She looked as though she was about to offer them a hug.
But Kiana's instincts told her that something was wrong. As the three of them drew closer, that feeling grew stronger.
Blade, on the other hand, usually had his Mara-struck body suppressed by Kafka's Spirit Whisper, and spent every day looking like a cold, aloof male god.
But whenever Spirit Whisper was lifted and he activated his Mara-struck body again, he seemed completely deranged.
Even so, Blade still sensed what it meant to be treated differently.
When they invited him, they had Sam beat him half to death first. Thanks to his Mara-struck body's regenerative abilities, he had at least provided Sam with a suitable punching bag.
Although he had been in his Mara-struck state at the time, with his body no longer under his soul's control, he had nearly turned into the same kind of monster as those Cloud-to-Guard soldiers who had fallen victim to mara.
Blade had not thought much of it before. But now, hearing that Kiana was joining the Stellaron Hunters, seeing himself come over to pick her up, and watching the other three line up to welcome her, Blade truly understood what differential treatment meant.
Kiana finally realized why she had felt that something was off. It was not the three people's appearance, but their behavior and movements.
Although Kafka and the other two looked no different from usual, and although Kiana herself was being warmly welcomed, that did not mean she was welcomed by the Stellaron Hunters.
At the very least, because of her relationship with Herta, and because Kiana had taken the blame for Silver Wolf's actions on the Space Station, the two of them had traded plenty of barbs when they met in Belobog.
Their attitudes had eased afterward, but they