“I am confused, teacher… Why are you acting strangely… Don’t you usually preach that I sacrifice my life at any cost?”

“Knowing your position and being loyal are two completely different things. If you do not understand this, you will never become Diana. If this is the case, you are better off quitting this job now so that you are not wasting the Juan family’s time.”

She was severely hurt by his remark and looked to be in pain.

She feared that powerful back view, always cold and sharp, and his ability to uncover the darkness within her. However, it was different this time. Hassad’s voice rang next to her ears, giving her the courage she needed—This cannot go on like this. She must stand up and face her fear.

“… No.”

He turned his head.

The girl stood behind him, her fists clenched and eyes fixated on him. She looked angry, fearful, and confrontational.

“I… think that I have… done nothing wrong,” she burst into tears.

“What was that?”

“Why do they have to be two completely different things? If Mr. and Mrs. Juan are important to me, I am willing to sacrifice my life for them even if they are merely using me.” She tightened up her body and raised her voice as if she was trying to say something to herself. “I care about the Juan family so want to protect its future… I do not see anything wrong with this thought.”

“That is a foolish thought.”

“Teacher—you— ” she burst into cold sweat and tried to think of powerful words to say. “You are being rude and unreasonable!”

“I should be, because I speak the truth.”

“If the reason why you are saying this is because I am not doing a good job impersonating miss… I will do a better job!” She retorted animatedly. “I will be like Diana… I can prove… that I am right!”

“Is that so?” He folded his hands over his chest and turned, facing her. “If you cannot convince people with your words, what you can do is overpower them physically. This is another way to force people to believe you.”

She gulped and looked at the tall, almost unshakable figure.

She fearlessly threw a punch at him but was easily countered and locked by him. He grabbed her in his arms and pulled her beside aqua tree fruits. He then gazed attentively to the sand dunes off in the distance.

“Teacher?” She was unaware of what was going on but soon realized that something was up. There seemed to be some movements from a distance, and the people approaching them seemed to possess an evil intent. She was surprised that she only noticed this just now.

“There are approximately five or six of them who are about to enter the desert tree area, their race…” Lazer put his hand on a desert tree and listened intently. “Probably lizard demihumans,” he uttered.

“Probably?”

“If they are lizard demihumans, there should be the sounds of tails being dragged around. However, if they raise their tails while walking, then the sounds that they generate may be mistaken as those generated by human. I must wait for them to get closer to tell the difference.”

“I do not hear anything,” said her, trying to listen as well.

“That is fine. I do not expect you to,” said him, patting her on the shoulder and gently pushing her away. “—They are lizard demihumans. Continue to pretend to be miss and do not stand too far away from me.”

“What is going on—” said her, taking a step back out of surprise and finally seeing the figures by the sand dunes who were clearly visible by now. They created several paths of dust and were moving at astonishing speeds.