"It was a nice match, wasn't it?" Cato asked.

"A little tiring to my taste,” Yuel answered.

"My, is that so? Maybe you need to work on your stamina then~"

"Perhaps so." Yuel didn't have anything smart to say to that. There is some truth to that, I can’t deny it. I'm sure we'll have a similarly exhausting experience against StormBlitz, so we have to improve on that front.

"By the way," Cato said. "Do you remember that cute assassination operation you arranged on Apprentece in Top? You know, the one where you sent a half-dead assassin on him while he was pushing."

"Who said it was my idea?" Yuel shrugged. The way Cato’s question was phrased sounded like fishing. I'm not giving him any information for free.

"My, playing it hard to crack? I see." Cato smiled impishly. "Anyway, about that play which you clearly arranged. Remember that? It fell through quite pitifully, didn't it?"

"Sure, I won’t claim it went smoothly."

"Right, right. And, it was all thanks to our Jungler being stationed nearby, wasn't it?"

"I suppose that played a crucial role, yes."

"Take a guess who ordered the Jungler to go over there~" Cato smiled from ear to ear, so the answer was so obvious. But, Cato’s attitude was a bit annoying so Yuel didn't feel like cooperating.

"Who knows." Yuel shrugged. "Your entire team is overly defensive, so I wouldn't be surprised if the players just randomly place themselves in obscure positions and happen to intercept unpredictable attacks.”

"My, you're not going to play along, are you?" Cato smiled wryly. "Well, let me enlighten you then: it was me. Yes, yours truly. I'm the one who predicted that unlikely gank and countered it beautifully!" 

"Wow. And? Are you expecting applause or something?"

"My, playing it cool, aren’t we? Still, I'm sure that play aggravated you nicely~"

"Not really.” Yuel shook his head. “Honestly, I've almost forgotten about it until now." Of course, that was a lie. There’s no way Yuel would forget one of the game’s decisive moments.

We had a real chance to turn the game around with that gank. Yuel thought. I don't think the plan was bad, it even caught Apprentece off-guard. But, their Jungler being in the area was the thing that ruined everything...

As pompous as Cato was acting about all of this, in truth, he had every right to be proud of that call. Against any other team, stationing the Jungler near Top in that position would've been a waste of time, but that's precisely why it made sense to do it against Yuel.

Seems like Cato figured out that I like exploiting such unexpected angles. Thanks for giving me this valuable bit of information.

Cato's boasts revealed interesting information that was previously only in the realm of speculation for Yuel. It was always valuable to know to what degree the enemy shot-caller had figured Yuel out, so he’d know to adapt accordingly.

Or, maybe this is just another one of Cato’s psychological attacks? Yuel wondered. Maybe he's trying to stress how much he has "figured me out" while in truth it was just a fluke. There's never telling what this guy is really thinking, so, I better take everything with a grain of salt.

"Well, that sure was a nice guess you made there," Yuel said. "Congratulations on winning the roulette for once."

"Thank you, thank you~ I really hit the jackpot, didn't I~?" 

"Yes. But, I'm sure that for every time you guessed right, there were at least ten other times where you guessed wrong and wasted your teammates' time on defending against phantom attacks."

"My, what a bold accusation.” Cato shook his head. “I'll have you know I only make efficient calls."

"Oh, then I suppose the first game dragged on for so long because of your incomplete, then?"

"Agh, weeeell..." Cato grimaced for a moment. His smirk temporarily vanished, which was a win in Yuel's book. That move successfully struck a nerve.

But as usual, the slippery fellow was quick to bounce back. "It was a display of mercy. I just felt bad for your team in that game, you know? You performed so poorly there that I felt obligated to give you a few more chances. Am I not just the nicest guy around~?"

"How considerate of you.” Yuel made a face. “So, the two games you lost to us were also a display of mercy?" 

"Yes, of course," Cato claimed. "I mean, did you honestly think the Leopards would fold to weak plays like yours? And lose to a meme, no less? No way." 

"You can claim whatever you want to protect your ego, but we won these games fair and square. And as for the last game, we did lose there but not to you."

"Excuse me?" 

“We didn’t lose that game to your shot-calling, and not even to your team really. We lost almost exclusively to that Korean player you subbed in.”

“Hm?” Cato tilted his head. “Pray tell, how did you know he’s Korean?”

“Ugh!” Yuel bit his tongue. That was a blunder. “Um, I was curious about this unexpected sub so I asked the referee for more details.”

“Oh? And what did you ask him, exactly?”

“Why do I have to answer that? That’s my business.”

“Hmmmmmm. I see.” Cato narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “I had a feeling it was a little odd. Even though our dear Appretnece was clearly dominating the game, you fellows didn’t seem to lose spirit as you should’ve. It’s almost as if you were mentally prepared for something like this.”

“We’re just made different.”.

“Either that or somebody let the cat out of the bag.” Cato smiled meaningfully. “And, I have a pretty good idea of who it was. After all, you ARE a former StormBlitz player~”

“What are you implying?”

“That one of your former teammates is a snitch~” Cato declared boldly. “I have to say, I’m surprised you’re still on such good terms.”

“Good terms? Please.” Yuel shook his head. “They’re the number one enemy I’ve sworn to defeat this year.”

“My, quite passionate, aren’t you?” Cato nodded. “Well, we can leave it at that. The fact you weren’t confused when I bought up StormBlitz’s name already tells me everything~”

“You’re free to believe whatever you want.” Yuel shrugged. Drat, I couldn't fool him on this one. Oh well.

"Anyway," Yuel continued. "We lost the final game to Apprentece, not to you. So as far as I'm concerned, in terms of our shot-calling matchup we’re still at a 2-2 at best."

"My, such a sore loser, aren't you~?" Cato smiled impishly as always but there was a slight frown on his brow. It was clear this declaration struck a nerve. Cato probably didn't feel satisfied with that last victory either.

"I agree that the result of this final game was a bit muddled," Cato admitted. "But just so we're clear, I would've beat you in the last game even without subbing Apprentece in."

"We'll never know that now," Yuel said. "We’re the ones who had momentum going into the final game, so our chances were good."

"Momentum? Please. All you had was fleeting optimism at best. We would’ve snuffed it out in no time."

"Then, why didn't you?" Yuel asked. "If it was that easy, you could've done that yourselves of relying on Apprentece, right?"

"As if I had a choice..." Cato muttered as he glanced aside. This made it clear there was some infighting about the subject within the club.

If not Cato, then who made the call? Yuel wondered. Did their coach tell them to sub Apprentece in? It's definitely possible, but that doesn’t sound in line with that coach's usual image.

Rodriguez presented himself as a coach who highly valued "fairness" when it came to official matches. During scrimmages, he tried to make sure that both teams experienced a balanced match whenever it was possible. Subbing in Apprentece clearly went against that notion considering the guy’s skill level.

But, perhaps it wasn’t that strange. Rodriguez might’ve valued victory and the team’s reputation over fairness in this particular case.

Or, maybe it was even an act of “grace” on his end. Maybe he revealed Appretence now to give Stratus a proper warmup for the regionals.

After all, we'll have to be able to defeat the guy eventually if we want to win the regionals. Yuel thought. So, in that sense, this “unfair game” was very educational.

But in the end, this was all conjecture. Perhaps Rodriguez wasn't the one who orchestrated any of this. If so, it was probably Apprentece himself who forced his way onto the stage.

Still, Rodriguez must’ve approved it, so he's an accomplice. Yuel thought. So, no matter how you slice it, there was an agenda there.

"If it wasn’t you," Yuel said. "Then, who decided to sub Apprentece in?"

"Who do you think?" Cato sighed. "The Emperor invited himself in."

"The 'Emperor'?" 

"Heh, that's the nickname we got for the guy. Quite fitting, don't you find?"

"I see."

There was a lot of loaded information in that little tidbit. The Leopards didn't call Apprentece a "Pro", a "Champion", or anything of the sort. No, they went for "Emperor". That said a lot about how they viewed the guy.

It sounds like he's something of a tyrant, so he’s probably the one who demanded the team to sub him in. It was probably a matter of “saving face” or something along those lines.

The Leopards were on the verge of losing the scrim, so maybe the “Emperor” subbed in to avoid that. Even though he didn’t play in the previous games, he might’ve still cared about the team’s overall image.

I actually saw hints of that in the game, too. Yuel recalled. The one time we scored a kill on him was thanks to a careless push he did, one that felt like it was driven purely by the desire to save face.

Back then, Apprentece didn't have much to gain from pushing so hard against Lars. It felt like he only did it out of spite. Perhaps Lars triggered him somehow? Maybe he hurt his majesty's "pride", so to speak?

I’ll have to examine that situation carefully in the replays. Maybe there I’ll find the weakness I’ve been looking for. Yuel made a mental note. With that said, I can't believe Cato allowed himself to spill such critical information. So careless.

"My, it looks like the gears in your brain started overclocking~" Cato smiled impishly. "You probably think I'm ‘oh so careless’, don't you? But don't worry, I know exactly what I let on."

"Is that so." Yuel made a face. With this guy, it's hard to tell when he's genuine and when not. Maybe he did plan to reveal all of this from the start, or maybe it was a mistake he’s now trying to cover up. Who knows.

"Think of it as a small handicap I'm willing to put on myself," Cato explained. "I mean, as it stands, your team has zero chance of ever beating us the moment Apprentece takes the stage. So, I'm fine with giving you a few hints."

"How generous of you."

"I know, right? I'm such a benevolent person~"

"Yes, sickeningly so." Yuel rolled his eyes.

"Heh, what an ungrateful fellow."

"Don't get me wrong, I'll make sure to put this information to good use," Yuel reassured. "But, we're not the kind of team that needs your pity. We’ll beat you and Apprentece at the regionals."

"My, so ambitious~" Cato smirked. "I'll gladly crush this hope of yours on the real stage, provided you can even make it that far."

"Don't worry, we'll make it. And next time, we'll win." 

"Heh, I’m sure your team’s little story will make for a fine tragedy." 

"Oh, it sure will.” Yuel nodded. “A tragedy in which the ever-dominating Leopards will finally lose the regionals."

"I'm sure that’d be quite the spectacle. Too bad you'll only ever see something like this in your dreams." 

On that note, they finished exchanging intellectual blows. And, while they were busy doing that, there was yet another heated discussion taking place on the other side of the stage…