Facing Shaina's questioning, Exus said softly, "Stop is my most important friend."
Hearing Exus's reply, Shaina seemed to realize something. "So, you were involved in this attack too?"
Exus opened his mouth as if he wanted to explain, but after hesitating for a second, he fell silent again.
To Shaina, Exus's failure to deny it was an admission.
Shaina had originally wanted to build a closer relationship with Exus. Now, though, she was glad she had not tried to win him over yet. Otherwise, she truly would have lost both face and substance.
"Shaina, you know him?" Elder Tree had never met Exus. Hearing the exchange between Shaina and Exus, he looked over in confusion.
"We've met. I originally thought he was a white wizard." Shaina nodded.
"A white wizard?" Stop suddenly cut in, a trace of mockery in his smile. "Only fools divide black and white by whether a wizard is good or bad. Oh, no—even if you don't divide black and white by good and bad, you're still a fool."
Shaina frowned but did not respond.
Stop's words involved ideology, and disputes of ideology rarely had any conclusion in the Wizarding World.
"Allow me to introduce him to everyone. This is my companion, and also the fool I mentioned before—Exus."
There was obvious contempt in Stop's words, but Exus did not care in the slightest. He seemed long accustomed to being called "foolish."
At that moment, Black Earl suddenly spoke. "So he was the reason you attacked the Bilen Tree Court?"
Black Earl asked because Stop had clearly said, "Only fools take hatred as their greatest driving force. And there are fools in my organization."
This meant that, in Stop's view, Exus should have been a wizard driven by hatred.
Stop himself had denied that there was any