"Hmph! At a time like this, you guys are actually robbing the auction while the elders are away! What are you up to?"

"It's you who robbed the auction, right! Only you guys are good at doing this, aren't you!"

"Who knows what kind of underlings you've been training in secret! I've heard that your ambitions have recently extended to the Western Continent. Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for yourselves?"

"Hmph! You think I can't see through your tricks! It's you who's colluding with the forces in the Western Continent, wanting to swallow the entire continent!"

"Enough with the nonsense! We don't have time to argue with you about this. Hand over the stolen goods now, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"It's you guys who stole the merchandise, right! It's obvious that it's you who dared to make a move on our Eastern Continent's annual collective auction!"

Watching their conversation from a nearby tree, I couldn't help but sweat nervously.

So it turns out that it was because we stole their things last night that this big conflict has arisen. We didn't even steal that much, was there really a need for such a commotion?

"Really, regardless of whether someone made a move or not, this battle was inevitable."

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from beside me. I turned around and saw that Duomuyan was actually standing on a branch behind me, waving at me.

"As a teacher from the academy, is it really a good idea for you to not find your students now?"

I turned my head and smiled, signaling to the vigilant Chunbai that there was no need to worry.

"Ah, so you know that I'm not speaking to you now as a teacher from the academy, right?"

"Who knows."

"Really, it was you who used the terminal device after me that day in the black market."

"... Alright then, Mr. Xibei, what do you want from me?"

"Indeed, you are even more impressive than I imagined. There are only a few people in this world who can see through my disguise."

"Where, where, there are only a few people in this world who can see through my disguise."

"So it's mutual then."

"Alright."

I turned my head to look at him.

"We're not here to chat about trivial matters, right? Say it, what do you want from me?"

"You have the emblem of the Ais Empire National Mage, right?"

"Huh?"

I took out the emblem and looked at it, then looked at him.

"How do you know?"

"Because all National Mage emblems are made according to a certain specification, and I made a corresponding detection device. Apart from that, since we're all people from the Western Continent, I just want to confirm if you guys are friends or foes."

"Look, the way you say it, we're just poor students passing by, watching the show. What friends or foes?"

"Is that so? Yet you carry the aura of a necromage on you."

"Does a person who has used resurrection on himself have the right to judge others?"

"Alright, let's not get stuck on these details anymore, alright? What I want to say is that those guys have been planning to fight all along, and the loss of the items yesterday was just an excuse. And in the Western Continent, we can take advantage of this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Eastern Continent's forces, so that we can get a chance to invade their forces."

"Whatever you say, I already said from the beginning, we're just here to watch."

I smiled slightly.

"Of course, occasionally doing things that are beneficial to oneself."

"So your goal is..."

"For now... to find Qianben Classmate."

"Huh?"

The other person was stunned for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"Of course, the first priority is to ensure the safety of friends, and then fight if necessary. I don't want my friends getting hurt."

"...You know that what I'm telling you is very important, right?"

The other person rubbed their temples with a worried expression.

"Of course, but... I make the rules when it comes to priorities. Now, let me find Qianben first, and then I'll deal with those guys who want to fight... By the way, is it a specialty of this city's gangs to fight anywhere in the city?"

"That... not necessarily... It's just that people here like to fight in crowded places."

"Alright then, see you later."

After saying that, I and Chunbai flew out again from another direction.

"Oyado, you said you saw Qianben?"

Oyado's figure slowly appeared on Chunbai's shoulder. With Oyado's small size, sitting on Chunbai's shoulder was no problem.

"Yes, big brother~ I just saw her hiding in a dim sum shop to the east, but the shop has already collapsed halfway. It seems that a fight has broken out over there."

"We have to hurry!"

---------------GTA-style character switch---------------

Location: East Continent - Po Tian City - East Street - Dongyue Dim Sum Shop

Character: Qianben Haidao

Ah, why is my luck so bad today?

No, my luck has been pretty bad recently. First, I lost to a red-haired kid in a martial arts match, and if it weren't for some strange person giving me some kind of medicine, I would have gotten a scar. And now, when I tried to go out and buy some snacks on my day off, I ran into a bandit riot. And they all look pretty strong, and there are so many of them, I can't handle them all at once.

Helplessly, I took a bite of an egg tart from the paper bag.

Seriously... *chew*... When will this fight end... *chew*... I can't even eat properly... *chew*.

But it really tastes good, this egg tart can never get boring no matter how much I eat~

While I was happily enjoying the food, I suddenly felt a sword shadow flash by and the cover above me was cut open!

I flipped and jumped out, holding onto the hilt of my knife.

"Old man, go back to your village, Cha Wan Zai Dong Shou Ma!"

I said while chewing on the egg tart.

"...It seems like this person is from Tianmu Academy. Boss, what should we do?"

A person wearing samurai armor asked another person next to him, who was also wearing samurai armor.

"Hmph, hiding here might mean she's an enemy. Get rid of her!"

"Yes!"

After saying that, several people in armor appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me!

Ah! So many people! I'm not good at fighting against a lot of people!

No, please, Master, come save me!

"Identification, Haidao Qianben - teammate, Arcane·Han Yu!"

The people around me suddenly turned into ice sculptures, and then that strange person landed on one of the ice sculptures and asked me.

"Oh, Qianben, a girl walking alone should be careful with her safety."