It seemed as though his brotherly instincts were not only still alive, but also somewhat overwhelming.
'To hell with this. They want to see dark and dangerous? I'll show them.'
He glared at the two idiots, knowing that, at this point, there was no way back. Beside him, Cassie turned her head, an alarmed expression on her face.
One of the idiots grinned.
"Huh. We were just hoping to politely introduce ourselves to this lovely little doll, but hey, we can get acquainted with the ugly little clown first. How about it?"
He glanced at the other Sleeper, who was looking at Sunny with no humor in his eyes whatsoever.
Cassie frowned, then said:
"Why are you…"
However, at that moment, the second young man took a step forward and growled, interrupting her:
"What did you just say, clown? Do you know who we are? Fool, we're Gunlaug's men."
His hand was resting on the pommel of his sword.
Sunny knew that escalating the situation was not a wise thing to do, but at this point, he didn't have a choice. Backing down now would only lead to a disaster. He knew this type of people well: the moment they felt a weakness, it was all over.
They understood only two things — fear and strength.
Outstretching one hand, he scowled, looked the young men right into the eyes, and said:
"Congratulations. Now get lost before I make you dead men."
Perhaps recognizing something in his voice, or maybe in his eyes, the Sleeper who had his hand on the pommel of the sword hesitated. For a second, Sunny almost believed that his threat worked. But then the young man furtively glanced around, and this tiny hope evaporated.
If they were alone, maybe the Sleeper would have reconsidered his desire to antagonize Sunny any further. But with all these people watching, he couldn't show fear.
Sunny failed to account for one crucial detail. All bullies were cowards… but what they feared the most was people finding out about their cowardice.
Gunlaug's man bared his teeth in a threatening grin.
"Those are terribly big words, coming from a puny weakling like you. You know what? I think your girl needs to keep better company. Why don't we help her out by making you disappear?"
Sunny smiled.
'...I guess I'm going to kill a couple of fools today.'
Cassie, meanwhile, was not happy with what was happening at all. The frown on her face deepened.
"I'll decide what company to keep myself. Now, please…"
However, they weren't listening to her.
Sunny was already bracing himself for the worst-case scenario, prepared to summon the Midnight Shard at a moment's notice.
But then, suddenly, a calm voice sounded from behind his back.
"Leave them alone, please. They are my friends."
Caught by surprise, Sunny hurriedly shifted his perspective to the shadow and glanced back.
Behind him, a tall and confident young man stood calmly with his hands resting at his hips. He had brown hair and a gentle, handsome face. His eyes sparkled with friendly humor.
It was…
'Caster?!'