---

Hikari considered the best place for them to transition to Metaverse for a bit, before answering,



“Well, contrary to the real-life Shibuya Scramble, where it is bustling with people. In the Metaverse version, humans would be easily spottable in the midst of the distorted landscapes and shadows roaming around. So we don’t have to worry about picking a specific place since Minamoto-kun said to ‘Enter Metaverse in Shibuya Scramble’, so wherever we end up in the Metaverse, we should be able to find others relatively easily as long as it’s still within the vicinity of the Scramble.”

Not to mention, given what her Black Regalia look like, assuming the others were of similar design, then they would make a stark contrast to the surroundings in the Metaverse.

She continued, pointing to a building with a rooftop access that can oversee the Scramble,

“How about in that building? We can enter and shift inside, before heading to its rooftop. That way, we can spot other people in the Metaverse even better afterward.”

@Aurkanthis

@Digmata@Bacon

Ayo looked between Osamu and her phone, internally debating whether she should follow his suggestion or stick to her own plan. Then she realized she was thinking about it too hard and just put her phone - which was still on the part of the app that would let he transform - away.

"Sure, wasn't planning on taking an elevator."

As she followed him, no doubt towards the alley and beginning the climb up some fire escape, there was that flash of black flames across the scramble, which definitely caught her eye, and no doubt Osamu's as well. It only stopped her for a moment though, trying to continue up behind him, which incidentally blocked him from going back down.

"I'm not bowing to whatever game they're playing," she said in explanation, "if they want to meet up they can come to us. They just threw up a signal flare for the next ten blocks, so any violent freak is going to come running."

Upon reaching the alley with the fire escape, though the ladder was up, Osamu didn’t find that as a problem, especially not in the metaverse. He instead leapt on top of a nearby dumpster with that supernatural athleticism this world tended to provide, before pivoting and leaping atop the fire escape. From there, a swift kick to the latch holding the ladder in place caused it to drop with a clang.

As the burst of dark fire made itself evident, Osamu paused in his climbing for a moment to observe, before continuing. “Most people aren’t dumb enough to walk straight into something obvious like that. I’m more worried about the shadows rushing in like someone rang the dinner bell.” He commented, as he made his way up to the roof of the building.

Once there, Osamu took a moment to pull his kukri out of his bag. It was mostly a decorative piece, made out of cheap steel and wasn’t even sharp in the real world, but here it was just as dangerous a weapon as anything else. He kept the blade in it’s sheath, clipping it onto his belt for easy access. In hindsight, he figured he should’ve done that sooner, but what’s done is done. That accomplished, he walked over to the edge of the building, and looked over at where the black flames came from, and the person standing there. “You think they’re one of Seiji’s too, or someone unrelated?” He asked off-handedly.

---

@Digmata@TruthHurts

@Randomguy

Kasuga-kun indicated a certain rooftop. Her reasoning was sound. Toma nodded towards it.

“Yes,” Toma said softly as he eyed their destination. “That should do nicely.”

He then followed her lead, dumping the cup on the way out of the coffee shop.

As they made their way through the chaos of the Scramble, he kept his mind alert and his eyes scanning their environment on the off chance there was another like them about.

Eventually they had made their way across the liminal space and began their ascent. Once they were at the top of the building, he reached for his phone. He wanted to be ready for anything once they slipped through the veil.

---

Hikari felt the world shift as the bustling streets of the Shibuya Scramble gave way to the strange world of the Metaverse, an almost distorted mirror of the place they were just standing in before. As they reached the roof access, she saw Toma reaching for his phone. Nodding, Hikari did the same before accessing the Black Crown App to transform into her Black Regalia.



"I suppose we might as well manifest our Black Regalia," she said to Touma, before turning her attention to the door that led to the roof.

She opened the door, only to be greeted with the sight of a girl in Chinese robes wearing a fox mask, surrounded by black flames.

Immediately, a black bow manifested in Hikari's right hand, as her left hand held her phone, ready to access the Black Crown app once more to summon Lucrezia. She would not aim her bow at the girl on the roof just yet, but given she had no idea of her allegiance, it seemed wise to keep her weapon on the ready.



"Are you perhaps...summoned here by a certain mutual acquaintance of ours, by any chance?" she asked carefully.

@Aurkanthis@TruthHurts@Digmata@Bacon

@TruthHurts@Bacon@Randomguy@Aurkanthis

---

Like a performer under the spotlight, Shirona would turn around and face the source of the sudden voice. It would be a familiar one but it is something that she needs to shove aside for now. Her eyes would look for a brief moment at the bow before she spun her staff like a majorettes' baton. Meanwhile Daji looms over her as its visage stares at Lucrezia prepared but not hostile.

"Is the name of our mutual acquintance Senji? Or did I lure his enemies?" Shirona's voice asked the newcomer in a sing song voice. She is confident that regardless of what happens she could find a way to get out relatively unscathed.

"Regardless you can call me the Thespian, would you give the honor of knowing your names." she asked steadfastly holding on her showmanship.

Another boring day in paradise surrounded by friends exchanging the latest gossip and happenings that were going on whatever social media app held that held their interest for the day, and in the middle of it was Kauro, all smiles or at least he should have been. After a long day of courses, he was walking around the streets of Shibuya with some of the most popular students of Kengen University and typically he would be engaging in whatever topic of the day caught their interest, but today was he silent, absentmindedly munching on his famichiki, for his mind was elsewhere. Rather, it was focused on a place similar to Shibuya, similar to their world: the Metaverse.

Sure, it was hard to believe that such a place existed though at this point he had explored it himself several times on his own. It was something straight out of a fantasy novel, but what he had not expected was only recently to find himself being recruited by some guy named Seji that gave him realy Napoleon Complex vibes. What he was being recruited for? Some lofty goals of justice or whatever, but what it was, was enticing. Not the idea of working under someone, but the idea of exploring this space separate from the real world working. Now that was something straight out of fantasy novel.

That train of thought though was broken though as a voice kept repeating his name. He turned attention to one of the girls in the group who looked at with a worried, yet annoyed expression. "What's been with you lately? It's like you haven't been here lately."

Kauro flashed an apologetic smile and a well-placed sheepish chuckle. "Sorry, I guess I've been a bit burned out by classes lately. It eats up a lot of mental space, you know?"

"I hear you man," chimed one of his male companions. "They're just numbing my brain. I just want to kick back and relax! Should we hit the arcade or karaoke, or something?"

Kauro sighed and said, "Ah, I've actually got to head out. I promised my aunt that I would get home a bit early today. Next time, okay?" He offered a reassuring smile. While his friends were disappointed, they understood and went ahead. He watched them walk through the crowded streets before he pulled his phone out and flicked through the screen to find that strange little app with a black crown.

"There we are." He muttered to himself; the corners of his mouth raised in a grin. Walking into one of the many alleyways, he tapped the screen and watched as his surroundings twisted into the Metaverse, a flipside of Shibuya.

Kauro walked out of the alleyway and looked around for any other humans, something that would have been pretty easy under normal circumstances though it looks like there was no one else. "I guess I must be pretty late." He muttered to himself though his attention was caught by the sudden flare of red flames that shot up from a building. Kauro took another bite of his famichiki and muttered, "...That is either a trap, or they really don't care about who else knows where they are."

He tossed the wrapper behind him. It was not like the residents in this world cared about litter anyway. Not sure what to expect, he kept his finger close to the app as he traversed the Metaverse.

---

OST: Escape -Another version-

The intense darkness and red of the Metarealm continued to bear down on the people who had gathered. Some in their outfits, others not, and one just about to pass the precipice, as he stood at the rooftop, looking down upon the Scramble. The hustle and bustle of Shibuya became ambient noise the moment one stepped into the Metarealm, the people around them turned into shades, desaturated, and their common features blurred until they became akin to a fleeting memory of someone they'd met before. Of course, if there was anyone in this crowd they knew, their features would be in focus, as was the nature of the Metarealm. It was not simply a place outside of the world they knew, rather it was anything but outside, it was inside, even further.

Those who were familiar with the Metarealm would note that it seemed a little desolate, putting aside all the people Seiji had gathered here. Normally there would be a few Chimeratic members darting about in the shadows, but even they found that there was nothing of the sort happening.

If Osamu deigned to check his access to the site that Chimeratic used, he would notice they appeared to be in complete chaos. On the one hand there seemed to be talk of something big, but on the other... It kept coming up. "Invaded", "attacked", "stolen". This was odd, they had no base to speak of where such a thing could happen, yet here it was. Low ranking members seemed to be confused, or swept up into the mess... Though Osamu would probably learn very soon why this was happening.

Everyone's attention would suddenly be demanded by the sky above as the sound of a train's whistle resonated above. The great loud train whistle was... Nothing like the trains they had here in Tokyo, in fact, those well versed in old American wild west movies would recognize it. The whistle of a steam powered train. It was odd, and perhaps an immense shock to those here. Even with the strangeness and obtuse rules of the Metarealm, something like this seemed completely absurd, but soon those looking on would find it was no illusion or trick.

A rift within the sky seemed to form, before crashing open, shards of metarealm glass flew in all directions, turning into mist and light as a steam train emerged with it's great big chimney, flaming engine and wheels with pistons rotating. However it was unlike any other steam train from the wild west too, as it was adorned with graffiti, and all kinds of it, however the largest design along the side and upon the driver's compartment was that of Chimeratic, their name and their logo.

Toma who was standing upon the roof, and having just slipped into the Metarealm to be greeted by this site would spot someone in the driver's compartment... It was Seiji, wearing himself a gleeful smile and seemed to be laughing like a maniac, supposedly, the train's whistle was far too loud to really hear any of the sort.

Then, following the train itself was carriages, not a single passenger carriage however... It was cargo, bars and piles of gold and jewels, paper money adorned with the Chimeratic logo flying everywhere, and even amidst all of that, there were Shadows too, wearing what appeared to be old timey police outfits... Though not quite, they wore wide brimmed hats and scarves much like bank robbers too.

The train would crash down upon the center of the Scramble, with Seiji landing squarely in front of it, jumping out before the crossing was cratered by the steam train. The loud thunderous roar of steel and asphalt colliding, along with the jingles of coins and gold to follow as the cargo it was carrying flew all over the immediate area. There was no image quite like this, not even in their wildest imaginations to see a steam train from the Wild West era, covered in modern graffiti, crashed almost upright in the middle of a district they all knew too well. Even if everything was in an odd shade of red and darkness.

The rest of the train would fall out of the hole, which would subsequently close, the following cargo would have a much less eventful fall, leaving some of the carriages mostly intact. Collateral damage one might say. The Shadows that were attached to the train itself fell to the ground mostly face first, turning into shadowy sludge before melting into the world around them. One would however survive the fall...

"You thief!" It got up, drawing the revolver from it's holster before it's face was punctured, a loud bang preceding it. Seiji had drawn his own revolver first, firing quickly and with such precise accuracy. Those who knew him from around the beginning of the month would notice he was getting faster with that quick draw, something he liked to do to end encounters with other Black Crown users.

"Hmph, it seems I'm late... Or maybe, everyone else is just early", he wore a cocky smile, the same they all knew him to wear. With a twirl he put away his revolver, before taking a couple more steps in front.

"Well either way, I've finally arrived, and with our ride no less".

Osamu had noticed how relatively quiet the Scramble was, and the lack of Chimeratic goons running around, so as he and Ayo decided on whether or not to join what was now a group of three, Osamu decided to do a bit of digging. He opened his phone to the encrypted chat rooms used by a certain organization, scrolling through logs to try and see what was happening. And while there were some rumblings of big plans in the works that he made a note to dig into a bit later, what really caught his eye were the frantic messages. Someone was hitting them hard somewhere, and while he questioned who else might be in the metaverse gunning for them, that question was answered soon after.

“Huh. Wonder what’s got Chimeratic in such a pani…” He trailed off as the train whistle blew, followed by cracks in the sky. He backed away from the edge of the building, moments before the rift burst open, with a whole train out of some Spaghetti Western crashing through the sky and into the center of the scramble. Wasting no time, Osamu tapped his phone as crimson flame engulfed his form, not yet knowing who or what caused that. As the flames washed over him, his attire changed into his black regalia, that dark european-style plate that made him appear as some dark knight or medieval tyrant, and what appeared to be an M249 SAW in his free hand. Then, he rushed to the edge of the building, just in time to witness Seiji’s quickdraw.

It didn’t take Osamu long to realize whose graffiti was painted on the side of the train, or what was left of it, which made him burst out laughing. It took him a good couple of minutes to get a grip on himself after realizing that, not only had they somehow gotten a train, but Chimeratic just had said train stolen. By one man. “Well, that’s one way to make an entrance!” He managed between laughs and gasps, before finally getting a grip on himself, and making his way back toward the fire escape to meet Seiji, and anyone else who cared to join, at street level.

---

Thespian…

Hikari remembered that Seiji had said something to the effect of ‘pick a codename’. Her original idea was to use Duchess, referencing the peerage rank of her persona, Lucrezia. It seemed a simple enough idea.

Though after Seiji then mentioned in passing that one of the members had picked ‘Baron’ as a codename, Hikari reconsidered and ultimately did not end up using Duchess as her codename.

She might have decided to stop ‘willingly backing down’ to please others. But there was a line between that and potentially needlessly inviting scorn from a possible ally. After all, a Duchess would be explicitly above a Baron in the peerage. In fact, Baron was the lowest rank and Duchess the highest, just below the King or Emperor. That was not to say that the ‘Baron’ would fly off the handle over something so petty, but she tended to invite undue jealousy and unjustified misrepresentation.



Hikari realised that such statements could be construed as quite arrogant, but they were validated by her own personal experience. Thus, call it trauma or prudence or being practical, however, she went with Signora instead, the common form of address for women of status during Lucrezia’s time.



“He is our mutual acquaintance, yes. I think we are here for the same reason. Because of the message he sent. You can call me Signora, then. Nice to meet you, Thespian.”

It was then that, almost as if waiting for a cue, a screeching sound echoed through the Metaverse. It was an unfamiliar sound to Hikari’s ears, which took her a few seconds to place the sound. The sound of a train’s whistle, though not one she had heard outside of some movies coming out of Hollywood.

Then, as the sky shattered and a steam train emerged from the hole it created, Hikari could only watch in astonishment—fortunately recognising Seiji even in his Black Regalia form—as it crashed nearby, killing the shadows latching on to it. Only a single shadow survived the fall, prompting Hikari, who had already drawn her weapon, to aim it at the shadow, only for Seiji to dispatch of it quicker than she could draw her arrows.

…Such was the difference between those who had experience and herself, she supposed.



She sighed, “Well, to be fair, you didn’t designate a specific time. Only ‘afternoon’, so you’re not late, no. And even if you were, I can only imagine that whatever trouble you ran into securing this train is more than enough justification. You said ‘our ride’ but what is this thing, exactly?”

@Aurkanthis@Digmata

As the train erupted from the sky with a thunderous crash, Toma instinctively activated his Black Regalia. Black and crimson flames engulfed his form before dissipating, revealing a stark white blindfold marked with a spiral over his eyes. His drab everyday wear had been replaced by a dark, embroidered robe—stylish and ceremonial.

Blade in hand, he caught sight of the train’s driver. Recognition settled him.

He turned toward the others on the rooftop.

“Daimon,” Toma said quietly. “You may call me Daimon.”

---

(Pronounced [DIE-moan]—it means Guardian Spirit in Greek.)

@Randomguy@Aurkanthis

---

Shirona would make a little bow to Signora and her companion Daimon as a sign of respect, at the end of the day everyone around her would be her future teammates, no need to sabotage her first impression for the sake of her curiosity.

She will get her chance later and she might not even need to move her finger for that.

Before she found the opportunity to speak, the noise of a train whistle descending from the sky, passing by a nearby building before landing to the center of the Scramble. She would let out a whistle as she watched the action.

”Damn Seiji, you really need to bring me to your incursions.” Thespian spoke in a teasing voice despite not being sure if she could be heard by the man. She won’t put it past him to be capable of hearing them.

She would then turn to Signora and Daimon who are still on the roof.

”Last to the train is a rotten egg!” she yelled as she leapt from the roof, Daji following her and manifesting an oven like construct which she grabbed as she made her descent.

”Most would go for a limousine or an airship.” Shirona commented as he looked at Seiji in a teasing tone. ”But I suppose you could never go wrong with classics.” She would then look at the train with an appraising eye.

”So what can it do, aside from not needing tracks to move or fly?”

Whatever awkward interaction was in the cards between Ayo and Osamu still was put on hold with the appearance of a huge-ass train falling from the sky. It was definitely a way to make an entrance.

"About time," Ayo muttered. All she had to do was slip her phone from her pocket and tap a couple more times for the transformation to take place. Black flames burst into existence all over her body, and while Osamu chose to double-back for the stairs Ayo sprinted forward, leaping off the edge of the roof, fire flickering in the wind. As she fell, she stuck her arm out, a heavy hatchet in her hand which she sank into the building wall - the blade crashed through its windows as she fell, slowing her fall in a shower of glass and concrete splinters.

She hit the ground with a solid thud, dispelling the rest of the flames, revealing her revolutionaries garb. Sprinting ahead with a burst of speed, Ayo made it to the train about when the rest were starting to gather too.

"Come ooooon, man!" Ayo shouted as she skid to a halt, "couldn'tja leave a couple for me?!" Not waiting for the conversation to continue, Ayo scaled one of the back carriages of the train, to check out their so-called "ride".

---

OST: Restlessness

Seiji's eyes surveyed the people gathered before him, each face he recognized, and frankly he was surprised that just about every single one of them had shown up today. The vague and sudden summon was perhaps haste on his part, yet the opportunity was rare. He'd be hard at work afterall, not just recruiting everyone, but something related to what he was about to talk about pretty soon. He gave everyone a bit of a smug smile before he began to step away from the train, going down along towards it's carriages, the sharp sound of his footsteps seemed to echo as he did, as if to bring attention to him. Where was he going? Was that not the train right there?

"Fret not Free, where we're going it'll be like a buffet for you", his assurance was expected, but the smugness of his grin as he turned towards Hoshino and Kasuga was not. As he stopped right in front of a carriage full of crates, he tapped the cargo behind him with a clenched fist, making a dull thud as it did.

"Hmhm, it does nothing, except need tracks", he replied smugly, as if he had been holding that joke in for quite some time. What followed was a bit of a pause... Afterall, he had just suggested that they were about to ride a cargo carriage without a train to pull it along. By most definitions, this was not at all a ride, rather it didn't even look like it had sitting space.

"Hm, well I sense a bit of a confusion. We're going to empty out the crates and hijack another train. As you can see, I just trashed this one here", he crossed his arms and tilted his gaze towards the entrance he had created. True... That piece of steam era technology was practically trashed, smoldering, and almost comically on cue, the engine seemed to rupture and explode.

"But that's step three, or four maybe. I'll begin explaining steps one and two", when he had everyone's attention he began to pull out his phone. A smartphone with a red and blue casing. Somewhat plain besides the colours, but he began to tap away at it, before turning it over and showing everyone. It was a familiar screen for everyone, except... It was familiar, as in they had seen it when they first opened the app, well before all the Metarealm stuff. "What is your desire?" There was one difference though... The 'your', seemed to flicker and glitch, and for a moment, it read 'their'.

"The Metarealm has two layers you see, the Metarealm as we know it... And "Kingdoms", where a Black Crown user has been Crowned as it's Sovereign. To gain entry to their Kingdom, we must learn of their Desire... And then put it into this screen", he began to explain. He pulled the phone away and held it to his side. "Of course none of you have ever seen this screen, or at least this version of it before. That is because you won't be able to see it, until you learn what the desire of the Sovereign is. It doesn't matter whether or not you know who they are, so long as you know what their desire is, you will be able to access this screen."

"As for what a Kingdom is, well... Let's just say it's the power of an Authority, but exercised all over the district. In this case, the entirety of Shibuya, for the leader of the Chimeratics", he added on.

"I was there earlier of course, that's where I came from just now, and it triggered something within the Sovereign. Osamu you should've seen it, based on how I spotted you looking at your phone. Their whole network's gone haywire hasn't it? Well... That's because I stole something, but not in the real world... Their leader just thinks something's been stolen. Fact is, not a bit of these precious shinies here are real, they'll disappear from the Metarealm in due time, and they'll never be able to manifest in the real world."

"Of course, for those not following... The simple answer is, we're invading someone's kingdom. I do take questions of course, so feel free to shoot. I currently don't know much more than how to get there, and what a Kingdom does, so my little excursion to secure an in was a learning experience for myself as well."

Toma stood motionless as Seiji spoke, his blade lowered but not sheathed. He listened curiously. The flickering screen, the layered Metarealm, the Sovereign’s distorted imprint—it was an intriguing notion. The Metarealm was growing more interesting all the time.

“So…” Toma began after a brief pause, his gaze lowered pensively. “The Metarealm fractures into Kingdoms. Each ruled by a Sovereign whose Desire reshapes that district…” Another thoughtful pause. “And if we learn that Desire, and enter that district with the app… we can confront the Authority within.”

He glanced up toward Seiji, voice low.

“Is that about right?” Then, after a breath, no waiting for a reply:

“Desire as Dominion… That’s a dangerous truth.”

---

Hikari mulled over Seiji’s explanation.

Kingdom…a domain where a Black Crown user’s authority was exercised, encompassing a large swath of area, such as the entirety of Shibuya. If the authority itself was granted as a response to the desire entered on the Black Crown App, then a kingdom could be said to be a manifestation of that wish in full.

Hikari then tried to extrapolate it to her own authority, for contextual comparison. Her authority, Inversio Invidiae, compelled those who envied her to act nicely toward her, instead of acting upon their jealousy. If it manifested as a kingdom, then…the entirety of Hane High would be the domain, and everyone who had the slightest thoughts of envy toward her would automatically be compelled to be amicable and pleasant instead?



She shuddered. She felt guilty enough using her authority on her friend, who was slandering her over a misunderstanding. She did not even realise what the Black Crown app would do; rather, she wasn’t even sure if anything would happen. But even so, once it was activated, the effect was undeniable. And she had robbed her friend of her free will, essentially.

She cannot imagine doing that to the entire school, let alone an entire district like Shibuya. She did not know what sort of authority the ruler of this ‘Shibuya Kingdom’ possessed, but if it were anything like hers, she could only imagine the damage that it would have done.

That was exactly why she agreed to join Seiji’s team. To make amends for inadvertently—yet carelessly—robbing her friend of her free will, merely because it was convenient.

“I have some questions, Mi—Noblesse,” Hikari corrected herself, using the codename that Seiji had given her when they met.



“What exactly is the authority exerted over Shibuya? Do we know? Also, after we entered our desire into the Black Crown app, it displayed the message ‘Welcome to Black Crown, Destined Ruler’. I wondered what ‘ruler’ it was referring to, but after hearing about the concept of kingdoms…do you think that whoever created the Black Crown app did so with the intention of having its users create kingdoms?”

---

"So if were making analogies, this place would be a game's public server while these kingdoms are the dungeons." Shirona commented as a smile got sketched on her face clearly excited at the idea of doing what is basically a 'raid' to the Kingdom.

"So the Sovereign would they always be a single person? Could they be a group? Could Kingdoms merge and have multiple Sovereigns?" Shirona wondered with curiosity as she toyed at the idea of a Sovereign. To be honest having a personal land where her desires are imposed seemed interesting. Imagine a grand play where everyone will follow a perfect script while she...

While she...

You know what? Being a Sovereign is overrated, if some random force would hand her desires with a silver plate then what is the point of choosing to leave that place? To be honest it is really stupid that she considered the idea in the first place!

"That does explain why the memory of these place photos disappears once I return to the real world."

As he was addressed, Osamu gave a nod to Seiji as he pulled up the still very much panicking chatrooms of Chimeratic on his phone. “Yeah, I caught that alright. And now whatever semblance of a chain of command they’ve got is tearing their hair out trying to figure out who did what.” Osamu said with a slight chuckle, turning towards Seiji with a grin.

As Seiji offered to start taking questions, Osamu paused for a moment, thinking through everything Seiji had just said, and after a moment, he spoke up. “So, find out the desire of whoever’s causing problems in an area, head into their domain, steal everything that isn’t nailed down and break everything that is, and then what?”

The young man paused as he realized what Osamu had been getting at with his plan. “Wait, we’re hijacking more of Chimeratic’s shit?” Osamu said, as he realized what Seiji was getting at. His face split into a wide grin. “Then what’re we waiting for?” The young man asked energetically, rotating his head and gently cracking his neck.

Then he glanced over at the other members of the team, and suddenly remembered that he’d only met one of them so far. “Right. First thing’s first, the name’s Osamu Itchikawa. But here in the metaverse, call me Baron.” He said, as he flipped up his belt-fed machine gun to rest on his shoulder, but with enough care to not flag his new teammates with the barrel.

Ayo had some thoughts.

If the Black Crown app was made solely so its users could form these Kingdoms, something wasn't working right. None of them had one, not so long as the information was new to everyone else, and there were too many randos running around when they could've been living it up in a Kingdom of their own. If you had the choice to rule, why slum in with the proles?

So only select users could use the Black Crown app to own a Kingdom - and by that logic, all the rest were meant to be followers. Subjects. Maybe even slaves, if the whole royalty motif was pushed to its logical extreme.

She didn't say any of this though. She let everyone else talk and theorize, perching herself at the edge of the train car, kicking her heels against the metal. "S'it smart to go right back in there when they're all freakin' out over a stolen train?" The answer was clearly 'no', but if nobody said that she was going to get annoyed.

"Guess you all can call me Free," she added with a small scoff, "'Noblesse' does already so no point fighting it."

---

Hikari looked around as some of the members gathered around started to introduce themselves. The woman—wearing a domino mask and white shirt—introduced herself only as 'Free', whereas the man introduced himself as 'Baron' alongside his real name, 'Osamu Ichikawa'.

She felt as if the woman's voice was familiar, but she could not quite put it. Likely someone she had not interacted with in length, but perhaps they ran in the same circles, maybe in one of the social gatherings she had attended as the daughter of her affluent family?

Regardless, what little recognition she had of 'Free' was dwarfed by 'Baron' or 'Osamu Ichikawa'. A second grader, like her, with a reputation of being a troublemaker, rumoured to even have criminal records from Middle School. They weren't exactly in the same social circle—not that...Hikari had much of a social circle in the sense of friends rather than admirers—but it was hard not to hear of Osamu Ichikawa.

Still, as someone with her own brand of gossip in the high school rumour mill, she would strive not to judge him based on rumours alone.



"It's good to meet both of you. My name is Hikari Kasuga, though as far as my 'code name' is concerned, it's Signora. I look forward to working with all of you," Hikari said with a smile, opting to divulge her real name like Osamu. After all, she already divulged it to Toma, and presumably, they would know each other's real identity once they meet outside the Metaverse anyway.