"He passed out already?"
Qingyu glanced at Old Creep lying on the ground, his chest still rising and falling steadily, and shook his head helplessly.
It felt more like he had realized he'd caused a colossal disaster and, unable to accept it, had decided to play dead to escape reality, but...
Qingyu hadn't actually intended to take a blade to these villagers anyway. What he'd said earlier had only been meant to scare Old Creep.
After all, Kitakami was still part of Paldea's territory. Although Geeta had granted him the broadest possible authority, things would be difficult to wrap up if he really took it too far.
Seeing the caretaker make such a fool of himself had improved Qingyu's mood considerably.
As for cleaning up the aftermath, he already had a rough plan in mind.
First, he definitely needed to put these greedy locals, who had been influenced by Pecharunt, in their place. It was also time to replace the caretaker.
Then...
Qingyu turned his gaze toward the nervous-looking Ogerpon beside him.
She seemed genuinely frightened by Old Creep's words, believing she had done something terribly wrong. Unconsciously, she reached out with her little hand and clutched Qingyu's sleeve, as though trying to find some security in the gesture.
After everything that had just happened, this young man, whom she had only met tonight and whose name she still didn't know, had already left an indelible impression on Ogerpon's heart.
When everyone had accused her, believing she had disrupted the festival, he had stepped forward and stood in front of her;
When she faced those four villains who had killed the man who had been like a father to her, he had stood firmly behind her, drawing out the masks' true power and allowing her to avenge him.
Ogerpon didn't