Cleared, but not Cleared

Humans do not share the same joys and sorrows. Qi Yuan only felt they were noisy.

Seeing Qi Yuan's pupils turn back to light brown, the Delinquent King's followers swarmed around the Delinquent King like frightened chicks.

"Boss, wake up!"

"It's over already, boss hurry up and get a grip!"

"You must pull yourself together, think about the Priestess!"

Some of the followers pinched the Delinquent King, some slapped his face forcefully, some even took off their shoes and put them under his nose...

It was evident the Delinquent King had a close relationship with them.

How smelly!

Were those ancestral shoes passed down through generations?

Qi Yuan and Hong Feiheng quickly retreated several steps to avoid the chemical weapon.

Physical attacks were far less powerful than magical attacks.

The Delinquent King didn't react despite being slapped hard several times. But one whiff of the stinky shoes and he sobered up instantly.

Even in his groggy state, his first reaction was still to kick the shoes away and vomit on the spot.

It showed just how lethal these smelly shoes were, no one could withstand them.

Seeing the boss finally awake, the followers heaved a sigh of relief.

The Delinquent King retched incessantly, raising his trembling hand as his lips moved.

"Boss, what do you want to say?"

A follower leaned in.

"The duel is over, you were despicably..."

Realizing the word that slipped out, the follower reflexively cringed.

Then remembering Qi Yuan didn't understand, he hurriedly gestured frantically at the interpreter to stop.

Getting the hint, the interpreter secretly gave an OK sign.

Their interaction did not escape Qi Yuan's eyes.

Just because he couldn't understand didn't mean he was stupid. These two must have badmouthed him.

"No need to say it, I know."

The Delinquent King waved his hand. Having regained his composure, he glared fiercely, "What I want to know is whose stinky shoes they were!"

As soon as he spoke, the follower who leaned in earlier began retreating quietly.

Seeing him in only socks, the slow-witted Delinquent King finally understood.

"Tie Miao!"

The Delinquent King glared, one hand in his pocket and the other grabbing the little punk's collar.

"I lost."

He turned to Qi Yuan, "I died countless times in your illusions. I'm no match for you now."

"Just you wait, one day I'll surpass you!"

With that said, he faced the onlooking crowd again.

"Hey you people! He refused a head-on fight to avoid harming any of you. Although I feel wronged, this guy could easily defeat me."

"Got it?"

The Delinquent King's words erased the dissatisfaction on the spectators' faces as they looked at Qi Yuan with complicated gazes.

So he did it to avoid affecting them...

And here they were cursing his despicable ways in their hearts.

This handsome young man who looked a little cold and aloof wasn't as heartless as they imagined.

They were horrible for judging him by his looks.

But Qi Yuan was just confused by the "clarification".

It sounded like nothing had been clarified at all...

Whether he had been under an illusion or not, shouldn't the Delinquent King be the one who knows best?

...

After handling the matter, Bai Li left with the logistical personnel from the Monster Eradication Group headquarters.

As she was about to leave, the team led by the brown-haired Caucasian woman also prepared to set off.

Seeing Bai Li arriving at the parking lot, she waved gently with a faint smile on her face. The wrinkles and nasolabial folds around her eyes betrayed her age.

"Long time no see, Li."

The interpreters of both countries began working.

"Long time no see, Saint Jeanna."

Gaul Empire's SS-Class Esper - Saint Jeanna.

Bai Li felt averse internally but had to stop for some small talk.

After chatting about meaningless topics for a while, Jeanna ended it with one line.

"Send my regards to Qi, see you the day after tomorrow."

Qiao Bai didn't quite get if the "Qi" referred to the surname or given name, but Bai Li understood instantly.

Their Ninth Squadron captain - Qi Yunzheng.

"Alright, see you then."

The support troops from Bill Country and Bit Frog Country would arrive at Sakura Island tomorrow. The day after was the conference between the Five Great Countries and Sakura Island to discuss countermeasures.

Jeanna watched Bai Li leave.

The female attendant beside her immediately said, "Saint, the Intelligence Department sent news that Dragon Country's Dark Nine Seats clashed with Sakura Island's Delinquent King and Dragon Country emerged victorious."

Jeanna had heard of the Delinquent King's notoriety. Among S-Class Espers, he was in the upper echelon in terms of strength.

To completely defeat him, Dragon Country's Dark Nine Seats must have revealed some of their capabilities.

She tilted her head and asked, "How strong is that Dark Nine Seats member?"

"Very strong, he's an illusionist. The Delinquent King only looked into his eyes briefly before losing control."

An SS-Class Esper...

Hearing that, Jeanna went silent for a few seconds before asking, "Any other information?"

The answer was neither unexpected nor unexpected.

How could Dragon Country organize this joint mission if they didn't have some capabilities?

Other than using the Sakura Island incident for the Five Great Countries to flex their muscles, they probably had demonstrative intentions as well.

The previous probes by various countries must have displeased Dragon Country greatly.

"There's another suspected Dark Nine Seats member. His distinguishing feature is strands of red hair."

"Red hair..."

Jeanna rested her chin on her knuckles, looking pensive.

Could it be flame-related abilities?

Speculation was useless. Let's see if the Sakura Island incident could make them take action.

Jeanna opened the car door, "Let's go."

...

Bang bang bang -

Hearing loud knocking on the door, Man in Suit raised an eyebrow at Fujwara Aka.

"It seems the simpletons have made a move."

"Come in!"

Getting permission from inside, the person outside quickly pushed the door open.

The door banged loudly against the wall. Both Fujwara Aka and Man in Suit frowned.

How uncouth.

Fujwara Aka glanced sideways at him, "Your subordinates really have no manners."

Man in Suit was speechless but his sharp eyes noticed the visitor was dressed as a shrine maiden.

"You've got the wrong person. It's your subordinate who's rude."

Somewhat embarrassed with her followers seeing through her facade, Fujwara Aka still maintained face in front of them - they were all part of her captive audience after all.

She got up and handed the priestess a handkerchief, gently asking with concern, "Did something big happen? You look awful."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Realizing her disheveled state, the priestess tidied her appearance shamefully with lowered head.

Fujwara-sama is so gentle, even if her looks are below average, I should at least give it a shot before rejecting her!

The Lookism Association is horrible!

"What's the matter?"

Man in Suit cut her off and went straight to the point.

He was eager to hear good news and lost composure slightly because of it.

At a loss with the sudden question, the priestess recalled the Delinquent King's words from the video. So Fujwara-sama asked the rich gentleman for help confessing her one-sided crush. As her subordinates, they are useless for not being able to help relieve Fujwara-sama's worries...

"Um... the Delinquent King went to antagonize Qi Yuan, then spread word all over Sakura Island that you have a secret crush on Qi Yuan..."

"Ha...?"

Fujwara Aka's expression froze as she let out an ungraceful voice, "What did you say?!"

"Ah yes..."

The priestess' eyes shifted left and right, struggling with how to phrase Fujwara-sama being rejected.

She enunciated each word slowly repeating what she just said, then steeled herself, "Qi Yuan's reply is that he prefers women comparable to him in looks, thanks for the affection."