"Ah..."
The store manager didn't want to discourage the girl's enthusiasm.
It was just that he felt the other party seemed to harbor a great deal of hostility toward him.
Even if he was willing to settle things peacefully, he didn't know whether they'd accept.
The girl soon realized this too.
"We have to try before we'll know."
"I'll talk to them."
Otherwise, she worried those people would get angry just from looking at the store manager's face.
"A Xi."
Xiao Xiao was at the back.
Meng Jixi walked over.
"Those two weren't beaten by the store manager."
Xiao Xiao's words made Meng Jixi pause.
But he quickly understood.
Master Xiao had told him this privately instead of speaking to the police handling the case...
"Was it... a monster?"
Meng Jixi lowered his voice.
"Mm."
As expected of a police officer.
He caught on quickly.
Xiao Xiao swallowed the explanation he'd been about to give.
"The store manager doesn't know."
Xiao Xiao said softly.
"There's another guardian in the flower shop."
"...Tsk, tsk."
Meng Jixi grinned.
"Maybe they ought to be proud?"
"Most people never get the chance to be taught a lesson by a monster."
"I really want to ask them how it felt at the time."
Xiao Xiao shook his head slightly.
"They damaged the flowers and plants in the shop first, so they got a bit of a lesson."
"But the monster didn't understand how much punishment a human could take and went a little too hard on them."
"Too hard?"
Meng Jixi scoffed.
"Can't they still walk?"
"They got what they deserved."
"They're always trying to take shortcuts."
"Like the old folks say, you'll get what's coming to you."
"Right?"
"They're getting what's coming to them now."
"I