Chapter 419: Shido Masayoshi's Provocation
"Indeed, this is considered fair."
Kaguya Shinomiya thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Although Shido Masayoshi doesn't know our identities, that is an intelligence advantage we obtained in the real world through our own abilities. It has nothing to do with the death game's system."
"The problem is..."
Yuuki Asuna frowned slightly and asked,
"Will the system agree?"
Hearing the question Yuuki Asuna raised, Asagiri showed a slight smile and lightly tapped the phone screen with his index finger.
"Reply."
"Reply? How could it..."
Just as Yuuki Asuna was halfway through her retort, she saw thick red mist emerge from Asagiri's phone screen.
Then it slowly condensed into a single character.
[Yes.]
Yuuki Asuna was stunned for a moment, then revealed a speechless expression.
"It actually replied..."
"This is also the situation the system wants to see."
Asagiri turned off the phone screen and spoke in a relaxed tone with a smile.
"Since the conflict between the two sides is irreconcilable, rather than risking large scale destruction by clashing in the real world, it's better to decide the winner in the Dungeon's other world."
"The system is the collective will of the worlds. From its perspective, if it can control the damage as much as possible while ensuring the fairness of the game, that would be the best outcome."
"So that's how it is..."
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside Miwa Ashikaga's office, followed by an even more urgent knock on the door.
"Come in."
Miwa Ashikaga frowned slightly.
She did not let the person outside in. Instead, she stood up herself and walked over to open the door.
Looking at the middle aged male teacher outside, who had clearly been running and was sweating profusely, she spoke in a calm voice.
"Teacher Amuro, what is the matter? As a teacher at Shuchiin Academy, running in the hallway like this, what would the students think if they saw you?"
"Sorry, Chairman Ashikaga..."
The male teacher raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then hurriedly spoke.
"Someone is looking for you."
"Looking for me?"
"Yes, it is..."
The male teacher looked very nervous and lowered his voice.
"Cabinet Councilman Shido Masayoshi."
"Shido Masayoshi..."
Miwa Ashikaga did not show any special reaction upon hearing this. She only nodded and said,
"Take Mr. Shido to the Chairman's office first. I will go over in a moment."
"Okay."
After closing the office door again, Miwa Ashikaga looked at Asagiri, who was sitting on the sofa, and frowned.
"What should we do?"
A hint of coldness flashed through Kaguya Shinomiya's red eyes as she spoke coldly.
"Why don't we just take action right here?"
"No, it's too strange."
Iwanaga Kotoko pursed her lips, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.
"Teacher Ashikaga is the founder of the Ashikaga Budo Association. That isn't a secret."
"It's strange that he suddenly came to Shuchiin Academy today, even though he terminated cooperation with the Ashikaga Budo Association not long ago."
Fujiwara Chika tilted her head and offered her own opinion.
"Anyway, as long as Asagiri uses the Supreme Magic Bullet, it'll be fine, right?"
Hayasaka Ai frowned and retorted,
"The Supreme Magic Bullet is not an ability that cannot be countered at all. In the battle with Nyx a while ago, didn't he fail to use the Supreme Magic Bullet effectively?"
"I agree with Hayasaka."
Although Yuuki Asuna also wanted to kill Shido Masayoshi directly here, her personality was not reckless enough to ignore the consequences.
"If Shido Masayoshi possesses some kind of ability to resist the Supreme Magic Bullet, then we will clash with him here."
"Moreover, Shido Masayoshi is visiting Teacher Ashikaga."
"As a Cabinet Councilman, if something happens to him within Shuchiin Academy, Teacher Ashikaga and the Ashikaga Budo Association she controls will inevitably be suspected. It will also bring trouble to each of us."
After Yuuki Asuna, Hayasaka Ai, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Iwanaga Kotoko all expressed their opinions, Asagiri looked at Fujiwara Chika and asked,
"Chika, what do you think?"
"Hmm... I'm not too sure either."
Fujiwara Chika first showed a simple and sweet smile, then spoke in that innocent tone.
"But I always feel that the guy cut off cooperation with the Ashikaga Budo Association, and then suddenly came to visit today. It gives me the feeling that he hopes a conflict will happen."
"It feels like he's fishing for a sting operation."
"I have the same feeling."
Asagiri shrugged and smiled.
"This Shido Masayoshi even came here to fish for information from us."
"Ashikaga-sensei, why don't you go ahead and hear what he has to say?"
"I can roughly guess. He'll probably try to provoke you with an arrogant attitude, trying to get you to attack him."
"But I believe you can handle him. After all..."
"Shido Masayoshi is nothing but a clown who doesn't know his death is approaching."
...
Ten minutes later, inside the Chairman's office of Shuchiin Private Academy.
"Mr. Shido Masayoshi."
Hearing the door open, Shido Masayoshi, who was standing by the window, turned around.
He watched Miwa Ashikaga walk in at a leisurely pace.
His face, which appeared righteous and imposing, held not a trace of a smile.
He spoke slowly, with an air of condescension.
"You should address me as Councilman."
"Pfft."
To Shido Masayoshi's surprise, faced with his haughty words, Miwa Ashikaga showed neither anger nor displeasure.
Instead, she directly laughed out loud.
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
Seeing Shido Masayoshi's furrowed brows and the anger appearing on his face, Miwa Ashikaga waved her hand dismissively and spoke in a tone that could not hide her amusement.
"For some reason, I suddenly remembered the phrase jumping clown and couldn't help laughing. My apologies."
"You..."
Anger appeared on Shido Masayoshi's face.
Knowing that Miwa Ashikaga was deliberately mocking him, he could not help clenching his fists.
"Hmph. You won't be able to maintain such an arrogant attitude for much longer."
Shido Masayoshi looked directly into Miwa Ashikaga's eyes and spoke in a low voice.
"Lately, your Ashikaga Budo Association and those few Player factions have been quite high profile."
"Don't forget, Tokyo is also the stronghold of the official Player faction."
"Your status is merely that of assistants to the official side. Know your place."
"Official? Assistants?"
Faced with Shido Masayoshi's haughty speech, Miwa Ashikaga simply walked past him on her own and sat down at the head of the conference table.
Only then did she speak unhurriedly.
"During the last Dead Realm descent incident, how many innocent citizens would have been sacrificed if not for our Ashikaga Budo Association?"
"Our Ashikaga Budo Association is the strongest Player faction in Tokyo."
"No, in the entire Sakura Province."
"As for you? You are just a Cabinet Councilman, Shido Masayoshi."
"You are not the so called official side. Don't think you can bind yourself to the official side and use so called righteousness to pressure others."
"Such a boring trick."
"You are far too arrogant!"
Shido Masayoshi slammed the table heavily, looking down at Miwa Ashikaga as he spoke slowly.
"Uniting with so many Player factions, what exactly are your intentions, Ashikaga Budo Association..."
"No, what exactly are your intentions, Miwa Ashikaga!?"
"And with training equipment like the NERvGear, why don't you proactively provide it to the official side!?"
"Because I don't want to."
After all, Miwa Ashikaga was a descendant of a warrior noble family, the Chairman of Shuchiin Private Academy, and the founder of the strongest Player faction, the Ashikaga Budo Association.
Even facing a Cabinet Councilman like Shido Masayoshi, she showed not the slightest hint of stage fright.
She spoke plainly.
"NERvGear is something we independently researched and developed."
"We'll provide it to whomever we wish."
"Provide it to the official side? Don't make me laugh."
"This time it's NERvGear. Next time it'll be equipment and items. The time after that, you'll want the Players of our Ashikaga Budo Association to escort you through Dungeons."
"To avoid you pushing your luck, it's better to keep things clearly separate from the start."
"Miwa Ashikaga..."
Shido Masayoshi placed both hands on the table and slowly leaned forward, looking directly into Miwa Ashikaga's eyes as he spoke in a low voice.
"Do you intend to make an enemy of the official side?"
"I've already said it. Don't bind yourself together with the official side."
"And..."
At this point, a sudden chill flashed through Miwa Ashikaga's eyes, and her voice became icy cold.
"We are the side with greater power."
"If you make an enemy of us, you'd better think carefully about your own fate."
"Are you threatening me, a Cabinet Councilman?"
"No."
Miwa Ashikaga shook her head, stood up, and looked at Shido Masayoshi before her.
Her eyes revealed disdain and contempt, and a faint smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"Your fate is already sealed."
"Oh right, how did you put it?"
"Ah, yes."
Here, Miwa Ashikaga paused, raised her hand to adjust the gold rimmed glasses she was wearing, and smiled.
"You won't be able to maintain such an arrogant attitude for much longer."
.....
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