"They've vanished again, just like last time," Michinaga observed, looking at the disappearing plant vines.
However, the Fruit Buckles they had obtained remained with them.
"I'm the only one who didn't get one! That's so unfair!" Win made an extremely exaggerated show of his dissatisfaction, appearing quite reluctant to accept it.
"Who told you to be sneaky and pull stunts behind people's backs?" Ace retorted with a mocking tone.
"Hey, who are you calling sneaky?" Win immediately bristled. Although he had indeed been caught trying to pull a fast one, he wouldn't admit it in front of so many people.
"I saw it too. You deliberately tampered with the pattern beneath the oil painting earlier." Michinaga also mercilessly exposed him. He had overheard Win and Tsumuri's conversation and knew that Win was truly an operative of the Management.
"So you're all ganging up on me now, huh?" Win stubbornly refused to admit anything.
"Alright, the game is over." Tsumuri wanted nothing more than to distance herself from Win. The guy was simply too noisy and annoying.
At the moment, what she was truly pondering was the incident she had witnessed not long ago. Why had the Game Master appeared in person, only to be defeated by a strange Kamen Rider? Who exactly was that mysterious Rider? Were the new monsters and the Fruit Buckles related to him?
As the Riders departed, in the DGP's backstage area, Tsumuri applied ointment to Girori's wounds. Although Kamen Rider Glare's defense was decent, the mysterious Rider had inflicted considerable superficial damage. Fortunately, Girori had escaped in time, or his injuries would have been much worse.
"Seriously, who is that mysterious Rider?" Win asked, still perplexed. In his view, the supposedly invincible Game Master had actually been beaten so badly.
"Those Buckles must also be that guy's doing. I have no idea what his intention is—is he trying to sabotage the Desire Grand Prix or does he have other motives?" Win continued.
"Hmph, no matter who he is, to think that this is enough to scare us, he underestimates the Desire Grand Prix far too much," Girori said, his eyes cold. He then added, "But forget that for now. In the next round, you must eliminate Ace and Raven, no matter what."
"Absolutely," Win quickly assured him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the Niramu also learned of these events from Girori.
"There exists a power in this world that even the Desire Grand Prix is unaware of?" Niramu mused, eating a snack. "However, it seems like he's quite interested in our program."
Niramu remained surprisingly composed for now. After all, his boss behind the scenes hadn't shown any reaction, which suggested that everything was still under control. Moreover, he personally felt that things had become more interesting.
After so many iterations of the same, monotonous Desire Grand Prix, this was the first time something had gone beyond their predictions.
"Perhaps, this is 'The Real,'" he said, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
Due to the interference of this mysterious power, a third faction besides the Jyamato had emerged in the Desire Grand Prix. The evolution of the situation unexpectedly led to higher popularity and viewership ratings among future audiences. After all, viewers also craved novelty; watching only the Jyamato and Kamen Riders fight endlessly eventually became boring.
At this moment, Suel, the founder of the Desire Grand Prix hidden behind the scenes, was also watching the developing situation with keen interest. As long as the core foundation of the Desire Grand Prix wasn't compromised, he was quite eager to see what kind of changes Raven would bring to this game.
…
In the outside world, having just finished one game, the contestants all returned to their normal, daily lives.
Keiwa gave up on interviewing for an office job and instead took a part-time position working at a soba noodle shop.
His sister, Sara, was very pleased. She came to the shop to share a bowl of noodles and celebrate her brother finally getting a job. Crucially, she understood the reason for his previous lack of ambition. Thanks to Raven's intervention, Sara's memory had not been erased this time. She knew her brother was now a Kamen Rider involved in something like saving the world.
Knowing that Raven was also involved, she felt much more at ease. She had also asked Raven to look out for her brother during the Desire Grand Prix, ensuring nothing bad happened to him. Due to this shared secret, their relationship had grown closer, making it difficult for an unusual kind of affection not to develop during the process.
As for Raven, ever since Neon recovered her memory, she had become like a clingy cat, constantly seeking him out. This made it difficult for him to find a chance to leave and travel to Helheim and the Gaim world.
He briefly considered simply laying his cards on the table, officially accepting Neon as his partner. However, on second thought, he decided against it. This kind of thing needed to be done at the right time.
A few days passed just like that.
After the Riders enjoyed their quiet days, the next game was quickly approaching.
One day, near the usual haunts of the contestants, a little girl in a red hat walked past.
She ended up snatching the Desire Drivers and the recently acquired Fruit Buckles from Keiwa, Michinaga, and Neon. Even the cunning veteran, Ace, suffered the same fate. Essentially, the group had been collectively 'locked out' of their transformation abilities.
Raven also saw the little girl outside his own shop. However, to allow the game rules to proceed, although he could have easily stopped her, he chose to let the girl take the Desire Driver and the Buckles.
Not long after, everyone was summoned to the Game Lobby. Tsumuri began explaining the rules for the new game.
"All contestants have arrived, so let us enter the third answer to the Desire Grand Prix."
"The Musical Chairs Game is officially beginning!" Tsumuri announced to everyone in her usual excited tone.
"The Musical Chairs Game?"
"Actually, it's not just musical chairs. This is a game to compete for the Rider Seats."
The virtual screen then displayed a series of images.