"Can an ambulance! We shouldn't burden Erik with everything!"
***
Siren!
Soon after the ambulance arrived on the scene and immediately started to check on the unconscious driver's vitals and heartbeat.
Erik slowly backed away; allowing the professionals to handle the situation and he returned to the bus.
Once again, the [First-High School representatives] were moving towards their destination.
The whole ride was quiet and peaceful; no new obstacle emerged on their way to the hotel.
---
"You alright, Hattori?" (Kirihara)
"I am fine, it just... I couldn't do anything when the car suddenly caught fire!" (Hattori)
After finally arriving at the hotel where they would be staying, Hattori, whose confidence took a hit by the earlier incident, was comforted by Kirihara.
"You not taking any action was a smart choice, my man! You saw what happened when Kanon and the others tried to use magic." (Kirihara)
"They caused an interference to appear which had rendered other's spell ineffective!" (Kirihara)
"Luckily, Big brother Erik took action as froze the burning car." (Kirihara)
Kirihara was spitting facts!
Unfortunately, Hattori didn't seem convinced.
"But Miyuki was able to react!" (Hattori)
"A first-year handled the situation better than everybody else!" (Hattori)
Hattori's argument did have some merit and Kirihara acknowledge it while presenting his thoughts on the situation.
"You are right, Hattori." (Kirihara)
"But I think that the Shiba siblings are special." (Kirihara)
"Tatsuya probably has combat and killing experience given how much of a presence, the siblings' had during the raid on Blanche." (Kirihara)
"Course 2 students can progress rapidly, and are not to be scoffed at." (Kirihara)
---
"Miyuki, the earlier incident wasn't an accident." (Tatsuya)
Tatsuya and Miyuki were inside Miyuki's room as the elder one carried his sister's stuff inside her room.
Making sure that no one was around, Tatsuya informed his sister about his discovery.
"It was a suicide attack disguised as an accident, caused by a magician from inside the car. " (Tatsuya)
"Really, Onii-sama!? But why would someone try to do that!?" (Miyuki)
Hearing her brother's words, a worried expression appeared on Miyuki's face.
"I don't know their motives as of yet; whether they want to target our participants or a specific person?" (Tatsuya)
"But we must be careful." (Tatsuya)
"Yes, Onii-sama!" (Miyuki)
Knock!
"Room service!" (???)
A strangely energetic yet familiar voice could be heard from the outside.
"I will get the door!" (Miyuki)
Miyuki moved towards the door while Tatsuya started unloading the stuff.
Click!
"Please come i—" (Miyuki)
Before Miyuki could even finish speaking, a woman donning "room service" clothes walked inside.
"Surprise! You missed me!?" (Erika)
The woman was of rather average stature, she was a redhead with short hair; boy-haircut.
Erika let out a grin as she looked at the shocking expression on her friend's face.
"Chiba-san!? What are you doing here? And why are you wearing these clothes!?" (Miyuki)
When faces with Miyuki's bombard of questions, Erika just let out a smirk as she answered all the questions aimed at her.
"Even though I am not a participant, my esteemed self is allowed to stay at the hotel because of my family connections!" (Erika)
"Mizuki, Leo, and Mikihiko are also staying at the hotel." (Erika)
"What!?" (Miyuki)
"Looks like there is a lot of catching up to do." (Tatsuya)
---
(Somewhere hidden)
Deep underground, a group of black-clothed individuals could be seen sitting around a round table.
Each one of these black-clothed individuals had a sigma imprinted behind their backs.
A coiling golden dragon with no head!
The [No Head Dragon]!
Their Japanese branch to be exact.
Apparently, a rather heated discussion was going on since each of the individuals had varying opinions on a certain matter.
Whether to sabotage Erik Saltzman or not?
"You sure you want to risk sabotaging Erik Saltzman's CAD?" (Mob 2)
"Yes, we must win the bet no matter what! A lot of money and resources have been out on the line this time!" (Mob 1)
"You are well aware what could happen if he finds out about our plans!?" (Mob 2)
"Making an enemy out of someone of his level of reach and power is outright suicide!" (Mob 2)
"Oh! don't worry! We are not planning to inflict harm upon him, we just need to make sure that he doesn't win his battles!" (Mob 1)
"Hm...we don't have any other choice, a lot is at stake this time." (Mob 3)
"We just need to be careful, we are standing on a very steep hill!" (Mob 3)
"One wrong move and that would spell doom for us!" (Mob 3)
It looked like someone was in for an ass-whooping!
---
(Erik POV)
Inhale!
Exhale!
I took in a deep breath and let go; facing back on the rather soft bed which simply sunk under his well-balanced weight.
I was currently within my room; allotted to me by the hotel staff.
I simply chose to stare at the ceiling while thinking about the event that would take plan in the coming future.
'[No Head Dragon] would make their move and sabotage our pieces of equipment using [Ancient Magic].'
'I can use this opportunity to gain some information on the main branch of the organization.'
'I want to see if I could find anything which would give me an advantage when the time comes for an equal exchange.'
'I need to cure Mikihiko completely so that he can use his full potential.'
'Maybe I should give him a prototype version of [Dream CAD] to see how well does it works with his [Divine-Earth Magic]?'
'Hm... Then there also is Mizuki who needs to learn how to control her eye powers, she will play a major role in helping Mikihiko regain his strength.'
'After this competition, I need to check on the progress, Kyouko-san has been making on the little project of mine.'
'Not to mention the release of the [Dream CAD technology] will also take place right after this competition.'
'As for winning the competition? I am not worried about it even though a new category has been added into the matches.'
'Everything will be in our favor due to Tatsuya plot armor and skills.'
'My only target now is to find the last two pieces of the [Dream Chaser Technology] and turn my dream into reality!'
Creak!
I sat up as the sheet regained its original shape.
"I am one step closer to achieving my goal!"
"True peace is just within my grasp, I can feel it!"
"The end to all this pain and suffering would come soon!"
"Till then, keep reading [Eye of the Moon plan]!" (Lol)
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(A/N:-The server °•The Coffee Shop•° was created with the intent to help authors find a well-organized server where they don't have to worry about creating multiple channels and handle the server.
The idea for this server is similar to Ink store but this is more of a joint-server that welcomes more authors to join.
Discord link:-https://discord.gg/WXHTGQN)