"I am thrilled to meet all of you. As you already know, I am Sofia Campbell, and I will be joining your group as the special sixth member for a year." Sofia smiled and slightly raised her skirt as a greeting.
They were inside room 420, where they always met. After that annoying introduction, the class created an uproar, especially around Kai, so they decided to take this talk elsewhere.
Tasha could imagine what happened earlier. "Let me see… If I am transferring at this time, I will sit around you. Left and right is not possible because of Michelle and Ayaka, so front or behind. Which one is it?"
"Behind," Michelle answered with a cold voice. Now that she became a second year, Michelle and Ayaka had the chance to be in the same class, but Sofia ruined it all.
"Many people must come to her place with great interest, more than Ayaka and me. Kai doesn't really have that much trouble because Michelle is calming down the crowd. However, Sofia will cause a big one because she is already famous in the EU Base. And before she spouts any nonsense, it's better to clarify with her first, so you bring her here." Tasha placed her hand on her cheek and rested it on the table.
"Yeah. I need to discuss what she can disclose or not since I don't want any trouble." Kai nodded. "I have told you guys about this before, and now that she joins this group, do you have an opinion?"
"Just make sure that she is not disturbing everyone with some random stuff." Evan was the first to raise his hand. "I mean. I know that this will be Captain's love nest, but you should also look at our teacher. She is ready to kill you—!"
Sanae grabbed his head and smiled. "You little brat. What did you say? Did you say I don't have a boyfriend?"
"I didn't say anything, Ma'am. I apologize for my rude behavior." Evan immediately bowed his head.
"You can only say this because you now become conscious about that little girl. Now I wonder whether you will choose to leave this group… Well, if that happens, this group will truly become Kai's love nest. Maybe I should join as well? Look at him! Even though he is not rich, there are still the Graham Family and Kudo Group behind him. If we also calculate his childhood sweetheart and this new girl. EU Base and Yajima Family will join the fray.
"After that, I still need to calculate his military rank and exploit. I think he will soon become a rich guy as well. Still, I can't stand how… Wait, I should also tell this to the new girl." Sanae realized something and walked toward Sofia, grabbing her shoulder. "I need to warn you about one thing."
"What is it, Teacher?" Sofia tilted her head in confusion.
"This is the only reason why I choose to put him on my blacklist." Sanae's expression turned serious. "He is a problem magnet. And you are also one of the problems."
"Eh? What do you mean?" Sofia blinked her eyes a few times, confused.
Sanae ignored her words because she recalled another thing. "Now that I think about this… I don't know if I should pity you or not since this is your decision. Anyway, just good luck, and try to enjoy your stay."
She completely said the same thing as Kai back in the conference. These words always occupied her mind because she didn't understand what Kai meant.
Before she could say another thing, the door was pushed open by an old man.
"Yo, little brats! How are you? Do you miss me? It's a shame that I can't join the previous happy occasion."
"Sir Nathan!" Kai sighed.
Just as Sanae told her about the problem magnet, one of the problems just came to him.
"I have a mission for you guys… Well, it's for all since this is a Raid Mission for your second year." Nathan grinned before leaping toward Kai and Michelle. "Oh, my granddaughter and grandson-in-law, I am sorry that I couldn't see little Anthony together with you."
Their expressions were distorted as they were holding their anger. Kai let out a long sigh and asked, "Is this going to be the S rank magical beast?"
"Correct." Nathan nodded before noticing the new girl. "Heh, to think I can see a thieving cat from the EU Base."
Sofia's eyebrows twitched as she forced a smile and answered him. "I don't know what you are talking about. Besides, I have searched your Graham Family background and found a great story behind it. You never approved of Kai Carter even as your granddaughter's friend in the past, right? Only after Ria Ross took him in, you decided to let it be? I don't know what should I call you other than a sly old fox?"
"Hoho! I didn't know what you were talking about. I only approved their relationship because I was moved by their determination and how he changed my granddaughter for the better." Nathan paused for a moment and said, "Isn't the EU Base the same? You just can't realize someone's potential unless they are big, unlike me. Well, I am pretty satisfied with this grandson-in-law, and Michelle also loves him, so who cares?"
"Tch." Sofia clicked her tongue. "I am just thinking about giving him his exoskeleton now, I will just let you steal the show for now since we don't need someone too old here."
"Better to respect an old person like myself, little girl." Nathan snorted.
Before these two could say another word, Kai decided to move on the conversation. "Anyway, Sir Nathan. I think it's better to learn about the mission first. We are going to be pretty busy soon."
"Fine." Nathan shrugged and handed him the document. "The mission this time is to kill the last S rank magical beast that plagues Southern America. It's a Brazilian Wandering Spider."
"!!!" Michelle and the others widened their eyes while Kai squinted his eyes as he took the document. "When?"
"Probably October. There are some characteristics that we need to adjust. First of all, we are going in October because we don't want a spider to sneak among the trees. As you know, those areas are pretty awful with trees everywhere. That's why we will wait until fall. Its size is around a small car, so I don't think it will be able to sneak attack us if there is no hiding spot.
"The problem will be its children. We have spotted several children the size of two humans. Although their power isn't that big, only at B or A rank magical beasts, their poison is dangerous. One bite and you are out."
Kai thought for a moment. "I thought they were in Brazil, but that place has been taken over by the army, right?"
"Yeah. That's why they move to the south and reside within Argentina." Nathan nodded. "Anyway, the details are in the documents. We are going to have you as the strategist as well and because the situation is a bit special. They elevate General Ria Ross's rank to 5-Star. So, she will lead this war. There will be four 4-Star Generals like me that will accompany you. After all, we won't be dealing with a single S rank magical beast. There is another major problem."
Kai nodded with a solemn expression. "How many magical beasts out there for the base to mobilize four generals like that?"
"Around one hundred thousand. Each general will have ten thousand soldiers to hold back this army while Ria Ross led a hundred elites with the lowest are A rank magicians. Our base has five S Rank magicians at the moment if we include your sister. Only three will be mobilized in this mission. In other words, other than Tasha and Michelle, only one other guy came."
"Where are the two people then?" Kai couldn't understand. This is a major event. Back then, they used all three S Rank magicians under Ria's command, but they chose not to this time.
"It can't be helped. One of them needs to stay inside the base to ensure its safety while the other needs to take care of the army in the north." Nathan sighed. "That's why they send four 4-Star Generals instead of two."
Kai clicked his tongue. He finally understood the reason why they needed to protect their army in Canada and the base itself. There were two problems. The first one might be dangerous as well because they could create Zodiacs. In other words, the threat would come from within, thus the real intent of having one S rank magician to stay inside the base. As for the other one, it was the most important factor in their plan. The Protector.
"Because the government doesn't know where they will be attacked, they decide to station one of the S ranks in Canada since Southern America is full of soldiers. Is that right?" Kai asked.
"Yeah. If the north doesn't have any protection, they might target them, destroying our progress." Nathan nodded.
"How about Graham Family's army? Are they staying in the base to protect the potential attack from the sea?"
"Basically. But the government has strengthened Cuba, so we should be able to react or at least get some information before everything happens, so we will only be reserves."
Kai thought for a moment. "We can't really get more soldiers… Can't we?"
"Yes. This is the maximum we can get. The danger level might be higher than the previous Raid Mission, but I will assure you that we have no intention of losing. And because of this, although you are a strategist, your rank is still far below the others, so proceed carefully."
"I understand. I will see what I can do… I will also talk about it with Teacher." Kai sighed. 'To think that Teacher can become a Marshal. This is the title that can be received when the base makes a war. I think this might be our biggest battle.'