“Ugh…” the man at the front let out a strange sound as he backed down half a step.

‘First point for me,’ I thought, raising the left corner of my mouth in a small smirk. Now that I had the initiative, pressing it was the best course of action.

“Hey, sweetie,” I turned my head around and looked at the girl. “Could you please heat one of the potatoes for me?”

“Huh?” Mia returned the look, unable to properly answer my ridiculous request.

“I think I will get hungry soon,” I added before sending her a wink.

Mia was quick on the uptake. Whatever I had on mind, it had to be something important for me to ask for in such a moment!

“Master…” she muttered a moment later before giving me a powerless look. “There is no firewood. I don’t have anything to start the fire with either,” she said, looking all devastated by her inability to fulfill my order.

“That’s a pity,” I replied, turning my face back to the intruders. From the look of their eyes, I could tell just how puzzled they now were with my need for a hot potato!

“Now then,” I leaned my head to the side. “What are you going to do?”

The seed of uncertainty was sown. Now, all I had to do was to wait for it to ripen while messing up with them for a little longer.

“If we beat you up, you won’t be able to tell anything to anyone!” said one of the guys that followed the leader.

“Seriously?” I asked, shaking my head with visible disappointment. “Tell me, is that really all you could think of?”

I was baffled.

To a degree, I expected something like this to happen. While the speed of that young master’s reaction managed to catch me off guard, it wasn’t something I couldn’t deal with.

Yet, still, I was baffled.

In a sense, I expected a little more from that guy.

“You would have to kill me to silence me,” I said, hiding my face in the palm of my hand. “Do you really think that the sect will let you go after a murder? How about you try to compare what do you stand to gain from doing so and what can you lose?”

“And why do you care?” the leader of the group spoke again. At the same time, a smile appeared on his lips. “You are talking too much for someone who isn’t scared of getting beaten up!” he shouted, pointing his finger at me.

‘What are you, some kind of detective?’ I thought but decided to keep this kind of snarky remark to myself.

“Tell me,” I turned my face to the leader. “What spot did you take during the exam?”

An amused smile appeared on my lips.

“And what does it matter?” the guy didn’t allow me to guide him towards another logical trap, cutting the discussion instead. “Even if you reached a better spot, there are three of us and only one of you!” he exclaimed, reeling in the feeling of dominance.

“No, there are only two of you,” I corrected the guy with an amiable smile.

“The hell are you talking about?” the leader exclaimed before turning his head to the back as if he suddenly lost faith in his own memory.

And surely enough, two of his lackeys stood there, just like one could expect.

“Guys, he is losing his mind already,” he said before turning his face back to me. “Tell me, are you blind or just stupid?”

“I’m neither,”

“Can’t you see that there are three of us?”

“That’s right,” I admitted with a small smile. “But once I make you keel over and beg for mercy, one of your lackeys will run,” I said before shrugging my shoulders. “They always do, trust me,” I added.

For a moment, the three invaders looked at each other. For me, it looked like if they wanted to sound each other off, to find out who would be the weak spot in their group.

Then, they each nodded their heads before turning their faces back towards me.

“You are courting death!” the leader shouted, taking a step forward.

“Now, now, just one last question, and then I will show you something fun,” I smiled before crossing my arms on my chest. “Tell me, are you really going to get yourself beaten up just to lick the ass of that young master?”

For a moment, everyone turned still. The intruders because I calmly revealed that I knew they were sent here rather than attacking on their own volition.

Mia froze because she realized I wasn’t trying to avoid the conflict at all.

And I remained in place because waiting for the intruder’s reaction was temporarily the best thing I could do.

After all, keeping my hands safe so that they could quickly heal up took priority over dealing with a bunch of nobodies.

“I will kill you!” the leader ended up screaming before rushing forward. His tightened fists announced that he was done talking.

“Just one last moment, did I promise to show you something?” I asked before turning my back to the man and approaching Mia.

I didn’t attempt to glance back. Rather than that, I keenly observed Mia’s face as if she was some kind of human mirror.

Thankfully, she showed no signs of sudden fear, meaning I managed to catch intruders’ interest.

As I approached Mia… I actually leaned down beside her, only to pick up one of the potatoes that we brought from the kitchen. Then, I turned around, stretched out my hand, and showed them the vegetable.

“Before we begin, let me show you something,”

The seed that I sowed several moments earlier would now come to fruition.