The teasing went too far

"Ask what?"

Bai Ye immediately pressed her.

"N-nothing..."

Lily suddenly grew a little flustered.

All she wanted to do now was turn around and leave.

Lily had come to ask around about Bai Ye, never expecting to run into the man himself at the Z Branch.

Since she had come alone, with no other members of the Blizzard Group present, she didn't dare act arrogant around him.

Bai Ye was now ranked fourth in Class B, while Lily was ranked seventy-fifth.

"But I distinctly heard you asking someone about me just now, didn't I?"

A slightly devious smile appeared on Bai Ye's face. "Well, I'm right here now. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."

"..."

Lily had been about to deny it, but then she reconsidered. Perhaps he was actually easy to talk to...?

Clearly, Lily had already been fooled by the smile on Bai Ye's face.

Though "fooled" wasn't quite the word for it. It was simply his mischievous grin that had led the innocent Lily to misunderstand him.

Hoping to earn Lady Fubuki's praise, Lily decided to be a little bolder and asked Bai Ye directly, "You're Kamui, ranked fourth in Class B, right? Have you ever heard of the renowned Blizzard Group?"

Seeing Lily shift from timid to serious, Bai Ye answered truthfully, "Yes, I have."

"You haven't, right? Then let me properly..."

Lily was about to give Bai Ye a thorough explanation of the Blizzard Group when she suddenly realized something was off.

"Wait, you know about the Blizzard Group?!"

Lily's face filled with astonishment.

She had assumed that, as a newcomer who had only recently joined the Hero Association, it wouldn't be strange for him not to know about Class B's rules or the Blizzard Group yet.

His answer had caught her completely off guard.

"Of course I do. Aside from the Tank-Top Army, isn't the Blizzard Group the most famous organization in the Hero Association?"

Bai Ye wore a very friendly expression.

"But... if you already knew about the Blizzard Group, why didn't you come pay your respects to Lady Fubuki right away?"

Lily asked in confusion, "Since you know about the Blizzard Group, you must know about Lady Fubuki, ranked first in Class B, too, right?"

"Yes, I've heard of her."

Bai Ye nodded slightly, his tone just as calm.

"Then why didn't you take the initiative to pay Lady Fubuki your respects? That's a long-standing rule in Class B."

Lily questioned him with a serious expression.

Under the Blizzard Group's long-standing monopoly, an unwritten rule had long since formed in Class B: every newcomer promoted to Class B had to take the initiative to pay Fubuki their respects. And if they showed promise and received an invitation from her, they couldn't refuse, or they would pay a heavy price...

"I know about those rules too, but they sounded like too much trouble, so I couldn't be bothered."

Bai Ye answered bluntly.

"You..."

Lily's expression grew more stern. "Before Lady Fubuki gets angry, I suggest you hurry over and pay her your respects. She has something she wants to say to you, too."

"No."

Bai Ye shook his head without hesitation.

"Why? Aren't you afraid of angering Lady Fubuki?"

Lily immediately asked.

"Because it's too much trouble. Tell her to come herself, and I can say hello."

Bai Ye spoke indifferently.

Like Saitama, he didn't like all these ridiculous rules either.

Lily frowned slightly. "...Do you know there's a price to pay for disrespecting Lady Fubuki?"

"That counts as disrespect? I really don't understand you people."

Bai Ye was somewhat speechless. "Besides, didn't you just say she had something to tell me? You can say it on her behalf right now."

"If you won't go pay Lady Fubuki your respects, I won't tell you."

Lily gave a soft huff and turned her face away.

Hearing this, Bai Ye suddenly found her stupidity rather endearing. She was acting as though he desperately wanted to know what Fubuki had to say to him.

In fact, he could easily guess. She most likely wanted to invite him to join the Blizzard Group.

After all, he had already reached fourth place in Class B, and Fubuki liked recruiting promising B-Class Heroes with bright futures into the Blizzard Group.

He couldn't think of any other possibility. He had never even met that woman.

"Then don't tell me. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

With that, Bai Ye turned to leave.

But Lily immediately called him back.

"Wait!"

"Is there something else?"

"One last question. Where do you live?"

Lily asked with complete seriousness.

"...?"

Bai Ye's confusion slowly showed on his face.

But he quickly realized that the Blizzard Group probably wanted to investigate him so they could come straight to his door if they decided to retaliate later.

"Demanding someone's home address right off the bat? You're not some kind of pervert, are you?"

Bai Ye continued teasing her, playing innocent.

At the word "pervert," Lily froze briefly.

The word was rather shocking to the innocent girl. A moment later, she came to her senses, her cheeks reddening slightly as she protested in a fluster, "Of course not!"

"Then why are you asking where I live?"

Bai Ye asked casually.

"..."

Lily hesitated for a while but still refused to answer. "Why are you asking so many questions? Just tell me."

She couldn't exactly tell Bai Ye that it would make it easier for the Blizzard Group to come cause trouble at his home later.

"That won't do. Even if you explain, I won't answer. What if you really are a pervert?"

Bai Ye continued teasing Lily.

"I told you I'm not a pervert!"

Lily immediately protested, mortified and indignant.

"Forget it, then. Let's leave it at that. I should head home."

Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on Lily, so he left after saying that.

"Wait, answer my question before you leave!"

But no matter how Lily called after him, Bai Ye didn't stop walking.

Seeing Bai Ye grow farther and farther away, Lily panicked.

She didn't want to return empty-handed, and before she knew it, she had started following him.

She was very cautious, though, trying her best not to let him notice her.

So what she was doing now was already stalking Bai Ye.

Perhaps because Bai Ye had been fairly friendly throughout their exchange, Lily had forgotten that his rank and strength were both above hers. Now she even dared to stalk him.

Bai Ye had noticed Lily following him from the very beginning. He had originally planned to teleport straight home, but now his interest was piqued, and he decided to tease this little follower of Fubuki's.

After that, Bai Ye began taking a winding, erratic route that wasn't remotely in the direction of his home.

With all the twists and turns, Lily was already exhausted just trying not to lose him.

Then, at another corner, she suddenly discovered that Bai Ye was gone.

"??"

Realizing that she might really have lost him, Lily stopped hiding and hurried toward the end of the road, hoping to catch sight of Bai Ye around the next corner.

But... there was still no one around the next corner...

"Damn it!"

Lily's expression immediately filled with frustration.

As she stood there feeling dejected, she soon discovered something even worse: she seemed to be lost...

Lily looked around and realized that, without noticing, she had followed him into an overgrown stretch of wilderness on the outskirts. Dense weeds and trees surrounded her, and she had no idea which direction would take her back into the city...

Feeling rather hopeless, Lily leaned against a tree. After following him for so long, she was already exhausted.

Tired and lost, she soon began to fall apart emotionally.

After all, Lily was practically the youngest female hero in the Hero Association. She wasn't yet mature or composed enough, and faced with this predicament, she grew increasingly frightened.

The more frightened she became, the more her imagination ran wild.

Thinking that she might starve to death out here in the wilderness, never see Lady Fubuki again, or even be eaten by a monster...

Lily's eyes couldn't help filling with tears as she sat helplessly beneath the tree, hugging her knees.