"Hey... have you heard? The Federation's former number one genius is back!"
In a café in Shrek City, two girls who looked like students sat by the window, whispering with their voices lowered.
Afternoon sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the table, bathing two steaming lattes in a golden glow.
One of the girls, her hair in a ponytail, had sparkling eyes and barely restrained excitement in her voice.
"Y-you mean him, right? They say he hasn't appeared in five years. Is he really still the number one genius?"
The other girl, who had short hair, sounded doubtful. She tilted her head, her finger unconsciously tracing circles around the rim of her cup.
"How dare you question my husband?"
The ponytailed girl immediately shot her a displeased glare, raising her voice enough to draw curious looks from customers at nearby tables.
"That's not what I meant... it's just that, well, nobody's seen him for five years."
Apparently realizing how terrifying fangirls could be, the short-haired girl hurriedly adopted the principle of yielding for the sake of her own peace of mind. She shrank back and took a sip of coffee.
"Anyway... even though Lord Qi Ji hasn't appeared in five years, four of the top five on the Young Genius Rankings are his underlings!"
The ponytailed girl sighed in admiration, cupping her cheeks in both hands, her eyes full of stars.
"Why four?" The short-haired girl still hadn't caught on and blinked.
"Dummy, because he's number one, obviously!" the ponytailed girl said, her tone brimming with disdain that seemed to say, "How could you not figure even that out?"
The two girls' chatter echoed through the café, just one of countless similar conversations taking place across every corner of the Federation.
Five years of silence hadn't caused the name