Kallen glanced back. Yes, just a glance.
Then he looked calmly at Mavario, gave a half bow, and said:
"Me."
There was nothing to decline, no need to pretend to ask everyone to go through the motions of discussing it, and even less need to offer any consolation or reassurance.
Because according to the four conditions Mavario had just proposed, he was the most qualified.
Kallen knew his team members had all stepped back not because his position as captain intimidated them into giving up, much less because they did not want this authorization, but because they had absolutely no grounds to compete for it.
During the District Selection, Bart and the others had witnessed Kallen's terrifying soul power. During the Final Selection, everyone had witnessed his leadership and his reserves of spiritual power, enough to suppress a Phantom Beast single-handedly. Mars knew their captain was highly accomplished in formations.
Their captain seemed to have no weaknesses at all when it came to ability. He seemed capable of doing everyone's job in the team himself.
In fact, even if this had been some other reward rather than this authorization, everyone would have agreed by default to give it to their captain.
Because giving it to anyone else would have bothered them, but giving it to their captain... everyone felt comfortable with that.
Muli noticed what was happening with Kallen's team. They were both captains, yet the difference was truly enormous.
All Muli could do was smile bitterly.
He was not jealous. He knew very well that, having put this team together through his connections in the Dinge District, he had inevitably forfeited the tremendous prestige he could have gained by building a team himself.
No one could reap every benefit without paying a price.
Mavario nodded at Kallen, a trace