Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"Let it go, Brenn. There\'s nothing we can do about it now," a young beauty at this man\'s side said as she nudged him.

"This bastard organised a party in my father\'s house without letting him know!" the young man, whose name was Brenn shouted before holding himself back and taking a deep breath.

The two stood in a very large hall with a polished floor that looked like a still blue sea.

Chatter was prevalent as many were already in attendance, sitting on the lovely chairs and dining on the expensive food and drink placed over the small but numerous circular tables or standing by the large pillars in this hall as they held refreshments.

The diamond crusted chandeliers above gave beautiful light and a few dashes of class that many of the individuals in this hall would have never imagined to see. It was exquisite.

"This is not right!" Brenn angrily said as he drank the fine, green wine in his glass.

Why was this young man angry?

Well, that was because this was his father\'s house.

The Governor\'s house.

Finding out that Rearren EverSword had issued out invitations to all the contenders and their respective Family members with this address as the venue for the gathering that the Game Master had mentioned, was a heavy blow.

All the decorations and foods were supplied by the EverSword House but this... this...

"Let it go, Brenn. Father already accepted it and you should too," the girl beside Brenn, his sister said.

As of now, only ten Families had registered their attendance and the great hall was barely filled up to the eighth mark.

Still, the night was young. The sun retired to its nest behind the horizon merely twenty minutes ago. Most were going to show in time.

Brenn turned his gaze to the man responsible for this and his family.

They were all seated on raised platform at the end of the floor, their sitting arrangement being the same as it had been back at the venue of the Premium Age Royale - Rearren at the centre, Rias to his right and his wife Millisa to the left.

A few extra seats could also be seen on this platform, their owners yet to arrive.

The three EverSword House members sat while overlooking the still fairly silent hall, with many choosing to avoid locking gazes with them.

Such a powerful family was difficult to approach.

At this moment, the Knight stationed at the vast entrance that looked like it was made to accommodate a giant, spoke in a boisterous voice.

"The Bryne Family... in attendance!"

The Bryne siblings walked in at this moment with Karrun and Skullius following on either of their sides.

Yuyui and Silrat also followed from behind, the entourage that they all had come with being left behind at the entrance.

It was customary for most events involving people of high standing to announce the arrival of each and everyone expected to come, though differences in status applied, modifying the nature of presentation.

This was an informal event so dressing wasn\'t something strictly stipulated but as well groomed children of the Family, Setkh and Stylla dressed formally.

Karrun followed Setkh\'s example while Skullius wore what he usually wore. In fact, the Hybrid Luman was barely concerned about clothing and more so focused on the green haired lady walking a few steps behind him.

\'If she dares...\' Skullius thought, keeping track of Yuyui\'s roaming eyes as it seemed whenever food was involved, this undying brat\'s brain would be replaced with a food flavoured vacuum.

Skullius wasn\'t that concerned with appearances, but given the fact that Yuyui\'s powers seemed to be triggered by her emotions, as shown when she awakened the Eye of Dispersal, he was convinced that one of her other eyes would come from her orgasming over some food flavour.

The six walked into the hall while feeling several dozens of eyes stabbing at them keenly.

This was natural.

The whole point of this gathering was to know who was who after all. Names could be inquired or discerned through the Control Seal when they had returned to the venue which a major plus also.

As they all approached one of the tables, Skullius pulled on Yuyui and dragged her aside.

She was wearing a dress that Stylla couldn\'t fit in anymore – frankly it had had to be worked on for a few minutes to fit her still fairly frail structure as well – and it looked good on her, its make revealing her knees and sandal wearing feet.

By all accounts she didn\'t deserve to be manhandled while in this attire but Skullius could care less.

"Behave yourself. I don\'t want incidents that will cause more work for me than necessary," the Hybrid Luman ordered.

Yuyui nodded while her eye quickly darted towards the splendours erected on the table.

"I\'m serious. I won\'t hesitate to kill you otherwise."

"But master, you can\'t kill me here. There\'s too many people. And besides, you don\'t want anyone to notice that I can come back to life right?"

Skullius\' eyebrow twitched. This little...

She was growing bold.

"Let me eat as much I want. I won\'t do anything embarrassing," Yuyui said as she patted Skullius\' shoulder reassuringly.

This only served to make Skullius angrier as he swatted her hand away.

"Is that right?" Skullius said as he inched towards Yuyui who backed away.

"I promise, I promise! Can\'t you just trust me, master?"

"Not when it comes to food!"

"Well then... I also can\'t trust you when it comes to cute babies!"

"What the flesh are you talking about?!"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

"That CHILD was meant to be eaten! If I didn\'t it would have been a waste!"

"That\'s just an excuse!"

"Is this why you\'re starting to become rebellious? I eat one baby and all of sudden I\'m the bad guy?!"

"Yes!"

As this heated but hushed discussion went on, Silrat who heard bits and pieces of it couldn\'t help but shudder. Whatever it was these two were talking about, he didn\'t have the stomach to even attempt to digest it.

"Fine! You can eat as much as you want BUT I\'ll be monitoring you," Skullius finally relented.

It seemed Yuyui was still upset about him eating the Chubby Remnant Child of Polarity thus her questions and refusals.

What an annoyance.

"Fine evening to dine with the beacons of Pelian, isn\'t it?" a young man who looked to have come from getting a breather appeared next to Skullius and Yuyui, his voice garnering the attention of Silrat, Stylla and Setkh.

The three rose and reached Skullius and Yuyui, evidently having recognised this man who had just arrived.

"I\'d like to extend my welcome. I hope everything is to your liking," the young man who was Brenn, said with a kind smile.

"Thank you for the hosting. It is an undeserved pleasure to have the Governor\'s son welcoming us personally," Stylla quickly chimed in as Skullius and Yuyui who were at the forefront failed to entertain the man\'s kind words at all.

"Ah, please. I have nothing to do anyway. The EverSword House has practically taken over at this point. Haha," Brenn said.

"Still, it is refreshing to see someone of your status walk among us. The hall is exquisite. Never thought I\'d dine in it all my life actually," Setkh joined with refined delivery as he wore a pristine smile.

\'Neither did I, \'Brenn thought begrudgingly with a gnash of his teeth.

Skullius was reminded that the two Bryne siblings were born in luxury and high custom as the way they spoke, entertaining the Governor\'s son contrasted their behaviour behind doors.

They were really good.

Amidst the casual chatter Brenn turned to Skullius, noticing his blank eyes.

"Who might this fine man be?" he asked.

"Ah, this is Festos Dawn Bryne, Lord Brenn. He is a contender in the Premium Age Royale," Stylla hurriedly introduced Skullius.

"Oh, I see. Pardon me if I may come off rude but—"

"Yes. I\'m blind," Skullius said with smile, culling the rest of Brenn\'s sentence.

"Fascinating. I\'ve been told many a time that one lost sense compensates the others. With the way you walk and talk, I\'m tempted to believe it," Brenn said with a friendly tone.

Setkh, not wanting to be bested in this mundane setting called on Karrun who had been seated on the table as he dined (elegantly) on the food and introduced him.

"Lord Brenn, this is also a contender for our Family, Karrun Niel Bryne, recently signed into our fold. Prior to joining us, he was stationed at the Carpet Keep near the Isise as a Contract Knight."

"Really?" Brenn showed genuine, pleasant surprise.

"It is, Lord Brenn," Setkh said proudly while eyeing Stylla who gave a roll of the eyes.

The Carpet Keep was a fortress erected by a neutral facet of the Capital Service that handled Contract Knights.

As opposed to Capital Knights, Contract Knights were individuals that signed contracts with the Capital Service for short bursts of time in order to deal with specific threats and attain rewards before safely returning to whatever business they were doing prior.

This system was indeed copied from the mercenaries but it was also different as strict screening and vetting was involved.

The Carpet Keep housed and gave duty to thousands of Knights and it had been responsible for aiding the various settlements near the Isise during the mass Cluster incident.

The fame of the Carpet Keep extended beyond this as they also helped with defending against the recurring attacks of the Evenfall around the Isise.

"Remarkable. The Carpet Keep has no shortage of renown," Brenn said with a big smile.

"You flatter me, Lord Brenn," Karrun responded with a small bow.

The boisterous voice of the Knight at the entrance to the hall rang once again as an esteemed figure seemed to have arrived.

"Trueborn of the High Family of Opungale, Her Highness Darwel, in attendance!"

...