Numerous airships floated in the sky above Asterisk.
One of these airships belonged to the student council of Rewolf Black Institute and was currently under Dirk' name.
"What a huge commotion you've caused!"
Dirk sat on the sofa, looking at the woman who entered the living room with undisguised disgust.
Several spatial windows were displayed before him.
[Shocking! World-famous songstress discovered dating Festa champion!]
[Tragic News! Songstress gets dumped after dating Festa champion!]
Headlines like these were everywhere, accompanied by footage of Sylvia chasing Roy.
This had happened in the afternoon.
But considering the popularity of both the songstress and the Festa champion, the news had likely spread worldwide by now.
"This isn't Valda's fault."
Seeing Dirk about to blame the woman, Madiath, sitting across from him, quickly intervened.
"Ultimately, no one could have predicted that the vessel we prepared for her would turn out to be acquainted with the songstress. This was my mistake, since I was the one who originally prepared this vessel."
Madiath inserted himself between the two, smiling like a peacemaker.
"Finding a suitable vessel for Valda isn't easy. Given the circumstances, there's no point complaining. Shouldn't we focus on discussing our current plans instead?"
"Hmph!"
Dirk glared at Madiath before falling silent with a cold snort.
"So then?"
Having placated Dirk, Madiath turned to the woman who had just entered.
"How did your meeting with the Banyuu Tenra go?"
"She refused."
Valda sat down on the sofa, adjusting the large necklace on her chest before speaking in an emotionless tone.
"I invited her to join our plan, but she showed no interest whatsoever."
"Did she oppose it?"
"No. She explicitly stated she wouldn't interfere with our plans."
"That's more than enough."
Madiath visibly relaxed.
"As long as the Banyuu Tenra doesn't interfere, our plan's success rate increases by at least fifty percent!"
Dirk remained noncommittal.
Valda showed no reaction.
"Is this Banyuu Tenra you speak of really that powerful?"
At this moment, a fourth person in the corner spoke up with apparent interest.
"If she weren't truly that strong, I wouldn't be so wary of her."
Madiath spread his hands slightly, adopting a helpless expression.
"Why? Does this interest you, Mr. Akatsuki?"
"Whether she's strong or not doesn't matter to me. Personally, I'm more interested in the songstress over here!"
The fourth figure in the corner was clad entirely in a black robe, not an inch of skin visible, with only a camera-like eye scanning the spatial windows floating in midair.
"Is this man her lover?"
"No, more like enemies."
Valda, sitting across from him, spoke up and recounted the events of that afternoon to the robed figure, Akatsuki.
"That Roy is likely the master of the puppet. The songstress realized the truth, which is why she chased him down."
"How dull."
Akatsuki sighed in disappointment.
"I thought torturing her lover to death might have driven her to despair."
Whether this could actually be done was hard to say.
Madiath kept a straight face, but inwardly scoffed in disbelief.
He was the only one present who had directly interacted with Roy and understood that despite the boy's youth, his strength and intellect were far beyond imagination. Moreover, the fact that Okita Souji was actually a puppet under his control suggested that the boy's abilities might exceed even his own comprehension.
If they pushed Roy into becoming their enemy, he could very well become a major obstacle to their plans.
"Alright, let's discuss our next steps!"
Madiath clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the three others in the room.
"With the addition of Akatsuki, we'll need to make some adjustments to our plans."
"Adjustments are unavoidable. Ginga is probably starting to take notice of us by now."
Dirk shot a mocking glance at Akatsuki.
After all, it was him who had drawn Ginga's attention.
Akatsuki chuckled lightly, unfazed.
"Then, how about we set our sights on the upcoming Gryps Festa?"
Madiath gave Dirk and Akatsuki a cold look. This time, he didn't play the mediator but instead sought their opinions directly.
"I have no objections."
Valda was the first to nod.
"That's our only option."
"Whatever."
The other two responded with either disdain or indifference.
"In that case, this year's Gryps Festa will serve as the debut stage for our Golden Bough Alliance!"
Madiath stood up, gazing out the window at the artificial city of Asterisk.
He spread his arms as if embracing the city, and with a voice brimming with pent-up frustration, he made a resounding declaration.
...
Roy was troubled.
He had spent most of the day playing cat and mouse with Sylvia—him fleeing, her chasing. Under the relentless tracking of Sylvia's detection abilities, he had nearly been cornered.
Fortunately, Sylvia had reluctantly retreated once her prana was nearly depleted.
Though he suspected she wouldn't give up so easily and would likely return to ambush him once her energy recovered, that wasn't his immediate concern.
"Claudia, believe me, there's really nothing between Sylvia and me!"
"Julis, honestly, I've only met Sylvia a few times!"
"Kirin, don't cry! Sylvia and I aren't the kind of relationship you're imagining!"
The news of the world-famous songstress Sylvia being emotionally deceived by a scoundrel and publicly chasing him down had already made headlines by the afternoon.
Then Roy's phone exploded with calls.
Not just from Claudia and the others, but also from Yabuki and reporters who had somehow gotten hold of his number—all of them swarming toward him like sharks scenting blood.
Exhausted, Roy blocked all unknown numbers and ignored even Yabuki's calls, only taking the time to explain himself to Claudia and the other two.
"I'm done!"
Roy hung up the phone and let out a groan of agony, as if his stomach was in knots.
How had things escalated to this point?
By now, there were probably enough people around the world who wanted to tear him apart to encircle the entire planet.
"I can't handle this. Time to bail!"
Roy sighed with utter emptiness.
Then he got up to meet Claudia and the other two in person.
Claudia and the other two girls were still willing to listen to him. After he carefully explained the whole situation, the misunderstanding was cleared up. Even the usually prickly Julis didn't say much, though the fact that Okita was a puppet controlled by Roy—no, according to him, it should be called a familiar—was enough to make their jaws drop in shock.
"I'm taking a leave of absence from school for a while. I'll be leaving Asterisk to train elsewhere."
Immediately afterward, Roy announced his departure to the three girls.
Julis's expression instantly turned complicated.
Though they had known about Roy's plans to take a break from school and had prepared for it, leaving at this exact moment… You're definitely running away from Sylvia, aren't you?
Roy pretended not to notice her pointed look, returned to his dorm to pack his things, and then slipped out of Asterisk without a trace.
When the seven days were up, a door spanning worlds opened before Roy.
He stepped through it and vanished from this world.
***
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