Xiao Ran watched in bafflement as the Native Species hurried over and then hurried away. He agreed to Alphimi's proposed game without hesitation. At first, he had assumed it would be some kind of combat game, or perhaps a difficult game requiring preparation. Who would have thought that the game Alphimi proposed would be this: restoring Exeline to normal and allowing Alphimi to feel the existence of emotions.
There was no fighting, no preparation, no added burden on the Earth Defense Force—and it was a game they were absolutely certain to win. Xiao Ran agreed without a second thought. He had never doubted that the Steel Dragon Squad could bring Exeline back. So what if he was excluded from the game and could not participate? Xiao Ran had never intended to help the Steel Dragon Squad any further. This arrangement was better suited to tempering the Steel Dragon Squad's abilities.
Xiao Ran felt that Alphimi's proposed game suited him perfectly. It was as if she had deliberately come to offer him an excuse. What reason did he have to refuse? Though this game represented a contest between humanity and the Native Species, it was even more a wager between Kyosuke Nanbu, a gambler blessed with protagonist's luck, and Alphimi. Xiao Ran had no doubt about who would win.
In any case, Alphimi left satisfied as well. She did not care whether she won or lost. To her, either outcome was irrelevant. What mattered was that she found this game rather interesting and could obtain what she needed from it.
This trip to Satellite Integration had only been to exclude Xiao Ran—a man powerful enough to seem inhuman, with strange communication abilities, someone capable of ruining the game's balance and enjoyment. With that, Alphimi's objective had been fully achieved. As for