Princess Asumi

"Any idea which team they belong to?" Minos asked.

"I'm not sure, but we've got some eyes in the area, so as long as they head back to their safehouse, we'll know soon enough."

"Then keep firm eyes on them and keep me updated."

"Yessir!"

Turning his attention back to the board, Minos continued analyzing his hidden opponents, but his thoughts didn't last long, Iso calling him again, though his voice was tinged with surprise this time.

"Found it… My heaven's, it's the Sixteenth Princess!" Iso exclaimed in shock, immediately attracting everyone's eyes.

"Oh? To think we've caught such a big fish." Minos laughed, though he had already predicted such a thing.

Since the Sixteenth Princess wanted to seem weak, it was only a matter of time before she proved such weakness, and it looked like now was the time.

Unfortunately for the Sixteenth Princess, it was unlikely she could have ever predicted an opponent like Minos, so without her knowledge, she was already being watched before her plan had even unraveled itself.

Fortunately for her, however, Minos had no plans of attacking so early, and was in fact curious to see exactly what the Sixteenth Princess had in store.

"What should we do, Sir?" Nissor immediately asked Minos.

"Same as usual, head out and tattoo the area thoroughly, I want every nook and cranny tagged."

"Yessir."

While Jiro, Nissor and a few others headed off to get that done, Minos went back to brainstorming, his mind quickly coming up with dozens of plans the Sixteenth Princess could have possibly chosen from.

While he was doing that, Nissor and the others were fast at work, heading straight towards the location Iso had pointed out to them.

Upon arriving, they secretly and quietly planted a few more tattoos all over the area, leaving no blind spots.

Satisfied, they discreetly headed back through the shadowy alleys and tunnels, easily avoiding others thanks to Jiro's help.

Upon arriving back, Minos wasted no time, having Husos stitch him and Jiro together as he took over Jiro's Aptus.

Having already mastered its usage last time, Minos quickly grasped the Sixteenth Princess location, his powerful soul splitting into dozens of pieces so as to watch from every angle.

'So that's your choice? Simple, but quite effective.' Minos thought, his eyes pulling back to the real world as he had Husos disconnect him again.

"Anything?" Nissor asked as he noticed Minos's eyes snap back into focus.

"I think I understand what the Sixteenth Princess wants to do. It's risky, but if she pulls it off properly, she'll manage to relieve a lot of pressure." Minos explained.

"Huh? What is she trying to do?" Taji asked curiously.

"She wants to put on a show of incompetence."

"Incompetence?"

"That's right, give a little, gain a lot."

"Are you saying she wants to purposely sacrifice some of her men such that the other competitors think less of her?" Koha said, immediately putting two and two together.

"That's right, but such a thing requires nuance, and the slightest error could easily spell her defeat." Minos answered before continuing.

"On the other hand, if she makes it too obvious, not only will she end up losing her men, but she will gain nothing from it, and in fact make others more wary of her."

"Is it worth it?" Ko asked.

"She has no other choice. The second her Sky-Grade Physique was exposed, she immediately became a lot of people's prime target, and even those who underestimate her will still keep an eye out."

"She may even be of more interest to some people than the First Prince himself, but unlike the First Prince who has had decades to prepare and unending support, she has neither."

"On top of that, while she's certainly smart, there's no doubt that she lacks experience, and when it comes to the Battle of Strategy, it's all about experience…" Minos finished explaining.

"So what should we do?" Ko kept asking.

"What else, we know her location, so let's take her out!" Masi replied, hawkish as usual.

"Will you stop with that?" Taji couldn't help but say, feeling this partner of theirs was a bit too trigger-happy.

"Haha, while I appreciate the excitement, violence isn't the answer here. No, we have much better options." Minos smiled, slowly walking up to his brainstorming board.

"Right now, the Sixteenth Princess has no allies and no friends, so rather than being another enemy, why not work together?"

"Work together? But isn't that risky?" Yosh asked.

"Of course it is, but what isn't? In fact, if we use the Sixteenth Princess properly, we may even be able to end this game in one go!"

"Are you serious!" Jiro nearly shouted.

"Serious as can be."

"But how…?"

"She wants to hide in the darkness, but instead, we'll turn her into a shining beacon…"

…

"Who?" A Forbidden Soldier stationed by the front door shouted, his trained ears noticing the footsteps in the distance.

"Relax, I come in peace." Minos said with a smile, slowly appearing from the shadows.

"Who are you?" He asked, his spear held firmly towards Minos, ready to attack at any moment.

"I'm a friend." Minos replied calmly.

"We have no friends!" The Forbidden Soldier said, quickly calling the others from inside.

Soon enough, half a dozen Forbidden Soldiers were gathered around Minos, their weapons all pointed directly at him.

"I don't want to fight, proof enough is the fact that I came alone." Minos answered, his hands held up to prove he had no weapons.

"Lower your weapons, we can at least hear him out." A gentle voice said from within the safe house.

"Can I come inside? I'd like to talk to you face to face." Minos asked.

"... Fine, but any sudden moves, and this game will be over for you."

Smiling, Minos didn't answer, just slowly stepping into the safehouse under the burning eyes of the Forbidden Soldiers.

Upon stepping inside, the first he noticed was the beautiful princess sitting on the opposite side of the room, four Forbidden Soldiers standing firmly around her, ready to defend her at any moment.

"May I take a seat?" Minos asked, seemingly not at all worried despite being surrounded by soldiers on all sides.

"Go ahead." The Sixteenth Princess replied, curious as to how this person found her, and more importantly, what he had to say.

Walking a few more steps forward, Minos took a seat, his eyes looking firmly towards the Sixteenth Princess.

His gaze made her slightly uncomfortable, as if she was being seen through, so in an attempt to regain the momentum, she quickly spoke up.

"So tell me, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Me? I'm just another competitor, you can call me Minos. As for why I'm here, it's to talk business."

"Business?"

"That's right, but before that, since I've introduced myself, shouldn't you do the same?"

"Since you've come all this way, you certainly already know who I am." Asumi replied snappily.

"Haha, fair enough. Then I won't waste anymore of your time. I want to work with you." Minos answered succinctly.

"Oh? But there can only be one winner in this game, so how could any partnership last?"

"We're still a long ways away from that final winner, so I think we can at least work together for the time being, don't you agree?"

"Maybe… Though that mostly depends on what this partnership of yours really means."

"We advance and retreat together, at least until the final ten competitors are left. After that, we can dissolve peacefully. As for who claims victory at the end, may the best man win."

"That sounds quite nice, but why not just eliminate you now and save myself the trouble?"

"You're smart enough to know the answer to that question, so I won't bother you with a response." Minos smiled, not at all worried about that.