Gideon was quick to act. Early the next morning, just after Duanmu Huai finished breakfast, he saw the members of the Hero Squad arrive before him under Gideon's leadership.
Some glared at him angrily, some observed him carefully, and others wore expressions that showed they were there to watch the spectacle.
"I've already explained the details to everyone."
As he spoke, Gideon looked toward his younger sister.
"Luti, you choose for yourself."
"W-wait!"
At that moment, a lecherous man in glasses hurriedly spoke up from the back.
"How can we listen to the nonsense spouted by some unknown man like this? He might be a Demon Race member in disguise!"
"Who's that idiot?"
Duanmu Huai took a sip of tea and curled his lip at the lecherous man.
The latter lifted his head with a smug expression.
"I'm Eris, the sage of the Hero Squad! You despicable and shameless Demon Race member, I've already seen through your identity! Prepare to die!"
"Oh..."
Duanmu Huai nodded and turned toward Gideon.
"Is that sage his Blessing?"
"That's indeed the case."
Faced with Duanmu Huai's question, Gideon gave an awkward, helpless smile.
"No wonder. I was wondering what kind of idiot sage would act like that. Turns out he's just a counterfeit pretending to be the real thing."
"What did you say...!"
Eris's face paled with anger at Duanmu Huai's reply.
Duanmu Huai ignored him completely and stood up.
"Fine. Let's take it one step further and assume I'm a Demon Race member in disguise who wants to eliminate the Hero here. What are you going to do?"
"Do you even need to ask? Of course we can't let you succeed! You want to shake us with lies and take advantage of us when we let our guard down! Your scheme won't work!