Tatsuya Shiba sensed their enthusiasm and smiled faintly. After shaking Koutarou Tatsumi's hand, he said,
"I'm Tatsuya Shiba, a first-year. I'm the one who should be asking for your guidance."
Coffee Country.
Baifeng Uesugi, who had already woken up, was sitting quietly on the sofa, waiting for an attack that might come next.
The lights in the room were off. In the dim surroundings, his crimson eyes gave Baifeng Uesugi a bloodthirsty air.
But the impatient expression on his face was completely at odds with the atmosphere.
This is so annoying. I thought that after coming to this world, I'd get to live the life I wanted. Who knew trouble would keep coming one wave after another?
My carefree life... I miss when I first came here. I had food, drinks, and entertainment, and a great beauty like Sister Maya to keep me company. That's my ideal life.
Having just started school and enjoyed only a single day of leisure, Baifeng Uesugi felt thoroughly displeased as he grumbled inwardly.
That was only natural, though. For the past three years, he hadn't had a peaceful day, constantly hiding his whereabouts and evading the Demon Hunters.
It wasn't that Baifeng Uesugi couldn't beat them. The main problem was that he knew very little about the organization. He only knew it had members from various countries; he had no idea where its headquarters was, why it had been founded, or anything else.
He had only managed to track down its branch here with great effort.
Suddenly, Baifeng Uesugi sensed that someone seemed to be watching his room.
"Looks like they've found me. I just don't know when they'll make their move."
Baifeng Uesugi's gaze abruptly turned toward the building across the street.
Well, they're quick. I've only been here a day, and they've already assigned me some tails.
After noticing that the Demon Hunters had begun watching his every move, Baifeng Uesugi felt no sense of urgency. If anything, he was a little more relaxed.
The next day...
Baifeng Uesugi left the hotel early in the morning and began wandering around the streets.
The tails behind him had been following him ever since he left the hotel.
Why are they all small fry? Three C-ranks and one B-rank.
Because the streets were crowded, they had no choice but to follow Baifeng Uesugi much more closely.
That, however, also gave Baifeng Uesugi a chance to gauge their strength. It was somewhat disappointing.
Looks like if I want to reel in a big fish, I'll have to make these little shrimp bleed.
Baifeng Uesugi changed course and headed for a sparsely populated area.
After arriving at an unfinished building, Baifeng Uesugi vanished in a flash.
Once Baifeng Uesugi had disappeared, the tails following him emerged from hiding.
"Boss, he's gone."
"Idiots, how could he just disappear? He must be nearby. Find him!"
Fried rebuked his underlings.
"Yes, boss."
"Looking for me?"
"Are you looking for me?" Baifeng Uesugi suddenly appeared behind the four people who had been following him.
The four, led by Fried, realized that their presence had been exposed and that Baifeng Uesugi had closed the distance between them.
All four quickly moved a safe distance away from Baifeng Uesugi.
"I didn't expect you to dare show yourself. In that case, don't blame us for what happens next."
Fried was delighted to see Baifeng Uesugi reveal himself.
After all, if they captured Baifeng Uesugi, the reward from the organization would greatly improve his strength.
"You think the four of you can take me down?"
Baifeng Uesugi sneered.
"Three of us are C-rank, and one is B-rank. I don't believe we can't take you down," Fried said, refusing to accept it.
"Looks like your branch's information is pretty outdated. Didn't your headquarters tell you how strong I am?"
Baifeng Uesugi asked, puzzled.
"Enough talk."
"Get him."
Fried looked at his three subordinates as he spoke.
As soon as he finished speaking, the four instantly spread out and surrounded Baifeng Uesugi to keep him from escaping.
"Fools really do know no fear."
Baifeng Uesugi spoke calmly.
"Ice cones."
The magic activated immediately, sending four ice cones stabbing out in four directions.
Seeing this, Fried and the others tried to dodge Baifeng Uesugi's magic, but it was already too late.
They had only just begun to move when the four ice cones struck them squarely.
The four instantly turned into ice sculptures. Cracks spread across the sculptures, and they finally crumbled into ice dust that dispersed into the air.
"Done. Now I can spend the day enjoying the local sights and customs of Coffee Country."
After dealing with the four, Baifeng Uesugi walked back out of the unfinished building and onto the street as if nothing had happened, gradually disappearing into the crowd.
Gradually, Baifeng's figure disappeared into the sea of people on the street.
The next day.
A full day had passed since he dealt with the four who had initially watched him, but no new tails had appeared.
Baifeng Uesugi was puzzled.
In the end, Baifeng Uesugi decided to go to the Demon Hunters' base and find them himself. He would have to go there eventually anyway.
If he caused too little commotion here, he wouldn't be able to draw their attention to this place at all.
By evening, Baifeng Uesugi opened his hotel room window and leaped straight out.
He didn't fall to the ground. After jumping out of the window, Baifeng Uesugi activated flight magic and came to a steady halt in midair.
After checking the direction, Baifeng Uesugi flew straight toward the Demon Hunters' base.
He flew so fast that only a dark shadow could be seen moving through the sky.
That was also why Baifeng Uesugi had chosen to go to the Demon Hunters' base at night.
Research into flight magic in this world was still progressing rather slowly. At present, it could only keep someone airborne for a short time; it couldn't yet allow them to fly freely through the sky like Baifeng Uesugi.
A short while later, Baifeng Uesugi arrived at the base.
The Demon Hunters' base in Coffee Country was deep in the mountains. Unable to pinpoint its location from the air, Baifeng Uesugi had to land and continue on the ground.
After landing, Baifeng Uesugi followed the route he remembered and soon arrived at the Demon Hunters' base in Coffee Country.
Looking at the base not far away, Baifeng Uesugi cast an invisibility spell on himself and walked straight in.
But once inside, he noticed that something was very wrong.
Since this was a base, there should at least have been someone guarding it.