Redmont Manor,

Serisis.

7:20 p.m. 20th Banem 1092.

King Chu Tianjo sat on a chair at the manor's gates, surrounded by a handful of ministers and numerous guards. The king gazed at the night sky which was illuminated by the beautiful gibbous moon. A small smile spread across his lips as he muttered, "So, the time has finally come." As he spoke, distant sounds of rolling wheels reached his ears. The noise drew his attention to the end of the street, where a line of carriages drawn by raptors slowly, but surely made their way toward the gates.

The Serian King recognized the crest on the carriages which signified they belonged to the army. Specifically, the garrison at the harbor. With this timing, they could only belong to the delegation he had been waiting for. King Chu Tianjo rose to his feet as the carriages pulled past, and then came to a stop in front of the gates.

A soldier dismounted from the driver's seat and then opened the doors to the middle carriage, which also happened to be the most luxurious. King Xafier Anton of Aygorzi and King Parissius Vermillion of Rosendun stepped out of the carriage and then walked towards King Chu Tianjo as the rest of the Hopeful Maggots and the ministers disembarked from the other carriages.

King Parissius, observing familial customs, bowed humbly to his future father-in-law and then greeted, "It is good to see you again, King Chu."

"Haha," King Chu Tianjo laughed as he reached over and patted King Parissius' back. "You should start calling me father soon, don't you think?"

King Parissius let out a nervous chuckle as he admitted, "You are correct. I will endeavor to do so in the future, so long as you agree to call me Paris." The king, eager to switch subjects, turned to King Xafier and introduced, "This is Xafier Anton, ruler of Aygorzi, home to the dwarfs. He has crossed two countries' borders to make it here."

"It is an honor to finally meet you, King Xafier," King Chu Tianjo's eyes sparked with interest and respect as he held out his hand to the dwarven King. "I have awaited this meeting with bated breath for many moons."

"Please, call me Xafier," cajoled King Xafier as he took Chu Tianjo's hand in a firm handshake. "I too have long heard of Serisis' unique innovations, and I must say, I am quite jealous of what you have achieved in this country."

King Chu Tianjo laughed as he shook his head, "It was only made possible through the citizens' hard work. I share none of the praise here." With those words, King Chu ran a quick scan of the Hopeful Maggots, looking for two people in particular. It did not take long for him to find Leila Lightwood among the crowd. That woman would always stand out no matter where she was.

Leila, catching the king's gaze, smiled and then politely bowed. The king released a wry smile as he remembered how she had outperformed and outclassed both he and his ministers just a little while ago. King Chu pushed the matter to the back of his head as he quickly sought out the second target.

However, after a brief scan, the only possible candidate for Kashi seemed to be an unassuming daeben who seemed eager to blend into the background as much as possible. Could this person really be the enigmatic, powerful daeben famous the world over?

Unfortunately, despite his immense curiosity, King Chu could not abandon the other kings to go seek out a civilian. That would be too discourteous. So, he pushed the matter to the back of his head, choosing instead to focus on that later.

Kashi, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief when he saw King Chu turn his attention back to the other kings. That was a close one! If King Chu had persisted in his curiosity, then Kashi would certainly become exhibit #1 for everyone else. Which, by the way, he had no intention of becoming.

King Chu, oblivious to the daeben's thoughts, welcomed King Paris and King Xafier into the manor. "You must have had a long journey. Come, let me take you to your quarters. After a short rest, you can join us for dinner." The king looked at Kashi and the Hopeful Maggots. "Of course I would love to meet you there. I've heard a lot about you all."

"It would be our honor," Leila replied with a polite smile as she realized Kashi still intended on sticking to the background for now.

King Chu glanced at Kashi one last time, a hint of doubt in his eyes, but then turned to King Parissius and said, "You must have noticed the girls are missing, yet chose not to bring it up yourself. I am more and more impressed by you. Having you as a son-in-law might be the best decision I've ever made."

"All due respect, I do not think either of us had a choice in that," King Parissius joked with a pleasant grin.

"Oh?" King Xafier commented, eyes turning from King Chu to King Parissius. "I sense a story. You know we dwarfs love a good story."

"Haha," King Chu chuckled as he led the way into the manor. "This is a tale for the ages. A dinner that turned into a wedding proposal, all without the input of the husband or the brides' father."

King Xafier glanced at King Parissius who awkwardly scratched his chin with an embarrassed look and then said with a huge grin, "Oh. Now, this I must hear."

The kings laughed and chatted happily as they led the way into the manor, leaving the Maggots a few paces behind.

Leila slowed down her stride until she was next to Kashi. The wisben looked at her guildmaster with a helpless frown as she warned, "We can let it slide now, but eventually, you have to take point. This is a meeting of the highest powers. We cannot show disrespect by having the vice-guildmaster responding all the time."

"Vice-guildmaster is just a title, though," Kashi argued. "You're as much, if not more of a guildmaster than I am. I'd prefer it if you took the lead on this."

Leila, however, shook her head in disagreement. "I may be better in politics, but this goes beyond political skills." The wisben looked at Kashi with resolve as she said, "I am undoubtedly a wiser leader, but you are without a doubt the better one." Leila looked at the kings as she stated, "People do not follow the smartest leader, but the one who inspires their hearts. The one who makes them believe they can achieve the impossible." She turned to Kashi and struck him in the chest with a closed fist. "Never forget. You are the heart and soul of the Maggots. Only you can consistently create and then sustain impossible legendary achievements. This is why, when push comes to shove, you are the one everyone will turn to. This, is why you are the better leader."

Kashi rubbed his chest with a blank look in his eyes. The daeben had spent most of his time away from the guild, doing his own thing, so he never knew how much of an impact his actions had on its members. Recruits clamored to join the Maggots and veterans stayed true to the Maggots because of the legend of Kashi: the crazy daeben who performed miracles on a consistent basis.

Kashi had never thought of himself as some sort of role model, and suddenly being thrust into that position felt uncomfortable. However, while he was feeling distraught, he felt someone squeeze his arm.

The daeben looked to the side, where a smiling Lunette looked up at him and said, "I'm just like the others. I fell for you because you have a different aura about you. You always make it seem like there's nothing we can't do if we put our minds to it." She chuckled softly as she rested her head on his arm. "Leila is right. You should take the lead. Here at least."

"I agree," Shadow confirmed as he 'appeared' behind Kashi. The assassin raised his head to look at the stunned daeben. "You are the Hopeful Maggots' guildleader, and the only reason this meeting is happening in the first place. If you don't take point, who will?"

Kashi did not get a chance to respond as Asha immediately added, "You are the reason I am here. You stopped the war in Merriheim. It is only right that you take the lead. I would not have it any other way."

"I am only alive because of you," Larsial simply said. A few words which carried the weight of a thousand words.

"I could say the same," Absalon chimed in with a nod. "No disrespect to Leila, but I would've been wiped if she had her way."

"None taken," assured Leila with a tight smile. "That is very true."

"Hehe, with all the adults confirming it, my opinion isn't really relevant, is it?" Stryke questioned with a chuckle. "But for what it's worth, I also think you should take the lead on this."

Kashi looked at the Maggots, at a loss for words. Even those who did not speak, like Jade and Miote gave their confirmation through a thumbs-up and a nod respectively. Syèl revealed a relaxed grin, signifying he had no qualms, while Shokō gave a distracted smile. Eventually, the daeben let out a loud sigh and scratched the back of his head. He then folded his arms and said in surrender, "Fine. Fine. I'll do it, okay. Just this once."

Leila revealed a pleasant smile as she said, "Good. You won't regret this."

"I hope not," Kashi muttered as the Maggots walked into the manor. A couple of handmaidens greeted the crew, and then directed them to their rooms, where they could wash off and prepare for the dinner. "See you at dinner," said Kashi as he walked toward a room with Lunette curiously tagging along.

"Later," Syèl replied, and then made to grab Shokō, but the swordswoman deftly sidestepped his reach and followed a maid to a different room. Syèl's brows furrowed as he realized that whatever was bothering her must be more serious than he initially thought. 'Well, whatever. She'll tell me when she's ready.'

Syèl pushed the matter to the back of his mind as he followed a maid to his room. The rest of the Maggots also dispersed, promising to meet back in about thirty minutes.

Genaco Entertainment HQ,

Tokyo, Japan.

9:30 p.m. 25th June 2024.

Director of L.N.E and head developer, Justin Tan sat in a dimly lit conference room, studying the images on the smart wall next to him. If Suzuki was present, he would have recognized the video playing as cherrypicked moments from Kashi's life this past week.

Ever since their humiliating retreat at Meilfour, Justin Tan had held a deep-rooted grudge against Kashi and the Hopeful Maggots. He instinctively hated anyone who acted like they were better than him, even more so, someone who humiliated him in public. Unfortunately, Adjudicators were bound by so much red tape that he could not personally act against the daeben or his avatar would be destroyed.

Luckily, Adjudicators were allowed to place surveillance on 'persons of interest' within L.N.E. This feature was put in place after it was found out that some traffickers used King's Journey to discuss their trade with clients, and exchange gold. It was meant to allow the company to acquire proof of criminal activity since most criminals wiped their recordings after each playthrough.

Justin was abusing this privilege to keep tabs on the daeben, but even he knew he could not keep this up for long. Eventually, it would revoke his permission and stop his surveillance. Until then, he had to acquire enough information about how the daeben and his guild operated to destroy them, and acquire her.

Whoosh!

The conference room's door swished open, drawing Justin's thoughts back to reality. The director turned to the doorway to see an excited intern clutching a stack of papers in his right hand.

"Justin-san!" The intern excitedly shouted as he waved the sheet. "I found it! I found it, Justin-san!"

Justin frowned, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the young man and cautioned, "Slow down Hana-kun! Use your words! What did you find?"

"Kashi's information! His real name!" The intern called Hana announced as he ran up to Justin and plopped a stack of papers on the table.

"What!?" Justin's exclaimed in shock as he picked up the papers and began examining the contents. "Where'd you get this?"

"Hehe," the intern proudly laughed as he rubbed his nose. "I thought Kashi might have participated in King's Journey, so I tracked his current ID to see if it matched any data we had in King's Journey."

"How'd you get the ID? Everything's blocked?"

"It was in the file we received before," Hana revealed. "The data might have corrupted, but I made sure to memorize the ID."

"That's a series of 20 digits!" Justin raised his eyes, shock in them as he gave the intern a once-over. "You memorized all that?"

Hana laughed as he nodded. "I used to play memorization games as a kid." The intern then pointed at a sheet of paper and said, "It was hard to find, but I managed to dig up an old draft for a contract between the Broadcasting Division and a Mato Suzuki. Get this... His avatar was the famous Razznik Y'Terlow!" The intern shivered and rubbed his arms as he said, "Oof, I'm getting goosebumps. To think he was such a legend!"

Justin's eyes however had turned red with rage as he gripped the sheet of paper. "Razznik! So it's not just once, but twice that this kid has humiliated me!" Looking at the intern, he asked, "What did you say his name was again?"

Hana pointed at a different sheet of paper as he said, "The contract is signed to a Mr and Mrs. Daichi, but only as guardians for a Mato Suzuki. Judging by the name difference, he was probably adopted."

Justin's eyes shook with excitement as he clutched the paper and glared at the other name on the sheet. The promisor of this contract was none other than Shouyou James himself. Now, why would this high-level CEO take part in such a low-level contract?

Hold on. Could it be?

Justin asked, for confirmation. "Hey, kid. What's the boy's name again?"

"Mato Suzuki. Why?"

"Mato. Mato. Mato." Justin repeated, his gaze unfocused as he suddenly pulled out his phone. "It can't be, can it?" The director, disbelieving his hypothesis, pulled up an ex-employee's personnel file. He skipped through the fluff until he reached the next of kin fields.

Justin's eyes went wide, a massive grin spreading on his face as he burst into laughter, "Hahahaha! What kind of coincidence is this!? Good! This is good! Now I get to pay back this debt!" A sinister light appeared in his eyes as he turned to Hana and instructed, "Get the Virtual Drives ready! I'll be going in any minute now."

Hana ran out of the room to prep the device, leaving Justin to stare at the wall with an evil smile, and eyes filled with hatred and scorn. "Don't worry," he muttered as he rose to his feet, and made his way out of the room, "...I'll take good care of your son."

Back in the room, the image on the wall flickered, revealing a handsome man in his twenties with sullen, sunken eyes. Underneath the image, his name flashed for a moment, before the image disappeared.

Mato Ryumaki – Lead Project Designer.

A/N: A bit of a curveball here... Who is Mato Ryumaki? And what does Justin intend to do with this information? 

Find out next time on DragonBal... *cough* Parallel!

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