Back at the hotel where all the cadets from the traveling club would be staying, Yoo Yeonha is sitting on her bed, looking at her smartwatch while talking to Sechan, her trusted helper.
“So? Did you find anything?”
[Yes. It seems this Randy you ask me to investigate is part of the English Royal Court, a butler it seems, probably the head butler.]
“Huh? Really!?” Yoo Yeonha suddenly stood up, surprised at Sechan’s words. “Are you 100% sure?”
[Yes, I’m miss. I’ve checked twice with a few contacts, and both the name and the description you gave me match a 100% with those of the butler from the English Royal Court.]
“…” Yoo Yeonha stayed quiet, thinking about why would someone, with that direct relation to the English Royal Court, personally drive Cristopher to the meeting point.
[Um… Is there a problem, miss?]
“No. Thanks, Sechan-ssi. I’ll text you if I need something else.” Yeonha answered with a smile.
[No problem.]
After hanging out the call, she sat down again and started to think.
“Just why…? There’s no way for him to actually go around England with the head butler of the English Royal Court…” She muttered to herself. “Unless…” Her eyes opened wide.
In her mind, every possible scene is currently playing. Until one that was possible enough for her suddenly stayed.
“Unless Rachel herself asked the butler to drive him to the meeting point… Which means, that he was with Rachel at the time…”
It was at that moment that the door of her room opened, and Chae Nayun entered the place. As it’s usual with these trips, each room is usually occupied by two cadets, in a try to create bonds between them.
“Hey! Where were you? You suddenly got out of the casino and disappeared.” Chae Nayun asked her while dropping down on her bed.
“Oh, nothing. I just had a few things to do, and decided to come back to the room.”
“Really? Why are you always so occupied?” Chae Nayun asked while looking at her with a frown.
“I know~ Things just get so complicated sometimes~” Yoo Yeonha said, still thinking about her previous deduction until an idea popped from her head. “Hey, have you seen Cristopher and Rachel together?”
“Um? Why the sudden question about the wacko and the princess?” Chae Nayun sat up and looked at Yoo Yeonha with a surprised face.
“Just answer me, it doesn’t matter why.” Yoo Yeonha rolled her eyes.
“I told you, I saw them before in the forest after, you know, my lost to her…”
“Right, but apart from that one time, have you seen them together before?”
“Huh?” Chae Nayun tilted her head and started pondering. “Not really, why? Did you find something about them?” She suddenly got really curious and got closer to the edge of the bed, sitting close to Yoo Yeonha.
“Nope~ I just got curious about them. Didn't you know? It seems she’s one of the few persons to actually talk to him without being glared or insulted.”
“Tell me about it!” Chae Nayun let out a deep sigh. “Each time I see him, he starts picking up fights with me for no reason!”
“To be honest, that’s not an incredible feat for anyone. You’re really easy to anger.” Yoo Yeonha chuckled.
“Come on! I’m being serious! Just right now, while I was going out of the casino, he was coming in, and just as he looked at me, he started messing with me and teasing me! Couldn’t he just stay quiet and go in like a normal person…” Chae Nayun let out another sigh before dropping on her back. “Why are all the male cadets in Cube crazy? Really… There’s not even one that’s normal!”
“Well, enough crying. We better start getting ready, we have to meet with the rest of the group at 6:00 PM.” Yoo Yeonha said while standing up to go to the bathroom.
“Oh, right! The event. But it’s just barely past 2, why are you getting ready so early?”
“A woman needs time to get ready.” Yoo Yeonha rolled her eyes and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
“Pfft… Right…” Chae Nayun just laughed, but then started to think, and went to look for what to use during the event. She already had enough having to use her Cube’s cadet uniform inside the casino.
***
A little bit past 6:00 PM, a limousine got to Thames River, where the portal leading to Clancy Islet was.
Surrounding the limousine, countless reporters and cameras waited for the person that would come out of it.
It was then, that from the driver’s seat, a man with grey hair, dressed in a butler’s uniform, got out, and went to open the passenger’s door from the limousine.
From it, a long, beautiful white leg came out, stepping outside the door before the other leg followed. It was then that this beautiful girl with long golden hair stood up, wearing a silver dress that beautifully exalted her own beauty.
The girl was none other than Rachel, the princess, and pride of England. And just as she made her appearance, all the cameras present started flashing out. Taking pictures from the beautiful woman that got out of the limousine.
At the same time, all the reporters present started to ask her questions of all kinds.
“What are your thoughts on tonight’s event?”
“There are rumors that you’ve lost both first and second Cube’s ranks in theory. Do you have any comment on that matter?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Is it true that you’ve shown new abilities? Are the rumors about your enlightenment real?”
“Did you really reach third place in Cube’s final exam? Standing over-promising cadets such as Shin Jonghak and the rumored Kim Suho?”
At all these questions, she only answered with a smile, while she started walking towards the portal in her high heels.
While she wasn’t accustomed to it, she still walked beautifully, even more perfectly than a model.
Once she made it to the portal, she met a businessman in a tailored suit.
“Thank you very much for personally visiting us today, Princess.” Zelen, the CEO of the multinational ‘Roton Corporation’ said.
The reason as to why he was here, was because of tonight’s event that would occur in Clancy Hall, where he as the CEO would reveal how to effectively use a material called the ‘White Cristal’, a conglomeration of tens of thousands of Magic Power.
Furthermore, being the greatest sponsor of the English Royal Court guild, Roton corporation asked them to attend the event as a way to heighten the formality of the presentation. Something that Rachel couldn’t deny.
“Have you increased the security of the event?” She asked him.
“Haha, of course.” He answered with a smile.
The reason while Rachel was concerned about the security was that such an event would always be an open target for multiple criminal organizations and Djinns. Something that, she worried, would put her people and any visitor in danger.
And knowing this, and as an effort to increase the security, Roton Corporation chose Clancy Islet, probably the safest place in all Europe, to host the event. While at the same time recruiting multiple mercenaries and also lobbying the Hero Association to have access to a few high-ranked Heroes.
“You can look forward to it, Princess.” He said with a smile while scanning her entire body. “As the biggest sponsor of the Royal Court guild, Roton will promise to elevate the guild’s status.”
“…” Rachel ignored his lust-filled eyes while nodding and walking towards the portal, right before looking towards her smartwatch, waiting for an answer to a text she previously sent.
[Rachel: Are you still in Clancy Islet? I’ll be there for an important event. Answer me whenever you can, Cristopher-ssi. ヾ(￣▽￣)]
{Why isn’t he answering…} Rachel thought for a moment while looking at her smartwatch.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time. A group of cadets was waiting in front of their hotel at 6:10 PM.
“Mm? It looks like they’re already here.” Kim Suho muttered while looking somewhere.
“Finally! Why the hell are those two always lat-” Chae Nayun started to grumble but had to stop once she got a glance at the two cadets that were walking towards them. “What…?” She couldn’t even speak.
“…” Yoo Yeonha was the same, looking at both Kim Hajin and Cristopher walking towards them as if she just saw some kind of ghost.
“Wow! What happened to you guys!?” Kim Suho said to them while looking at their style.
Kim Hajin was now wearing a new brand-name suit, along with luxury dress shoes that make him look a little bit taller. His once shaggy hair was now stylishly and neatly brushed up.
On the other hand, Cristopher’s hair totally changed, instead of his usually wild hair, he now had it styled, while the top of his head was still a little wild, it now had some form to it, brushed up all the way to the back of his head, and slightly sided to his right, at the same time, both sides of his hair were shaved low, leaving just enough hair so he didn't look bald at the sides.
He was dressed all in black as usual, with denim dressing pants, combat boots, a slim-fit black blazer, and a dressing shirt with a dark red tie.
At Kim Suho’s words, Kim Hajin grinned showing his whitened teeth, the result of a special item he found in an antique shop while he was looking for Cristopher.
“You even whitened your teeth!?” Chae Nayun shouted in surprise.
“Something like that.” Cristopher shrugged.
“Your clothes, did you buy them?” Yoo Yeonha asked, looking carefully at them both.
“Yeah.” Kim Hajin answered while grinning, proud that both Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha were looking at him from top to bottom, he even put some sunglasses on as if he was some kind of celebrity.
“Can we go now?” Rolling his eyes at Kim Hajin’s attitude, Cristopher asked Oh Hanhyun.
“Oh, right. Yes, let’s go-” Oh Hanhyun spoke, but right then someone got close to them, interrupting him.
“Oh? Who’s this?” A soft, silvery voice got close to them.
Turning to look at him, they all saw someone famous, a hunter from the Vast Expanse, Kim Junwoo.
“Chae Nayun?” He asked while looking at her, waving his hand.
“Ah! Why are you here, Oppa!?” Chae Nayun asked in surprise.
“Nothing much, just hanging out.” Kim Junwoo smiled while scratching his head.
“Could you be… Kim Junwoo from the Vast Expanse?” Getting closer to him, Yoo Yeonha asked with flashing eyes.
“Yup, that’s me.” He nodded with a smile. “It looks like my name is still worth something, haha.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Yoo Yeonha said while shaking his hand.
After that, he turned to look at the rest of the cadets, and that’s when he saw Kim Hajin.
“Ah! You’re the kid who was making bank at the casino!” Kim Junwoo said while pointing at him. “You were Nayun’s friend? Nice to meet you, man. I’m jealous, I only lost money there.”
“Making bank…?” His words caught everyone’s attention, making Chae Nayun ask.
“Yeah, I think he made around… 2 billion…?” He said while tilting his head, trying to remember the right amount.
“2 billion!?” They all shouted in amazement. After all, even to rich kids like Yoo Yeonha or Chae Nayun, 2 billion was still a lot of money.
“I think so.” He rubbed his chin. “A bunch of big guys in suits dragged him out after a while.”
“They didn’t drag me out.” Kim Hajin rolled his eyes. “They gave me a key to the hotel’s best suite and even guided me there, to take a break.”
“Oh, is that what happened?” Kim Junwoo nodded while smiling. He then turned to look at Kim Suho after finally noticing him, chuckling a little before he leaned towards Chae Nayun to whisper in her ear. “Who is he? Your boyfriend, maybe?”
“W-What are you talking about?” She flinched, looking at Kim Suho for a moment before glancing at Kim Hajin. “H-He’s not…”
“Huh?” Her reaction made Kim Junwoo show a mischievous smile. “Don’t tell me… You’re hunting two rabbits at the same time?”
“W-What are you talking about!?” She flinched strongly this time, which made him chuckle a bit.
“Polyandry shouldn’t be a problem for you, Na-Urgh!” He was talking until she interrupted him with a hit to his solar plexus with her elbow.
“Stop!” She said with an embarrassed face, while Kim Junwoo faked being hurt, crunching down while clutching his stomach.
At the same time, from the shadows, someone was looking at the rowdy interaction.
“From the looks of it, Kim Junwoo doesn’t know about the details.” Bermund, a member of Evil Society was giving his report. “Yes, I’ll join up soon.”
Bermund could be considered to be in the middle of the power scale among those that were coming to tonight’s event, and his specialty was stealth, which is why he was currently checking on one of the strongest variables.
It was then that he felt someone looking at him.
“Mm?” He turned to look to one of the cadets that were alongside Kim Junwoo. “Huh…?”
He didn’t know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but there was one cadet that was looking directly at him, smirking. He had weird hair, platinum-white with dark-brown, almost black, roots.
“Um, I think there’s-” He was about to report things, but he had to stop, shocked at how the same cadet was waving his hand at him as if saying bye. “What the hell…?”
Bermund was dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening, and certainly not noticing the shadows that were slowly growing around him.
“Jain.” A shadowy, lethargic voice sounded behind him. Making him flinch and turn around quickly, before freezing on the spot, breathless.
In front of him stood a shadowy figure, a beautiful cold woman with black, murky, deep eyes and long black hair that looked directly at him.
“I’m here.” Answering the cold woman surrounded in darkness, another woman appeared right beside her, smiling.
He felt his own death approaching.
At the same time, Yoo Yeonha got closer to Cristopher, leaning towards him.
“What are you doing, Cristopher-ssi?” She asked while tilting her head at his weird actions.
“Mm? Oh, nothing.” He shrugged. “Just swatting at a bothersome fly that was around, but it seems something else got it.”
“Huh?” Her face showed how confused she was at his weird choice of words. “Okay…”
“Well, shall we get going?” Once Kim Junwoo left the place, Oh Hanhyun spoke to everyone with a smile. The small group of cadets started to walk towards Clancy Islet’s main hall for events.