A moment later, the woman in black subtly shifted the direction of her raised arm and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Then, have a pleasant trip."
Jiang Xia controlled the puppet, delivered his line, and turned to leave.
But he had only taken one step when his wrist sank, suddenly caught from behind.
He paused slightly and turned back to see Haibara Ai's face, desperately trying to remain calm. Her eyes held terror, a trace of resignation, and beneath that resignation, a hint of ferocity.
Haibara Ai took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly. "If you're after me, I'll be there on time. But please don't drag anyone else into this."
When her words fell, silence filled the air. Haibara Ai could even hear her own heart pounding, thump, thump.
A long time passed, until her fingertips began to tremble and she could no longer maintain her composure.
Then the person in black across from her curled her lips as though she had seen through everything. "This time, neither you nor your companions are the protagonists. You are merely necessary scenery. You don't need to do anything. Just focus on 'traveling.'"
"Also..."
Perhaps remembering how Haibara Ai was always ready to calmly die rather than implicate others.
The woman in black added casually, "My boss thinks highly of your potential. Besides, quite a few people in the organization hate you. As long as you're alive, they won't be able to eat or sleep in peace, and seeing them unable to eat or sleep in peace makes my lord happy—so I actually hope you live a little longer."
Haibara Ai: "...?"
...What kind of sick joke was that?
Just as she was reeling in shock, the woman in black flicked her wrist and somehow slipped