As Gemma called for the interviewee, Drai looked around, wondering where this Kevin Hunt guy was. When they entered the booth, he recalled not seeing anyone around except for Gemma.
'Maybe he registered and left before his interview. After all, the expo has been going on for quite a while before we came here. There must've been several people who applied for VV already,' Drai thought to himself.
While thinking of this, Drai saw Jian walking toward the reception table. He said something inaudible to Gemma, whose face was slightly surprised upon hearing this but immediately showed understanding. She then led Jian to the area behind the partition.
Witnessing this, Drai became confused. He turned to Christo, asking, "Why is Jian in such a hurry? Does he need to go somewhere after this? I hope that Kevin guy won't trouble him for cutting the line."
Christo smiled in amusement before replying, "I'm sure that Kevin guy is our roommate."
"Huh? So, there are four of us now? But what about his bed? I don't think there's any more room to add a bed unless we move out the sofa and table. Or is he the type to sleep on the floor? I've heard that some people in the east sleep like that," Drai remarked.
Auri who was listening in couldn't help but chuckle. She turned to Drai and said, "That wasn't what Christo meant, Drai. He was saying that Kevin is actually Jian."
Upon hearing this, Drai was stunned. He recalled that Jian never introduced himself by his full name. He wasn't even sure if Jian had ever mentioned that "Jian" was his name. He usually went with something like, "Call me Jian," or, "I'm known as Jian."
"I guess it's part of his persona," Christo added. "An eastern magical warrior being called Kevin definitely breaks the immersion."
"Ah, I see," said Drai noddingly. If Jian even went far enough to change his whole personality, changing his nickname must not have been a big deal.
"Let's just avoid mentioning it in case he actually doesn't like his original name," Christo wisely suggested. The other two nodded in agreement.
The interview wasn't too long, as Jian soon returned to his seat.
"Auridio Phillenia Luxor Velles!" Gemma called.
"I'll be going first," Auri said to Drai as she stood up and came forward.
Drai watched her disappear behind the partition before saying to Christo, "I didn't know she had a long name. I thought people only have two-word names."
"Well, she's a Velles after all. Her long name is part of an old tradition originating from the Old Era, which has been adopted by the Velles Family even to the present day," Christo replied.
"Her lineage is that old?" Jian remarked while leaning closer, as he was also intrigued.
"Technically, all our lineages are that old," Christo said smilingly before continuing, "But the Velles Family is one of the special lineages that were able to keep their legacy and some of their inheritance from the Old Era. You may have heard of aristocrats. Well, the Velles Family was part of the aristocracy of Duncan Kingdom."
"That Duncan Kingdom?" Drai gasped.
"Yeah, the kingdom that was overthrown by the founders of Rivideria," Christo replied.
Even someone as ignorant to history as Drai still recognized the name of the fallen kingdom. It was one of the basic history lessons that were taught in the Prep. And the name was guaranteed to be remembered by all of the students because it was often mentioned when talking about the Century of Chaos. After all, their nation's current prosperity could be said to have been built upon the kingdom's demise.
"Wasn't aristocracy abolished after the founding of Rivideria?" Jian asked.
"Of course it was. It is said that one of the main reasons for the Rivideria Revolution was the rampant injustice and cruelty in Duncan Kingdom that stemmed from the stratification of classes, mainly involving the nobility and peasants. Therefore, it was inevitable that the previous class system was abolished after Rivideria's founding, which includes the status and privilege of said families. However, not all of them ended up the same," Christo explained.
"How so? Aren't they all nobles?" Drai questioned.
"Well, even if they're all aristocratic families, not all of them abused their privilege," Christo replied. "The infamously cruel families were essentially killed off with barely any survivors; even most of the children weren't spared. Meanwhile, the ones who weren't too cruel but still abused their privileges were stripped of their wealth, separated from each other, banished, and prohibited from using their family names. And lastly, there are the ones who were in good standing with the common populace, like the Velles Family."
"They must've been spared and were allowed to preserve their lineage while keeping their wealth," Jian guessed.
"Not quite. They did get spared from being erased, life-wise and name-wise, but most of their wealth were also taken, since they were deemed as unrightful property and were very much needed to aid the funding of Rivideria's establishment and the country's rebuilding. All of these 'spared' families ended up like this, except for the Velles Family."
Listening to Christo's last words, Drai and Jian's ears perked up. They looked at Christo expectantly, eager to know how Auri's family ended up differently. Christo inwardly chuckled upon seeing the sight of his friends before resuming his history lesson.
"The Velles Family was allowed to keep their name, of course, along with most of their wealth. And most notably, the family members even occupied quite a few important positions in the new government, and have continued to do so until now. Although most of the other families have vanished over time, and the few remaining mostly run family enterprises, the Velles Family had managed to become a political dynasty regardless of its past status and the contrasting ideologies between Duncan Kingdom and Rivideria."
Drai and Jian was astonished at this explanation. They finally realized that their playful friend came from such a powerful background. Jian even wondered how worse his cultivator personality would be if he had such a backing.
"But why was the Velles Family treated differently?" Drai asked.
"Yeah, it's strange. Keeping their legacy and wealth is one thing, but how could the founding members allow ex-nobles to hold several positions in the new government? Wouldn't it undermine their cause?" Jian also questioned.
Christo contemplated briefly before answering. "First, like I've said, the Velles Family had an excellent reputation even among the common people. So, most of the populace didn't oppose their taking part in the new government. Even with all their privileges as nobles, they didn't abuse their power, so why would the people think they would start doing so in a new and democratic setting?
"Second, the Velles Family actually played a great part in the fall of the former kingdom. In my opinion, their government positions as well the protection of most of their wealth were probably part of some kind of an agreement with the insurgents."
"What!? So, they were traitors???" Jian loudly exclaimed.
"Yep, they were," said a cheerful voice.
Hearing this, Jian froze in shock. He looked ahead and saw Auri walking toward them with a smile. He hadn't realized that Auri had been listening to the last bits of their conversation.
"So, what will you do now, Jian, after knowing that my ancestors were traitors?" asked Auri smilingly as she took a seat beside Drai while keeping her eyes on Jian.
Jian gulped and sweated, as his knowledge of her background made her smile look like a deadly threat. Jian was aware that his mouth was often uncouth, but he didn't know that today it would finally lead him to his demise.
Thinking of this, Jian steeled himself and proceeded to slap his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Auri! I didn't mean to say that! It was just me being impulsive as usual," Jian said apologizingly after slapping himself.
Despite all this, Auri remained silent. She was still looking at Jian smilingly.
Fearing for his life, Jian immediately slapped his mouth again.
"SLAP!"
"Damn this mouth!"
"SLAP!"
"Ungrateful mouth! I've fed you my whole life and this is how you repay me!?"
"SLAP!"
Feeling his sore lips, Jian wondered how many more slaps he must endure before he was allowed to live. Suddenly, he heard Auri bursting into laughter.
"Puhahaha! Your mouth is really ungrateful, Jian. You should disown it and find another one! Hahaha!"
Auri truly let loose, as she fell into Drai's laps while holding her stomach in laughter. Drai didn't know what he was supposed to do about Auri, so he just patted her head in an attempt to calm her down. Christo looked at this spectacle and shook his head helplessly while Jian was silently rubbing his sore mouth, feeling relieved upon realizing that Auri wasn't actually offended.
Big Bob and Gemma looked at the group from afar, before glancing at each other and exchanging smirks. Judging by their looks, such a commotion wasn't a rare sight for them.
A few moments passed before Auri finally calmed down. She lifted herself up and sat straight, seemingly unapologetic toward the owner of her temporary cushion.
"It's fine, Jian," Auri finally said to the presently sheepish Jian.
"It's true that my ancestors betrayed Duncan Kingdom. Why would my family proudly bear the name Velles if we were ashamed of it? My ancestors were good people, and they felt that a change was necessary and inevitable. So, they decided to give a hand, hoping to end the conflict quickly, especially since it was causing the commoners to suffer."
"I guess you're right. Although they were traitors, they were good traitors," Jian remarked with the best praise he could come up with at the moment.
"Your family's pretty cool," Drai said to Auri. Coming from a humble background, being connected to such a dynasty was something too far-fetched to even think about. But now he apparently had a friend who was a direct descendant of such a family. Drai suddenly thought of his parents and their reactions if they were to learn about this unlikely fact. His mom would probably suspect that Auri was a vixen or scammer.
"They're alright. I bet your family's even cooler!" Auri cheerfully replied, appreciating the fact that Drai didn't react weirdly or change his behavior despite the revelation.
If Auri knew that Drai's dad had also slapped and blamed his mouth similarly to Jian, she would probably think that Drai was adopted and Jian was Daro's long-lost son.
Seeing as the ruckus had settled, Gemma lightly shouted, "Drai Varz!"
"I guess it's my turn," Drai muttered. He glanced at his friends before coming forward.
Auri stared at Drai's disappearing back in silence. With Drai gone, she was feeling slightly awkward, as she wasn't that close with the other two men. Although she had teased Jian several times already, they were situational impulses that weren't planned by Auri. This was made worse due to Jian's earlier remark regarding Auri's family that resulted in him acting sheepish.
Moments passed by in silence. Jian seemed to be preoccupied with the System while Christo was reading something on his comm.
Meanwhile, Auri was thinking about today's events. She enjoyed her moments with the nonjudgmental Drai and felt that Jian was a hilarious guy who could pull out a comedy skit out of nowhere.
However, she felt slightly ambiguous about Christo. He was quite handsome, tall, eloquent, insightful, and knowledgeable. In this group of three, he was an anchor that prevented the other two from going wild and was also their walking encyclopedia. In addition, he seemed to have helped Drai a lot with his lack of common sense and familiarity of human nature.
But despite his rather perfect character, Auri's instincts told her that there's a lot more to Christo than what he had shown so far. This was usually nothing strange, since they had only known each other for less than a day. But somehow, a faintly ominous feeling tugged her heart whenever she tried to pry into his secrets.
"Is there something on my face?" Christo's voice interrupted Auri's rumination. She turned in shock to see Christo looking at her with intrigue.
"Why are you asking?" Auri inquired, wondering how Christo knew she was thinking of him.
"Well, you've glanced at me at least a dozen times already since Drai left, you know? If you hadn't been quite obvious with your interest in Drai, I would've probably thought that you had a crush on me," Christo nonchalantly replied.
Auri's face turned slightly red, showing her embarrassment from being exposed. She didn't realize that Christo had noticed her occasional glances.
'Being so unnecessarily observant, no wonder he's so insightful!' Auri inwardly exclaimed.
"So, may I know why I have caught your sight?" Christo asked.
Thinking of a way out, as she couldn't possibly say that she felt something eerie about him, Auri recalled the trio's earlier conversation about her family.
"I was just wondering how you learned about my family's history. Most people just know us as an ordinary political family with a few notable family members outside politics," Auri said. Despite this being an excuse, she was actually curious about it.
"Oh, that? Let's just say that I read a lot," Christo replied.
"Sure, dude. The books you've read must've been quite special if such an obscure fact was depicted in detail," Auri sarcastically remarked, unconvinced by his answer.
Hearing this, Christo smiled. "Forgive me for saying that you're getting ahead of yourself, Auri. While your family's history is definitely obscure, whether it is a 'fact' remains questionable."
Christo's reply made Auri froze. She stared at him coldly, asking, "What do you mean by that?"
Unfazed by her chilling stare, Christo replied, "I meant what I said. I'm sure the semantics doesn't require further elaboration for you to understand."
Clenching her fists, Auri asked in a low voice, "Are you saying that my family were liars and our history was fabricated?"
Sensing Auri's swelling rage, Christo shook his head helplessly.
"It seems like I still have to elaborate. Very well. So, Auri, I'm not saying that your statement is true, but I'm saying that it is a possibility. I'm not slandering your family or anything like that. I'm just being honest about my thoughts."
Despite her anger, Auri still pondered on Christo's words. She realized she had been quite hasty to rage, as such a minute difference was the determining factor that separated contemplation from slander. She understood that someone like Christo would definitely think of such possibilities. Taking things at face value was something Drai would often do, but not Christo.
Seeing that Auri was still seething, Christo said, "You're not a naive person, Auri. Coming from such a family, you should know how the world works. After all, as the old adage says, 'history is written by the victors.' And I'm pretty sure the Velles Family was part of the victorious side in our past local dispute."
Hearing this, Auri forced herself to calm down. She did know that humans were scheming creatures, so she couldn't eliminate such a possibility regardless of her being a family member.
"You're not wrong, but your words still hurt my feelings. How about you keep it to yourself next time? And here I thought you were the sensible guy among your group," Auri reprimanded.
"It's true that my words were rude and I apologize for that. I just wanted to make sure that my new friend isn't oblivious of such possibilities, especially if she decides to keep sticking to Drai."
"What does this have anything to do with him?" Auri questioned, slightly baffled.
Christo didn't reply and just gave her a knowing smile. He gestured his head toward their front, which made Auri notice that the man in question was finished with his interview and was walking toward them.
Drai smiled at his friends before returning to his seat between Auri and Christo. It was impossible for Auri and Christo to continue their conversation, so Auri just sat there, thinking about Christo's words. But before Auri could gather her thoughts, Gemma's voice sounded once again.
"Christopher Leopold Titus Jean-Claude Maglan!"
Upon being called, Christo stood up and came forward as his friends, along with Big Bob and Gemma, watched him in a daze.
Among the staring crowd, Auri's face was particularly pale, as she got goosebumps all over her body. Staring at Christo's back, she was stricken with apprehension.
As Christo disappeared behind the partition, Auri thought about their previous conversation and couldn't help but ponder with trepidation.
"Christo Maglan… Who are you?"
***