The Great Gamble

Within the Twilight Manor, before the screen that showed the Hestia Familia's status, the executives of the Loki Familia were gathered in one room to watch the War Game.

"Do you think they can win? Of course, without using those ridiculous moves that sacrifice themselves. And I heard that the strange Amazoness isn't with them.", asked Bete with furrowed brows.

Hearing that Tiona immediately made a smug expression, "Hoho~ Since when did you become interested in them?"

Bete instantly flared up at her remark, "Hah!? Since those strange techniques came from them, of course, I would be curious, you dumb Amazoness!"

"Hah!? What was that, you dumb mutt!? Want me to test out what I learned from those 'strange' techniques!?"

"Haah... Cease it.", Riveria sighed and reprimanded them.

Laughing quietly, Finn spoke up, "I'm also curious if they could win this. According to Bete, Yoruichi Shihouin could come toe-to-toe against a Level 5 with just her martial arts, but she isn't here and we only know the other three members' abilities."

"Even if they could fight on par with a Level 3-4, it would still be very hard for them to win against that number. And even if Kisuke Urahara has the same mastery of martial arts as Yoruichi Shihouin, I can't imagine them taking on an unending stream of enemies and magic from all directions."

Different from monsters, Adventurers could strategize and act according to the situation. So even if an army of the same strength and number of monsters to go against the current Apollo Familia, the monsters would instantly lose.

Finn then looked towards the screen, "As my experience dictates, their chances of winning are very close to none unless they have something clever planned for them."

Even if they could, the girls hadn't said a word about what happened on the beach. Finn, Gareth, and Bete didn't know that Koneko could easily deflect Lefiya's magic with her bare hands. Before telling them, they decided to practice the techniques they were taught back then since they had a feeling that they wouldn't really believe them without showing any proof.

"That's where you're wrong.", muttered Riveria.

"Hmm?"

"Your conclusion is based on your experience, however, you're still grounded by common sense. For that group, common sense doesn't really work."

"For you to say that, could you tell us now what really transpired back then?"

Riveria looked around before sighing yet again, "I don't really want to say this without a way to prove it, but using this 'Ki', Koneko Toujou was able to deflect Lefiya's magic with just her bare hand without taking any damage."

"W-what!?", Bete exclaimed, "How is that possible!?"

Finn also furrowed his brows, "Right... How is that possible? They've never shown something like that, nor did they seem to be capable of it when they're with us."

Tiona then raised her hand, "I can attest to that! It was really an amazing thing. I tried copying it but I only end up injuring my arm whenever I try to catch Lefiya's magic!"

"So when you invited Lefiya the other day after learning a little bit, it was so that you could try copying her?" Tione wanted to smack her stupid sister's head 'cause maybe that could fix her.

"We also don't know why they didn't show anything remotely similar to that when they were in the expedition, but I assume that they leveled up or something changed in them when they fell unconscious," Riveria answered Finn's question with her hypothesis.

"If what you're saying is true, then we're in for a great show.", replied Finn with anticipation.

All of the girls' expressions stiffened up. If Kisuke were to use his real abilities, it wouldn't just be a great show. It'd be the advent of the Demon King. Though they were absolutely sure that he wouldn't be using that kind of power in this game after they'd been asked to keep Serafall and Kisuke's 'sparring' a secret.

"We'll also have to spread the information regarding magic control and 'Ki' after this game.", added Riveria after she cleared her throat.

"To mitigate the chaos and confusion that they'll be causing, huh? Well, I also think it's bad to monopolize this idea if it really has such potential. We wouldn't want to become enemies to everyone."

Immediately after, the scenery changed and showed the Hestia Familia, which caused everyone in the Loki Familia to be speechless.

"Fuhahahahaha! I really like this guy!" Gareth suddenly started laughing out loud.

"Are they not taking this seriously?" Bete asked.

Hearing that, the girls only thought, 'It'll be over in an instant if he were to take them seriously.'

.

.

.

Everyone from the Hestia and Artemis Familia, except for Kuroka and Yoruichi, were present and currently enjoyed some delicious meals from the Hostess of Fertility. In contrast, the atmosphere around them was awkward, as the other patrons who were watching the War Game were also present, not knowing what to make out of this situation.

"Syr-san~ Another serving of salad please~!", Kisuke called out.

"Ah, I'll have one too.", Sona followed up.

"I'd like more of this pasta, please.", Aika added.

Soon enough, each one of them ordered more food of their liking while the screen displayed their actions.

"Nii-chan! We're on TV!", Claire excitedly pointed out.

"Indeed~ Say hi to everyone."

The delighted child figured out where the invisible camera was and started waving while facing that direction.

"But it really feels strange seeing yourself on a live screen.", commented Aika.

"I don't like the feeling.", replied Koneko.

Meanwhile, Serafall started complaining, "Seriously, if I knew something like this was going to happen. I would have worn my Magical Girl uniform and not this plain and boring Adventurer attire."

Sona instantly shuddered at her words, "Please spare us from that, Nee-sama."

Medusa looked towards Kisuke and said, "Master, I would also like it if I could wear my uniform. It's not like I'll be fighting anyway."

"Denied. We'll look too chaotic.", replied Kisuke.

"Since when did you become concerned about appearance?", asked Irina with big bags under her eyes.

"Just now~!"

"How are you all still so energetic?", asked Akeno with all seriousness while being in a similar state as Irina. The two of them almost didn't stop fighting the dummies, neither did the other three 'trainees'. However, it was very obvious that they still had a lot of energy to spare despite going through the same thing.

"You'll get used to it or rather, you'll learn how to recover fast out of necessity. Else, you'll be in for a world of pain... Literally.", answered Aika.

Their food was ready and it was brought by Ryuu, "It seems that you're confident."

"Compared to shaking in our boots from fear, this is a lot better.", responded Kisuke.

Ryuu couldn't help but smile when she saw that, not just Claire, but also Ophis was making weird poses in front of the 'camera' before looking at themselves on the screen. It seems that they were enjoying themselves to the fullest, despite the latter being expressionless.

"Even for a fast horse, it'll take about half a day to reach the Shreme Castle. Are you sure it's fine to take your time?" Ryuu asked again, because she didn't want them to lose because of a blunder like underestimating the needed time to arrive on the battlefield.

Kisuke grinned and said, "I'd like to make the festivities livelier so, we'll go there after doing so~"

"Make it livelier?"

Kisuke didn't answer and instead faced the 'camera', "Ehem~ Good morning, everyone~! Captain of the Hestia Familia, Kisuke Urahara, speaking~!"

The speechless residents of Labyrinth City woke up and started listening carefully, "It seems that no one was wagering on this game at the betting stations. Some individuals thought that it's a useless endeavor due to how stacked the situation was against us, making a large portion of today's event fun disappear."

It's obvious for everyone that this was the case, however, they don't know why Kisuke was mentioning this now.

"But fear not for I'll be opening a wager~! Since we're already betting our everything here, I thought, why not bring it up to another notch!? Hence, if Loki-sama and Hephaestus-sama were to agree to give me a loan, I'll pay whoever bets on the Apollo Familia's win, doubling their money!... Well, you have to forego 10% of your earnings for the tax to those who'll be managing this."

Murmurs started spreading throughout the whole city wondering what this madman was thinking. But before any of them could come up with a conclusion, Loki's voice resounded throughout the whole of Orario, "Phae-tan and I agree~! We'll also manage the stakes for you. But if you lose, you'll be working for us your whole life~!"

A few seconds of silence prevailed before an eruption of cheers ran through the city. Adventurers started rushing towards the Hephaestus and Loki Familia to 'offer' their money while thinking that it was an easy income.

Tiona couldn't help but mutter, "They'll become public enemies after this..."