Upon my arrival at the breakfast lounge, Kent suddenly jumped in front of me, his voice carrying an unmistakable tone of concern.
"Hey, bro, are you okay?" he inquired.
"I'm alright," I responded. "Although last night was a bit strange."
"Yeeeah," Kent dragged out his reply. "I know! We should track down that elven woman's address and wreck her place!"
"Kent, come on. She's old enough to be our grandmother. Let's not bother her," I reproached him with a disapproving gaze.
"Fine, whatever. I didn't want to see her again anyway," the blue-haired elf rolled his eyes. "But seriously, what happened to you? Why were you crying?"
"I...I'm not sure," I shrugged. "I wasn't even aware that I was crying. But enough about me. What's going on with you?"
"Me? I'm totally fine. What do you mean?" Kent's expression soured.
"When that old elf mentioned your home, you suddenly got so serious," I reminded him. "What's the deal with that?"
"I–"
As Kent opened his mouth to respond, an obnoxious, grating laugh disrupted our conversation.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here!" the voice exclaimed.
I spun around to find myself face-to-face with Chase Woods. His mouth contorted into a smug grin.
Really? Him again? What's his issue with me, anyways?
Standing beside him was his best friend, Elijah Steelforged.
"Hey, Elijah," Chase said, nudging the half-dwarf. "Check it out - it's the crybaby! What's going on, little guy? Still scared of an old lady running a fortune-telling stall? Ahahaha!"
"Chase, knock it off," Elijah pleaded with his friend, tugging at his sleeve.
"That's not cool, man. Not cool," Kent shook his head disapprovingly.
"Oh, yeah, my bad!" Chase exclaimed, still laughing. "I will stop now or the crybaby will start crying! Hahahaha!"
"No, you're right, Chase," I admitted. "I might be a crybaby, but at least I'm not a wuss."
"Huh?" Chase raised an eyebrow and scowled. "What the fuck does that mean?"
"You know," I pointed in the direction behind him with my chin, indicating with a subtle gesture.
Chase pivoted around to see Anastasia sitting at a distant breakfast table, munching on her meal.
"W-What about Anastasia?" Chase swiveled back to me, his voice faltering.
"Heh," I smirked, motioning in her direction again with my chin. "I suggest you move quickly, or someone else might beat you to it."
Frowning, Chase glanced over his shoulder once more and witnessed a scene that caused his heart to sink for some inexplicable reason.
He saw Anastasia wiping Nero's mouth with a napkin as they both chuckled over something he had said.
Shrugging, I left Chase in his aghast state and walked off with Kent trailing behind me.
As we made our way to the buffet, Kent glanced back and forth between Chase's petrified form and the spot where I had gestured.
"Wait..." After a moment, Kent caught on. He placed a finger on his chin and opened his mouth to speak.
Oh?
Maybe he's not as stupid as I assumed. He caught on fairly quickly.
"Is Chase… in love with Nero?!" Kent blurted out.
Never mind, I spoke too early. He is stupid.
I couldn't help but chuckle at his obliviousness. "Yeah, Kent. I think that's pretty obvious."
Kent's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Huh, I never would have guessed. So Chase swings that way."
I rolled my eyes, amused. "Well, now you know."
†
The castle-themed banquet hall was the venue for the masquerade party, and I was the first to arrive.
Knowing that I would be fighting later, I decided to dress up lightly.
Adorned in a flamboyant fashion, I sported a three-piece suit in a vibrant shade of crimson.
The inner vest and pants were fashioned in sleek, ebony hues, which served to accentuate the striking red of the suit.
Adding to the opulence of my outfit were golden chains that tastefully adorned my attire.
My tie was tied in the Eldredge knot, which took me two full hours to get right– okay, maybe I wasn't dressing up very lightly.
But I swear to god, when I tried moving in this thing, I could move just fine, so yeah.
I don't know what happened to me. Prior to my transmigration, I never liked fancy suits, but now I can kinda see the appeal it carries.
Although, I still prefer comfort over style. I'd rather wear slacks and a tee than a lavish suit daily.
Anyway, since I was the first one to arrive among my classmates, I decided to stroll around the place to pass the time.
All around me, I could see men and women of noble heritage or prestigious families sipping drinks from expensive wine glasses and indulging in small talk.
I also saw some kids around my age and younger. They were the heirs of these noblemen and women.
They all had various kinds of masks on their faces, which was obvious since it was a masquerade party, after all.
Amidst the crowd, my eyes were constantly in search of the person who would unleash carnage here today – The Vampire Assassin.
His name was Magnus Bloodhound.
Bloodhounds were one of the most vicious and vile families of the Vampire Empire.
They specialize in assassination missions, but they can also fight on the frontlines, so their battle prowess is nothing to scoff at either.
Magnus, a 22-year-old pure-blooded vampire and direct heir of the patriarch, who was also one of the seven Abyssal Kings, was destined to succeed his predecessor.
This lofty position in the Vampire Empire required Magnus to prove himself, despite his youth.
And so, he was dispatched to the heart of enemy territory, entrusted with the daunting task of carrying out an assassination mission.
The stakes were high, as the successful completion of this mission would make his name renowned throughout the Vampire Empire, solidifying his status as a formidable leader.
Magnus was to eliminate a former Abyssal King turned traitor, a feat that would be celebrated and feared by all.
However, the plan failed.
A cadet attending the party discovered Magnus' true identity and alerted everyone, prompting him to attack the attendees and sow chaos in his attempt to escape.
Utilizing his mind control abilities, Magnus manipulated and turned some of the people present at the party against each other.
However, amidst the confusion and turmoil, Anastasia and Nero happened to be in attendance.
To Magnus' dismay, his mind control was ineffective against them.
Anastasia's powerful God Eyes protected her mind, while Nero overcame the manipulation with nothing but sheer will, much like the broken protagonist that he is.
After a grueling and bloody struggle, they eventually managed to vanquish the assassin, killing him before the military police could even arrive on the scene.
"Haaa," I let out a sigh as I remembered the novel's content. It will be a disaster and the one who'll cause it hasn't arrived here yet.
Magnus' human form should look like a young adult man with blood-red eyes and lustrous black hair.
Obviously, since a vampire's human form is made from illusion magic, their physical appearance looks good.
Deceiving others is also easy using good looks, so that charm comes in handy.
"Lucas?"
"Hm?"
As I was deeply lost in such thoughts, I sensed a gentle tapping on my back, prompting me to turn around.
To my surprise, a ravishing young woman with sleek black tresses was standing before me.
Her alluringly athletic yet curvy figure was accentuated by a georgette ballroom gown that left her back bare. The gown seemed to do nothing to conceal her toned physique.
But what caught my attention the most was the half-face mask she was wearing, which was styled like a fox.
Her mesmerizing emerald eyes sparkled and beckoned from behind the mask, adding an air of allure to her already captivating appearance.
"Amelia?" I frowned and looked around her. "You came early?"
"So did you," she commented. "And where is your mask?"
I touched my face when I was reminded that I wasn't wearing a mask. "It's not time for me to wear mine yet."
"What does that mean?" Amelia shot with confusion. I could only assume she was furrowing her eyebrows in confusion behind her mask.
"Ahh, nothing. Don't mind me," I shook my head. "So, what's going on?"
"You tell me," the black-haired beauty crossed her arms. "You looked… a little worried yesterday."
"...Yeah, it's fine. No, I'm fine," I nodded awkwardly. "It was just weird bearing that old woman talk, that's all."
"It's fine, don't think about her words much." Amelia nodded back. "It must be a business stunt to scare away the customers so that they would go back to her again."
"Exactly, and besides– wait," just as I was about to agree with her, something clicked. "Amelia Black, are you worried about me?"
"What?" Amelia widened her eyes. "No, I'm just– I just– No! I wasn't worried. I was just taken aback! Yeah, that's all."
"Heh," my lips curled up into a smirk. "Yeah, you sound very convincing. Hahaha!"
"Shut up," Amelia whipped her head away and fixed her mask by pressing her fingers on it. "Anyway, back to my question. Why did you come this early?"
"I was just bored," I replied. "What about you?"
"Same," Amelia shrugged.
"Well," I placed my hands in my trousers' pockets. "Since we both are early and none of us know anyone here, why don't we–"
"We are not dancing," Amelia interrupted me.
"...I was suggesting visiting the bar corner, but if dancing is what's on your mind–" before I could finish my sentence, Amelia's cold glare stopped me.
"Bar it is," she said before walking off, leaving me to follow behind her.
"Haa," I let out a sigh and shook my head.
Amelia was one of the characters who was mind controlled during the massacre.
She killed two cadets and three nobles, and it took Anastasia and Nero's combined efforts to stop her before getting to the assassin.
I would rather have her work with us than against her, so I'll try to keep her away from the assassin.
Haa. Let's go.
