Crossover: The Problem Human of [Arcadia]

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When Ryo made that bold statement, even Scathach was briefly stunned. But then she suddenly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Haha—interesting! You're seriously too much!"

Tears streamed from her eyes as she laughed uncontrollably.

"Hey—are you out of your mind?!" Next to him, Laius tugged urgently on Ryo's sleeve, his face full of panic.

"You do realize you're talking about the Queen Halloween, right?!"

One of the first three problem children of Little Garden—an astral being tied to the sun and boundaries, and a Demon Lord who rules over life and death.

A monster who not only holds the Authority of a Sun Celestial Spirit but also wields the King's Authority as a Demon Lord.

The only three-digit "freak" powerful enough to challenge even the Sovereign Domain Holders.

That's the Queen Halloween.

Some even believe she's actually the hidden eighteenth Sovereign.

Logically, she should be considered the hidden 17th Sovereign, but because Shiroyasha placed a self-seal on her two-digit powers, the upper echelons of Little Garden still recognize seventeen official Sovereigns.

Regardless, the Queen Halloween is undeniably a decisive powerhouse in Little Garden.

And because her status as a three-digit freak exempts her from the core restrictions on two-digit beings, her Authority reaches across both upper and lower levels of Little Garden.

Upper-tier gods might dare to make a move against three-digit entities like Algol, but no one would dream of challenging the Queen Halloween.

Everyone knows that would be suicide.

So when Ryo said he wanted to replace her, Scathach couldn't help but laugh that hard.

Even Laius—who had been clearly annoyed by Ryo earlier—panicked and tried to get him to take it back.

Because among the many divine and demonic powers of the upper floors, the Queen Halloween was easily one of the most temperamental.

After laughing for a while, Scathach wiped the tears from her eyes, a lingering smile on her face.

"If the Queen were standing in front of you right now, would you still have the guts to say that?"

"Of course," Ryo replied without hesitation.

"If you're asking me to step down as [No Name]'s leader, then it's only fair I take over as the Queen Halloween in return, right?"

The moment he said that, Leticia and Aishelia both tensed up, clearly ready to stop Scathach if she attacked.

And right then, Scathach's expression shifted. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a dangerous, poppy-poison sweetness: "So you're saying... the three-digit Queen Halloween is equal to No Name?"

Ryo raised an eyebrow, then repeated without blinking. "Of course."

Buzz—!

A crimson spear tip hummed in front of Ryo's eyes, trembling with barely restrained force. It was Scathach's beloved magic spear, and it looked like it was itching to strike.

At the same time, a silver flash reflected the sunlight at her chest—her uniform's top button had split clean in half.

"…Not bad, kid."

Scathach pulled her spear back and sat down again, smiling with genuine amusement.

"Boundary-type gift... and blazing-flash… you really hid your cards well, huh? So you're a five-digit freak."

The moment Ryo acted, his vast divine aura surged out like a crashing tide—impossible to conceal.

That's how Scathach immediately realized what he was: a freak (or also known as an irregular) among five-digit ranks.

"Tsk. You're one of Canaria's, but instead of following her style, you've gone and copied the Greeks? That's bold."

Of all the factions in Little Garden, the Greek pantheon had the most irregulars.

Among the Twelve Olympians, most were technically four-digit "freaks" who shamelessly claimed lower ranks.

And yet, that same shamelessness was exactly why the Greeks remained absurdly dominant in the lower levels of Little Garden.

Even if the Buddhist and Taoist factions teamed up, they still struggled to suppress the Greeks down below.

It wasn't a matter of strength—the upper factions were too strong. So strong they were trapped up top, unable to descend.

The Greeks, on the other hand, cheated the system. They flaunted their three-digit power while calling it four-digit, and seized control of the lower realms.

It was all about different strategies for running communities.

So when Scathach compared Ryo to the Greeks, it wasn't exactly a compliment. Among the upper levels of Little Garden, it was an indirect way of calling someone a scheming, shameless snake.

But Ryo—who was still new to Little Garden—had no idea about that layered insult. Instead, he just smiled and answered sincerely. "Keeping an ace up your sleeve is just common sense, isn't it? You never know who your next enemy might be."

"Hah! You're a real piece of work." Scathach gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got Athena's vibe all over you."

Aishelia and Laius instantly glared at him with murder in their eyes.

Ryo noticed something was off. He gave Scathach a confused look.

"…Should I be thanking you for that?"

"Nope," Leticia whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

Then, with her leg propped up, Scathach leaned forward on the table, clearly amused and ready to throw down.

"...I'll remember that little provocation. You just compared a lowly seven-digit [No Name] community to a three-digit Demon Lord. Even Canaria never had your level of guts."

"Aren't three-digits numbers born that way?" Ryo shot back with a smirk.

That made Scathach pause. She gave him a curious once-over. "No human-formed community has ever reached three-digit rank."

"That's just because I wasn't here yet," Ryo scoffed, face full of pride.

He truly believed that if even he couldn't establish a three-digit community, then no one could. Now that he was here—now that he was [No Name]'s leader—he was going to take it all the way to the top.

"…Interesting." Scathach let out a low chuckle. "Trying to break that record, huh? I take back what I said earlier. If it's you, the Queen might really give up her position."

"…What?" Ryo blinked, caught off guard.

Scathach tilted her head, her smile turning devilish.

"She'd absolutely hand over her three-digit community to you… just so she could watch the burden of leadership crush you to death. And then she'd laugh over your corpse."

Ryo shrugged.

"Guess that makes Shiroyasha look a little better in comparison. At least her twisted hobbies only target women."

"Oho~ you've got guts."

Scathach actually grinned. Praising Shiroyasha in front of the Queen Halloween's personal knight? Most people wouldn't dare.

Only this guy would do something so suicidal with a straight face.

Scathach didn't care how Aishelia or Leticia reacted—she stood up with a smile and said. "Care to take a walk with your destined enemy?"

Ryo stood right away, pushing his chair back with ease. "Why not?"

The reason behind the feud between Shiroyasha and the Queen Halloween had been lost to history.

But one thing was certain: the two didn't get along.

And as Scathach was both the Queen's butler and her designated monitor, while Ryo held the title of Shiroyasha's subordinate deity, the two of them were practically designed to be enemies.

Knowing this, Ryo understood perfectly—there was no avoiding this challenge.

"Good."

Scathach gave a satisfied nod, then turned and walked out onto the street.

Ryo glanced at Leticia, gave her a quick nod, and followed after her.

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