Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Alright, I have no interest in watching you all fuss like this. Can we clear the path now?" Efnie stepped forward, the Flame in her hand had dissipated, but the lingering heat in the air still told everyone that she was far from powerless.

"Clear the way? No problem. However, I would like the honor of this beautiful lady and her companions to grace my home with your presence today. I believe it will greatly promote the friendship between us."

"The friendship of Maxizha is rare indeed, and it can ensure your unobstructed passage in Lebyon City." In other words, without his friendship, they would likely encounter all sorts of hindrances.

This coercive invitation was truly tiresome. As the group pondered whether or not to accept, Tilan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. Her voice was like a mountain stream, clear and cool, bringing calm to the otherwise chaotic scene.

"Dinner together is acceptable, but I think you should also be a polite host, rather than threatening in such a manner."

At the sound of her cool voice, everyone looked over, finally noticing the black-haired girl they had ignored, and as she stepped forward, the others nodded subtly and followed behind her, as if this overlooked young girl was the real linchpin.

"Oh, how interesting. No problem, I agree." Having said that, Maxizha clapped his hands, signaling the men at his side to stop their thrashing and then issued some instructions.

"A car will come for you shortly, so please stay calm."

Just as Tilan's group decided to visit the 'Burn Iron Union' consortium, Kinsenke had also reached a conclusion with Red Hat.

"Are you saying, first take us to 'Black Hammer Heavy Industries' to participate in the selection of mercenaries, and then infiltrate their ranks?"

"Exactly, the pay is substantial, and not only can we receive some money upfront, but we can also learn about the setup at Black Hammer." Red Hat seemed especially confident. Enjoy more content from empire

"However, we've never been mercenaries before. There must be some standards for the selection, right? And can strangers really gain their trust?" Kinsenke was not foolish.

"That's not a problem. The origins of mercenaries are varied and unusual. There isn't much in the way of standards; we just need to disguise ourselves a bit..." After Red Hat finished detailing the process to everyone, it was already evening.

After hearing all this, Kinsenke set the meeting place for the next day and then returned to the large truck with his companions.

It was now 10 p.m., lights still on inside the vehicle, Phyllis sat in the driver's seat chatting with N about fun stories from the old days, while Yalian was in the carriage typing on the keyboard, organizing the data collected that day. Efnie leaned against the window, occasionally glancing at her personal terminal, seemingly lost in thought, and on the other side, Tilan lay resting on Deloris's knees.

"So you're back, huh." Hearing the sound of footsteps boarding, Ximu crawled up from behind the sofa, nodded at Guluo and Kinsenke, and then turned over to continue his rest.

"I won't be staying on the truck tomorrow; it's more tiring than driving, let someone else take over." He yawned and complained, recounting the disturbances and voyeurism from surrounding people during the day, and at one point, someone had even tried to steal the truck or parts from it.

"No problem. Yalian, how are things going with you? Over here, I've found a pretty good deal. It's a bit risky, but the rewards are indeed substantial." Kinsenke was eager to show off the secretive information he had learned that day.

"We're doing well. We had a lavish dinner with a certain naive young master and managed to extract quite a few useful bits of information from him." Yalian stopped typing, stood up, poured himself a cup of coffee, and prepared to continue working late into the night.

"Ah, is that so? Where did you go for the meal? Had I known, I would have tagged along with Tilan." Ruby feigned envy and regret.

"We went to 'Burn Iron Union'. They seem to have considerable local influence, and I noticed the chefs in that hotel seemed somewhat afraid of them." While sharing his impressions, Yalian recounted the day's encounters to Ruby and the others.

After Maxizha's appearance, his persistent courting was consistently rejected by Efnie, and in apparent frustration, he insisted on inviting them to dinner to salvage some face. While the group hesitated, Tilan stepped forward and tentatively accepted the invitation.

However, the location for dinner was not at the Kinsenke family home, but at a hotel in Lebyon City. Throughout the meal, the other party also tried to offer toasts and probe into the origins of their guests, but Yalian and Efnie skillfully handled the inquiries.

"Although dealing with him was a bit troublesome, luckily we also gathered quite a bit of intelligence, and additionally, we managed to avoid direct conflict," Yalian adjusted his glasses.

"Marsixa appears like a spoiled and vain man on the surface, but upon actual contact, I sense it's not that simple. Although he constantly showed interest in Efnie, he was dissimilar to those truly obsessed with beauty. There's a feeling of excessive persistence, yet not to the point of insanity, like, like..." He searched for a word to describe it.

"Like everything is just a pretense," Tilan lifted herself up from Deloris's lap not far away, expressing the slight suspicion Yalian felt in his heart.

The black-haired girl stood up, poured herself a glass of purified water, and sat by the window, welcoming the cool night breeze.

"We also encountered something interesting on our end," having listened to the others' accounts, Kinsenke also pulled up a chair to sit down and began recounting the events of the day, with Valke adding details from time to time, while on the other hand, Ruby, who was feeling tired, excused herself to take a shower and go to bed.

...

"It appears that the two largest powers in the city are 'Black Hammer Heavy Industries' and 'Burn Iron Union,'" Yalian summarized briefly.

"I heard from Marsixa that a hundred years ago, 'Burn Iron Union' and 'Black Hammer Heavy Industries' actually had very good relations. At that time, both sides even attempted an alliance through marriage, but unfortunately, the marriage didn't happen due to the accidental death of the young miss from 'Burn Iron Union,' which subsequently worsened relations between them," he said.

"That's because a hundred years ago, it was 'Burn Iron Union' and 'Black Hammer Heavy Industries' that joined forces to defeat the other three conglomerates, taking control of Lebyon, the last slice of the cake, sharing a camaraderie as comrades-in-arms," Kinsenke shared the intelligence he had gathered today.

"Speaking of which, although I don't quite trust that Red Hat's plan, the information and history he mentioned are very intriguing. As you know, my family's conglomerate mainly focuses on hover cars. Our rise is also related to the changes that took place four hundred years ago; while they declined because of it, our family rose through it," Kinsenke reclined in his seat, leisurely continuing his story while occasionally sipping chilled beer.

"Regarding 'Black Hammer Heavy Industries' and 'Burn Iron Union,' on my way back I checked some data on the Star Domain's network and actually found some interesting historical records," he added.

"In fact, their predecessors were both descendants of 'Thirteen Heavy Industries' from the Northern Star Sector. At the time, these thirteen conglomerates had a massive influence in the Northern Star Sector, with millions of employees under their command, possessing many large-scale heavy assets, and holding considerable sway," he continued.

"However, conversely, their production lines—or rather, their byproducts—caused significant pollution. The massive emission of toxic substances led to widespread dissatisfaction. Due to the collusion of these thirteen conglomerates, the Northern Star Sector government continued to suppress and ignore the pollution-related news."

"Eventually, the toxic rain catastrophe erupted, and the pitch-black deluge inundated the northern sectors. The situation could no longer be contained, and even the Federal Central Council began to inquire."

"Under the investigation of the inspectors and inquisitors sent from the Central Star Domain, the matter gradually came to light, and the upper echelons of the Thirteen conglomerates were nearly all imprisoned to quell the public anger. Subsequently, these thirteen conglomerates were dismantled by the federation, with all assets sold off to fund the environmental restoration of the local area," he explained.

"The factories and assets don't just vanish into thin air. Those who took over these factories and assets were mostly mid-level employees of the original thirteen conglomerates. They were familiar with the operations and also received some fundings from other capitals," he stated.

"Although a lot of the polluting production lines were dismantled and refurbished, a small portion still continued the original functions, after all, some raw materials and intermediates are indeed needed by various industries," he mentioned.

"But because the overall environment was already damaged, the Northern Star Sector was gradually declining. Their situation worsened day by day, until the Northern Star Sector was eventually abolished, and the whole sector was ordered by the government to relocate. Meanwhile, the remaining heavy industrial conglomerates began to fight amongst themselves internally," he recounted.

"Is this some kind of poetic justice?" Efnie, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, snapping out of her daydreaming state.

"The cause of the past, the fruit of today,"