The captain of Digital Sabers opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. Juniper had logged into Demon''s ount. The ount''s transaction history was all in her name. She had even given a perfectly clear exnation for the male disguise. And it was true-WKL eSports had no rule against it.


    So Neverfall Navigators had won. Fair and square.


    "Do you require any further proof?" Juniper asked, turning her head to face the referee. Her voice was soft, but thezy drawl carried a chilling pressure.


    "No." Facing the legendary Demon, the referee shook his head vigorously, tripping over his words. "I hereby dere that the winner of this year''s WKL eSports championship is... Orient Country''s Neverfall Navigators!"


    "Yeah!" MystiCat and his teammates clenched their fists, letting out a heartfelt roar of victory. Only they knew what they had been through for the past two years.


    "Neverfall Navigators!" the audience chanted, the cheers shaking the arena.


    "I trust the captain of Digital Sabers is a man of his word," Juniper said, her gaze falling on the ashen-faced man. "You''ll be presenting us with our trophy shortly, won''t you?"


    The captain wanted to refuse, but he remembered his own arrogant boast, made on camera for all to see. If he backed out now, the public bacsh would be even worse.


    Swallowing his rage, he shot them a dirty look and stalked off toward the backstage area, his team trailing behind him.


    The crowd erupted in jeers and triumphantughter. It just went to show, talent is talent. No amount of dirty tricks could beat Neverfall Navigators!


    "The award ceremony will be held in fifteen minutes," the referee announced.


    With that, Juniper led her team off the stage.


    Backstage, she sat on a sofa while MystiCat and the other four team members stood before her like penitent schoolboys. They would steal @quick nce at her, then look down at the floor, only to look up again secondster. They repeated this dance of hesitation, too nervous to speak.


    "You were all pretty loud during the match. Cat got your tongues now?" Juniper asked casually, opening a bottle of water.


    "Boss—" The team exchanged nces until MystiCat finally broke the silence. "I can''t believe it''s been two years. You''ve gotten... so beautiful."


    As soon as the words left his mouth, he blushed furiously, his face turning as red as a tomato. He was mortified.


    "Boss, does this mean you''reing back to the professional scene?" another yer asked, his voice trembling with excitement. "We''ve been hoping you''de back every single day."


    "No," Juniper said tly, taking a sip of water. "You''ve all improved a lot these past two years, and you''ve picked some great new members. Neverfall Navigators can thrive and win championships without me."


    "You''re noting back?" MystiCat''s smile vanished, reced by a look of sorrow.


    "I''m not." Juniper nodded, her gaze softening as she looked at the five men before her. "I have more important things to do."


    "What could be more important?" MystiCat asked, confused.


    "My studies." Juniper grabbed a bag of chips from the table beside her and popped one into her mouth, chewing with a loud crunch. "I need to work hard and get good grades."


    Work hard? MystiCat had just looked


    up his boss''s info. She''d gotten a


    perfect score on her college entrance exams. If a genius like her entrance


    had to ''work hard,'' what hope was there for anyone else?


    "Boss-" Mysticat began, unwilling to give up.


    "Stop." Juniper looked up, a slight smile ying on her lips. Her voice was a low, husky murmur. "We can talk about my returnter. There''s something else we need to clear up right now."