That night,

  a grand celebration banquet was held at the White Cat Royal Clan’s mansion.

  Nearly all the top officials of the White Cat Clan from Haelinx attended, along with senior leaders from several allied clans who had been invited as guests.

  "Bars, congratulations! Now your White Cat Clan can finally rest easy for a while~!"

  Keller, the King of the Black Dog Clan, raised his wine glass and congratulated him with a smile.

  "Thank you. But this is all Hulim’s doing—I can’t take any credit for it."

  Bars replied with a warm smile.

  "You’re absolutely right. That young girl is truly extraordinary. It’s amazing that you managed to find someone like her, Bars~."

  A fox-eared beastkin woman with golden fur chimed in, inserting herself into their conversation.

  "Your Majesty the Fox Queen, it was all just luck—pure luck!"

  "Oh, luck, is it? I wish I had that kind of luck too." The fox queen’s eyes twinkled. "I’ve heard you’ve already invited that young girl to be an honorary advisor to your royal clan. You certainly move fast!"

  "Heh... Hehehe..."

  Bars let out an awkward laugh.

  "You’re teasing me, Your Majesty. The so-called honorary advisor position is just a symbol of our friendship—there are no strings attached whatsoever."

  "Is that so... Sigh, but I wish I could have this kind of 'friendship' too."

  The fox queen leaned closer to Bars, running a finger gently down his shoulder.

  "Say, Bars... Could you let me have this chance to make friends instead~?"

  "Uh——??!"

  Bars froze rigidly on the spot.

  "Pfft——!"

  Seeing his flustered reaction, the fox queen burst out laughing.

  "Hahaha! I’m just pulling your leg—don’t take it so seriously!"

  "O-Oh, right... You have quite the sense of humor..."

  Bars wiped away imaginary cold sweat from his forehead, muttering silently to himself.

  That didn’t sound like a joke at all...

  I have to warn Hulim to be careful around her!

  "Alright! No more teasing. While today is a joyous occasion for the White Cat Clan, don’t drink too much. It would be embarrassing if you’re late tomorrow morning~!"

  "Don’t worry, Lady Sylvia. We won’t neglect our official duties!"

  Keller spoke up, making a solemn promise.

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  He had been wandering around the banquet with the same wine glass for nearly an hour, and the wine inside had barely decreased by a third.

  "Speaking of tomorrow’s finals, I’m rather curious... Who do you think will win the championship in the end? Any guesses~?"

  "Hmm..." Keller pondered for a moment. "That’s a tough one. I’d say it’s probably either Boguna or Violet."

  "Oh~, is that so..."

  Sylvia turned her gaze to Bars.

  "What about you, Bars? Who do you think will take it?"

  "Uh... I think anyone could win."

  "Hmph, what a perfunctory answer."

  "......"

  "As for me," she continued, "I actually think Hulim has a good shot at winning the championship. Otherwise, it might be that... that... Oh, what’s his name again? Right, Lukis!"

  "......Lady Sylvia, I believe you’re referring to Luigi Sloan?"

  "Oh, is that his name? I must have misremembered! Oops!"

  "......Ahem!"

  Keller and Bars quickly turned their heads to the side, pretending not to hear.

  "But... come to think of it! Your guess is completely different from mine, Lady Sylvia. My prediction is based on professional analysis from many experts. Could it be that you know something we don’t~?"

  "I don’t know a thing, dear~. These are just random guesses—don’t take them seriously. Either way, we’ll find out the result tomorrow when we attend the ceremony."

  "I-I see."

  Though Sylvia brushed it off casually, Keller took her words to heart.

  His prediction had been the result of in-depth analysis by numerous professionals. But when it came to foresight, more often than not, a single glance from a Rank A powerhouse was worth more than a night of deliberation by a hundred so-called "experts."

  The question was... was she really just guessing?

  "Hulim, aren’t you going inside?"

  Miko walked out onto the balcony and found Hulim standing there, enjoying the night breeze.

  "Oh, it’s you, Miko. Sorry, I’m just not used to this kind of gathering..."

  The Heyerar family was just a poor rural noble household. They rarely had the opportunity to attend events like noble banquets.

  Even though this was a relatively simple affair—with far fewer formalities than the banquets held by the empire’s top nobility—the high status of the hosts and guests meant it was still far more grand than any banquet a lower-ranking noble could ever hold.

  To make matters worse, she was the guest of honor. Countless distinguished figures had approached her to greet her, introduce themselves, and even secretly try to poach her.

  The whole experience was more tiring than practicing magic nonstop for three days and nights.

  "I get it! Hehe~!" Miko grinned. "I don’t like this kind of stuff either!"

  She then pulled out two plates of pastries from behind her back.

  "Look what I brought~!"

  "Did you take these pastries from the banquet?"

  "Yep! Let’s eat them out here!"

  With that, Miko placed the plates on the balcony railing, picked up a pastry, and took a big bite.

  "Mmm, so good! You should try one too!"

  "You... really..."

  Hulim shook her head helplessly, then reached for a pastry and took a bite.

  It was sweet and delicious—exactly her taste.

  "It’s a shame. We’re finally free to relax, but the sky is too cloudy to see any stars."

  As she ate, Miko looked up at the dark sky and grumbled.

  Hulim followed her gaze upward.

  "You’re right. The weather is really gloomy tonight..."

  Dark clouds covered the entire sky over Haelinx that night, with not a single star visible. Only the faint glow of the city’s night lights managed to push back the darkness.

  ......

  While the White Cat Royal Clan’s mansion was filled with the joyous clinking of wine glasses and lively chatter,

  the undercurrents lurking beneath the city of Haelinx finally surged to the surface.

  "First Team, head east! Secure all key thoroughfares immediately!"

  "Third Team, take control of the city gates!"

  "Sixth Team, lie in ambush along the military headquarters’ main route!"

  "Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Teams—proceed to Federal Avenue!"

  "Fourth......"

  Orders echoed continuously from a hidden underground meeting room.

  Thousands of fully armed figures poured onto the streets of Haelinx under the cover of night. They moved swiftly and in perfect formation, quickly deploying to critical locations across the city.

  Occasionally, their movements were spotted by patrolling guards. The guards reported the sightings, but their messages were intercepted before reaching the city’s top officials.

  That night, no reports of unusual activity in Haelinx would ever reach the upper echelons.

  "Lord Abak... Are we sure about this? There’s no turning back once we do this......"

  A loyal subordinate looked at Abak with a worried expression as he continuously burned official documents.

  Abak stared silently at the rising flames, mechanically tossing one document after another into the fire.

  After a long while, he finally replied in a cold, emotionless voice:

  "We never had a choice, did we?"

  "......"