Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as the Sparkle Plush Doll declared, "I won't explode!" a series of crisp explosions echoed outside the window of the Sakura Nation's headquarters. Turning to look, one could see a kaleidoscope of vibrant fireworks streaking into the night sky, bursting into dazzling patterns that illuminated the heavens.
The Deputy Director, who had already cowered beneath his desk, anticipating the unimaginable shockwaves of a super-explosion capable of obliterating an entire country, found nothing. No tremor, no shockwave. Lifting his head, he saw the video call still active on his monitor and the fireworks blooming outside the window.
"Wh-what's going on?!"
"So? Did you like it? I've been preparing this surprise for ages. Pretty, right?" Sparkle giggled.
"A gift?!" The Deputy Director stared in bewildered disbelief.
"If you don't understand, check your phone," Sparkle suggested.
The Deputy Director immediately fumbled for his pocket, but his curled-up position beneath the desk made retrieving his phone a clumsy ordeal.
Thump!
With a sudden jerk, his head slammed violently against the desk. Groaning, he clutched the back of his head and slowly crawled out from under the table, finally managing to retrieve his phone.
As soon as he opened a news website, a headline blazed across the screen:
Sakura Nation Announces Unconditional Surrender!
The announcement had been made by the newly appointed Prime Minister less than a minute earlier—precisely as the fireworks had begun to soar into the sky.
The Deputy Director's face contorted in horror and disbelief. "How is this possible?!"
It was like soldiers on the front lines, locked in fierce combat and giving their all to defeat the enemy, suddenly receiving news of surrender from headquarters. This has to be a joke, right?
Moreover, the Deputy Director knew the new Prime Minister well. In his mind, the man had always been a staunch hawk, utterly incapable of unilaterally surrendering.
In the next instant, the Deputy Director's anger surged. He glared at Sparkle, his eyes blazing with fury. "You did this?!"
Then he remembered the unexploded Sparkle plush Doll, its bizarre arming and disarming commands. His face turned pale with fury. "You've been deceiving me from the very beginning?!"
"Correct!" Sparkle's lips curled into a slight smile as she shrugged. "But there's no prize for you~"
"You...! You...!" The Deputy Director extended a trembling right hand, pointing at Sparkle. The next moment, he erupted into a violent cough, a mouthful of blood staining the pristine white floor crimson.
He had been so consumed by rage that the backlash from his own rage made him cough up blood!
(TL Note: Technically the raws had it say that his Qi backfired from rage but meh same result.)
A thousand curses aimed at Sparkle's entire family swirled through the Deputy Director's mind, but he was too choked with fury to utter a single coherent word. His mouth gaped uselessly, as if his language system had completely malfunctioned.
"Oh my, oh my, how utterly delightful! The way you clutched that adorable plushie, convinced it was a super bomb—you looked so utterly foolish! Good thing I recorded it. I watch it whenever I'm bored~" Sparkle tilted her head slightly, propping her cheek with her right hand, her face brimming with mischievous glee.
"You...! You...! Cough, cough!" The Deputy Director spat out another mouthful of blood.
This was the Deputy Director—a man who would sacrifice everything for victory, and indeed had. He thought he had staked his life on a deadly game of Russian roulette, wagering his dignity as collateral. He had publicly humiliated himself, screaming "I'm Miss Sparkle's dog!" and barking like a madman.
In the end, he had held onto one final trump card, pinning all his hopes on it.
But now, Sparkle suddenly revealed it was all a lie, a cruel joke from beginning to end! That glimmer of victory had been nothing but a mirage.
"Pfft!" The Deputy Director's face contorted in agony and regret. He had recently experienced the torment of plummeting from heaven to hell, but this was far worse—he had been hurled straight into a bottomless abyss, shattered into pieces upon impact.
The next moment, as the Deputy Director coughed up blood and glared furiously at Sparkle, his head flew off his shoulders without warning, blood splattering everywhere.
A figure emerged behind the headless corpse. Even the Hermit struggled to articulate his current mood, muttering, "What a thoroughly satisfying spectacle..."
The instant the Hermit appeared, Sparkle knew her deductions had been spot-on. Without missing a beat, she chimed in, "Right? I thought so too~"
For the Hermit, witnessing his "enemy" reduced to such utter despair was undeniably cathartic. Yet, as he observed the charming young girl before him, his apprehension deepened.
The Hermit was deeply unnerved, both by Sparkle's ability to manipulate him so effortlessly and by her complete lack of surprise at seeing him, as if she remembered his face perfectly. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "So, what exactly is this deal?"
"It's very simple," Sparkle replied. "End this war. That's all."
"You want to protect the Sakura Nation?"
"Not at all. Hasn't the Sakura Nation already surrendered? It's your territory now, so there's no need for further bloodshed, is there?"
"..." After a brief silence, the Hermit declared, "No, this isn't war—it's revenge!"
The implication was clear: even with the Sakura Nation's surrender, the Hermit intended to continue fighting.
Undeterred, Sparkle countered, "And that's precisely what this deal offers. I can provide you with a list—the names of everyone involved in creating that massive Dimensional Rift and plotting the deaths of the Wizard and the Hunter."
"What do you say? Wouldn't targeted revenge be far more efficient than prolonging this war?"
Sparkle didn't need to guess the Hermit's demands. After all, he had abruptly declared war following the deaths of the Wizard and the Hunter. Although she didn't know the specific reasons behind the war, or even who the Hermit was avenging, it hardly mattered. The list she held was something he couldn't possibly refuse.
And indeed, after a moment of silence, the Hermit pointed at the Deputy Director's corpse and asked, "How can I be sure you won't deceive me the way you deceived him?"
"Because this is a transaction," Sparkle replied, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "You know my terms: end the war. As for the Deputy Director? His goals clashed with mine, so I merely toyed with him a little. But you're my trading partner—I wouldn't dream of playing games with you."
Merely toyed with him? The Hermit pondered those words. He suspected that if he hadn't intervened, the Deputy Director might have been driven to death by sheer rage. How could that be considered "merely"?
Still, the offer was too tempting to resist. The Hermit finally nodded. "Very well, it's a deal!"