiang holds a second tournament.'”
Kaori Onishi watched the comments and donations on the screen, unable to suppress the smile on her face. ‘I’m raking in the dough! So happy!’
They were currently in the break room, preparing to finish watching the afternoon matches before heading back to the Athletes’ Village.
Although the Supernatural Club had been eliminated, they were allowed to stay in the village until the GSAC ended.
During this time, room and board remained free.
Of course, Tokiwagi High School had given them a holiday that lasted until the end of the GSAC.
“I’m heading out first,” Saori Saiyonji said, putting on a mask. She then looked at Yayoi Imai. “Aren’t you coming?”
The two of them weren’t students of Tokiwagi High School. Although they had also taken a long leave of absence, Saori intended to take the university entrance exams in the future, so she couldn’t afford to stay for that long.
As for Yayoi Imai, she was a politician, so she certainly didn’t have much free time.
“I have some things… I want to talk to Senior Jiang about…” Yayoi Imai said somewhat shyly.
Saori was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Do you need me to go with you?”
“No, I can do it myself. Thanks, Momo.”
“…”
The corner of Saori’s eye twitched slightly. She stole one last glance at Kaori Onishi, who was still streaming, and then turned to leave.
Seeing that no one else was paying attention to her, Yayoi Imai jogged out of the break room. She opened LINE and started a private chat to call Jiang Jian Yue.
……
When Yayoi Imai was led to the private box by a staff member, she saw a familiar face.
Koji Hattori still had bandages wrapped around his head. He greeted her when he saw her. “Yo, long time no see.”
A look of confusion appeared on Yayoi’s face. “Why is it that every time I see you, Uncle Hattori, you’re injured?”
“Ahem… the world of adults is just that cruel.”
Hattori knocked on the door and then said, “Cherish your high school years. That’s the last bit of leisure you’ll ever have.”
“That sounds terrifying…”
Yayoi didn’t take much of what he said to heart.
After all, in her eyes, Koji Hattori wasn’t very serious. These words were likely just meant to scare her.
In reality, it was pretty much the case.
The heavy, soundproof door of the box closed behind her, leaving only the faint sound of the broadcast from the large screen inside.
Jiang Jian Yue was leaning against a large sofa, holding a tablet in her hands. The screen displayed information about the teams for the upcoming match.
Hearing the movement, she only lazily looked up at the door, her expression unreadable.
“Se… Senior Jiang!”
Yayoi Imai took a deep breath, trying to suppress the nervousness in her heart.
She walked quickly to the sofa and bowed deeply, her voice trembling slightly. “I’m sorry for disturbing you!”
Jiang Jian Yue’s gaze finally moved from the tablet to Yayoi.
“I… I want to ask a favor of you…”
Yayoi looked up, her eyes full of pleading. “I… I want to transfer to Tokiwagi High School! I want to go to school with all of you!”
“Originally… my family agreed… but… but…”
She bit her lower lip, her voice low and filled with obvious disappointment. “But recently, my father… suddenly and firmly refused.”
“He said… that Tokiwagi High School is… too complicated right now, and… it’s too deeply involved with the DRG. He said it’s not suitable for me…”
She didn’t directly say things like ‘the Cabinet’s attitude shifted after the Liberal Democratic Party was suppressed.’
However, the terms “too complicated” and “too deeply involved with the DRG,” combined with her father’s position as the Minister of General Affairs and the Cabinet’s recent subtle adjustment in its attitude toward the DRG, made the meaning behind her words self-evident.
Jiang Jian Yue’s expression remained unchanged.
Hattori chuckled from the side, breaking the brief silence. He shook the water bottle in his hand. “Heyo, this isn’t a small matter. If your old man doesn’t agree, the paperwork will be hard to handle, right? And…”
“The current wind is indeed a bit subtle.”
The Cabinet—especially the Liberal Democratic Party and its allies who had suffered from the DRG’s actions—was trying to “check and balance” or “draw a line” with the DRG in non-military fields.
Although the motion of no confidence had been rejected.
However, the resulting increase in the radicalism of the Center-Left Alliance and the resentment of the public had caused the Cabinet’s attitude toward the DRG to change subtly.
Preventing the daughter of a minister from transferring to Tokiwagi High School, which was seen as a DRG-affiliated institution, was a manifestation of this attitude.
Yayoi Imai looked at Jiang Jian Yue urgently. “But… but I really want to be with everyone!”
“Senior Jiang, you… you are so powerful, you must have a way, right? Please help me! I promise I won’t cause any trouble for you! I will…”
“Hold on,” Jiang Jian Yue interrupted.
The box became silent instantly.
“Do you… really want to… go?”
“I do, I really do!” Yayoi Imai nodded vigorously.
“Even if… your father opposes it? Even if… it makes him… very unhappy? Or even… affects his… career?”
Jiang Jian Yue’s questions went straight to the core, showing no hesitation about the political risks and personal family conflicts involved.
Yayoi Imai hesitated.
She was a sensible child. Although her father was relatively cold toward her, she knew she shouldn’t cause trouble for the adults in her family.
The only sound in the box was the faint commentary from the large screen.
Yayoi’s mind was filled with memories of playing with her friends in the club activity room. Fear and unease clouded her heart.
She didn’t know what she was afraid of. Perhaps it was the fear of her future being arranged so that she would enter politics?
Although her father hadn’t said it directly and the burden on her had lessened somewhat, he still constantly mentioned the ‘political path’ in his words.
“Yes.”
Finally, Yayoi Imai spoke. “My… my life shouldn’t be decided by adults. I… I want to live freely.”
“Fine.” Jiang Jian Yue nodded and picked up her phone, typing away for a moment. Then, she spoke. “The Akimoto Association will… personally arrange it. Don’t worry.”
“That’s great! Thank you! Senior Jiang!” Yayoi couldn’t hide her excitement.
“That’s enough.”
Jiang Jian Yue waved her hand, signaling that she could leave. “Go… watch the match, or… go back to the village.”
“Yes! I’ll go tell Kaori and the others right away!”
Yayoi Imai burst into a smile, her face overflowing with pure joy. She bowed once more before turning and running out of the box with light steps.
The door to the box closed, isolating the outside world and the girl’s cheerful figure.
Hattori walked behind the sofa and asked, “Yayoi’s family won’t be easy to handle, right?”
“And the Cabinet will definitely see it as a provocation.”
“The Cabinet is of no concern.”
Jiang Jian Yue shook her head, then asked about Hattori’s condition. “You haven’t recovered yet, have you?”
“I can already get out of bed.”
Hattori moved his wrist. “After all, I am a superpower user. What’s the point of just lying down all the time?”
His duties had already been transferred to someone else, so after his injuries healed, he had returned to being Jiang Jian Yue’s personal bodyguard.
Even though, with Jiang Jian Yue’s current strength, she didn’t need Hattori’s protection at all.
“Welcome back.”
……
In the following matches, Special Response HQ Unit 1 entered the finals in an almost overwhelming manner.
Unit 1 did not let the precarious state they displayed during the Round of thirty-two repeat itself.
This further highlighted the Supernatural Club’s “glory in defeat.”
Their prestige continued to rise, and the number of followers on Kaori Onishi’s social media platforms also kept increasing. She had already become a major influencer.
Their opponent in the finals was Team ART, which had narrowly defeated the Round Table Knights Team to reach the final round.
Title favorite vs. Title favorite.
External public attention and discourse also reached a peak. After all, this was a decisive battle between China and Japan.
However, Jiang Jian Yue was no longer interested in the tournament itself.
This was because the anime still hadn’t updated, Pluto was still in hiding, and she was becoming increasingly uneasy.
What was even more suffocating was what was happening internationally.
Jiang Jian Yue sat at the computer in the shared apartment. It wasn’t her magical computer, but an internal briefing on a regular one.
[The Tanzania front is advancing smoothly. Key nodes around Dodoma have been secured.]
[The European Union’s reaction is intense. The Mediterranean Fleet has entered a state of combat readiness.]
[It is recommended that the Japan branch prepare for a Level 1 combat response. If necessary, high-level combatants will be reassigned to the headquarters.]
These few short lines felt like a giant boulder pressing against her chest.
She couldn’t understand the Headquarters’ strategic intent—to launch an attack on Tanzania at this critical juncture was simply insane!
Although Jiang Jian Yue didn’t have a deep understanding of the Headquarters and her own rank was relatively low—could it really be a strategy she just couldn’t see?
If a full-scale war really broke out, she, as the “highest combat power,” might have to leave Japan and head to that distant and unfamiliar African continent.
But here, the unknown “Pluto” was lurking, Nikolai might make a move against Cuiyue, and there was the crisis with the Self-Defense Force.
If she left, who would handle these uncertain factors?
But she had to go.
Between the Headquarters and the Japan branch, Jiang Jian Yue knew which side was more important.
If Central Africa lost the war, the Japan branch likely wouldn’t last long either.
Without the support of the DRG, when would her dream ever be realized?
“It’s not just internal and external troubles; the situation is practically dire.”
Melon’s voice didn’t sound very relaxed either. “If you really go to Africa to fight, the setting for this anime is going to change, isn’t it? From an urban superpower story to a war documentary?”
“Oh, I almost forgot. You probably won’t get that much screen time anymore.”
“Shut it.”
Jiang Jian Yue irritably turned off the monitor.
The room fell into darkness, with only the faint glow of the neon lights from outside peeking through the window.
This confusion and anxiety made her desperate to find a support.
Something that would allow her to temporarily forget all of this.
……
GSAC Athletes’ Village, late at night.
Although it was already 1:00 AM, the lights were still on in the living room of Unit 1’s suite.
Yuki Asahi was sitting on the rug in front of the coffee table, which was covered in information about tomorrow’s final opponent—Team ART.
On the TV screen, the combat footage of Shadow Girl manipulating liquid metal was playing repeatedly, slowed down four times.
‘There’s a 0.1-second delay in the defense here… is it because of the liquid metal backflow…?’
Yuki Asahi held a pen, quickly taking notes in his notebook.
Just then, there was a gentle tap on the balcony’s floor-to-ceiling window.
Tap tap.
Yuki Asahi was startled and suddenly turned his head.