"Even though it's the New Year, a war has already broken out. This year is probably going to be quite extraordinary!"
Nagisa Akatsuki seed to sense sothing, speaking with a bitter expression.
Mimori Akatsuki glanced at the content on the TV and nodded in understanding.
"A war over the Fras?"
She murmured softly.
Kojou Akatsuki imdiately perked up his ears, his expression turning extrely serious.
...
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
After the al, while Nagisa was clearing the table, Kojou Akatsuki entered Mimori Akatsuki's room.
As soon as he entered, she startled him. This woman had pulled everything out of the wardrobe and closet, tossing it all ssily onto the bed, while she herself was crouched under the bed, seemingly searching for sothing.
"Oh, Kojou, you ca at just the right ti. Where did I put that red suitcase I used last year?"
"Why are you asking about that now?"
"In a few days, it's the company team-building event! That suitcase can hold a lot more stuff, and I really like it!"
"You'll have to ask Nagisa about that. Speaking of which, there's still a team-building event now? Isn't the port closed?"
"MAR sent a private jet!"
"Never mind then."
Kojou Akatsuki muttered under his breath, cursing how enviable capitalists were—no, how ugly their true faces were!
"Mom, what you ntioned earlier at the dinner table—what was that about?"
"The war over the Fras?"
Mimori Akatsuki crawled out from under the bed, covered in dust, and sat on the bed.
Nagisa is definitely going to throw a fit later, Kojou thought to himself.
"The Lost Warlord Empire unilaterally declared war on the Nipplesi Autonomous Region, and the one leading it is Prince Iblisbel Yagiz, whose territory is in the Caucasus region. That prince even personally took to the battlefield. It seems he's really pissed off."
Mimori Akatsuki caught her breath for a mont—rummaging through things really took a lot of energy.
"How so?"
"The Ninth Prince of the Lost Warlord Empire is extrely arrogant. He would never stoop to waging war against a Ghoul state. The only reason he's doing this is that the Ghouls must have provoked his anger. At this stage, the only reason that cos to mind for angering the Ninth Prince is—Nipplesi stole the two Fras that the Ninth Prince was safeguarding!"
Mimori Akatsuki spoke with conviction, analyzing the situation at the Eurasian border bit by bit.
Nipplesi, a Ghoul autonomous state established by the arms dealer Zacharias, has only been around for about a decade and has never been internationally recognized.
Because they seized the territory of the Karlana clan, Nipplesi has been in a territorial dispute with the Warring States Dominion and is currently engaged in combat.
Given Nipplesi's military strength, dealing with the Warring States Dominion alone is already a stretch—and that's only against one noble from the Warring States Dominion. Generally speaking, they absolutely wouldn't dare provoke the Lost Warlord Empire at a ti like this!
But just like that, the Ninth Prince mobilized his army and marched over.
This ans that Nipplesi must have set their sights on sothing extrely valuable in the Ninth Prince's possession—sothing so valuable it might even be worth more than a country!
If that's the case, there's only one possibility that cos to mind!
The Ninth Prince is the Elector chosen by the Lost Warlord Empire to participate in the "Feast of the Blazing Glory"!
And Nipplesi stole the Fras from the Ninth Prince!
They would rather roast their own nation over a volcanic crater than miss the chance to personally assist in the resurrection of the Fourth True Ancestor, thereby claiming the rit of aiding a dragon. This way, their destroyed country could easily be revived and even beco stronger than before!
"I see!"
After listening, Kojou Akatsuki imdiately looked as if he had gained new insight.
He had always known his mother was an extraordinary person, often capable of making astonishing statents, but he never expected her to deduce so much from just a single news report!
"Oh, I actually heard this from soone else!"
To his surprise, Mimori Akatsuki chuckled, revealing her true nature.
She had already known beforehand that the Hunghi had stolen the Ninth Prince's vessel. Inferring this from the news was naturally much simpler than analyzing it from scratch.
Kojou fell silent for a mont.
"But how was this even possible? Speaking of the Ninth Prince of the Extinction Dynasty, isn't he the second True Ancestor's legitimate son? His strength rivals that of the elders from the old generation!"
"It seems there was a traitor involved. No matter how much you guard against external threats, it's the internal ones that are hardest to prevent!"
"What about the Hunghi side?"
Kojou pressed further.
"The interim chairman of Nippercy, that Balthazar Zaharias guy, wasn't he killed so ti ago?"
He still rembered how extensively it had been covered on television back then.
He had felt quite smug about it at the ti, since that man had treated Agnola as a tradable weapon, completely disregarding her humanity—a attitude that had disgusted him thoroughly.
Nowadays, the armored figure who killed Zaharias had beco the most famous magical criminal on Itogami Island, with a bounty reportedly reaching tens of millions. The authorities seed to be pulling out all the stops to track him down.
"Currently, the Hunghi are being led by a masked enigma. Aside from the Hunghi themselves, no one knows who that masked person is."
Mimori's explanation was vague.
In truth, even she didn't know what exactly was going on in Nippercy right now.
Despite the fact that the person who had unified the Hunghi was dead, everything there remained orderly.
It was as if Zaharias had never died.
"Kojou, you need to be careful too."
Mimori's expression gradually turned serious as she quietly warned her son.
"The 'Banquet of Blazing Glory' is intensifying, and it's likely nearing its end. You and Agnola could be targeted at any mont!"
"Don't trust even those close to you too easily!"
Mimori implied aningfully.
Kojou's expression shifted, and he nodded somberly.
In the afternoon, with Nagisa's help in locating the red suitcase, Mimori Akatsuki happily left ho.
"Ms. Mimori, where are we heading now?"
In the private car, the driver's seat was occupied by a young woman with short hair, who appeared stern and exceptionally efficient.
"Back to the company!"
"Yes."
The car slowly started and drove away from the apartnt building.
anwhile,
Mimori pulled out her phone and found the contact labeled "My Favorite" in her address book.
"Hello? Is that A-li? Yes, yes, it's your big sister! Oh, you recognized just by my voice? That makes your sister so happy!"
"What's up? Well, your sister has sothing really good to show you! Co quickly, I'll be waiting for you at the research institute!"
After a stream of instructions, without waiting for a response from the other end, Mimori hung up the phone.
The phone rang once more, but Mimori Akatsuki deliberately ignored it, and soon it fell silent.
Yes!
Seeing no further activity from the phone, Mimori Akatsuki flashed a V-sign.
"Ms. Akatsuki, are you planning to invite Nan Gong Li over this afternoon?"
The woman in the driver's seat glanced back through the rearview mirror, her expression icy.
"Of course! I'm bored, after all! It's not like the team-building is today!"
Mimori Akatsuki grinned as she looked over.
"Why don't you join to et A Li, Assistant Toyama?"
"No, I wouldn't want to intrude on your enjoynt."
The woman nad Toyama flashed a trace of deep apprehension in her eyes, politely declining the suggestion.
Mimori Akatsuki smiled without another word.
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