Chapter 609 Interlude: The Gathering of the Companions

CELESTIAL CARP CONTINENT.

MAIN HEADQUARTERS.

ENTERTAINMENT ROOM.

Out of all the known places inside the Celestial Carp Continent, one of the most famous is the Entertainment Room, which is said to house all the entertainment known to mankind.

All kinds of games and beautiful art are said to be contained inside this room, making it one of the most sought-after places in the Traveler's World.

But with the Immortal Empress taking over the Entertainment Room with a vice grip, n.o.body had an easy time on entering it.

Only those who were worthy were allowed to enter, and even they were exceedingly rare given the Immortal Empress' att.i.tude.

This custom was still retained after Alex and Delia took over the whole continent, and they did not slack down on the security. As such, those who wanted to enter the room before still had difficulty accessing it now.

Because of this, the Entertainment Room was usually empty even at nights, given the rarity of its guests.

Today however, this situation has changed, as 5 people were given access to use the Entertainment Room.

Actually, these people were not 'given access'. Instead, these 5 were 'forced' to enter the Entertainment Room.

[Alina]: ….

[Queen Mother]: ….

[Professor Frances]: ….

[Yao'er]: ….

[Milo]: ….

These 5 people were no other than the Companions of Alex and Delia, all who looked like they did not want to be inside the Entertainment Room.

Alina looked like she was angry from her mealtime being interrupted, as a piece of half-eaten chicken drumstick could be seen on her hand. This drumstick was slowly being chewn off by Alina, with her face seemingly contorting in emotional pain everytime the drumstick gets smaller.

Queen Mother still has her p.i.s.sed face since 3 months ago, and it appeared to have even magnified inside the room.

As for Professor Frances, an undeniable expression of boredom was being radiated off her body. She coupled this expression with a sleepy yawn and a sigh, two things that just magnified her disinterest.

Yao'er on the other hand was looking at the aforementioned women with great suspicion, as if she was waiting for them to make a bad move. Yao'er has even ignored the snack that was in front of her, as her eyes was only concentrated on Alina and co.

As for Milo, well… he's still acting like Milo. But his silence this time was more p.r.o.nounced, given the current atmosphere of the room.

[Alina]: ….

[Queen Mother]: ….

[Professor Frances]: ….

[Yao'er]: ….

[Milo]: ….

A few more minutes pa.s.sed by inside the Entertainment Room, but the 5 of them still did not do anything to break the silence. All of them maintained their current att.i.tudes, and nothing seem to be able to make them change.

[Alina]: ….

[Queen Mother]: ….

[Professor Frances]: ….

[Yao'er]: ….

[Milo]: ….

It was only when exactly 5 minutes has pa.s.sed by that someone from them began to be pressurized by the situation.

This person was Alina, and the drumstick that she was holding earlier had already entered her stomach, leaving her without any ways to distract herself anymore.

The pressure was enough to make Alina crack, who was already feeling uncomfortable from all the weird stares emitted by the other people in the room.

Her eyes were even slightly reddened at this point, an indication that her own All-Seeing Eyes was affected by the awkward situation too!

Because of this, Alina was forced to talk in order to defuse the current atmosphere.

[Alina]: H-Hey, Alex and Delia brought us five here to make us 'closer' to each other. Since they gave effort for this, I think we should give our own effort too. So please don't just stand there and glower at one another. Let's talk like we're acquaintances, even if we don't feel like doing it.

Alina tried to modulate her voice and she also made sure that her words will be easily understandable. This way, there is a chance that the others will hear out what she was proposing.

But instead of helping her positively, Alina's words seemed to have backfired against her.

Queen Mother, Professor Frances, Yao'er, and Milo all reacted negatively to what Alina said, and the words that they said just proved this.

[Queen Mother]: I am usually okay with everything that Alex plans. But this? This thing that he wants us to do here? I can't agree with this. I have no time to play with Delia's Companions, even if they are technically our allies. I just see no sense in this.

Queen Mother still sounded like her usual angry self, and she did not mince on her rebuke at all.

In fact, the way that Queen Mother spoke her lines left no gaps that Alina can exploit, leaving the latter feeling extremely helpless.

[Yao'er]: I-I second that notion! Even if we're allies, I don't think it is necessary for me and Milo to be close to you three. Who knows, you three might be planning something bad here!

Yao'er said these words while hugging Milo protectively, with her suspicion-filled eyes still staring at Alina, Queen Mother, and Professor Frances warily.

[Yao'er]: I don't like all of you, so don't expect me to play here!

Such action made Alina feel dying inside, as she realized that even their 'ally' still thought lowly of them.

[Professor Frances]: You see that reaction, Alina? Hmph, this is the reason why I don't want to go here! What use will it be for us to interact with this Spiritualist and Triplicator? They're just kids who can't even drink alcohol! Tsk, if you really want to have fun here, then let's just kick these two kids out and have fun ourselves!

And of course Professor Frances chose this time to propose another questionable opinion, and it was also directed against Alina herself.

[Alina]: ….

With these people clearly rejecting her proposal, Alina found herself speechless, since she did not envision them to be this rejective.

Of course Alina had the feeling that her companions and Delia's Companions will have a little resistance against this forced 'get-together', but for them to react like this was something that she did not expect.

[Alina]: Hey! We're gathered here because Alex and Delia wants us to be closer together! They don't care how we do it, but at the end of this day, we should be much closer with each other! You know all of that, right?

Alina gave the others an imploring look as she asked this question, a gesture which forced them to answer to her.

[Professor Frances]: Of course I know that we're here to have a team building with the Spiritualist and the Triplicator. But even if I know that, I still don't like them….

[Queen Mother]: I am feeling not good today, so I am not in a mood for a team building. Can we just do this the other day?

[Yao'er]: I am a minor, so I cannot drink alcohol. Since you three are older, then you can just drink alcohol by yourselves. As for me and Milo, we will just leave. Playing inside our house will be a much better thing to do compared to staying here…

[Milo]: ….

To Alina's disappointment, her words still did not change the att.i.tude of the 4 people. In fact, it seemed to have even spurned them, with Yao'er directly saying that she and Milo will already leave.

[Alina]: ….

It was just the start of the night, and two of the people inside the room were already saying that they will leave.

This change in situation quickly made Alina panic, as she had promised Alex earlier that she will do her best to make the team-building successful.

If Yao'er and Milo were indeed leaving, that will mean that Alina had broken her promise, something that will also demolish her reputation to Alex.

Alina cannot allow that to happen at any cost, as that will bring her a lot of pain!

[Alina]: !!!!

With her promise at Alex on the line, Alina has decided to go all out.

[Alina]: Tsk, you don't want to make this team-building happen? Hmph, I am sorry to say this, but with me here, there is no way I can allow any of you to leave!

"Hong~"

At this point, Alina did not hold back at all, as she used her All-Seeing Eyes at its max capacity.

This action allowed Alina to see through the emotions felt by the other four people, with their nuances and feelings also revealed on her very eyes.

Even their current thoughts were almost read by Alina, although Alina only focused her gaze on their feelings and emotions.

[Professor Frances]: H-hey! What are you doing Alina! Did you just-

[Yao'er]: Oi! I can feel your eyes stirring my spirit barrier! What the h.e.l.l did you do? Are you-

Because Alina used her All-Seeing Eyes directly on the bodies of her targets, it left traces of power that her targets quickly detected.

This allowed the 4 to realize what Alina just did. But it was already too late for them to react, as Alina had already gotten what she wanted.

Alina already obtained the knowledge that she needed, and now she's about to use it to 'convince' the others to stay.

***********

[Alina]: Hey, Yao'er. I know how much you idolize Delia. But still, I can sense that your idolization on her seems to be a little too much…. Hmm, and it seems like Delia does not know how much you 'idolize' her….

[Yao'er]: Wa wa wa! W-what the h.e.l.l are you saying! I-I do not idolize Big Sis Delia! I-I was just-

[Alina]: If you want, I can tell Delia on how much you 'idolize' her after you leave. After all, your Big Sis deserves to know about your feeling-

[Yao'er]: F-Fine, I will stay and join you for this G.o.dd.a.m.ned teambuilding! But p-please, don't tell Big Sis anything that you discovered here. Y-you can do that, right?

[Alina]: Hm? What are you talking about? Did I say something to you?

[Yao'er]: ….

[Alina]: Oh well, since you said that you will stay, then go back to your seat and wait for the games to start.

[Yao'er]: ...I'm sorry Milo, but it seems like we have to stay here. Forgive me for this. I promise, I will pay you back tomorrow.

[Milo]: ….

************

[Professor Frances]: Woah, that's impressive, Alina. You actually blackmailed her to stay! Hehehe, that's amazing! You are actually turning out to be much more evil than what I though-

[Alina]: Professor Frances, Alex bought a dragon egg last month, which he kept hidden inside his cabinet. He placed it there for 10 days, as he does not want others to see it. But when he opened the cabinet 10 day later, he found out that the dragon egg was gone!

[Professor Frances]: !!!

[Alina]: Hmm... I wonder where that dragon egg is right now? Did someone take it? How mysteriou-

[Professor Frances]: Ok, ok. I will join this stupid teambuilding! Tsk, stupid s**t! How the h.e.l.l did you even see me taking the egg? You're sleeping at that time!

[Alina]: What egg are you talking about? Are you planning to cook one?

[Professor Frances]: ….

***********

[Queen Mother]: So, do you have any dirt on me too?

[Alina.]: What do you think? Do you want me to say it?

[Queen Mother]: … There's no need for you to say anything. I will also stay here.

[Alina]: Hehehe, good, good, good!

[Queen Mother]: ….

***********

With just some of her fine-crafted words, Alina was able to force the 4 people to stay. Such success was enough to make Alina feel happy, as the 4 are now behaved enough to sustain the whole teambuilding activities.

But even when they are now 'behaved', these 4 still could not help but give Alina resentful glares, with Professor Frances and Yao'er's eyes filled with the most venom.

In response to these looks, Alina only gave that a smile, something that just infuriated them.

[Professor Frances]: Tsk, Alex's habits are starting to rub off on you already! If this goes on, I will have a new source of headache!

[Yao'er]: I hate you, Miss Esper. I hope you trip and fall face-flat on a cow dung.

[Milo]: …

[Alina]: Hey, what's with those words? Aren't we here to bond?

[Professor Frances]: Bond your a.s.s. I will be playing, but don't expect me to enjoy it.

[Queen Mother]: ….

[Yao'er]: Do you have prize money for the games? Because if you do, that will make this boring night a little better.

[Milo]: …

[Alina]: Oh, all of you looks interested to play. Since that's the case, then let's start this night with a game of poker! Now, who wants to be the It?

[Professor Frances]: The what now?