Early the next morning, at the luxurious WMA Olympic Village buffet restaurant, which rivaled a three-star Michelin establishment.
Kaito was sitting by a window with a perfect view.
In front of him was an immaculate white plate and gleaming silver cutlery.
The plate... was empty.
He himself had an expression of absolute despair, as if his soul had been completely sucked out.
Sitting around him was his numerous "Harem Legion," which had just completed its "international expansion"
And in that instant, a silent war, yet filled with the clashing of swords, erupted with ferocity.
The focus of the war was...
Kaito's breakfast plate was completely empty.
"Hand of God! Come! Taste this!"
Taiki Shuttle, the "Hostess," was the first to arrive running, carrying a steaming and greasy plate piled up like a small mountain.
"On the plate was crispy and aromatic bacon, juicy American sausages, and tempting golden fried eggs with runny yolks!"
"American breakfast! That is the true source of energy for the day! Eat this and you will be as strong as Superman! Believe me!"
"Absolutely not, Taiki Shuttle!"
Justify, the "American girlfriend" who had just joined the faction, immediately stepped forward to stop her, carrying a completely different breakfast.
On her plate was a portion of organic oatmeal adorned with fresh blueberries and almond slices, along with a healthy-looking glass of skim milk.
"Mr. Kaito's body is the most precious treasure in the world! He cannot consume so much high-calorie and high-fat junk food! This! This is the best option for his health!"
"Be quiet, you two superficial Americans"
Zenyatta, the other "New Queen," used a silver fork with simplicity and elegance to delicately lift a small piece of premium Scottish smoked salmon, tempting in appearance and clearly defined in texture, and spoke with an authoritative and unquestionable tone.
"My king deserves only the most exquisite food in the world"
"Heh heh, the highest level of food lies in the 'intentions,' you know?"
TM Opera O, representing the "Japanese Elders Faction," took a freshly toasted and steaming slice of bread and, with a specialized heart-shaped mold, meticulously carved it to create Kaito's portrait.
Then, triumphantly, she showed everyone her creation, full of "art" and "love"
At first glance, the entire dining table presented a harmonious scene of international friends happily enjoying breakfast together.
In reality, the knives and forks were already producing intense and visible sparks in the air!
Faced with this deadlock, which was practically a "World Food Expo"
Kaito decided to employ his already perfected technique of "Balancing the Bowls"
Distributing the favor equally, eating a little of everything.
But he was still too naive.
When he prepared to taste Zenyatta's appetizing premium salmon slice for the first time.
Justify immediately stopped him with her own fork!
"Wait a moment, Mr. Kaito! Smoked products contain high levels of nitrites, and the sodium content is too high! This places a burden on the cardiovascular system!"
And when, reluctantly, he turned to Justify's oatmeal, which looked healthy but was tasteless.
Zenyatta let out an extremely contemptuous snort through her nose.
"My king is not a rabbit that needs to eat grass to survive"
These two, who had been teammates fighting side-by-side in the WMA faction just two days ago.
Today, two days later, they had turned completely against each other in a fierce struggle for "feeding rights" over their shared new "master."
They even initiated a heated philosophical debate on "nutrition" versus "taste and lifestyle"!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the table.
The "Original Japanese Harem Alliance," led by Symboli Rudolf, quietly savored a steaming miso soup, full of the flavors of home.
At the same time, she enjoyed with glee the spectacular internal struggle unfolding among the "newcomers"
Symboli Rudolf even commented to Gold City, who was at her side, in a tone that oozed superiority:
"It seems that Ms. Underwood's so-called scientific management philosophy really doesn't place much emphasis on fostering internal team cooperation"
After breakfast, everything ended in chaos.
With the aim of "fostering relations and relaxing the mind"
The dynamic Taiki Shuttle group proposed going to the luxurious Olympic Village club, which featured an enormous outdoor pool, to hold a private pool party.
This proposal, riddled with "ulterior motives," received the unanimous (though tacit) approval of all those present.
Soon, the pool area rapidly transformed into another battlefield, more dangerous and more seductive.
A silent and risky "arms race" began: a competition to see which swimsuit best captured Kaito's attention!
TM Opera O, the "artistic faction" contestant, changed into a pure white bikini with a highly ornate design, with abundant lace and transparent fabric, but with minimal coverage in key areas.
She posed seductively by the pool, poses worthy of the cover of Vogue magazine.
Gold City, the "Power Faction" contestant, wore a black sporty swimsuit that enhanced her figure to the maximum.
Besle the pool, she constantly displayed her powerful tanned muscles, occasionally performing high-difficulty acrobatic jumps.
Justify, the "Girlfriend Faction" contestant, chose a pure white one-piece swimsuit that looked incredibly innocent but at the same time had subtle and seductive details, perfectly showing her golden-proportioned figure, worthy of her title as "American Girlfriend"
Zenyatta, the "Queen Faction" contestant, wore a mysterious and elegant one-piece swimsuit of deep purple and high cut, which radiated royal authority.
She didn't even get into the water; instead, she reclined languidly on the lounge chair closest to Kaito, wearing enormous sunglasses, like an arrogant monarch contemplating her kingdom.
And... Taiki Shuttle, the "Wild Faction" contestant, was the most direct of all!
Wearing the sexiest and tiniest red bikini, she immediately took a playful water gun and launched the most primitive and deadly physical attack against Kaito, who was lying in the chair pretending to be dead.
Kaito was caught between this group of dazzling beauties, each with a different body type and style.
He was dazzled and exhausted from trying to keep up.
He felt that he was not on vacation at all.
Instead, he was acting as the sole judge in a world-class, closed-door "Victoria's Secret" swimsuit show.
Right in the middle of this visually stunning feast.
Symboli Rudolf discreetly summoned Gold City, TM Opera O, Air Groove, and other "elders" to another corner of the pool.
"Do you all see it?"
She observed the "outsiders" who were doing their best to eclipse each other.
Her expression was unusually serious.
"Our 'enemies' are no longer isolated individuals who can be easily defeated"
"Behind each of them is an aggressive 'foreign culture' with which we are not familiar"
"If we continue fighting alone and engage in internal struggles as we have done before..."
"Our sacred and inviolable 'sovereignty' will soon be slowly and completely eroded by them"
Gold City, TM Opera O, and the others felt for the first time such an intense "sense of crisis"
At that moment, an "Original Harem Conservative Alliance" was discreetly formed, whose primary mandate was "to maintain the orthodox status and jointly expel the foreign barbarians"
Just as this "Alliance" was forming and preparing to launch its first organized and tentative challenge against the "outsiders"...
Kaito finally reached his limit!
He stood up abruptly from the deck chair.
He grabbed a towel and covered his upper body, which they had been staring at until he felt a tingle.
Then he blew the trainer's specialized survival whistle, a high-frequency whistle that leaves you deaf!
"The pool party is over!"
He announced it loudly to everyone, with the absolute, unquestionable, and furious tone of a head coach!
"Everyone! Immediately! Right now! Put on your training uniforms! Assemble at Training Field A in five minutes!"
"From now until the WGP Grand Final is completely over! All personal and frivolous entertainment activities are canceled!"
"The entire team enters a state of maximum intensity wartime training!"
Hearing Kaito's first truly significant "outburst"
All the Umas who had been playing and competing for attention, whether from Japan, America, or Europe.
Instantly became silent.
Everyone noticed the unquestionable seriousness in his eyes, along with a hint of... disappointment.
No one made jokes anymore.
No one argued anymore.
They immediately left the pool and ran at full speed toward the locker rooms.
Five minutes later.
Nine heroic and battle-ready valkyries were lined up in an orderly fashion on the training track.
Kaito used his "absolute authority" to forcefully stop this growing scene of chaos that threatened to destroy the entire Olympic Village.
And he managed to redirect all their attention toward the only common main theme: "the race"
At this moment.
In the VIP observation room, located at the highest point of the training field and completely sealed with specialized one-way glass.
A small figure stood in silence.
She had a long platinum blonde mane, as soft as moonlight.
A flawless and delicate face, like that of the most perfect porcelain doll.
And a pair of sky-blue eyes, like a frozen polar ocean.
There were no emotional fluctuations in those eyes.
She was Catherine's last trump card.
Her adopted daughter, "Dawn (Morning Star)"
She stared fixedly at everything below through the cold glass, without any expression.
She observed the group of "companions" she failed to fully understand, who argued like kindergarten children one moment and cooperated like elite special forces the next.
More importantly, she was looking at...
The man surrounded by everyone, like stars orbiting the moon.
The man who was sometimes helpless, sometimes stern, sometimes kind.
Full of contradictions, but with a fatal attraction that is damnably powerful.
Behind Dawn, Catherine's figure slowly appeared.
Gently, she placed her hand on her adopted daughter's shoulder.
And spoke in a low voice, with a tone as if she were watching an absurd drama:
"Look, Dawn"
"That is the definition of 'chaos' and 'inefficiency'"
"And your mission, in the final race..."
"Is to use the most perfect 'order'..."
"To defeat them completely"
Simultaneously—
The system in Kaito's mind, which had remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly an unprecedented, extremely piercing, and highest-level red alert was issued!
[ Warning! Warning! — ]
[An ultra-high energy 'homologous' signal has been detected!]
[Target locked: 'Dawn (Morning Star)']
[Warning: The target is under extreme external mental suppression! Her core emotional module has been forced into 'inactivity'!]
[Host, please maintain the maximum level of vigilance!]
[She will be the most dangerous enemy you have ever faced]
[And the most difficult "treatment" subject]
The ultimate rival has appeared.
How do you conquer a perfect and cold doll without a "heart"?
Kaito will face the greatest and most baffling challenge of his career in "The Hand of God"
And the WGP Grand Final will become the stage for the ultimate showdown between him and Catherine, regarding "humanity" versus "machine."