The Seven in Disarray

Inside The Seven's hall...

Jupiter stood quietly at the far end with his hands behind his back, in Homelander's usual spot.

"Click..."

"May I ask if I'm the first one here?"

With a soft click, a dark-skinned man in a blue bodysuit walked in behind Jupiter.

"Hmm?"

Hearing the voice, Jupiter turned around.

"Hey! You're not Homelander?"

When Jupiter turned, the Black man took in his much larger frame and froze for a moment. Only then did he realize the man before him wasn't Homelander.

"Of course I'm not Homelander."

"I'm... Well, you can call me Free Man."

Jupiter introduced himself with a sunny smile.

"Free Man? Oh, I know. You're the new member of The Seven, replacing Lamplighter, right?"

The Black man in the blue bodysuit looked as if he recognized him. In truth, if he'd paid even a little attention, he'd have known that Starlight—not Jupiter—was replacing Lamplighter.

"Nice to meet you..."

The Black man in the blue bodysuit said as he held out his hand to Jupiter.

"Hmm?"

Jupiter glanced at the man and his outstretched hand, smiled faintly, then shook his head.

"Someone else is here, buddy~"

Jupiter said with a smile.

"Hmm?"

At that, the Black man in the blue bodysuit immediately turned toward the entrance to The Seven's hall. →

"Click..."

As the doors opened, four faces came into view.

A muscular blond man draped in the Free Nation flag, grinning brightly; a Wonder Woman cosplayer; a silent, brown-haired young man who looked like a lazy fish and was, in fact, a lazy fish; and a man encased head to toe in black armor, as if he'd rushed straight over from the set of Cobra: The Rise next door.

"You're Free Man, right? I know you. I heard the higher-ups mention you..."

Homelander started making things up. In fact, all he'd heard from the higher-ups was Jupiter's name and that they wanted them to meet him.

"Oh, look at your cape and that Battle Suit. Let me guess—you're a fan of mine, right?"

Homelander looked at Jupiter, who was standing in his spot. A flash of malice passed through his eyes, but he seemed to consider the circumstances and forcibly suppressed his anger, putting on a brilliant smile.

"A fan? Of course not..."

Jupiter glanced at his Battle Suit and shook his head.

"Hmm?"

At Jupiter's reply, Homelander's expression stiffened. He suddenly felt like he'd been left hanging.

"Buddy, that spot belongs to Homelander. Your seat is over here!"

The lazy-fish young man walked over to the spot that had originally belonged to Lamplighter and spoke to Jupiter.

"No! I think this spot suits me better."

Jupiter shook his head and dropped into Homelander's seat. What did they take him for?! He was only going to sit in the head chair!

"Looks like the new guy doesn't know the rules!"

As he spoke, the lazy-fish young man rolled his wrists and started toward Jupiter, apparently planning to show off in front of Homelander.

"Smack!"

But before the lazy-fish young man could make a move, Homelander grabbed him by the wrist.

"Uh..."

A flicker of fear crossed the young man's eyes. He lowered his head and silently went to stand behind Homelander.

"New guy..."

"You don't seem to understand the rules around here."

Homelander walked toward Jupiter one step at a time, smiling down at him where he sat in the chair.

"I am the rules."

Jupiter looked at Homelander with the same smile and emphasized his words in a low voice.

"..."

Homelander's expression instantly fell. The veins in his forehead bulged as he felt insulted.

"Click..."

Just as Homelander's reason and rage were locked in a fierce struggle, someone suddenly opened the door. Starlight walked in, still looking charming despite being a little older.

"Homelander, find a seat and sit down. Don't cause trouble."

As soon as Starlight entered, she ordered Homelander.

"Hmm?"

Homelander angrily turned at the order, but the moment he saw Starlight, his fury vanished. His gaze fixed on her chest. She was leaking milk...

"Slurp~"

Homelander licked his lips discreetly, then pulled out the seat beside Jupiter and sat down.

"Heh..."

Jupiter shook his head as he watched Homelander's back. He had to admit, the guy was a real pervert. He was starting to feel like throwing a punch himself.

But considering the consequences of starting a fight here, Jupiter held back. He decided it was better to play it safe and quietly take Homelander out somewhere no one would see.

"A-Train, King of the Sea, Queen Maeve, Black Noir!"

"You four, find seats and listen to what I have to say."

Seeing Homelander return to his seat, Starlight breathed a sigh of relief and addressed the other four.

"Sure..."

Queen Maeve nodded casually and went back to her seat. She was the least concerned of them all. Whoever Homelander had a problem with had nothing to do with her anymore.

"..."

A-Train's gaze shifted back and forth between Homelander and Jupiter, as if he were thinking about something.

"..."

King of the Sea's expression was dark and uncertain.

As for Black Noir... Who knew what he was thinking?

"First, let's congratulate Mr. Free Man, Jupiter Grayson, on joining The Seven as the replacement for The Invisible Man!"

As soon as Starlight entered, she showed Jupiter her goodwill and was the first to applaud.

"What?! You're replacing The Invisible Man, not Lamplighter?"

When they heard Starlight's words, everyone froze. They'd all assumed Jupiter was taking over for Lamplighter, who'd retired. Now it seemed the situation was far more complicated than they'd imagined.

"Haha..."

Jupiter replied with nothing more than a faint smile. He didn't care whose spot he was taking. If he'd run into A-Train when he first entered the tower, then he'd be replacing A-Train; if he'd run into King of the Sea, then he'd be replacing him. He'd just happened to run into The Invisible Man...

"Yes. The Invisible Man has retired, and the higher-ups decided that Free Man would take his place."

Starlight explained.

"That's against the rules!"

Homelander stood up and insisted.

"That's Mr. Edgar's order! If any of you aren't happy about it, you can go upstairs and see Mr. Edgar. I'm only here to pass on the message..."

"I hope you can all get along peacefully!"

After speaking, Starlight smiled faintly at Jupiter, took the documents in her hand, and turned to leave.

"Wait, Starlight..."

At that, Homelander immediately stood up. He shot Jupiter a vicious look, then hurried after Starlight.

"Fuck! I saw The Invisible Man this morning. How could he have retired?"

King of the Sea was completely confused. He had no idea what was going on. Maybe the sheer amount of information flying around had overwhelmed his fish-sized brain.

"Yeah, you fish-fucking bastard. You're right. I just saw The Invisible Man in The Seven's hall! Then I slapped him, and he retired..."

Jupiter looked at King of the Sea with undisguised mockery, as if he were staring at a clown.

"Shit!"

King of the Sea instantly felt a chill run down his spine. He stood up and headed for the door.

"Hey, fish-fucking bastard, don't you just mate externally? What's the rush?"

Jupiter called after King of the Sea's retreating back, asking with feigned curiosity.

"..."

King of the Sea didn't answer. He simply lowered his head and fled in a sorry state.