::A secret that could not be told
Two flowers bloomed, each with its own story.
After rushing out of the room, Xiu looked at the Five Elders outside,
coughed twice,
and instantly regained his air of indifference.
The Five Elders had naturally noticed Xiu's expression too,
but judging by the way he looked...
Had he done something incredible?!
"Well, old men, I'll be off!"
With that, he turned to leave,
but how could the Five Elders possibly agree to that?
"Wait, young man..."
Xiu turned sideways to look at the First Elder, who had spoken.
"What is it, old man?"
Old man, my ass... Couldn't you show a little respect?!
Huh? Do you know how many people out there want to see me but never get the chance?
Fighting the urge to beat Xiu up, the First Elder asked,
"What exactly did Lord Imu want with you?"
Xiu pinched his chin with his right hand and sized up the old man before him.
"Seriously, you even want to pry into your lord's conversations?"
At those words, the Five Elders instantly fell silent.
No need to guess-they were scared!
Just as Xiu was about to mock them,
Imu's cool voice came from inside.
"You five, get in here!"
The Five Elders immediately dared not breathe too loudly,
and shot Xiu a fierce glare,
as though saying, Brat, this isn't over!
Then they slunk into the room.
Xiu shrugged, not taking the Five Elders' threat to heart at all.
Come on, with how delighted Imu looked just now,
you five old men would be lucky to escape a scolding...
If you dared lay a hand on me,
you'd probably lose a layer of skin even if you didn't die...
Sure enough, screams immediately rang out from the room...
"You dared snap at him?! Huh?!"
"Feeling brave now, are you?!"
"Aah! Mercy!"
"Lord Imu! Mercy!"
"We're terribly sorry!! Lord Imu!!"
Imu's sharp cries mingled with the Five Elders' pleas, every word reaching his ears...
But that no longer had anything to do with Xiu.
He strolled leisurely to the outside of the meeting room.
The moment he opened the door,
he saw Sengoku leading Kong toward him, looking furious.
"Huh? Mister, what happened?"
Sengoku quickly came up to Xiu.
"Xiu! Those old men didn't do anything to you, did they?!"
Xiu froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
Sengoku probably thought the Five Elders were beating me or something...
"Don't worry, mister. Nothing happened."
Still a little uneasy, Sengoku checked him over from head to toe,
and only then breathed a sigh of relief.
Then helplessness washed over him.
"Ah, Xiu, you really didn't need to stand up for me back there..."
Xiu frowned.
"What are you saying, mister? How could I see the old, weak, sick, or disabled being bullied and not help?"
Sengoku: "..."
You little...
Every trace of his gratitude vanished.
If I don't train you to death later...
I'll call you Dad!
Automatically ignoring Sengoku's resentful gaze,
Xiu looked at Kong beside him.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, sorry Uncle Sengoku caused you trouble..."
Looking at Xiu, who was polite only to him,
Kong smiled and waved a hand. "It was nothing. I was just..."
Before he could finish, Xiu waved a hand and said,
"Since it was nothing, you can go back to guarding the door."
Kong: "..."
He exchanged a glance with Sengoku: Can I beat him to death?
Sengoku: No, no, no, there's no need, no need.
The kid's just a tiny billion bits off in the head...
Xiu looked at the two men exchanging meaningful looks.
"Why do I feel like you're badmouthing me?"
While the three stared at one another,
the Five Elders wore expressions of utter disbelief,
standing dumbly outside Imu's room.
What Imu had told them still seemed to echo in their ears:
the information about Xiu, and the relationship between the two of them,
and, of course, that final sentence:
"If anyone dares touch a single hair on Ella... Xiu's head, they can step down from the Five Elders!"
The First Elder swallowed with difficulty.
"Well... we haven't offended Xiu, have we...?"
Although they did not know exactly what Xiu had said to Lord Imu,
the beating the five of them had just received was certainly no illusion!
Hearing this, the Second, Third, and Fourth Elders hurriedly shook their heads.
"What are you talking about? That brat... the young master is clearly a dragon among men!"
"Exactly, exactly! Who the hell would be crazy enough to bully the young master?!"
Then the four fell silent,
looking toward the Fifth Elder, who had not said a word.
Those four resentful gazes
made even the Fifth Elder's hand holding Kitetsu a little unsteady.
"D-don't look at me! I was testing the young master! Understand?"
The four: "Heh, heh..."
"I'll just go apologize in a bit! Isn't that enough?!"
The four: "Heh, heh..."
The Fifth Elder: "For fuck's sake..."
At that moment, the First Elder said solemnly, "Enough. As for the relationship between the young master and Lord Imu..."
"We'll do as Lord Imu said and keep it secret."
"As for everything else... the young master can do whatever he wants!"
The other four nodded solemnly in response.
After all, if the relationship between the two became public,
it might... no!
It would definitely affect the course of the entire world!
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