"This is Michael Joseph's complete match record."

Manager Bang Jin-ho handed over a document containing records about Michael Joseph.

"What's this for?"

"Take a look. Unless you want to be utterly humiliated."

"It's just an exhibition match, there's no such thing as humiliation."

"You don’t know how riled up America is, do you?"

"...?"

Lee Shin looked puzzled.

Manager Bang Jin-ho continued.

"The U.S. is where Space Craft was developed and it has the biggest league, but in the World SC Grand Prix individual tournament, they've never won a gold medal. Who do you think is responsible for that?"

"Me."

"This time, their ambitious new talent Michael Joseph narrowly lost to Choi Young-jun and didn’t even win a bronze medal."

"Based on his ability, I wouldn't have objected if he’d taken the gold."

"Same here. The U.S. is inviting you to prove that."

Manager Bang Jin-ho waved the document as he continued.

"They said the map will be randomly decided on the day, but it'll likely be one that favors Michael Joseph. For all we know, he’s already preparing for the match against you."

"...."

"I've narrowed down some maps that are likely candidates for the exhibition match and summarized the strategies Michael Joseph tends to use on them. Look them over, even if it's just during the flight."

"Thank you."

Lee Shin briefly skimmed through the document.

It was a clear, well-organized summary of information about Michael Joseph.

In particular, it listed maps where Lee Shin had relatively low win rates during his active career and compared them to the maps where Michael Joseph had high win rates.

The prediction was that one of these maps would be chosen for the exhibition match.

It was just an exhibition match, so was there really a need to go this far? But on second thought, maybe because it was just an exhibition match, they could afford to be petty.

Regardless, the reward for participating in this exhibition match was 1 million dollars.

They also offered to cover airfare, hotel accommodations, and even provide a guide to assist with everything from the event to sightseeing. There was no reason for Lee Shin to refuse.

'Come to think of it, I used to get a lot of offers.'

Top-tier professional league teams from China, Europe, and the U.S. had persistently tried to recruit him.

They offered extremely high salaries, but back then, Lee Shin had rejected them all because he didn’t want the hassle of living and playing in a foreign country.

But after completing military service, retiring, and then making a comeback, he felt a bit more interested.

'Before my career ends, I should try experiencing another league.'

He now wanted to experience and learn from foreign pro teams that had more advanced systems in place.

At any rate, this event was a great opportunity to see the U.S. pro league in action.

As news spread that Lee Shin had been invited to the U.S., he was quickly thrust back into the spotlight with no time to rest.

Although his team had lost, Lee Shin had shown a successful comeback match against Lee Cheol-han.

As soon as he proved his skills were still intact, he received an invitation from the U.S. pro league.

Being invited to the opening event of another country's pro league was a clear sign of how special they considered Lee Shin.

There were even rumors that this might lead to Lee Shin leaving MBS and moving to America.

As top teams around the world commented on Lee Shin, the rumors of his overseas transfer gained more traction.

[Coach Marques of TC: "Lee Shin’s performance is amazing."]

[U.S. pro teams praise: "His control hasn’t rusted, it’s astonishing."]

[U.S. SC Pro League Association: "We look forward to a great match between Michael Joseph and Lee Shin."]

[Gold medalist Enzo João: "Lee Shin is my idol."]

[Praise from China: "No matter the cost, we want him," express interest in recruitment]

[New York GC: "If Lee Shin wants to earn money, he should come to us."]

It wasn't just about his gameplay — foreign teams were also eager for the symbolic weight of Lee Shin, the longtime reigning champion.

Fans began voicing concerns that he might really leave the country this time.

Even among followers of the Lee Shin Sect, there was fierce debate about his potential move abroad, leading to intense keyboard battles.

- The terrifying spirit of the continent... They said money doesn’t matter. ;;;

- Still, if he goes anywhere, it has to be the U.S.

- What do you mean go?! Our God must stay in Korea. He'll just suffer in some distant land!

- Damn, he’s not getting any younger. He should go overseas and cash out before retiring.

- We should be thankful he stayed in Korea as long as he did.

- It's not like he stayed for the fans. He just didn’t go because of the language barrier, lol.

- When he’s got a driver and rides around in a car, what language barrier? Just hire an interpreter.

- He’s done his military service, so there’s nothing stopping him from going abroad now, right?

- I’d love to see Lee Shin crush it in the U.S., but can we even watch U.S. pro league matches here? ㅠㅠ

- You can buy an online viewing pass and watch it on the internet. Only problem is, the commentary’s in English. OTL

- How many players failed abroad just chasing money? He can earn plenty here — why take the risk?

There was a clash of opinions: one side believed it was time for Lee Shin to leave Korea for better pay and treatment, while the other felt he should stay to give domestic fans more great matches.

Leaving all those debates behind, Lee Shin boarded the plane to L.A.

After settling into his first-class seat, Lee Shin reclined the seat back and fell asleep as soon as the plane took off.

After sleeping for quite some time, Lee Shin slowly opened his eyes.

Someone approached and asked,

"Would you like a meal?"

It was probably a flight attendant.

"No."

Lee Shin, still half-asleep, responded curtly in informal speech.

“You must be getting hungry by now?”

“Water.”

“Water isn’t a meal. It’s time to get up, Kaiser.”

At those words, Lee Shin opened his eyes wide.

When he turned his head to the side, Gremory was smiling sweetly.

Only then did Lee Shin realize he was lying in bed.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

Lee Shin sat up.

Perhaps because he had slept well, his body felt refreshed.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t felt fatigue lately.’

He figured it must be because Gremory’s abilities had completely healed any physical issues he had.

“Is it a ranking match?”

“Why else would I call you, Kaiser?”

“Are we challenging, or being challenged?”

“We were challenged.”

“If it’s the one ranked just below us, it should be the demon lord Flauros. Has he already accumulated the amount of magical power required to qualify?”

Recalling the recently defeated demon lord Flauros and Sanada Masayuki, Lee Shin asked.

But Gremory shook her head.

“It’s not Flauros.”

“Then is it Belial?”

The next opponent that came to mind was the demon lord Belial and Joachim Murat.

‘But Joachim Murat said he didn’t want to fight me...’

Gremory explained with a smile.

“The challenger is demon lord Decarabia.”

“Decarabia? Was there such a one ranked below us?”

“I suppose I should start with this. Not long ago, I rose to 68th place in the rankings.”

Only then did Lee Shin understand the situation.

“A higher-ranked demon lord must have lost a great deal of magical power and dropped several ranks.”

“That’s right. Decarabia was originally ranked 67th, but lost to a challenge from Andromalius, who was 68th. Losing 30,000 magical power caused him to fall below me.”

“And now he’s challenging us?”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard, his Contractor is preparing for the ranking match to challenge us.”

“Who is that Contractor?”

“Demon lord Decarabia’s Contractor is someone known as Edward of Woodstock.”

“Edward of Woodstock?”

“I’ve heard he was a crown prince who won many wars during his lifetime.”

“I don’t know much about him.”

Lee Shin had occasionally browsed historical war records for fun, but only in his spare time. Unless it was a widely known figure, he usually didn’t recognize them.

“Supposedly, Decarabia found him wandering Hell while looking for a Contractor and brought him back. The race he often uses in ranking matches is elves.”

“You haven’t fought him directly?”

“No.”

Lee Shin fell into thought.

From the name Edward, he assumed he was British.

But beyond that, he knew nothing—he couldn’t predict what style of strategy the man would use.

Fortunately, Lee Shin had a route for gathering information.

‘I should ask Joachim Murat.’

Lee Shin said, “Could you contact Joachim Murat? I’d like to meet him.”

“Sure.”

Gremory nodded and closed her eyes for a moment.

Soon after, she opened them again and spoke.

“I contacted him. He says he’ll come here.”

“What?”

Stunned, Lee Shin stared at her, and Gremory smiled with amusement.

[That’s how I relayed your message to him.]

A voice echoed in his head—just like the announcement during a ranking match.

‘Must be a demon lord’s ability.’

Lee Shin finally accepted it. This was the Demon Realm. His usual logic didn’t apply here.

As soon as Joachim Murat arrived at Gremory’s palace, he dragged Lee Shin outside without warning.

Lee Shin was extremely annoyed but had no choice but to ride along with him.

“Hey now, lighten up. Isn’t it nice to ride a horse and gallop for a change?”

“It’s just tiring.”

“No way it’s tiring. Don’t whine over nothing. More importantly, you’re finally up against Decarabia?”

“Yes. Have you fought his Contractor, Edward of Woodstock?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Did you win?”

“Of course I won.”

Joachim Murat puffed up with pride.

“That guy treated my elegant cavalry charge like the stupid French knights from his own time. I gave him a taste of reality.”

“Is that Edward guy famous or something?”

At that question, Joachim Murat’s eyes widened.

“Good grief! You don’t know? You’re asking because you don’t know Edward the Black Prince?”

‘The Black Prince?’

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

Lee Shin searched his memory.

“The Hundred Years’ War?”

“That’s it!”

Joachim Murat enthusiastically explained about Edward the Black Prince.

Edward, the eldest son of England’s King Edward III, was also the father of Richard II, who would later become king.

During the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, he played a key role as crown prince, leading numerous victories and gaining control over large areas in southern France.

Because he frequently wore black armor, he came to be called the Black Prince—though that nickname only emerged in later generations.

“That guy committed so many atrocities while ruling our French territories that he ended up in Hell. Especially in Limoges, where he massacred 3,000 residents regardless of age or gender...”

“More importantly, I want to know his style.”

Lee Shin cut off Joachim Murat’s history lecture.

Fortunately, Joachim Murat, the innkeeper’s son, wasn’t well-educated and didn’t know much beyond that.