(Heartfelt thanks to 'Ordinary Little White' for the 10,000 reward, and to 'Chao Zhe An An', 'OppaiIsKing', 'Unknown◎Mo Yan', 'You Bi Ji Yue', 'World's End Ballad', 'You're Quietly Watching Me Update', 'Lei Xiang', and 'Fleeting Years' for their rewards!)
"Would you like to join my community?"
The moment those words left Jald's mouth, Black Rabbit's expression froze. Noah, Sakamaki Izayoi, Kudou Asuka, and Kasugabe Yō all answered in unison.
"No!"
There was not even a second of hesitation in that answer.
Noah, Sakamaki Izayoi, Kudou Asuka, and Kasugabe Yō rejected him with remarkable decisiveness almost the instant Jald extended the invitation.
The artificial smile on Jald's face completely froze.
Black Rabbit's frozen expression was instantly replaced by delight, and even her eyes curved into crescents.
Under those circumstances, Noah, Sakamaki Izayoi, Kudou Asuka, and Kasugabe Yō showed no change in expression whatsoever, still looking entirely unconcerned.
From that alone, it was clear that the four of them were exceedingly alike.
That utterly dismissive attitude made the muscles on Jald's face twitch, his expression turning into one of forced cheer.
"Sorry, but could you tell me why?"
Hearing that, Noah's group looked at Jald with faintly mocking smiles.
"Isn't the reason simple?" Noah said indifferently.
"Because we've already promised Black Rabbit that we'd join her community."
Sakamaki Izayoi, Kudou Asuka, and Kasugabe Yō did not say anything.
But their nonchalant manner clearly showed that they could not be bothered to explain further.
"...That's the only reason?" Jald's smile had begun to look ugly.
"Forgive my bluntness, but Black Rabbit's community is No Name, without either a flag or a name, while my community is one of the foremost forces in the entire Outer Gate 2105380. There should be no reason for you to choose No Name over my community, should there?"