The triplets who were relatively nearer could hear the ringing of the doorbell as well and this was also due to the speaker connection of the bell and the master bedroom. They were feeling apprehensive from thinking of the possibility of who might their guest be. Aster may not know this but there are underlying reasons why Aria chose to cling to him when they only first met.
Outside the dark green gate of the house, a group of eleven people could be seen.
Nine of them are in a particular formation with a youth in their center. The lot of them were wearing uniform attire which is suited for long travel, only the one at the center was wearing classy clothes. If anything, they looked like guards with their young master in the middle.
The tenth guard is the one incessantly ringing the bell and somewhat impatient. He looked apologetically at his young boss and said. "Young Master Kamryn, it would seem that people may not be inside or is purposely disregarding the bell and dragging it out to meet us."
"My big brother told me that this place is the house designated for top rankers of Creed Academy, so it is expected that they have an attitude. Don't stop what you are doing and annoy them. Let us see how they can tolerate this blatant display of disrespect." The youth named Kamryn sneered. "This is my declaration of battle to my future seniors and a testament of continuing the terror that the family name of Valentine holds in the school of Creed."
The guard continued on with even greater gusto in ringing the bell that it annoyed Aster who has just reached the small gate. 'These people better have a good reason for doing this or I'll force them to hear bells in their heads.'
A lot of people like hearing their doorbells ring or in this case, gate bells. However, too much of something is probably considered too much for a good reason.
"We heard you the first time. Stop with that racket, will you?" He said while opening the door to greet the Valentine entourage. Seeing the challenging glint of a youth by the same age as him really made him sigh in frustration. 'What does this fellow want? This place is secluded enough that potential stuck-up neighbors would not bother us and yet here is some sicko who is somewhat looking for a fight.'
The tenth guard eventually stopped his unnecessary ringing and looked menacingly at the young man that opened the gate. Aster practically surmised that they were not right in their heads from observing them. 'These dudes are literally sick in the head. What with the intimidating looks?'
"Anything I can do for you people." Aster maintained a cordial attitude on the surface though. Years of experience had made him an expert in being able to control the emotions he showed to people who eyed him with animosity and disdain. A humble and accomodating look while an array of cursing and jeers in his thoughts.
Kamryn eyed Aster and could not help but be somewhat distracted by his looks. 'This fellow is handsome but where have I seen his face.'
The young master whose priority was to look for a challenge eventually shook his head and could not help but feel disappointed by his Initiate aura. Although their mana accumulation is not that far, he could not help but be disappointed by his cultivation and age. He said to Aster. "You are not some senior at Creed Academy, are you? You roughly have the same age and mana cultivation as me, so it is not possible for you to be a senior unless you are some irregular like the Unsaint."
Aster already had the idea of what was going on from his words and could not help but blurt out. "Sorry to burst your bubble but there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here. I am not even enrolled at the academy."
"My guess is that you are looking to declare words of challenge to senior students, huh. This place is not where they hang out because this is my house, so I can't help you with venting your adrenaline rush to speak up against them." Aster's words made Kamryn stumped in place and couldn't help from thinking. 'Did my big brother lie to me?'
"Where do you find the seniors, though?" Kamryn asked. It would be quite shameful for them to continue harassing them even though they are just really showcasing the Valentine name.
'Come on. You should really check your sources before up and coming to declare war or something.' Aster had literally no idea where these alleged seniors are and he could only say. "No idea at all. I am relatively new to this place, so you should be better off asking those long time settlers and not newbies like me."
Kamryn and the whole entourage of guards were stumped and had no idea what to do. Their first young master, Glenn Valentine, was the reason for them coming here and to continue his legacy and reign in the prestigious Creed Academy. This was supposed to be the spot where they would find the perfect starting point for Kamryn to replace Glenn.
Their actions were all planned by their young master, Glenn Valentine. What he did not account for was the abolishment of the idea to make the house a lodging for geniuses? Kamryn can't help but comment in an internal dialogue. 'Big Brother must really fire his information consultant for giving incorrect info.'
The young man in black attire was really not lying because they could feel the truth behind the circumstances that were presented.
"Aster, is everything all right?" Their silence was broken when the triplets arrived from inside the house with Aria asking him in a tone of worry. The guards were visibly shocked to find three heavenly beauties and even the dumbest of them could tell that the three were siblings.
Even though they had their fair share of encountering beautiful faces in this beauty infested world, the trio right before their eyes would easily stand out among the top.
The annoying tenth guard looked degradingly at Aster and said. "Brat, you've made us lose face here. How about letting our young master Kamryn associate with these beautiful green-haired maidens here?"
This was his chance to make a contribution and be remembered for his worth and not be labeled as the bell ringer among the ten of them. Security guard work is an important duty but they tend to be forgotten after finishing their commission. The tenth guard felt that this was the perfect chance to get rid of the forgettable stigma of being a mob worker.
"What are yo..." Kamryn was about to start but felt that the compromise was not that bad. 'I need to be a tyrant and a tyrant is what I will be. He said that this was his house and it seems to me that only weak people are living here. These girls are barely in the Novice meaning that they are horribly untalented. This place could also serve as my palace for my years of stay in Green Silk.'
Kamryn decided to continue on with his strong noble facade and go with the flow of his bell ringer. "What are you hesitating for? It would be a pleasure for you to get to know the great Valentine name that is praised in Creed Academy."
Aster may not know much of Creed Academy but he was sure that it was ranked considerably high in the Great Heaven Nation. 'This fellow must really be overflowing with confidence in their prowess of some Valentine. I could clearly tell that we are not different in cultivation and age, yet Valentine must really mean a big deal in the institution.'
"Aster, Valentine must mean that he is connected with Glenn Valentine." Aria whispered to him while he muttered. "Who the heck is that?"
She knew of his lack of knowledge on topics regarding this city, so she informed him. "Glenn Valentine is called the Romance Tyrant and is the pride of Green Silk, as well as Creed Academy. We don't know much about him but it seems that Esmeralda has a crush on him and would be the one who would unconsciously blurt out information about him."
"We also see him in billboards and local TV commercials." Aster understood that this Glenn could be considered a celebrity here and this Kamryn must be his relative that came from his hometown. 'These people must be using the famed tactic of nepotism and is wanting to have Kamryn be sharing in the celebrity spotlight. This Glenn even has a name as Romance Tyrant that he even duped the city lord's daughter.'
"What is your choice, brat? We haven't got all day to wait for your choice. It seems to me that young master wants to live in your house. Best for you to serve him right or else." The obnoxious tenth guards bumped his fist together to show dominance and hearing the agreement of Kamryn to his acts. Aster likened him to his disowning escorts such as Dime Suns. Praise seekers who are truly vain and could easily change their spots.
If it was before, he would continue with his weakling act and accommodate them with a smile and yet times had changed. He looked back at him and said. "Well, my choice is for you to not bother us. What are you going to do about it?"
Aster felt that engaging in conflicts would be better for him at the moment than staying bland. He was in a chance coincidence to meet a pride-blinded group who just so happens to want to cross him. 'I don't know why but I feel that I would be stuck in an endless cycle of meeting prideful nobles and beating the crap out of them.'
'After I beat them, their seniors would be out to get me for revenge. Then, I would beat their old bones and I would meet another young master who is stronger than the old fogeys I recently defeated. I would beat him up and then his seniors would not take kindly to disrespecting their names. Thus, the cycle of life of the main characters of novels I have read in the Suns Clan library.' Aster seriously wanted to advertise those redundant stories and prevent situations like the one he is in now from happening. 'The plot of beating up stuck-up people is pretty cheeky and unoriginal but it is like a divine mantra in this world that is not any lesser than the phrase of the strong preys on the weak.'
The tenth guard was really incensed from the blatant lack of disrespect that was expected of him and threw a mana-laced punch straight to Aster's face.