The resounding echo of the slap had long faded into the quiet hum of the wind rustling against the thin paper screens.
I rolled my jaw as the stinging heat continued to radiate across my left cheek in a hot, throbbing rhythm, but I kept my expression perfectly blank.
Mitsuki stood right in front of me. Her chest heaved with slow, controlled breaths, and her knuckles remained stark white at her sides. She stared daggers into my face, searching for any sign of a lie.
She found nothing but cold, flat reality.
I let the heavy silence stretch out, giving her brain a few seconds to transition from pure, blinding rage back into tactical focus.
I watched the rigid tension in her shoulders twitch, and only when her breathing finally steadied did I raise my hand.
"Like I said, things can go four ways… One," I said, holding up my index finger. "Both the miners and the Iron Vanguard are active Entropy cultists."
