The standoff between the two didn't last long.
Though Amber felt slightly swayed by Origami's words, she ultimately stuck to her original decision, considering that Rita could always use the Black Abyss White Flower to recover if she was truly exhausted.
After all, she really couldn't be sure what someone with Origami's temperament might do.
Origami, whose suggestion had been dismissed, was visibly sulking.
Rita's smile widened slightly—it may have lost some of its perfect polish, but it made her seem more human.
And Miku?
Miku felt an indescribable envy and disbelief.
She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that someone out there was living such a charmed life—right before her eyes, no less—and had the nerve to act oblivious to the attentions of two stunning beauties.
'Damn it! If you're not into women, then don't hog the spot!'
Though jealousy was practically boiling inside her, Miku suppressed it and turned her thoughts to Dr. Mobius, whom she would soon meet.
In terms of beauty alone, Mobius was on par with the three Valkyries. But unlike them, Mobius was just a researcher with no combat skills to speak of.
Sure, she might have some anti-Spirit tech up her sleeve, but that didn't necessarily mean she could resist Miku's hypnotic suggestions.
Miku wasn't aiming for anything too extreme—just wanted to plant a little more fondness for herself in the doctor's heart.
With enough goodwill and time spent together, wouldn't things just fall into place naturally?
Plus, the woman was clearly in a high-ranking position. If things went well, Miku could score big in both career and romance.
And besides…
They had already reached the training ground. Watching the Valkyries sweating it out in their form-fitting training gear, striking various poses, Miku nearly got a nosebleed.
So many… so many high-quality beauties! They might not quite match the three beside her, but they were still rare finds!
If she could stay with Schicksal from now on, surrounded by a crowd of such devoted, high-quality fans, wandering among these girls every day…
Lost in her fantasies, Miku unconsciously broke into a lecherous grin, drawing a puzzled look from Rita.
She'd met Spirits before, but never one quite this… peculiar.
With Rita's return, all members of the Immortal Blades had assembled, and the mock battle officially began. Amber had intended to observe everyone's progress here, but a ringing tone interrupted her thoughts.
"Kotori?"
Seeing the caller's name, Amber felt a flicker of confusion but answered anyway. "Kotori, what's—"
"Durandal! We've got an emergency!"
Before Amber could finish, Kotori's voice cut in, sharp with urgency yet still coherent. "Tohka manifested silently today for some reason—no spatial quake—and ran into Shiori by chance."
"We organized a sealing operation as soon as we understood the situation. Everything was going smoothly at first, but then… DEM wizards showed up and attacked us!"
"Wait, what?" Amber frowned, processing the information. "The sealing of Spirits is supposed to be a joint operation between Ratatoskr and Schicksal, right? Why weren't we notified?"
Kotori's frantic voice faltered, then turned subdued. "Sorry… I… I acted on my own…"
Regret weighed heavily on her now.
Still smarting from Mobius's earlier provocations, Kotori had been both surprised by Tohka's unexpected silent manifestation and tempted by an idea.
She wanted Fraxinus to handle the sealing alone this time, while also feeding Tohka some negative impressions about Schicksal, hoping to make the Spirit more inclined toward Fraxinus.
That way, once Tohka was inevitably incorporated into Schicksal later, her loyalty to Fraxinus would increase their own importance.
After all, a cooperative Spirit and an uncooperative one must hold very different value, even for Schicksal.
If Tohka would only listen to Fraxinus and not Schicksal, then Fraxinus would gain more leverage. And the more Spirits followed this pattern, the more influence they'd wield.
Looking back now, the idea seemed ridiculous. Her fear of Mobius had clouded her judgment.
She knew perfectly well that Tohka was a special case—other Spirits wouldn't be so easily won over in a single encounter.
Amber understood that Kotori wasn't as composed as she appeared.
Their previous conversation had already left Kotori in a delicate position, and Tohka's perfectly timed manifestation had only poured fuel on her impatience.
This was clearly a situation Dark Amber had deliberately engineered. Combined with more pressing matters at hand, Amber decided not to press the issue further for now.
"Just continue with the situation report," she said, moving on.
"DEM isn't here in an official capacity this time. Only one person is actually fighting—probably recognized Tohka while out and about and decided to engage. Tohka has the upper hand for now, but if this drags on, it won't stay that way."
Kotori explained.
DEM and AST weren't fools. With Tohka fighting so openly, they would definitely dispatch a team to surround her.
Normally, that wouldn't be too worrying, but both Kotori's description and her tone suggested this was anything but normal.
"A wizard who can hold her own against a Spirit in a prolonged fight… she's strong," Amber mused, frowning.
"Right. If this wizard leads an elite squad, they could actually hurt Tohka, maybe even capture her."
That was exactly what Kotori feared. DEM had significantly increased its focus on Japan lately—no longer just sending minor forces on random missions. The wizard who appeared this time was proof enough.
If there was more than one wizard of that caliber, Tohka was in real danger.
Besides… though Kotori didn't say it, she knew Ellen must be in Japan too. With the convenience of reality-manipulating fields, Kotori had no doubt Ellen was fit for combat. She definitely was.
If Ellen showed up, Tohka's fate would be as good as sealed.
"Understood." Now that she had the basics, Amber didn't waste any more time. "Rita, you heard?"
"I've already notified logistics to prepare the armor. It's a rushed deployment, but everyone seems full of fighting spirit."
Rita had made preparations the moment she overheard. Responding to Amber's query with a smile, she sounded the emergency sortie alarm.
Red lights flashed through the training room. The Valkyries didn't know what was happening, but as Rita had said, they were already warmed up and mentally primed for the mock battle.
Though their stamina wasn't at peak levels, it wouldn't hinder them.
Not perfect, yet better than perfect.
"Excellent. Then the Immortal Blades' second mission in Japan begins now. Prepare to deploy."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.