Aliana rushes to the elevator, embarrassed and confused. It wasn't until she got out of the bar that she was able to think clearly.
"(W-what did I just do? My body moved on its own, did Young Master used a charm spell?)" After giving it a thought, she shakes her head.
("No, that's impossible. I felt nothing and I have high resistances to status effects as a High elf.)" She thought.
Aliana runs at full speed with her hand covering her face and bumps into someone.
"Oww!… hey watch it!" Scarlet blurted out. She and Azrel just exited the casino after a few rounds of slots.
"Sorry!" Aliana panics and rushes inside the elevator, her face flushed.
"Hey, wasn't that Aliana?" Scarlet inquires of Azrel, who stands nearby.
Azrel shrugs and says, "I dunno."
He has no idea who or what Aliana is because he has never seen her.
Scarlet suspects Aliana is fleeing from something, and it came from inside the bar, so she goes to investigate.
Looking around, she noticed Rhen sitting alone on the table with apparent hickeys on his neck. He's drinking a half-empty bottle of vodka, which made Scarlet believe he's the source of Aliana's distress.
Just like a man who just got dumped by his girlfriend, Rhen sits there casting a gloomy aura around him. Azrel and Scarlet sit down next to him and keeps him company.
"What happened lover-boy? Were your hands not good enough?" Scarlet gives Rhen a sly grin.
She enjoys bothering him with these types of statements in the hopes of getting some funny reactions from him.
Instead of fuming and falling for her taunt, Rhen tickles her side, just below her ribcage.
"Is this not good enough lover-girl?"
"Wahahaha! Stop it!" Scarlet couldn't stop laughing. She shifts her position further away from him, putting Azrel between her and Rhen.
Rhen also senses Azrel staring at him curiously at what transpired earlier.
"Hmm? Want some as well?" Rhen inquired, raising his eyebrows and gestures a tickling motion with his fingers; he attempts to do it but fails to tickle Azrel as he waves his hand in front of him for protection.
"No no, I'm good." Azrel chuckles awkwardly. "So, what happened?"
"I just found out High elves are very traditional. She told me we should get married first."
"What's wrong with that?" Azrel muttered this with an argumentative tone, raising his brows.
"Well if he does that, it means he'll be tied down and stops becoming a man-whore." Scarlet replied, she could've said it better, but her statement pretty much sums it up.
"Hey, I'm not. I don't go around picking up every girl I see, I still have some class." Rhen refutes Scarlet's harsh answer. "By the way do you have some concealer?"
"Here."
Scarlet takes a concealer cream from her handbag and delivers it to Rhen which he uses to conceal Alaina's hickeys.
"Ohhh... So that's how you do it." Azrel is intrigued by his professional wisdom and intends to use it when Scarlet becomes a bit too feisty. Unfortunately, Scarlet mistook his intentions for something else.
"Hey, don't get any weird ideas Azzy, I'm watching you. Especially after what happened last time" Warned Scarlet, she gestures her two fingers eye to eye at him.
After all, her lover attracts a lot of unwanted attention, and if she's not looking, ladies try to woo him away from her.
"It's not what you think, I promise," Azrel promises Scarlet as he wraps his arms around her. He cuddles her, taking her mind off her concerns.
"Of course, you wouldn't come here Azzy." Scarlet kisses Azrel after kiss on his lips paying no heed to their surroundings.
"Man, you two should just get married." Rhen separates the two or they'll start undressing in front of everyone.
"We're thinking about it brother." Azrel looks at Scarlet's flushed face. Rhen does not know if Azrel already proposed to his girlfriend in secret, but what he said is pretty much the same at this point.
Scarlet begins to fidget, she hunches her shoulders, and a visible crimson line runs from cheek to cheek.
"Well, It's not like I don't want to. It's just I'm still young and I still have things to achieve like you guys, and besides I'm still thinking about it"
Azrel responds with a charming smile, it's unclear what he's thinking, but he tries to conceal his gritting teeth behind his charming smile and passes the question to Rhen.
"So what about you brother? any thoughts on settling down?"
Rhen answered him without much thinking.
-
[Become a saint]
[Get married next year]
[Continue being a playboy]
[Come what may]
-
"Come what may, I guess?" Rhen replied earnestly, taking another drink of his vodka before gazing to the side, wondering what he was going to do after completing the mission.
Azrel is lucky to have Scarlet by his side, as for Rhen, he's lucky just to have a brother and a future step-sister with the same lifespan as him.
Rhen knows what he's doing is a disservice to the girls he meets. However, he believes there is little he can do about it because, due to his long lifespan, most of the girls he encounters felt transient and fleeting.
Finding love is at the end of Rhen's list, he's happy to be able to fuck around. If he's going to die as a massive man-whore, so be it. He is also an assassin, a profession that isn't suited to finding love, he reasoned.
Azrel's question only made his mood worse. Rhen didn't despise his brother for that. If anything, he is grateful for the opportunity to discuss such topics with him.
"I'm done." Rhen returns the concealer to Scarlet after using it. The skin on his neck no longer looks as if he just came out of a love hotel. After a quick fix of his hair, he now looks passable as a gentleman.
"Scarly, what is Neotopia like? I mean, all I know is that's where you study." Azrel asked his girlfriend.
Scarlet puts her finger to her lips and looks up, trying to think of the best way to describe the island nation in the middle of the ocean.
"Well, it's a bit unique, it's more liberated compared to Kadwein. Because it is in the middle of five Kingdoms, it's a melting pot of their cultures. Most of the people there immigrated from other places, so there are only a few who are truly natives of that place. They also have amazing beaches since Neotopia is a tropical paradise. "
"Can you tell me more about the school?" Rhen asked her, after all, that's where he's heading.
"Neocademy? All I can say is that it's the most prestigious university in all of Eternia. Sylnari High elf nobles send their kids there just like Alaina and even non-nobles like High elf knights. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of their Prince and Princesses." Scarlet says so with a gleeful look.
"Basically, the school for the posh and refined." Rhen does a scornful snort.
He'd had his fair share of pompous politicians, and the thought of a school full of people like them made him cringe.
The only saving grace him have is knowing that not all of them are like that.
Scarlet laughs at Rhen's retort. "Exactly! However, there are also a lot of Demihumans as well, like Succubus, Demonkin, Beastmen, and even Orcs. Their written exam is hardcore, but if you manage to graduate, you are certain to land a job wherever you are."
Rhen marvels how an Orc got into a university; their races aren't known for having superior brains. Perhaps they have other methods of testing students besides writing exams, such as magic or martial skills.
"I'll make sure to read about it in an article on the internet. I don't know about you two, but I'm gonna hit hay." Rhen didn't want to ruin Scarlet's vacation by interfering with their date, so he left them alone.
Rhen returns to the lobby, hoping to see Aliana at the reception counter and apologize, only to find it manned by someone else.
He figured that following her up to her quarters just to talk is too creepy, so he calls it a day.
He witnesses a rough-looking Wood Elf enter the building before he can use the elevator. He's glancing about suspiciously, as though looking for someone, especially at the reception.
When he can't find what he's looking for, he begins asking around to see if anyone has seen a High Elf.
The way he walks suggests he's carrying a secret blade beneath his belt. Always keeping his backside hidden and away from everyone.
Rhen could see the curves of a stiletto with the handle disguised as a pen upon closer scrutiny.
Rhen isn't sure if the Wood Elf is here to kill Aliana or to kidnap her. He is, however, hazardous, and Rhen should dispatch the Wood Elf quietly.
The Human security guard observes the Wood Elf's strange actions, but Rhen intervenes before the Wood Elf can harm the guard.
"Hold on," Rhen murmured, his hand resting on the guard's shoulder.
He then pursues the Wood Elf around the hotel, getting closer with every step he takes.
When he is ready to pounce on the unsuspecting Wood Elf, he suddenly turns a corner. The hallway on that corner leads to the casino and the Wood Elf bumped into someone.
"Ack! Hey watch where you're going!" The Wood Elf exclaimed.
Rhen looks around the corner and notices the Wood Elf has run into a group of Luna company operatives clad in black who have just exited the red and black themed casino.
He knows there is no use in staying when the Wood Elf is greatly outnumbered and outmatched, so he leaves the scene and leaves his soldiers to deal with the problem.
...
"(Ack! what the hell is this guy? Why is he looking at me like that?)" The Wood Elf thought to himself.
He wipes his sore nose and looks up to see a dark-haired man with a scar on his left cheek and a black mask over his lower mouth.
The Wood Elf is the former suitor Aliana, after getting rejected by her he vowed to make her his wife by any means possible. He was overjoyed when he learned that Aliana had fled from home and was planning to kidnap her.
He tracked her down using his tracking abilities. The Wood Elf has also done his fair share of dungeoneering and monster hunting, and as a result, he is confident in his combat talents. Unfortunately, he messed with the wrong people.
"Move." The man with a scar spoke in a deep and menacing tone.
Behind him are twelve of his fellow men, all dressed in black. They too have a look you do not want to mess with.
"What the hell, punk! "Do you want to die!" The Wood Elf clutches Snake's collar, causing him to glare.
Yue notices the Wood Elf's stiletto and walks behind him with a cheeky grin. She steals the stiletto from him in an instant, without him noticing.
"Look Ash, I got a souvenir," Yue remarked joyfully, twirling the stiletto like a toy.
"Hey, that's mine! Give it back or else I'l- AIYE!!!" The Wood Elf yells in agony.
Snake moves as fast as lightning and instantly snaps the Wood Elf's fingers which was clenching his collar.
"Or else what?" Snake casts a glance down at the Wood Elf, who is curled up on the floor, clenching his broken finger. Snake reaches into his pocket and dials security.
"Aghh!" The Wood Elf weeps in pain. He not only failed to locate Aliana, but he was also arrested in the process.
...
Back in the corridor, Rhen hits the elevator button only to hear a ruckus near the casino.
He goes inside and up to his apartment, and the next thing he knows, police sirens are coming in, probably to arrest the Wood Elf.
Even if the Wood Elf has reinforcements, his soldiers are more than willing to engage in a battle with hooligans because they are itching for some live target practice.
With the situation under control, Rhen gathers the items he requires: clothing, forged paperwork, guns, and ammunition. He knows he's going to enroll as a student, but he's anything but a student.
Rhen takes a knife from his weapon stockpile and throws it at the photo of Wraith on the wall, it sank two-thirds of the way into the wall.
"I'm coming for you, Wraith, make sure to wash your neck." He muttered with wrath in his eyes.