584: Forming Trios

Forming Trios

Elites and Supports. Forming teams of three—teams that will remain until either this crisis is resolved, or the members die trying to resolve it.2

Naturally, it was no joking matter. Everyone wanted the best of the best on their team to guarantee their own best chances of survival… or rather, that was what one would think. Most people probably had that philosophy, but some valued looks over strength. And well… the girls around me had both.

The Elites sought out Mei Gui and the others relentlessly, despite refusals and rejections. Even some female Elites asked them as well, not for their looks but simply for their strength. But the males? Their heads were probably filled with all the things they could do with the girls if they were their Supports. After all, the trio of Elite and Supports were stated to live together as well.

The same thoughts were going on in the male Supports' heads as they shamelessly threw themselves towards the girls traveling with me through the crowd, who were also Elites. It's gotten to the point where I had to form a barrier around us to prevent anyone from getting close, and Mei Gui told me through telepathic messages that she had to the same. Ridiculous. Sometimes, I wished the girls looked a bit uglier.

Before long, the entire crowd had been divided. Rather than being balanced—1 Elite and 2 Supports—there were a few distinct locations where people were gathered around. One was where the girls and I were, one was where Mei Gui and the others were, and one was surrounding a handsome man wearing a butler's outfit for whatever reason, accompanying a girl with long silver hair that trailed into pink near the ends, and had steely cold pink eyes as she stared at everyone else.

By the looks of it, they were both Supports, and all the Elites were fighting to get the two of them. The girl was stunningly beautiful, and the butler appeared calm and lax on the outside with a friendly smile on his face, but none of the Elites were stupid—they could tell the butler was in fact frighteningly strong, so much so that it was a mystery why he wasn't chosen as an Elite himself. Even from this range, I could tell that much.

Suddenly, the girl glanced in my direction, spotting me looking over at them, and our eyes connected. She widened her gaze a bit as if I was someone she knew, and quickly, she whispered into her butler's ear, who was busy rejecting everyone who wanted to get those two in a bundle. It was clear the girl was some sort of princess or from a wealthy family but somehow didn't get selected as an Elite, and the butler was her… well, butler.

After hearing what the girl told him, the butler gave a brief nod, then began leading her through the crowd, cutting through the waves of people and ignoring their calls.

Unexpectedly, they ended up joining the crowd surrounding us, but with their domineering atmosphere, they immediately ended up in front. The girl locked eyes with me, as if searching for something, then narrowed her eyes.

"… Yes. He is the one."

I blinked. "Uh… actually, I already have a team, and-"

"You will be mine," the girl said. "You… only you… can satisfy my needs."

"What the fu-"

"I apologize, but can we speak elsewhere?" The butler cut in, stepping up in front of his lady. "It is… to difficult to talk here. Let us move to the hallway."

After some thought, I decided to go along with it. The other girls were surprised at this, but I was curious to see what this was about. I told them to continue trying to meet up with the others, while I myself went with the butler and his lady out into the hallway. No one followed, mainly because they didn't give two shits about me and were only crowding around us before for the girls anyway. I didn't look bad, but compared to the girls, they were far more eye-catching than I was. And since I was purposely concealing my strength, well…

In any case, exiting the auditorium, we entered the hallway where no one could bother us. It was completely silent, a nice change from the auditorium, and was reverberant enough for our footsteps to echo against the ground.

"… So? What do you want?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in caution.

The butler glanced both ways to make sure no one was listening in, before erecting a sound barrier just for double security and then speaking. Strangely, however, his eyes remained like slits even as he looked around, as if he were smiling but the lips weren't.

"First of all, allow me to apologize on my lady's behalf for her harsh and brutish way of speaking," he began, bowing down politely and professionally.

"No need," I said, waving it off. "If you feel sorry, just cut to the chase. It'll save time for both of us."

"Very well, if that is what you wish," the butler said, before turning to his lady briefly and then looking back at me with those same slit-like eyes, constantly turned up like a smile even though he wasn't exactly smiling.

"My lady here… she is a vampire."

Uh… cool, I guess?

"… And?" I prompted, waiting for him to continue. Vampires weren't exactly a rare sight. I believe I saw a few of them among the Elite group as well.

"Very few know this, but she is, in fact, the lost heir to the throne," the butler said, lowering his voice even though there were already sound barriers around. "However, twelve years ago, when she was but a child, a Count revolted, and slayed the former king—my lady's father, and my former master. Since then, Vampire Territory has been completely changed, and the new king will stop at nothing to hunt my lady down for fear of revenge."

"So you two came to this academy to seek refuge, is it?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Correct. You are insightful indeed. Being an IMF-managed organization, the new king's reach cannot extend all the way here."

"I still don't see how this involves me, though," I muttered. "You want me to protect her, or something?"

"No," the butler said, shaking his head. "The reason my lady said 'you are the one' earlier… is because of a special trait of the royal vampire bloodline—they can only consume a special premium blood, or else they will die."

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