"I'm so sorry." Ah Xue immediately lowered her head and even bent over to express her regret, "I didn't know——"

But this sounds like a poor excuse.

"It would be troublesome for me to let Kuen-kun get hurt. But Xue still did it. Can I think...you are dissatisfied with me?"

Whether in the workplace or other hierarchical and subordinate situations, being asked such questions by a superior is usually a very bad thing.

It's just that you are trying to rebel.

Ah Xue was so nervous that her lower lip was about to stick out, and she shook her head.

"...I have absolutely no such intention."

"Jiuyuan" looked straight at Axue's fearful expression, as if this made him feel happy.

Gojo Satoru listened to this intriguing conversation, but before he could think about it carefully, "Kyuen" turned his gaze over.

"I'm sorry, it seems my children have caused you a lot of trouble."

Jiuyuan's expression was as gentle as the spring breeze in March, but Ah Xue, who was being questioned, did nothing but lower his head. His expression was extremely stiff, and he no longer had the confidence he had before. Now he was like a primary school student whose parents were invited to school, and his every move was restricted.

The master behind the scenes suddenly descended in the body of Kuen and spoke these words.

This proves that Xue Nan's actions so far were not entirely instructed by him, otherwise such excessive behavior today would not have happened.

Gojo Satoru thought: They have always believed that the attitude shown by the Snow Man is the attitude of the master behind him, but now it seems that there is a possibility that the Snow Man is hypocritical, so the attitude shown before cannot be taken seriously.

They need to think carefully about what the master behind this is thinking.

"Anyway, we'll accept your apology first." Gojo Satoru said generously.

Ah Xue gritted her teeth and looked at him: "...what's the tone of your voice?"

"Axue." Jiuyuan glanced at him warningly.

Ah Xue said reluctantly: "...I made a mistake."

Seeing that the arrogant Axue was now obedient, not only Gojo Satoru, but also Geto Suguru, who was at a high point, felt very complicated. Hanako laughed softly in his arms - he was obviously happy to see Axue being punished.

The boy gloated: "Even if the master didn't do anything to him, he was terrified. For someone like Ah Xue, not being needed by the master is the biggest punishment... It's really a relief to see him like this."

Xia Yujie asked: "...Isn't he the most capable subordinate of the master behind the scenes?"

"Not yet." Hanako shook her head and explained weakly, "There is someone above him who is superior to him... and has come into contact with a Shinto-related existence. Axue has no decision-making power in major matters. All he has to do is to execute. Now the head of the family is angry with him because his behavior has clearly crossed the line."

"Why?" Xia Yujie asked, "Is he such a foolish person?"

"He wanted to secretly make some achievements while the master was away so that his own value would rise. The master must have known about his intentions, but he just acquiesced because he didn't go too far. To me, the master is really wicked." Hanako, "What he did to Kuen today was too much, and he didn't expect that it would trigger a landmine... Heh."

At this moment, Kuen looked up at Hanako.

After smiling at him, she said, "You can come down too. I'm here."

"Let's go." Hanako said coldly, "He doesn't like us disobeying him."

Jiuyuan was still standing there, the closest to him were Xue who accepted the punishment modestly and Gojo Satoru who was very interested in everything, and then Kagome Ken and Hanako came down. Nanami Kento was standing less than five meters behind him, but Jiuyuan didn't care that he had his back to him.

Is this absolute confidence in one's own abilities? Nanami Kento thought, but he didn't show it on his face.

The first one to ask questions was Gojo Satoru, who knew the most information.

Although his hands were in his pockets, he looked ready to fight at any time.

"I heard from the man with the slit mouth that the purpose of this master, whose name I don't know, is to build a place for all monsters like them. To this end, you want to establish a new order in the world, right?"

"As you said." Jiuyuan nodded calmly, and his tone became sad: "If I can't take in these homeless children... who else can do it?"

"That sounds really righteous. However, you are considering it completely from the perspective of the monsters... I want to know, in your mind, what role do humans play?"

Not far behind him were the police and members of the detective agency who had come upon hearing the noise.

When Dazai realized that the situation was developing in an unexpected direction, his first reaction was to open his eyes wide and look carefully at Kuen, the only person in the crowd who had a vacuum zone around him.

He also felt the sudden surge of pressure just now. Compared to the others who looked unprepared, Dazai became even more excited after this wave of mental attacks - simply because, for him, a human with a bug-like ability, this was a very novel experience.

After hearing Gojo Satoru's damning question, the others were secretly curious about how Kuen would answer. The power displayed by the monsters now was too eye-catching, and they were also concerned about how the relationship between them and humans would develop.

Especially on the police side, some people have already picked up the recording equipment - once the relevant audio is recorded, it would be a good thing even if it is reported to seek credit.

"Hmm... it's really Naohisa." In response to Gojo Satoru's question, Kuen nodded gently and pointed out: "That's the problem - we have a disagreement on this matter, which is why Kuen-kun and Hanako left me."

Xia Yujie frowned, obviously he was thinking of what Hanako had told him about Kuen's wish.

"The so-called differences refer to attitudes towards human beings?"

Jiuyuan is obviously closer to humans.

Jiuyuan raised his hand, and Congri pointed at the place where his heart was beating, and said patiently:

"This child is a human being, so naturally he will have more considerations for humans."

"Kyuen-kun told me: 'If we want humans and monsters to live in peace, it is not enough for the monsters to deal with the order problem. There are many differences and misunderstandings between humans and monsters. In the process of establishing a new order, the two sides must continue to contact each other, build a trust relationship, and feed back the contradictions to each other. Only in this way can we usher in a true era of peace in the future.'"

Tanizaki, who was standing close by, heard what was said and muttered, "I think what Kuen said is right..."

If we want to establish diplomatic relations between the two sides, we must work together.

Just when everyone was thinking, “That seems to make sense,” the boy suddenly changed the subject—

"But I personally think that this is just a family affair among the monsters, and it is not to the point where we need to discuss it with humans."

His arrogance and attitude towards humanity can be seen in this sentence.

"I wonder why the Snow Man has this attitude." After all, the master is like this, Gojo Satoru thought to himself, but he continued to probe: "But I heard from the Slit-mouthed Man that - aren't you planning to get along well with humans?"

Jiuyuan smiled softly.

"That's not contradictory. I do think we should be friendlier to humans. But family matters are family matters. There's no need to explain to you what's going on inside the monster world, and humans shouldn't get involved."

Things are now very clear, thought Xia Yujie next to him.

Hanako and Hisaen ran away because they disagreed with the master behind the scenes and decided to resolve the issues between monsters and humans in their own way.

Then, the mastermind sent Snowman out to look for them.

"But things have come to this point, and more and more people will know about it. Why don't we just follow the ideas of Kuen-kun and the others and continue?" Xia Yujie tried to suggest.

Hanako looked at him in slight surprise.

"Don't even think about it." Axue snorted coldly and retorted quickly.

Instead, Hanako stepped forward first and said, "Master, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"

"...Oh?" The young man looked at Hanako with interest.

"How about we split into two groups? Jiuyuan and I will be one group, and we will implement Jiuyuan's ideas to carry out the next activities, and Xue will be the supporter of your ideas and carry out the activities according to your will--"

"Let's see which side achieves the goal first."

Xia Yujie looked at Axue who was hostile to Hanako. He thought that Hanako was sure that Axue would not refuse this proposal, because Axue would give him a good opportunity to make a comeback tomorrow.

"Really?" Jiuyuan didn't say anything. He pushed the question to Axue, showing a very democratic look: "...What do you think?"

Ah Xue pursed her lips and smiled, this time her smile contained sincerity.

"I think it's great... I can't wait, Master."

Everyone can see that Axue is eager to prove himself, and even though he knows that Hanako is plotting, he will still choose to agree.

“…Is that so?”

Jiuyuan smiled helplessly, looking like a parent who was extremely indulgent towards his child - but after what happened just now, no one would have such naive thoughts.

Because he used Jiuyuan's appearance, the aura of this mysterious master was softened a bit, but his previous attitude of not caring about humans was secretly remembered by many people.

Everyone was waiting for him to nod in agreement.

"Then do as you say - I'm looking forward to it. I hope you won't disappoint me."

As soon as he said this, everyone present felt relieved.

Because...compared to Axue's attitude towards humans, it is of course better to choose Kuen-kun.

Besides, that child is a real human being, he will definitely be more inclined towards the human camp!

When everyone's hearts were at peace, Jiu Yuan seemed to have remembered something and added another sentence -

"By the way, Hachishaku's confinement is over, and he will probably come to see you guys."

...Eight feet?

Is it a new monster?

And he was locked up before, it sounds like he is a bad monster!

"As for which side he will join..." Jiuyuan chuckled, "It depends on what he chooses."

"Goodbye - I hope you'll have some fun surprises for me next time you wake me up."

The boy closed his eyes again, and the overwhelming aura he had just had disappeared completely. He staggered first, and then his body went limp, and he was about to fall down completely. However, he was supported by Geto Suguru, who came forward quickly.

Looking at Jiu Yuan who was completely relaxed and seemed to have lost consciousness, he felt the boy's weak but steady breathing.

Xia Yujie couldn't help but think that nothing was irreversible.

This time, he caught it well.

Still alive, still existing.