"Welcome back," a beautiful woman said after we entered the meeting room once again. However, this time, we held hands.


    Amongst the two female aliens, one held astonishing beauty, easily surpassing Maria. On the other hand, the other female alien looked rougher. However, it''s always the most charming one that''s the most disloyal and loose.


    I averted my gaze from the two female aliens and surfed my eyes along the three male aliens.


    The strict one with glasses was most likely the brain of the group. If I wanted to extract information and negotiate, he was definitely the one I needed to approach. Aside from him, there was a buff war-looking maniac. Considering he was participating in this small, important meeting, it was safe to assume, like Maria, he was one of the strongest the aliens had to offer. Lastly, the most plain-looking one, but the most frightening of them all.


    The plain-looking man who was the only alien unfazed by all the drama I caused. Furthermore, he covered his face using a hat while comfortably becoming one with the chair. His arms were crossed. It was obvious that he wanted his tardiness and disrespect to be noticed.


    The typical gesture to indicate someone is sleeping or is merely uninterested in the topic.


    Amongst all of these unique characters, he was the one I couldn''t decipher, making him the most frightening and dangerous.


    Analysis aside, we were seated after Maria constantly apologized for suddenly storming out. Well, I was mainly at fault, but she insisted on being the one to apologize. I guess she kind of felt responsible for my behavior.


    Anyway, the moment we were seated, we started with introductions—well, that was what I wanted to say, but they merely gave their name because they didn''t completely trust me... yet.


    The man with the glasses—Maxwell. The buff, war-maniac—Leon. And of course, that complex sleepyhead didn''t introduce himself, and he prohibited anyone from informing others about him. Thus, neither of them told me his name. Anyway, the beautiful woman''s name—Maria—ahem, I mean Livia. The cool, composed, rough woman—Vera.


    "Now that the unimportant matters are out of the way, let''s inquire about those negotiations you''ve previously mentioned," the one who brought it up was none other than Maxwell.


    Anticipation. Even if they didn''t instruct me to get Maria back here, I would''ve done so. Nevertheless, I mentioned negotiations beforehand, leaving them to build up anticipation. If we negotiated on the spot, they''d be forced to answer immaturely. Of course, that would''ve benefited me to a certain extent, but to begin with, we were on the same side. We had the same goal—destroying humanity. So, while I was gone, I gave them time to think of equal terms and conditions. Since we were on the same side, that was exactly what I wanted.


    "That''s right, I want to negotiate. But, let''s hear what you have in mind, Maxwell."


    Also, I was too lazy to think of terms and conditions by myself. Furthermore, I was a mere high-schooler. Surely, an adult like Maxwell would think of something better. Not to mention, it''d allow me to grasp the quality of the brain I''m up against.


    "Huh?! Aren''t you the one who wanted to negotiate?" He asked, slightly annoyed at my lack of preparation.


    "That was before I left to comfort and apologize to Maria. Unfortunately, it took a real toll on my mind," I shrugged, effortlessly lying through my teeth.


    Even if he considered the possibility that I was lying, he couldn''t ignore the possibility that I was telling the truth. The main factor was which one would most likely occur. Like Shiro said, Maria''s feelings couldn''t easily be swayed. Taking that into account, it implied that I had a hard time doing so. Thus, it was favorable that I was telling the truth.


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    The man sighed after calculating the possibilities.


    "Fine, I''ll present several conditions."


    "Thank you. Then, please proceed." I smiled triumphantly.


    "One, you will be given the right to live here and will be treated as an equal. That is as long as you don''t cause chaos. Simply put, abide by the laws. Two..." He briefly stopped. His lips curved into a smile. "No, that''s all."


    Heh, he got me.


    I got up to leave the room.


    "Alright then, I''ll leisurely enjoy my stay here," I said, waving my hand.


    He was a cautious man. He rigged the negotiations—specifically the parts that were of utmost importance. This was to test whether I was fatigued after tackling the drama I instigated. This meant that if I brought up the important parts that he intentionally forgot to mention, he''d know I was lying.


    We were playing a game of cat and mouse—we were at the phase of deciding who the mouse was. We each hid our intellect while trying to manipulate the opposition to expose his.


    "Alright, Cain. Please do enjoy your stay, but do keep in mind that ''citizens'' are prohibited from being in possession of a weapon."


    So basically, if I refuse to inquire about my participation in the war, I''ll lose the majority of my rights, huh?


    Amidst the five other people seated in that room, neither of them dared to interrupt our conversation—they didn''t want to indulge in something they couldn''t comprehend. Well, a single man was an exception. That very same man sighed while removing his hat from his face.


    "Good grief, how long are you lovebirds going to flirt?" It was none other than that nameless man.


    He got up and approached me—no, he was walking to the door.


    "If you kids are that scared of letting your mediocre intellect be exposed, simply consult a third party."


    He held onto the handle while using his other hand to point at me.


    "Kid, you''ll become one of our knights. As four-eyes said, you''ll gain the rights equivalent to ours, but you''ll need to prove your loyalty by providing us with all the information we need to know—their militant prowess, their weaknesses, their technology, and so forth."


    He glanced at Maxwell before continuing.


    "And I''m sure these incompetent fools won''t inform you about this immediately because they want to reap the benefits dry, but I''ll say it so I can suck all of your trust while leaving none left for you to contribute to them. Your current knight ranking will be high-grade, and your potential will be that of a king."


    Scary. Not only did he effortlessly dominate me, but he also showed no mercy to his colleagues. Furthermore, he exposed an arrow they were going to use to pierce my back, making me indebted to him. No, that''s not all...


    "Well, that''s all that I wanted to say. If your tiny brain couldn''t understand anything I said, then consult these fools. Bye."


    "Wait!" I called out to him.


    He opened the door midway before coming to a halt. He glanced at me.


    "What is your name?" I asked.


    I was right about him. He was the one I needed to watch out for.


    "Kid, you only genuinely inquired about my name when I have portrayed a great feat. Do the same, and then I will tell you." With those as his last words, he left the room.


    I didn''t want to believe it, but could it be possible that the reason why even Maria didn''t tell me his name was because she also didn''t know?


    "Well, that ruined the mood," Livia said with a pout.


    "What''s done is done," Maxwell said, getting up.


    Strange. Did they seriously hold a meeting only for those brief negotiations? No, I couldn''t even call that negotiating. Well, whatever. There were many things that he said that had me intrigued: high-grade alien and the potential of a king. Also, why was that bastard so hell-bent on concealing his name? No, rather than that, it''d be better to infer it as him hiding his identity.


    Like all of them, I left. Naturally, Maria approached me.


    "Now that all of that serious nonsense is over, want to go on a d-"


    "Want to accompany me, Cain?" Livia interrupted Maria.


    "Heyyyy, Livia! No fair! Cain is finally free," Maria countered with an adorable pout.


    "He''s not free yet. He lacks information about the war and the aliens as a whole."


    "That''s true, but I can inform him about—"


    "Furthermore, he needs to build a bond with all of the big figures, including me. Since all of them already left, I''m assuming I should be the one to do that first."


    "She has a point, Maria. Don''t worry, we can go on a date some other time. For now, I need to build a stable relationship. Otherwise, I won''t be able to enjoy my life here with you comfortably."


    Adhering to my wishes, she reluctantly left us two alone. Livia expressed her gratitude to me with a bright smile.


    "Shall we go?" She asked, leading the way.


    "Alright." I followed suit.


    Besides, I''m curious about what''s hidden behind her mask—or rather, those big breasts—ahem, I mean her astonishing figure. Fuck...whatever.