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When Sato saw his ally show up in such a miserable state right before the competition was about to begin, an inexplicable fury flared in his chest, causing his anger to spike.
Now that he and Maya were allies, someone hitting her was basically the same as slapping him in the face.
Looking at Maya's once-pretty face now swollen and badly bruised, Sato himself felt humiliated, as if he'd been slapped across the face several times.
"Who did this to you?"
Especially after hearing what she had just said, Sato's face turned ice cold. He brought his hands together and propped up his chin, then asked with a chilling tone and a gaze full of murderous intent as Maya, now wearing her sunglasses and mask again, sat opposite him.
Although Sato knew that his alliance with Maya was one of mutual benefit, he couldn't deny that she had helped him a great deal.
She had shown genuine sincerity, leaking many key pieces of information to him ahead of time, allowing him to prepare thoroughly for the upcoming match.
So in Sato's mind, Maya was a decent ally. On a scale of 1 to 10, she was at least a 7—worth continuing to work with.
But now, this ally had been beaten up and was even suggesting she might quit. That caught Sato off guard.
In his plans, Maya played a crucial role. Without her, while the plan wouldn't collapse entirely, at least half of it would.
Having a teammate who could teleport was invaluable. Even if her direct combat power wasn't great, her presence would drastically improve the team's survivability. Many dangerous scenarios could become completely manageable.
In short, Maya was now an important ally to Sato—one he had to do his best to keep around. He couldn't afford to just let her go.
"Who else could it be? My dear 'colleagues,' of course. They found me today. Sure, they said they'd welcome me back, but their real condition was that I act like their attendant. So I told them off, and this is what happened."
Maya seemed quite satisfied with Sato's current attitude as an ally. She didn't hide anything and gritted her teeth as she recounted the full story of how she got beaten up.
But clearly, Maya wasn't a delicate little flower. She didn't cry, and her emotions remained stable. Unlike the average girl who might tearfully complain, she calmly explained what had happened and never once asked Sato to avenge her.
"If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word—as long as it's within my ability, I'll do it."
Sato could tell from her words that Maya intended to take revenge herself and wasn't counting on him. Still, after thinking it over, he decided to offer his support anyway.
"In that case, I won't be polite about it. I plan to eliminate that bastard during the second stage of the tournament myself. All you need to do is hold off these two people—leave him to me. As payment, I'll follow your lead for the rest of the tournament."
Though she said it plainly, Maya clearly knew her own limitations. She understood that she probably couldn't pull this off on her own. So when Sato made the offer, she didn't hesitate—she immediately laid out her request.
As soon as she finished speaking, she swiftly took three photographs from her person and laid them on the table. She picked up one and pushed the other two toward Sato.
'This woman really does know how to play the game...'
Watching her agree without hesitation and pull out the photos so quickly, Sato's expression twitched slightly—he realized he might have just walked into her trap.
Clearly, Maya never actually intended to quit the competition. Otherwise, why would she be planning to eliminate the guy who beat her?
Still, even though he knew she might've baited him, Sato felt relieved. As long as she wasn't actually quitting, everything else could be negotiated.
After all, since they were allies, it wouldn't be right for Sato to reap all the benefits. Naturally, he had to let Maya use him a little too. Mutual benefit was the foundation of long-term cooperation.
Still, that was assuming she didn't bring him enemies he couldn't afford to offend.
Sato nodded toward Maya and turned his attention to the photo she'd picked up.
In the photo was a handsome blond boy, about 15 years old, with strikingly good looks and a pair of charming, fox-like eyes. He was laughing brightly in the picture, radiating sunny energy.
There was no doubt—this handsome blond boy was a total heartthrob, the kind of prince charming that thousands of girls dreamed of.
Sato's first thought upon seeing the photo was that Maya had been dumped by the guy—and probably after he'd taken full advantage of her, incurring her fury.
"Hmph, I'm not some lovestruck idiot. I won't deny that I had a bit of a crush on him when we first met, but that was in the past. I'm telling you, this guy's a scumbag—a sadist with a twisted streak."
As a psychic, Maya had sharp insight. With just a glance at Sato's expression and gaze, she already knew what he was thinking and huffed discontentedly.
"Ahem. I see. Got it. So—who is he? What's his strength?"
Sato, ever thick-skinned, kept a straight face and nodded before calmly asking for the guy's background.
"I won't hide it—his name is Ailes. Like me, he's one of Sabrina's top subordinates. But unlike me, his psychic talent is exceptional. On the surface, he's a top-tier Elite-level Trainer, but if he goes all out, even a pseudo Elite-Four level Trainer might not be his match."
As she spoke, Maya's expression darkened, but she still clearly laid out everything she knew about Ailes.
To summarize, here's what Sato learned from Maya:
- Ailes's true strength was close to the pseudo Elite-Four level.
- He likely had a Gallade at the same level.
- He was a twisted sadist who liked abusing girls.
After digesting the info on Ailes, Sato turned his attention to the remaining two photos on the table.
Ailes was Maya's target. All he had to do was support her—he didn't have to confront the guy himself. His true opponents were the two people in the other photos.
As soon as Sato laid eyes on them, his expression grew grim. Even just from the photos, he could tell these two wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Both were women. Judging by their nearly identical appearances, they were twin sisters. What was rare was that both of them had excellent figures and looks.
But the most unbelievable part? The photos showed them both levitating with psychic powers.
Twins. Gorgeous. And psychics.
The odds of all three happening at once were astronomically low.
But perhaps precisely because it was so rare, these twin psychic sisters were definitely not to be messed with. Just like Sabrina—they were roses with thorns.