Chapter : 004 Let's work hard together 

"Yes, but I hid!" 

"The scream just now... it came from this direction, right?" Ryukyu's gaze fixed on Ezaki Kitazawa.

"Should be. I only came out after I heard the scream, and then not long after, I saw you." Ezaki Kitazawa said seriously.

Ryukyu's expression clearly showed doubt, but Ezaki Kitazawa wasn't scared. After all, she hadn't seen him burn the half beast, and there was no evidence pointing to him having killed the half beast.

Of course, Ryukyu only felt something was strange. Given Ezaki Kitazawa's age, it seemed odd that he would remain so calm after being chased by a criminal gang. He even spoke so clearly to her. People like this usually fit into two categories:

The first: they are professional heroes who are used to such scenes.

The second: they are very powerful people who simply don't care.

However, after thinking carefully, Ryukyu realized neither of these seemed to fit.

"The criminal gang has been stopped. For your safety, please leave the scene immediately! There may still be other criminals hiding around here." Ryukyu said.

Ezaki Kitazawa had already wanted to leave. After the brief moments of eye contact with Ryukyu, he felt the atmosphere had become heavy.

"Okay!" Ezaki Kitazawa nodded and started walking in the direction Ryukyu had come from.

At that moment, another woman ran toward Ryukyu. As she passed by Ezaki Kitazawa, she glanced at him, and Ezaki Kitazawa gave her a small smile.

Her gaze quickly left him and shifted to Ryukyu.

"Any sign of the enemy?" The assistant asked Ryukyu.

Ryukyu shook her head. "I haven't found anything yet. The sound was coming from around here, so it shouldn't be far, but right now, I can't hear anything."

"Probably ran away," the assistant suggested.

"Ran away?"

Ryukyu glanced around, and after a long pause, she spoke again. "There are signs of a fight nearby, but there's not a single drop of blood. This is strange. And don't you smell that? The air still has a burnt scent."

"Yeah, I was about to mention that," the assistant replied.

Soon, Ryukyu found signs of burning on the ground, along with some ashes.

After a long silence, she finally spoke. "Go check the information on that boy from earlier."

"What's wrong with him?" the assistant asked, confused.

"Nothing. I have a guess, but it hasn't been confirmed yet. This boy seems interesting," Ryukyu said, a slight smile appearing on her face.

"Got it. I'll check on it."

---

Meanwhile, after Ezaki Kitazawa ran out, he found his parents anxiously searching for him.

Seeing that Ezaki Kitazawa was fine, the weight on their hearts finally lifted.

After a few greetings, the reporters arrived, and Ryukyu and Ezaki Kitazawa's parents were interviewed. As for him... well, emmm, he was completely ignored.

But Ezaki Kitazawa didn't mind. He waited nearby, and although his parents didn't show up, he did meet Ryukyu's assistant.

"Must be jealous, huh?"

Ezaki Kitazawa looked over at the voice and saw the girl he had just passed. He smiled slightly. "You're the one from earlier... hmm? Are you okay?"

The girl smiled back. "I'm jealous too. I have to keep working hard. I believe one day I can be like them."

"Oh, really? Then good luck," Ezaki Kitazawa said calmly.

The assistant gave Ezaki Kitazawa a strange look and then smirked. "Don't you want to be like them, a popular professional hero? Someone everyone looks up to?"

Professional hero? Someone everyone admires? For Ezaki Kitazawa, he was more interested in becoming the strongest man in the world.

"Yeah... something like that," Ezaki Kitazawa replied.

"Then let's both work hard!" the assistant said excitedly.

Ezaki Kitazawa looked at her, his expression stiff, and said, "Alright."

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