Bro, I'm not an Undead!

An hour and a half later, the awaited arrival of the promised guests finally came to pass. A trail of carriages featuring different, but mostly extravagant designs passed through the procession of trees that led to the Bryne Family mansions.

The whinnies and neighs of numerous powerful horses freely dominated the usually tranquil environment, with each individual beast seemingly competing for attention.

Seven carriages reached the open space right before the lavish environmental foreplay to the grand buildings ahead, and parked a distance away from the two hosts.

Silrat was one.

He had changed his clothing to better match the occasion, as everyone knew; clothing contributed to the effectiveness of what one asserted among others. This was especially applicable if said others were noble born.

Thus, the Supervising Overseer had donned a dark green old style formal suit with a high collar, which made him look like a rich, royal blood vampire.

His gaze was as firm as the sheen on his short, slicked back crushed garnet hair – one of the pieces to an unshakeable facade Silrat had fashioned for himself over the years.

Beside him, acting as an assistant host was Red Rage who kept his dazzling armour but did away with the long cape. The way his golden attire looked new with the glossy sparkle exacerbated by the sun’s afternoon glow had already begun to make a faint impression on the guests, much to Silrat’s surprise.

As different kinds of people disembarked from their carriages, the first thing they turned their sight to was the Knight standing respectfully beside the finely dressed gentleman.

‘Would you look at that? Festos was right to let this walking tin can accompany me,’ the former Association Branch Head thought.

The guests scanned the surroundings, some with appreciation, some with unreasonable critique… and some with apprehension.

Above the mansion, a giant white fly was silently floating, its figure mostly immobile. If not for sight, one wouldn’t be able to discern its presence, which was strange since its wings could be seen flapping rapidly at its sides.

Also, behind Silrat and the dashing Knight, a large beast with the body of a bison and the head of a ram could be seen seated regally on the ground, its head bowing down as if giving a respectful gesture.

A few other beasts could be seen circling around the grounds, but in an orderly fashion that was actually quite pleasing to the eyes. Yet, this peculiar setting still caused surprise.

At the last minute, Silrat had urged Skullius to do away with the excessive security. He feared that the guests might be more afraid than impressed when they saw the Terrors and other terrifying beasts guarding the place in addition to the human guards.

Thus, in the end, only a few beasts remained cooperating with the extensive human personnel for the security related duties.

This was more acceptable.

The first of the numerous people to arrive within the Bryne Family Estate was a short, old man accompanied by three beautiful ladies who carried themselves with a level of class Silrat could only dream of.

The Supervising Overseer was almost overwhelmed, but when he thought to how his father struggled to earn the respect of these people, he didn’t break.

“Greetings, dear guests. It is a pleasure to have you here. Finally,” Silrat said with a dignified smile.

“The pleasure is all ours. It took quite some convincing, but I have a feeling I will not regret travelling from so far to get here,” the short old man said with a friendly smile that hid a plethora of connotations.

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The old man gave him a dark look.

“Is that so? I was under the impression that Lady Stylla would be with us. Quite frankly, I had thought she simply chose to not receive us, as a proper host should.”

“Ah, I apologise for the confusion. Lady Stylla is currently… indisposed. We can speak at length about that inside,” Silrat gave a succinct explanation.

The old man did not seem to be convinced but he tucked away his apprehension. By the time the others reached them, he was already wearing his cheery, seemingly oblivious smile.

A tall woman adorned in a long, dark dress with purple tassels at the rims was the next to reach Silrat. She sized him up with her sharp, upturned eyes and then raised her chin.

“I’ve seen quite a lot of beasts around. What is the story behind such an unsightly presentation?” she said with an obnoxious tone.

“Ah, forgive us if they startled you. This is the work of our loyal Knight Prisma. He’s a Tamer and he handles security by exploiting his fine skills in Energy Forming,” Silrat responded with an impermeable stance that both showed respect and firmness. As he addressed the subject, he gestured to Red Rage beside him.

In light of the earlier conversation, he had been ignored, but when he was highlighted again, he seemed to grab everyone’s attention in an instant.

The Apostle gave a short, respectful bow that the entire world seemed to support by adding several degrees of exposure, cropping out unnecessary details from the background, adding masks to enhance the vibrance, saturation and shadows, as well as finishing it off with a gorgeous filter…all in the eyes of the onlookers, of course.

“Welcome, most treasured guests, and dare I say, potential allies. Please pardon the outlandish design of our security. It is more reliable than you think. Before it is a place for interacting in a formal capacity, it is a home, and to guard the sanctity of this home, I employ my very best to make sure that everyone who steps in as a friend to the Family, is safe,” Red Rage declared.

….

His voice seemed to turn into music that was too sweet for the ears… and his words…

How noble!

How bold!

How Knightly!

The tall woman’s disdain turned into a genuine, positive surprise.

“Well… what can I say against such pure virtue, Noble Knight Prisma?” she said with a radiant smile.

“You flatter me,” Red Rage said, maintaining his bow.

“Nonsense! I feel safer already!” the old man said, the women he was with looking positively towards the Apostle as well. “Sir Silrat, please lead us in and let us talk.”

Silrat nearly froze.

‘Dear Deities…’

The uncertainty and strained air that had been present had vanished instantly when the Apostle stepped in!

‘He’s coming with me!’ Silrat said.

Who knew he had the key to unlock max level in persuasion at his side all along?!

***

Skullius heard the exchange outside with his extensive senses and smiled.

‘That little bastard really knows how to steal a show,’ he thought while shaking his head.

He moved from the lounge and positioned himself somewhere up a spiral of stairs where he could watch the procession of guests below be lead to a beautiful room more suited for formal discussions.

Thank goodness he wasn’t going to be a part of it.

Even if Stylla was here, he wasn’t going to be pitching in much.

Skullius smiled.

After the meeting ended, then he would consider going back to the mess in Genhuis. He honestly hoped he could buy himself a few hours in the peaceful environment afforded by—

“Hey,” a voice abruptly killed off Skullius’ train of thought.

…!

His <CURSED HEART> beat faster upon recognising the voice and he turned his head with a look of utter shock.

There, behind him, the figure of a pale man with white hair tied into a ponytail could be seen, at his side the formally dressed Idline.

‘The hell! How the hell are these two here?!’ the Hybrid Luman shuddered.

“Don’t look so surprised. Shortly after the matches for the day… That’s what we agreed on, right? Are you ready to establish a healthy, mutually beneficial relationship, partner?” Aurolio said with a weak smile.

It took a few seconds for Skullius to regain his cool but when he did, he wore his regular game face so as to not succumb to acting like the typical background character, the lesser among the two.

Casting aside the shock as to how this guy suddenly appeared here without him sensing anything, Skullius shot a serious look at Aurolio.

“Yeah. Let’s make it official, partner,” he said.