Figxin habitually reached for her waist. Normally, a shortsword would be there to handle any sudden situations.

Like beasts, monsters, or the most common and dangerous threat of all: people with ill intentions.

Her first reaction was that the two girls in front of her were exactly that kind of people.

Telling a stranger you have extra tickets? To the Northern People, that was completely unbelievable. They were either swindlers or scouts for bandits.

’They must take me for a novice.’ Figxin almost laughed. She’d been on a boat for days and was itching to stretch her limbs.

But when she reached, her shortsword wasn’t there. Only then did she remember she was only wearing her Inner Armor and had no weapon. She immediately raised her fists in front of her, settling into a fighting stance. She could handle these two with her bare hands.

Zete Mage quickly pulled Figxin back.

He gestured, reminding her that this was Twin Tower City. At worst, these two young girls were just scalpers or shills hired by a business. There was no need for such a heavy-handed approach.

Across from them, Galina and Uffie were completely baffled.

They simply couldn’t get Ordinary tickets and had to buy a private box, so they were looking for two people to split the cost.

They had seen the older man and the younger woman staring at the sign for a long time and figured they must be interested, which is why they had approached them.

But what was with all the pulling and posing? Was this some kind of out-of-town greeting?

Galina decided to return the courtesy. If a tourist was greeting her, she, as a Twin Tower City local, couldn’t be impolite.

So she mimicked Figxin, raising her fists to her chest and adopting a clumsy fighting stance.

Seeing this only excited Figxin more. She began bouncing rhythmically on the balls of her feet, her jabs and straights just about to fly. Terrified, Zete Mage quickly jumped between them.

"A misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!"

The Princess personally assaulting two students in public would be huge news anywhere. He could already imagine how delighted the politicians supporting the other Princes would be if a real fight broke out.

「A moment later, inside a streetside cafe.」

After clearing up that there was no ill intent, Figxin agreed to share the box and, as an apology, offered to buy them Cokes.

Although she had no idea what Coke was, since the cafe listed it first on the drink menu with a huge "recommended" label, it probably wasn’t bad.

"So you’re a Merchant Group from the North?" Galina asked excitedly.

"Yes, yes. This is our first time in Twin Tower City. We came to see the expo," Zete Mage replied.

"Wow, I’ve never been to the North! If I get the chance, I’m definitely going to dive into a snowdrift and swim. I’ve only ever seen snow made by a Mage, and it’s never very much," Galina continued, letting her naturally outgoing personality shine.

"Trust me, that wouldn’t be very fun. Are you students at Repin Academy?"

Figxin took a sip of the Coke. ’It must be good stuff.’ It was very sweet, and sweetness meant calories. In a cold place where supplies were scarce, calories were life.

It was just the tingling sensation from the carbonation that she found a little strange.

"Not really, in my case," Galina said, sticking her tongue out shyly. "I got into the academy with bonus points for artistic talent, but my ’talent’ is a bit of a sham."

Because of that, she actually had a hard time at the academy. Although she could ride Uffie’s coattails for group projects, just barely passing her exams was already a struggle.

Still, she was better than those noble international students who hired people to write their papers for them. At least she was good at casting a big fireball.

"But she’s different! Uffie is one of the top students in the entire academy."

"No, no." Uffie was thin-skinned; she immediately blushed beet-red at the praise and waved her hands dismissively.

"She’s a student of Lady Furin," Galina continued, heaping praise on her best friend. "She was scouted by the Zog Group before she even graduated! One of the projects she worked on is being unveiled at the launch event tonight."

"That’s not it, I only did a very small part. It was a team effort."

"Oh?" Figxin’s interest was piqued. Lady Furin, the Zog Group... both of those names carried weight.

Especially the Zog Group. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, yet it was everywhere in Twin Tower City.

"What does this Zog Group do? Do they have any products that would be suitable for us to sell in the North?"

"Oh, tons of them! Almost all the popular pastimes in the city these days are related to them. For example, look over there." Galina pointed out the window.

A street performer dressed as a clown walked into the small plaza. He first drew a crowd with a few acrobatic tricks, and once enough people had gathered, he pulled a Yo-Yo from his backpack.

"It’s a Photon Elf S!" someone in the crowd recognized the Yo-Yo, and a gasp of astonishment rippled through the onlookers. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

That was the latest and greatest Yo-Yo on the market, the one used by the protagonist in the sequel to *Firepower Young King*.

Dwarf craftsmanship, an alloy body, and most importantly, it was a limited edition. It was priceless and impossible to find on the market.

The Photon Elf spun at high speed in the clown’s hand, so fast that one’s eyes could only catch the afterimages it left in the air.

But what shocked Figxin more than the Yo-Yo tricks were the different Illusions that burst forth one after another as the Yo-Yo flew.

’This is a toy?’

’I’m a little jealous.’

Figxin watched the clown, who was being cheered on by countless children, and felt a pang of envy for some reason. ’Why couldn’t I have toys like this when I was a kid?’

Then, amidst a new wave of gasps, the clown took out another blue Yo-Yo and began operating both at the same time.

"It’s an Ice Soul! He’s doing 3A!" There was never a shortage of connoisseurs in the crowd.

The clown’s lips twisted into a smirk, as if to say, ’Everyone step back, I’m about to show off something big.’

Suddenly, a translucent blue hand materialized in mid-air and set down a third Yo-Yo, a Fire Fox.

The three hands worked in perfect concert, sending the three Yo-Yos flipping and flying between the intertwining strings.

’Mage’s Hand?’

Figxin recognized the Magic. The clown was actually a Mage! And a Mage was on a street corner, playing with toys, busking!

Every part of it defied her understanding.

Not only that, but the Summoned Beast Illusions from the three Yo-Yos attacked and dodged each other, creating a stunning visual impact.

"Custom Illusions! It’s the signed player, Trickster!"

The crowd began to chant the player’s moniker in unison, the sound immense.

More and more people gathered until the small plaza was nearly full, with perhaps close to a thousand people.

’A toy player can have this much influence?’

"What’s a ’signed player’? Why are they so supportive of him?" Figxin asked Galina, confused.

"They’re Professional Yo-Yo Players who are signed with Zog’s Toy Store."

"Professional?"

"Yep. Their job is to play with Yo-Yos. And because people like him, they support him. It’s that simple."

Galina’s casual reply made something click in Figxin’s mind.

If she wanted to win support, why did she have to rely on complicated, hard-to-understand policies that might never even be implemented?

Couldn’t she achieve the same thing by making things people liked, through culture and entertainment?

The Sutton Kingdom was run by a parallel system of the Royal Family and a parliament. Although the Royal Family held more weight—being the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in the entire country—the power of the parliament could not be ignored.

The parliament was chosen by election, and voters often didn’t fully understand the politicians’ platforms, instead casting their ballots based on personal preference or even just following the trend.

If her faction could win the affection of enough people, there was a lot of room to maneuver.

’I have to find a way to meet the creator of these things, the leader of the Zog Group.’

Figxin made up her mind.

"Let’s go, the premiere of *Hunting* is about to start," Galina said, interrupting Figxin’s thoughts.

"There’s still plenty of time to look around. The expo isn’t just for one day. There are lots of fun things to see, but the premiere of *Hunting* is only happening once, today."

Galina pulled Uffie up and hurried off in the direction of the Cowboy Theater.