"Hello."
Faced with the friendly greeting from a former teammate, Fu Qian responded just as courteously.
Although the woman standing before him had almost no chance of recognizing him.
The Saint Seiyas' defining trait was that the abilities bestowed by their equipment might be wondrous and powerful, but they themselves received no supernatural feedback.
Unless Ess was holding the Sage's golden staff again, to her he would be nothing more than an utterly ordinary middle schooler.
He even had an immature pimple on his nose.
Of course, even so, beneath her gentle exterior, the other woman possessed an extraordinary air that was immediately apparent.
But with fate calling, the young man's chuunibyou spirit still made Fu Qian meet her gaze without flinching.
In fact, compared to her pretty face, his attention was focused more on the golden mask covering hers.
"I thought I wasn't welcome."
Amid the warm and friendly atmosphere, he added another comment.
Stay true to your original intent, and you'll see things through.
Chuunibyou wasn't about ingratiating yourself with the powerful. It was a conviction from the heart.
The workshop had fallen into hypocrisy without even realizing it. Just watch as I, its newest recruit, set things right.
It was clear that, at that moment, even Yingzhu and Oz, who had accompanied him all the way here, had their psychological defenses shattered once more.
They had seen Fu Qian respond to the greeting with such composure and thought he had finally toned things down. They'd quietly breathed a sigh of relief, never expecting him to follow it up with such a smooth reversal.
The two glanced at Ess with some concern, unsure how to react.
"Is that so?"
But, true to her status as a threefold Golden Saint Seiya, Ess merely paused at the less-than-courteous response.