Blood Assimilation

"What? Trouble? What kind of meeting? If it's as troublesome as you say, I can tag along just to be safe."

From the way Brawler Randy spoke, Gutz assumed that Brawler Randy was in trouble with someone and needed his assistance, so he offered generously.

"I don't know if you can tag along."

Randy spoke uncertainly: "They never said I could bring anyone along, but who knows? Anyway, it doesn't matter since this was forced on me. You can come along."

"Alright then."

Gutz suddenly asked: "So, where are we going again?"

Brawler Randy replied: "I think the meeting spot is not far from the Coliseum."

Gutz asked further: "Then who are you meeting over there?"

Brawler Randy stated: "I think it is some guy from the Royal Family, no, it was supposed to be an attendant from the Crown Prince."

"What?! The Crown Prince?! You mean our Crown Prince?"

Gutz was instantly shocked by Brawler Randy's casual revelation that sounded as if he was just talking about some irrelevant person.

"Yes. Let's go. I think I am late for the appointment."

Meanwhile, Brawler Randy carried a frown on his face as he led the way in the direction of Entertainment Street with Gutz following behind him with a dazed expression. He wondered what was going on with 'Randy.'

…

At the same time.

In the slum on Entertainment Street.

A dignified old man, donning a butler's attire, stood by himself at the entrance of a dark alley. He had been standing there since the morning in hopes of meeting the esteemed guest recommended by Crown Prince Lukkas, his master.

Out of respect for whoever could gain the trust of his master, he came ahead of time, to the meeting spot, to wait for them. However, even though the promised time had arrived, there was still no sight of the person whom the Crown Prince had recommended he pick up.

This discovery infuriated the old Royal Attendant. He had served the Crown Prince since he was born, and he understood his character very well, far more than anyone else. Not even the King, his father, knew him as well as he did. As such, he knew what kind of people he liked to hang out with and those that he kept out of his circle of friends.

However, based on the current course of events, the person the Crown Prince recommended he pick up this time was definitely not someone whom he would normally take a fancy to. After all, not only were they late for an appointment, but this turn of events also showed no respect for his master, Crown Prince Lukkas.

At this point, he wanted to leave and inform the Crown Prince that the person he said to pick up had reneged on their promise. However, at this very moment, he saw two silhouettes approaching in his direction in a leisurely manner.

The old Royal Attendant frowned deeply as he squinted his eyes. He saw two young men approaching his direction in casual steps as though they were only taking a stroll in the streets. One of them had a carefree expression and the other had a frantic expression, seemingly advising the carefree young man out of something to no avail.

Once they got close enough to him, about 50 meters away, the old Royal Attendant perked up his ears and managed to hear their conversation in the distance.

"Randy, why are you not listening to me when I'm telling you we should hurry to the meeting spot? The so-called ball you spoke of should start in a few hours and you said you were already running late."

Gutz revealed this fact to Brawler Randy as they walked toward their destination.

"While that may be the case…"

Brawler Randy turned to Gutz and asked out of curiosity: "Why do you know when the ball will start?"

"Of course, I know when it will start! Because I was also invited!"

Gutz proudly admitted and then said: "Although I was also invited, I turned it down at the last minute because I was waiting for you at the time and wasn't sure if I could make it. Besides, I've been to these balls many times before so it's no big deal to miss it this one time. Moreover, Vairon and the others would inform me of anything that I would miss this time around, anyway. But that aside, I can't believe that a newbie like you would also be invited to join the ball. And by the Crown Prince, no less."

"Oh."

Brawler Randy only replied with this sound, seemingly uninterested.

"What do you mean by 'Oh'? Is that really your response? Do you not understand the significance and implication of you being invited by the Crown Prince to the ball?"

"What do you mean by…"

Brawler was about to inquire about what he meant before he stopped himself and then suddenly said: "Never mind that for now. I think we've arrived at our destination. Let's continue our conversation later."

"What?"

Gutz belatedly reacted by turning his head to look up in the distance. Only then did he realize that someone was standing in the distance, seemingly waiting for them up ahead. He also recognized the appearance of the person ahead and muttered in surprise: "Oh. Is that Gasper? The Crown Prince's personal attendant?"

As soon as Brawler Randy and Gutz were within viewing range, the old Royal Attendant cast a brief look at them, recognizing one of them, but he still curiously questioned: "Which one of you is Sir Randy?"

"I am."

Brawler Randy casually replied, but he could sense that the person in front of him was displeased by his response. Their demeanor as they stood there suggested that they had been waiting for quite some time.

Sure enough, the old Royal Attendant gave him a stern look and rebuked: "You're late, Sir Randy. What could possibly be more important than fulfilling the promise to the Crown Prince? Do you not recognize that your casual attitude after being tardy is disrespectful?"

Brawler Randy was also taken aback by the old Royal Attendant's attitude and explained: "I know. I had some urgent matters to attend to, and that's why I couldn't make it on time."

The old Royal Attendant was not pleased with the excuse he gave and sternly said: "I was aware that you and the Crown Prince had chosen a specific meeting time ahead of time. You should have planned your affairs accordingly. Your tardiness is not only disrespectful to the Crown Prince's consideration but also to the other warriors who may have to wait on you if you were late to the occasion."

The old Royal Attendant disliked people like him the most. The appointed day had arrived, and he had been anxiously awaiting his arrival. However, minutes turned into hours, and there was no sign of him showing up. He began to wonder what had happened. Did the person recommended by his master forget about the promise? Or was he simply late? Since he couldn't even contact them, he had no choice but to wait for them until now, which was extremely frustrating for him.

Brawler, who was annoyed by the old Royal Attendant's ignorant words, argued back: "I understand your frustration, but I had urgent matters to attend to. I'm sorry for being late, but it was not intentional. Also, I never promised with certainty that I'd attend the ball, so you can't blame me for being a bit tardy."

Gutz, who had been silently watching the exchange, intervened: "Gentlemen, let's not take things too far. We are all civilized individuals, and we are all on the same side here. Let's not spoil the night with petty arguments. And Randy…"

Gutz grabbed and pulled Brawler Randy to the side and whispered: "You shouldn't cause any trouble with this person. Although he looks a little old right now, he used to be a renowned warrior back in his heyday. A very strong one at that. Furthermore, you are the one who showed up late, remember? So why are you making a big deal out of this? You didn't listen to me when I said we should hurry since it was the invitation of the Crown Prince. As things have already progressed to this stage, it's better to reconcile and forget about this matter. You don't want to be on the bad side of a member of the Royal Family, do you?"

Brawler Randy pondered his words and noted that even though he wasn't the one who arranged this meeting, and he was just forced to attend at the last minute by Holy Knight Randy, his belligerent actions might perhaps bring him some complications with the Royal Family, which would ruin his plans for an unbridled lifestyle.

After realizing that Gutz was right, Brawler Randy decided to put his feelings aside and reconcile with the old Royal attendant.

He hesitantly bowed and said sincerely: "I am sorry for my rude words just now. I truly didn't intend on arriving late on such an important day, nor did I mean to dishonor or disrespect the Crown Prince's status with my actions. But as I said, things just happened the way they did and it was completely out of my control. Furthermore, I had no way of relaying the change in my schedule to the Crown Prince ahead of time, hence the miscommunication and my tardiness."

The old Royal Attendant, seeing the sincerity in Brawler Randy's apology, forgave him and said: "I understand that you had important matters to attend to. However, your casual actions earlier made it seem as though you didn't care at all that you were tardy. It is important to pay attention to your actions next time, as it might cause people to misjudge you on that alone. Now then, let us go. The ball was scheduled to start in a few hours and we need to arrive in the Royal Capital by then."