Chapter 142: High-Status Individuals You Can't Afford to Offend
The arrogant youth was not happy about being told to "know his place." Humiliated by Shingetsu's blunt rejection and the spectacle he'd just made, his veneer of gentlemanly poise vanished.
"How dare you tell me to know my place? You!..."
Before the youth could finish his rant, he was abruptly cut off by a stern, middle-aged voice.
"Stop making a fool of yourself here. Get back to your seat!"
Upon hearing his father's voice, the youth's expression shifted instantly. He shriveled up, and a young woman—who appeared to be his younger sister—grabbed him by the ear and hauled him backward.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go, let go!" the youth yelped.
"Stay put and keep quiet!" The sister, who looked like she had just come of age and was dressed in a formal evening gown, scolded her brother fiercely. The youth, who had been so aggressive just moments ago, now clearly occupied a lower tier in the family hierarchy than his sister.
After shoving her brother away, the sister approached Otonashi Chiya and his group, bowing respectfully. "I am truly sorry. My foolish brother always likes to stir up trouble."
The sister was sharp; she realized that her father, who was usually lenient with her brother, had been furious before anything truly terrible happened. That could only mean her brother had provoked people they absolutely could not afford to offend.
Since Shingetsu couldn't understand the language and couldn't communicate, she simply ignored her.
"It's nothing," Chiya replied with a faint smile.
Furia and the other Hybrids remained silent. They felt it wasn't their place to speak; their role was to serve Lord Otonashi—which included killing—as they were, essentially, "killing machines" required to discard their emotions. The moment the youth had started shouting, they had been waiting for the signal from Lord Otonashi to act.
"Please excuse my son's rude behavior, young master," the well-dressed, dignified middle-aged man added, offering his own respectful apology to Chiya.
"No matter. I haven't taken it to heart—for now," Chiya said calmly.
"Then I shall not disturb you any further." With that, the middle-aged man turned and walked away.
The surrounding diners, seeing such a powerful man act with such deference toward the youth, began to whisper and speculate about his identity.
The sister kept her grip on the youth's ear as they followed their father, fearful her brother might go off and start more trouble.
"It hurts! I can walk on my own, stop pulling my ear!"
Ignoring his protests, the sister whispered to her father, "Dad, who exactly is that boy at the table?" She was burning with curiosity to know who could make her father act with such reverence.
"Rumor has it that President Jiang of the Devil Hunter Association personally invited a youth to participate in tomorrow's International Transfer. I don't know the exact details, but one can infer that the boy must be an exceptionally powerful Devil Hunter," the man said slowly. "It's said his eyes are a crimson hue, unlike any normal person's. And that girl the boy Pingkai tried to hit on just displayed strength no ordinary human possesses. I suspect that entire table is filled with top-tier Devil Hunters..."
Pingkai was the name of his good-for-nothing son.
"Crimson eyes...!"
The sister suddenly understood.
The moment she had laid eyes on that youth, she had been captivated by those blood-red pupils, which even held a strange, unique shape. An elite Devil Hunter personally invited by President Jiang—it was no wonder her father didn't dare provoke him, especially considering how incredibly young he looked.
Beyond this father-daughter pair, others in the room had begun to vaguely piece together Chiya's identity.
"That's Principal Liang, isn't it? For him to be so respectful to such a young man—what kind of background could he possibly have?"
"I was planning to go to the International Transfer tomorrow to see what the commotion is about, so I did some digging. Word is there's a heavyweight figure attending, someone personally invited by President Jiang himself. Could it be him?"
"You might be onto something. The description of his appearance matches perfectly, especially those eyes! There can't be any mistake."
"We should go and try to make his acquaintance. Establishing a connection with someone President Jiang holds in such high regard could only benefit us."
"..."
Consequently, people began lining up to offer Chiya toasts. However, Chiya only had a cup of tea in his hand, and he had no intention of switching to alcohol. In his eyes, these people weren't worth the effort of forging a deep connection. At most, he offered a polite nod and a sip of tea in return.
Seeing this, those men dared not voice any complaints. They were only trying to curry favor because they had guessed his status; why would they invite trouble by taking offense at a Devil Hunter whom the President of the Association prioritized?
With the lesson taught by the arrogant youth earlier, no one dared to cast covetous eyes at Shingetsu anymore. At best, they dared to approach Furia, who was also quite beautiful.
"Hello, beautiful lady. Might you tell me your name?"
Seeing a young nobleman trying to pick her up, Furia replied with a playful, teasing expression: "Are you serious? I'm nearly eighty years old. I'm the kind of 'superior being' that you common humans could never dream of reaching."
"Nearly eighty? How is that possible?"
The man was shocked by the first half of her sentence, momentarily ignoring the second half. He looked at her—she clearly appeared to be around twenty, young and beautiful. How could she possibly be an eighty-year-old crone?
"Like I said, you common humans can't understand 'superior beings' like me. Move along, move along." Furia waved her hand, shooing him away like a nuisance.
"..."
The man left, crestfallen. He didn't dare hold a grudge, as that would be suicide. However, he didn't believe a word she said; he was convinced she was just making up an absurd story to reject him.
After dinner, President Jiang contacted Chiya to detail the specific schedule for the following day's International Transfer, including the exact time he needed to arrive and be present.
By 8:00 AM the next morning, Chiya, Shingetsu, and the others were at the venue.
This year, the International Transfer was hosted by the Magic City Devil Hunter Association, so the event was held within their headquarters. Representatives and Devil Hunters from various nations gathered at the Association, resulting in an exceptionally tight security perimeter around the entire area.
After entering, Chiya and his group simply took their seats in the VIP section and waited for the proceedings to begin.