In the world of anime and manga, the best partners

Diluc sighed and rubbed his forehead. There were just too many things to deal with lately, and he was just an ordinary person without star power, so he naturally looked much more haggard than before, and even lost weight.

However, as long as the plan goes smoothly, it will all be worth it!

"Sandogne?"

"I still need to investigate her background, preferably her motives..."

"Why was it that I survived by meeting her?"

When faced with death, most people would grasp at any straw, but Diluc is inherently suspicious... He would never act rashly unless he knew the inside story!

"So, we still need to make contact and test the waters?"

-

Soon, a month had passed.

With the official end of the Wanglong Star Martial Arts Festival, the hype surrounding the festival has finally subsided.

The students at the regular college returned to their studies, while the girls at Quenville continued their entertainment careers, releasing new songs online.

Of course, for the singers of Quenville, releasing new songs online is just a way to slowly build up their fame.

The truly famous divas, whom Quenwei'er considers pillars of the industry, don't need these things at all. They can simply hold a concert and countless fans will buy tickets to attend, even if it's a brand new song that has never been released before.

Individuals or groups possessing these special rights are extremely rare, even among Quinnville, and certainly no more than a handful.

As the world's number one diva, Sylvia naturally enjoys such special rights, and even the conglomerate behind her will try to promote her to further enhance her fame.

Apart from that, they were all singers and bands who had already become famous several years ago…

However, an unexpected event occurred this year.

The newly joined girl, Columbia, defeated the Poison Witch head-on on the Star Festival stage, bringing her reputation to its highest level. She even seemed to be able to rival the national idol, Sylvie.

It's worth noting that Sylvia has accumulated a fanbase over several years and has spent considerable resources from the conglomerate to reach her current status.

Columbia, a freshman who had just joined, made a name for herself by taking advantage of the momentum of the Wanglong Star Martial Arts Festival, and even won the championship that Sylvie had never won.

As a result, Columbia has become a hot commodity. As long as the conglomerate is willing to invest resources, it can cultivate a songstress even more powerful than Sylvia!

Taking advantage of Columbia's rise to become the champion dragon king, the girl's fame can be further enhanced.

In this way, the next "world's number one diva" is practically predetermined.

And Columbia will also be leaving temporarily... This moon goddess girl who possesses the power of three months is about to embark on her first global concert!

"But before that, we need to take care of the wish first, otherwise it could take half a year before we can see him..."

Columbia could sense that Diluc had already taken action, but... she couldn't let him succeed so easily, right?

-

Diluc sat in the limousine arranged by the academy, listening quietly to his subordinates' reports, then frowned slightly.

Why hasn't she come out yet?

It's best to keep the "Golden Bough Alliance" a secret as few people as possible. Diluc can't make a big fuss about going to Seidoukan Academy or contacting Sandone through an intermediary.

The best way to contact someone is to visit them in person when they are out and talk to them face to face.

This not only avoids eavesdropping by surveillance software, but also allows you to see the other person's expression directly and guess more about their thoughts.

What Diluc didn't expect was...

What about Sandogne?

Wasn't the Wang Longxing Martial Arts Festival over?

Why does this guy always stay inside the academy and never go out?

He couldn't possibly have died in the lab, could he?

Diluc had made thorough preparations, even rehearsing his lines, but to his surprise, he couldn't even see the other person's face. It was truly bizarre!

"Didn't the intelligence indicate that Columbia and Sandoni met outside? How did these two meet?"

"One person is running all over the world, shouting nonsense everywhere, while the other stays at home and never even leaves the house. If you don't believe there's something fishy going on, I don't believe it!"

The longer it dragged on, the more anxious Diluc became, because he didn't know if Ophelia could handle things properly. He only knew that the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be, but the problem of his identity being exposed was equally serious.

But of all these things, what worried Diluc the most was the prophecy... In these days, he had his secretary perform divination several times.

But the more I consulted the oracle, the more alarmed I became by the results.

Because things have gotten worse!

Let's skip the arguments and get straight to the point...

If Diluc does nothing, he will die a terrible death; if Diluc does something but doesn't seek out Sandoni, he will still die a terrible death; if he seeks out Columbia…

The divination yielded no results because Corona had already lost consciousness before the divination results were available, and she was eventually hospitalized.

This is why Diluc has been working alone during this period, since his secretary is not here.

Got it!

Since he was going to die either way, Diluc only had one choice left.

The red-haired fat man never imagined that one day he would place his hopes for survival on a "homebody girl".

"What a terrible experience!"

Columbia & Sandoni/Academic City: Chapter 49 Playing Tricks

Such days did not last long. After all, Sandone had no intention of ignoring the allies of the Golden Bough. He simply stalled for time, intending to take the initiative into his own hands.

So after conducting experiments for more than half a month, he made some simple disguises and left the laboratory, claiming it was to "relax his mind".

But in reality, Sandone had already made thorough preparations and was just waiting for the biggest fish in the lake to take the bait!

"Oh? I heard that the intelligence agency of the Levof Black is called the 'Black Cat Agency.' Are they really all disguised as black cats?"

Knowing this clue, Sandonne deliberately avoided crowds when leaving Seidokan Academy, but did not avoid the black cats, and even deliberately walked past them.

To be honest, there have been more cats at the Seidoukan recently than before, which can only mean that Diluc is starting to get anxious, but he doesn't want to expose himself by contacting Claudia.

"Meow~"

Just as Sandoni was passing by a small park, a black cat suddenly emerged from the bushes and came to Sandoni's side, affectionately rubbing against Sandoni's leg.

Clearly, this was no ordinary black cat, but an intelligence agent disguised as a black cat, who, after encountering Sandone, intended to keep it here and wait for Diluc's arrival.

Even if they can't hold them off, they need to know Sandone's next move so that Diluc can find her. But...

"You're from the Black Cat Organization, aren't you?"

Sandonne had no intention of getting entangled with the other party. Since the tactic of delaying time had already succeeded more than halfway, there was no need to do anything extra. He could just go and see Diluc directly.

"What, Diluc is planning to look for me?"

The Black Cat Agency of Levov is generally inaccessible to ordinary people. Apart from the student council president of the academy, only the higher-ups of the conglomerate can directly mobilize it.

However, nothing major has happened in the floating city yet, so why would the higher-ups of the conglomerate step forward? Therefore, the only person who could have sent the Black Cat Agency to find him is Diluc Ebelvan!

Both Sandoni and Columbia have realized this fact and have begun to plan for Ophelia's transfer.

Now, it's time to reap the rewards!

The black cat in front of them clearly hadn't expected Sandone to say such a thing; its pupils even contracted, a fact that was barely noticeable unless one looked closely.

But who exactly is Sandonne?

As the seventh seat of the Fatui Enforcers, she possesses considerable strength and intelligence, and can even create targeted weapons based on the characteristics of her enemies.

With her discerning eye, she naturally noticed that the cat in front of her was extraordinary... In fact, it wasn't just this one black cat; almost all the black cats Sandonne had encountered along her journey after leaving the academy were actually Star Pulse Generation members in disguise.

I never expected Diluc to be this anxious.

Aren't you going to answer me?

Seeing that the little black cat in front of him had no reaction, Sandonne seemed to have lost all interest and turned to leave.

Given Black Cat's current situation, he naturally intended to continue following him, but Sandonne's words brought him to a halt.

"In that case, I'll just go back to the Star Guide Hall... Anyway, with my current ranking in the academy, people will bring me food even if I don't leave the hall. After all, I'm quite valuable, don't you think?"

Ignoring the cat that had paused behind her, Sandonne lifted her foot to leave, but she had only taken one step forward when a man's voice came from behind her...

"Please wait a moment!"

Sandoni turned his head, and just as he had expected, the black cat had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a masked man dressed in what looked like a ninja outfit.

Judging from his attire alone, it was clear this man couldn't possibly live in the sunlight. Furthermore, Sandonne sensed a faint, almost imperceptible, bloodthirsty aura emanating from him…

Only those who have killed people have such bloodlust!

However, compared to the original Fatui, they are still far inferior...

"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier? It would have saved me so much time."

"Furthermore, since it's the student council president of Revof Black who wants to talk to me, he must be prepared to pay the price, right?"

Looking at the Black Cat Agency personnel in front of her, Sandone smiled. Just as she had calculated, things were developing in her favor.

The man shrouded in darkness remained silent for a long time before a voice emanated from him… but it was clearly not his own voice, but rather the voice of the virtual screen beside him.

"Of course, I will pay you the compensation you want."

The voice was very deep, but it wasn't hard to imagine who it belonged to, because there was no other option but Diluc.

Within minutes, Sandoni followed the "black cat" to the edge of a path.

It wasn't exactly a secluded spot, but it was clearly a place that rarely saw people. At the very moment Sandonne arrived, a black limousine turned the corner and stopped right in front of him.

As the car door opened, a fat man with red hair appeared before Sandoni.

“Come on up…we have plenty of time to talk.”

Diluc, the "King of Ruthlessness," had a complicated expression, because he never imagined that he would one day have to beg someone for help...

All I can say is that the prophecy is incredibly valuable.

-

"Tell me, what exactly is the purpose of sending so many Black Cat Organization personnel to the vicinity of the Star Guide Hall these past few days?"

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Seeing Diluc's complicated expression, Sandone acted as if the person she was talking to was not the student council president of an academy, but a subordinate of the Fatui.

"..."

"What do you want? I will do my best to get it for you, and I hope you will agree to my... request."

Although Sandone's attitude has always been the same, he would say provocative things even to people he knew well.

But Diluc didn't think so. After all, he was a suspicious man, and even small details would arouse a lot of speculation in him.

So he abandoned the probing and chose to get straight to the point.

even…

They lowered their stance!

In this city, who can make Diluc lower his stance?

Sandone was probably the first, wasn't he?

So Sandonne smiled…

"Very good, I like your straightforwardness now, it saves a lot of pointless nonsense. In that case, I'll get straight to the point..."

"What I want is... to fulfill Columbia's wish!"

Upon hearing this, Diluc's eyes widened.

Clever as he was, he quickly connected all the clues, weaving a web that came very close to the truth.

"You... teamed up to trick me?"

Columbia & Sandoni/Academic City: Chapter 50 The Moon Queen's Fools