Lu Yao wasn’t exactly angry.
But Fubuki’s behavior was undoubtedly wrong.
If her goal was to surpass Tatsumaki, then doing something like this was practically running in the opposite direction.
“P-Please don’t blame Lady Fubuki!”
Lily stepped in front of Fubuki.
“We can’t deny that we’ve suppressed newly promoted heroes and forced others to join the Blizzard Group, but we’ve never truly harmed anyone!”
“Oh?”
Lu Yao looked across the room.
“So that’s how all of you see it?”
He considered for a moment.
“Then why don’t we put everything out in the open?”
“P-Put everything out in the open?”
Fubuki looked confused.
“Among everyone here, there must be people who were pressured into joining the Blizzard Group. Or people who aren’t sure whether joining was the right decision.”
Lu Yao calmly looked around.
“If so, raise your hand.”
The black-suited heroes exchanged glances.
Nobody wanted to be the first.
Fubuki suddenly became nervous.
If someone actually raised their hand…
She wasn’t sure what she would do.
“No one?”
Lu Yao asked again.
“It’s fine. Even if you want to leave the Blizzard Group, nobody will do anything to you. You’re heroes, not street thugs.”
“Um…”
At last, someone raised a hand.
It was a man older than Lu Yao’s current appearance, probably around the same age Lu Yao had been before transmigrating.
He looked like a former salaryman.
His features were decent, and he wore glasses.
“Hey!”
Eyelashes realized an actual traitor existed and immediately glared.
“Forgive my ignorance.”
Lu Yao directly suppressed the threatening atmosphere Eyelashes directed toward the man.
“Could you introduce yourself?”
“I’m a newly promoted B-Class hero. Just call me Glasses.”
Glasses scratched his head.
“I used to be an office worker. For various reasons, I changed careers and became a hero. After reaching B-Class, I joined the Blizzard Group, but… lately I’ve become uncertain about my activities here.”
“All right, all right.”
Seeing that he was preparing a long explanation, Lu Yao interrupted.
“Let’s deal with the most important question first. Do you want to leave the Blizzard Group?”
Glasses fell silent.
Everyone in the room stared at him.
Right.
He had already stood up and admitted his doubts.
At this point, wasn’t leaving the Blizzard Group inevitable?
Once someone openly admitted disloyal thoughts inside an organization, remaining behind would only make everyone uncomfortable.
Even unconsciously, they would probably begin excluding him.
In truth, Blizzard of Hell had never prevented anyone who genuinely wanted to leave.
And those who stayed weren’t necessarily captivated by Fubuki’s personal charisma.
More importantly, they valued what the Blizzard Group offered.
People were unequal.
As uncomfortable as that truth was, it remained undeniable.
Some people were simply born with supernatural abilities or extraordinary intellect.
Naturally, they would travel farther than ordinary people.
Even after advancing from C-Class to B-Class, if someone refused to cooperate with others, then facing higher-level disasters alone remained nearly impossible.
If a B-Class hero could only continue doing work barely different from a C-Class hero, they would eventually be left behind.
That would make advancement meaningless.
The Blizzard Group might have been born from Fubuki trapping herself inside a dead-end mentality.
For Fubuki herself, it offered little more than emotional comfort.
But for everyone else, it provided a platform to cooperate with other B-Class heroes.
Together, they could conduct hero activities and increase their chances of victory.
Yes, the contribution would be divided.
But stability was worth it.
And yet…
Glasses clenched his fists.
Was the rational choice truly the correct choice?
He had become a hero because he wanted a life different from his old salaryman existence.
Glasses looked up.
His gaze met Lu Yao’s.
What kind of eyes were those?
The first adjective Glasses could think of was—
Beautiful.
The young man before him possessed refined, handsome features.
But the most striking part was undeniably his eyes.
Black pupils carrying faint traces of deep blue.
They possessed a penetrating quality, as though they could see through his entire being.
Glasses found himself unable to speak dishonestly.
His throat moved.
Then he answered quietly.
“Yes… I want to leave the Blizzard Group.”
“You’re serious?!”
Eyelashes couldn’t help shouting.
“The hero world is brutal! Going solo means you won’t be able to accomplish anything! You saw what happened today, didn’t you?! The moment a slightly stronger monster appeared, all of us became helpless…”
His voice slowly weakened.
Because he saw it.
The expression on Glasses’ face.
Resolve.
Eyelashes sighed internally and stepped aside.
“I see. If you’ve truly decided, then I have nothing more to say.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Glasses bowed to Fubuki.
Then he turned toward Lu Yao.
“Thank you. You helped me clarify my goal.”
“You already had that thought inside you.”
Lu Yao looked at him.
“This probably counts as breaking through your shackles. After seeing a higher level, you became unwilling to settle for simply drifting along in stability.”
He continued calmly.
“I can’t experience what you’re feeling right now, and I can’t guarantee anything about your future. I only hope you won’t regret today’s decision.”
“Thank you for your words… no, thank you very much.”
Glasses bowed deeply to Lu Yao.
Then he left the meeting room.
Another lost lamb saved.
Lu Yao still wasn’t satisfied.
He was about to continue when Fubuki suddenly pounced on him.
“All right, all right! That’s enough! Everyone else, go home. I’ll talk with Yao alone.”
That was probably enough.
Lu Yao knew the truth.
Other than Glasses, almost nobody else here likely wanted to leave.
Those who insisted on staying generally fell into two categories.
People who genuinely liked or admired Fubuki.
And people who wanted to use the Blizzard Group for their own benefit.
But human motives were rarely pure.
Most people probably possessed both motivations in different proportions.
After everyone else left, Fubuki finally stopped pretending.
She released a heavy sigh.
“I didn’t think someone would actually leave. Did I do something wrong? Or was creating the Blizzard Group itself a mistake?”
Lu Yao listened to her complaints while drinking tea.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
Only after some time did he put down his cup.
“Well then.”
He stood.
“I’ll head home.”
“Huh?”
Fubuki froze.
Wasn’t this supposed to become a deep heart-to-heart conversation between siblings?
Wasn’t he supposed to guide her toward a better path while deepening their bond?
Why was he leaving after persuading one member to quit?
Isn’t that just screwing over your sister and running away?!
Lu Yao didn’t appear to be joking.
He genuinely turned toward the door.
Naturally, Fubuki refused to let him escape.
The moment he stood, she grabbed his clothes.
“We’re not finished talking!”