Battle Wizard Captain

Inside Witch's Kitchen, Zack treated Locke to a glass of witch watermelon juice. A leaf from a Fairy Mint Magic Plant floated on top, giving the juice an exceptionally refreshing taste when paired with magical ice cubes.

This made it an extremely popular seller during the height of summer.

Zack said to Locke, "That's the situation."

"All the major studios are pulling strings now, contacting the captains of the Combat Department's combat squads in advance and reaching agreements with captains they had good relationships with before."

"They'll have them use their competition entries ahead of time, increasing their studios' chances of winning the competition."

Locke took a sip of witch watermelon juice and frowned. "So the results of the Custom Magic Plant Competition aren't determined solely by Magic Plant performance data. There are other deciding factors."

Zack nodded. "That's indeed the case. It's understandable, really. Performance data can be faked, or it might not account for everything, but records of use in war can't be fabricated."

"This competition was designed for war, and different judges look at it from different perspectives."

"But because of that, there are far too many ways to work the system."

Zack explained, "But you don't need to worry too much. You've got me. I have absolute confidence in you."

"I'll support you with everything I have."

"I'm also helping you get in touch with all sorts of key figures. Your resources may not be any worse than those of the Breeders in those studios. We're helping each other out, after all."

Zack said, "After all, the outcome of this competition will determine a large academy bulk procurement contract. Its scale is far greater than the one you and I signed back then. I took a risk then when I gave you the only authorization slot