One-Eyed Monster

To be honest, Kadi also wanted to know the answer to Igor’s question, but he lacked the drive to press the issue. As for Stan Sol, his concerns were less direct; he had been wondering why these entities displayed no hint of Spirit Power. So, when they heard Igor fixating on the question of numbers, they were quite surprised.

Why on earth does he need to know how many of them there are? How would this impact the overall situation? Of course, they couldn’t just ask Igor this, as they were on his side. The other party, currently holding a superior position, was clearly the one expected to provide answers.

Igor, who often worked miracles, once again brought surprise and awe, but certainly not disappointment.

The Little Black Hands were also taken aback, stumped again by Igor’s question. They were never particularly good with numbers to begin with. Being forced to quantify something they were unfamiliar with was sheer torture...

So, the previously haughty, arrogant, and seemingly invincible Little Black Hands suddenly began to stammer.

”A lot is a lot! Why do you need to be so precise?”

”Exactly! There’s no need to count: one, two, three, four.”

”You should be thinking about other matters. Don’t ask these irrelevant ques—”

Before the Little Black Hands could finish, Igor spoke again, disagreeing with them. To him, the number was crucial. He had promised his Spirit in his Inner World to help these playful creatures return home, and he didn’t want to miss a single one...

”You can’t just evade it like this! You need to face my question squarely!”

The Little Black Hands despaired. What kind of person *is* this? Why is he so fixated on these things?

They couldn’t provide an exact number, yet they couldn’t afford to back down. They had to remember: here and now, *they* were the masters!

They couldn’t concede so easily; otherwise, the future would hold endless trouble. So, bracing themselves, the Little Black Hands decided to meet his challenge head-on.

”Then why don’t *you* tell us, why do you need to know how many of us there are?”

”Yes, what’s your objective? What use is it?”

”Stop getting bogged down by trivialities. You need to look forward.”

The Little Black Hands’ forceful, defiant response was, in truth, merely a delaying tactic...

”No, no, no, this isn’t trivial at all. Knowing your number is very important to me because it involves... uh... a promise.” Igor had initially thought of mentioning the Inner World, but on second thought, he refrained. He was still in an environment familiar to them and couldn’t yet act with complete impunity.

”Important to *you*...” The Little Black Hands felt a growing unease. This fellow... he’s not playing by our rules at all!

”You can count us yourselves. We haven’t run off anywhere, have we?”

After stalling for some time, the Little Black Hands found a way to handle Igor: throw the question back at him. There, that should leave him speechless, right? The simple principle of ’if you want something, do it yourself’ hardly needed explaining; anyone should understand that. The Little Black Hands even felt a bit smug about their cleverness...

However, Igor wasn’t as straightforward as they imagined. If this tactic had been used on Kadi, he might have just said, ”Oh,” and let it slide. But their opponent now was Igor, this relentless individual. He would soon make them thoroughly understand the meaning of ’tenacious.’

”Mm-hmm, what you say makes a lot of sense.” Igor maintained his calm, placid demeanor. This gentle, unperturbed state lulled the Little Black Hands, allowing them to cling to their sense of superiority.

”I’d very much like to count how many of you there are. The problem is, I can’t see you. Could you perhaps reveal yourselves?” Igor asked lightly, still displaying appropriate politeness and grace.

This query, seemingly a response, was in fact another very serious question!

The Little Black Hands hadn’t expected anyone to play their cards this way. The pride and smugness they had built up were shaken by Igor’s simple counter. This fellow really is different from the others!

...

They didn’t know how to respond. What should we say...?

”Uh, what form do you take, exactly? Are you just hiding over there, sunbathing all the time?” Igor thought himself quite witty, merely trying to break the awkward silence.

However, his attempt backfired. The Little Black Hands didn’t perceive his words as an effort to ease the tension. They felt Igor was doing it deliberately... This guy completely refuses to follow our lead!

Yet, their judgment was flawed once more. They had again underestimated the card Igor had played. This wasn’t just a simple move; chain reactions are often invisible and intangible...

Igor’s words immediately ignited Kadi and Stan Sol. They already harbored many doubts and had just been waiting for an opportunity to voice them.

Now, Igor had lit the fuse in their hearts, allowing them to feel the exhilarating rush of a wild horse breaking free. This freedom, it’s incredible!

It had to be said, this fellow Igor really knew how to create miracles...

His remark caused a torrent of questions to erupt from Stan Sol and Kadi. The questions they had long wanted to ask now burst forth like wild horses galloping across the prairie.

”Why did you drag us here?”

”You’re hiding your Spirit Power through various means?”

”Is your Spirit Power inexhaustible?”

”How are you able to remain in this world?”

”Why are you making things so difficult for us?”

”Don’t you want to go home?”

...

Although there were only three of them—Igor, Kadi, and Stan Sol—their questions, delivered one after another in quick succession, flowed endlessly. It was as if a large crowd were speaking, creating a formidable and imposing barrage.

The Little Black Hands felt as if they were facing a continuous volley of cannon fire. They were somewhat stunned and, at the same time, a bit overwhelmed...

This rapid-fire questioning, the pace so quick, left them barely any time to grasp the meaning of each query.

How did the rhythm suddenly get so fast? This isn’t what we expected at all! We’re supposed to be the ones familiar with this place! How does it feel like these youngsters have seized control here? This pace... we can barely keep up...

The Little Black Hands were utterly bewildered. This youth named Igor, in such a short time and with just a couple of sentences, had completely changed the atmosphere. It was simply astounding.

Could it be that this youth had contact with our world long ago? The Little Black Hands, struggling to keep up, couldn’t help but entertain this thought...