(Third update...)
Seeing the unmistakable answer in those wine-red eyes so close to her, Charlotte knitted her brows tightly.
"Don't tell me you think Frey planned to assassinate Second Last so that Divine Works would be chosen as the main supplier of Automatons for the next generation of the British mechanized corps...?"
The Magic Circuit installed inside Rabi, Frey's Automaton, was Divine Works' patented technology—Sound Pressure Manipulation!
Then wasn't it entirely possible that Divine Works intended to have Frey assassinate Raishin so that Sound Pressure Manipulation would catch the British military's eye?...
After all, although Raishin was ranked one hundredth, he had challenged quite a few gauntlet holders to qualify for the Night Party and won every battle. With Frey's strength at rank ninety-nine, she was no match for Raishin at all.
Yet the first battle of the Night Party happened to be between rank ninety-nine and rank one hundred!
If she lost the opening match, Sound Pressure Manipulation would undoubtedly be seen as useless. The British military would never allow such a worthless Magic Circuit to be installed in the Automatons assigned to members of the mechanized corps.
When that happened, Divine Works would also be eliminated by the military and lose them as a major client.
But if they got rid of Raishin, this dark horse, and ensured that Frey would not encounter any formidable opponents for a while, then Sound Pressure Manipulation could fully demonstrate its capabilities.
Divine Works could use the battles and their results to improve Sound Pressure Manipulation, repeatedly fine-tune Frey's Automaton, develop further applications, and strengthen Rabi. That would greatly increase their chances of catching the military's eye.
As Frey's sponsor, it was only natural for Divine Works to have Frey serve them.
In other words, Charlotte believed that Divine Works had ordered