"Well, I did tell you that someone was going to die. I just never expected it to be Rin. But on the bright side, it did help you hatch Alex’s core. So that’s something worth celebrating, right?"

Madam Yao tried to sound positive, but no one looked happy to hear her speak.

It caused Madam Yao to sigh in frustration before finally dropping her fake smile and speaking more calmly.

"What do you all want me to say? If you’re dissatisfied with me, then say it to my face. Looking at me like that won’t help."

Madam Yao finally gave everyone the opening they needed, and Shelly did not hesitate to grab her collar and punch her in the face.

A heavy silence followed, but no one stopped Shelly’s assault.

"You told us Rin would be fine. We trusted you and did as you asked. And Rin died—! He died, and all you can do is laugh—! I—"

"Shelly, calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick—! Ouch! Stop hitting me."

Albus tried to calm Shelly down, but it was useless. He only ended up becoming one of her victims as well.

Madam Yao endured the assault with a blank expression. She looked neither surprised nor angry about being hit. If anything, she seemed to accept it calmly.

She waited for things to settle down before speaking again, but since it did not seem like anyone would calm down anytime soon, she eventually spoke up anyway.

"If you want me to say I’m sorry, then I can do that. However, I’m not truly sorry for what happened. I predicted that someone would die, and my prediction came true. You all accepted the risk when you accepted my request."

The friendly facade Madam Yao usually wore was gone. Instead, she stared at everyone with an emotionless expression.

But it did nothing to calm anyone down.

Rin could tell the tension was dangerously high. If he did not step in, their alliance might fall apart, and someone could even end up dead.

So even though he knew he probably should not interfere, he still coughed to grab everyone’s attention.

"Look, I know things seem bad, but we accepted this request knowing the risks. And in the end, didn’t I survive? That’s the most important part, right? We shouldn’t blame Madam Yao for everything that happened—"

"Shut up! You don’t get a say in any of this. Do you even realize that you died? Ugh, just looking at you makes me frustrated right now."

That hurt more than Rin expected. The fact that Shelly was the one saying it made it sting even worse.

No one wanted to argue with Shelly, but they also did not want to start fighting among themselves. As a result, the silence only became more awkward.

In the end, Madam Yao decided to offer one final olive branch to the group.

"I can see that tensions are running high, so let me suggest something—how about I take Alex and leave? We can contact each other again if we ever need to cooperate. That way, we can stay out of each other’s way. I’m sure none of you want to see Alex after what happened."

Madam Yao reached toward Alex as she spoke, intending to take him back. But Alex immediately flew out of her reach and landed on Rin’s chest instead.

Another awkward silence filled the room as everyone stared at the scene. Even Madam Yao looked shocked, though she still tried again.

"My dear, it’s time to come home. Won’t you come with me?"

Alex merely turned his head and nuzzled Rin’s chest.

The sight left everyone stunned.

But Shelly clearly hated what she was seeing. She immediately grabbed Alex and harshly threw him toward Madam Yao.

"Take the bird and leave. I can’t stand seeing him anywhere near Rin after what happened. If I see that bird again, I’ll personally make sure to—"

"Shelly, take a deep breath and calm down. I also have something to confess."

Rin grabbed Shelly’s hand, and all the anger immediately drained from her face. She looked exhausted afterward, but she still refused to back down.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward Rin, suddenly interested in what he had to say. Madam Yao also looked curious as she caught Alex again, though the bird quickly escaped her grip and flew back toward Rin’s outstretched hand.

Shelly tensed, preparing to snatch the bird away again, but Rin stopped her before she could act.

"There’s no need to worry about Alex anymore. While it’s true there was an...accident, we already resolved it. Alex also agreed to become my familiar, so I can’t send him away."

Another silence followed Rin’s confession, and this one was explosive.

"You did what—?! Was dying not enough? Rin, why do you keep doing things like this—?!"

Shelly looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, and the others looked just as horrified. But since Rin had already taken control of the conversation, he knew he needed to keep pushing forward.

So he took a deep breath and continued.

"Shelly, I need you—and everyone else—to calm down and listen to me. We’re living through an apocalypse. Accidents happen. There’s no point blaming anyone except the circumstances. And Alex is on our side now, so we should all learn to get along. If you lost control someday and stabbed me, I wouldn’t hold it against you either."

Rin tried to reassure her, but his words only darkened Shelly’s expression.

"I want to stab you right now just to make sure you stay in bed."

Shelly muttered under her breath, and Rin pretended not to hear her.

Thankfully, though, she was starting to calm down. Rin only needed one final push.

"We have no idea what the future holds. But I do know we’ll need Alex’s strength to survive future tasks. So let’s leave this incident behind us."

No one looked happy about Rin’s decision, but they all chose to accept it. He was their leader, and they knew he was stubborn enough to do whatever he wanted no matter how much they argued.

"So...does this mean Alex won’t be coming back with me?"

Madam Yao asked quietly, sounding genuinely dejected.

Alex responded by flying back onto Rin’s head and settling there comfortably.

That answer settled the matter completely.