Outside White Stone Outpost, ten minutes earlier.
"You people really have no sense of time."
Duanmu Huai stretched lazily and yawned as he looked around. They had agreed to meet here, but the other side had yet to show up. It was unbelievably boring.
"How strange. We clearly agreed on this time..."
Hiiragi Shinoa raised her hand and glanced at her watch, frowning slightly.
"Could there be something wrong with your watch?"
The blonde girl standing beside Hiiragi Shinoa could not help speaking up. She was one of the Patrol Team survivors rescued by Duanmu Huai and the others yesterday. Her name was Sangū Mitsuba, and Hiiragi Shinoa called her Little Mitsu... well, the nickname sounded strange no matter how one heard it. In any case, since Sangū Mitsuba's entire Patrol Team had been wiped out and she was the only one left, she had been transferred to Hiiragi Shinoa's team and had come along with them.
"Forget it. We're not waiting anymore."
Duanmu Huai had never been a patient man. He was the sort who would turn around and leave if a woman failed to show up on time for a date. Of course, he could guess that the Elder Council was up to something, but Duanmu Huai did not care. Any schemes and tricks were nothing more than paper tigers before absolute strength. That was why the Deceitful Trickster, despite being full of schemes, had ultimately suffered a crushing defeat—only an idiot would believe it could win.
Ultimately, it still came down to whose fists were harder.
"I'm going to knock on the door. Wait here."
Leaving those words behind, Duanmu Huai walked straight toward the gate. Hearing him, Hiiragi Shinoa seemed to guess what he intended and merely sighed silently, while Sangū Mitsuba was stunned.
"Wait, what