Lost Origins: SS Ranked Awakening-Chapter 135: Gathering 2.0

"I want you to attend an event with me!"

Kieran’s eyes were enough for her to guess what he was about to say next and she rushed to stop him.

"I don’t need you to attend with me. I am simply extending the invite."

She said, hoping he would take her up on her offer.

"No. I see no reason to be there!"

Kieran still rejected her, waiting to see if that was only a side topic and there was still something serious to say, something that justified the tone she had used in the message.

"Sigh, this is such a waste. Can’t you do me one as a friend? It’s for your benefit after all."

Kieran paused at those words of hers.

"I don’t do favors. I’ll be leaving if that’s all you called me for!"

"You owe me one, a big one!"

Leora’s words cut through the ice in his voice, and he turned around to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You want your payback like that?"

A hint of surprise could be heard in his tone.

"Of course, this can’t pay off everything though, but I wager it’ll be fun. So, yeah!"

She answered, making Kieran come to conclusion for the nth time that she was beyond his understanding

"Alright, then—"

"Great! Oh, shit!"

Leora interrupted him with a scream before looking around awkwardly after disturbing the quiet state of the library.

"What type of event is this?"

Kieran took the opportunity to ask.

"A Noble gathering!"

The words left her mouth with a small giggle as Kieran’s expression darkened.

"I thought that had already happened about a month ago!"

He asked remembering what he felt and what August had told him almost a month ago.

"Ohh, so you happen to poke your head out of that rock you live under?"

Leora’s comment was filled with sarcasm.

"You are right. That already happened, but the camp has to make it seem like things are equal over here, so they conducted another event without the influence of the noble families"

"But it’s still called a Noble gathering?"

His eyes were filled with questioning.

"Well, the event ended up backfiring. Since the camp is dominated by the Noble descendants, they ended up taking over things. The first gathering is more of a symbolic one where they all gather for the sake of their families outside the camp. The camp even allows the families to send some representatives"

Her last words reminded him of those heavy presences he had felt that day. August had said the same thing about them.

’They must be very strong!’

"So, when that ends, they gather again. This time, for theirselves and their workings in the camp. They make alliances, break alliances, attack each other’s reputation and other pointless things that could be achieved without violence."

Leora took a deep breath, fully summarizing the purpose of the events to Kieran.

"How is any of this good for me?"

Kieran asked for what she thought his role in all of this was.

"Well, whatever your goal against the Nobles are, you definitely can’t do them alone. This is a chance for you!"

"Besides, the it was the old man who encouraged me to tell you this. Don’t tell him I said that!"

She said, bringing Danzo into the topic.

Kieran’s unwillingness softened at the mention of the head chef and he gave in.

"Alright. When is this event?!"

"Tonight!"

Leora responded excitedly seeing that he had agreed to attend.

Kieran’s frowned at the timing.

He was looking to spend the rest of the day reorganizing himself, but now he had to plan for an event he had been informed of on short notice.

"You don’t need to worry about attire, the old man said took care of it"

She said, waving her hands as she took her leave.

’Hmm..’

Kieran’s mind was calm, as he thought of dropping by at the cafeteria to speak with the Head chef. He could also use that to greet the other chefs, it had been a while since he had gone off his job, yet Danzo still paid him for jobs he didn’t do.

He was passively generating income while doing nothing.

’I wonder why he didn’t mention it in those messages though..’

Kieran thought, steeping into the cafeteria, heading towards the kitchen.

The journey was shorter than intended after he found out that Danzo was absent and had been absent for the past few days. He did drop a message with the other chefs in case Kieran happened to pass by like did.

The bald man said he was going to catch up with him as soon as he was done clearing his schedule.

...

Night quickly arrived and Kieran donned the black suit he had received earlier with a note from the head chef.

He lacked a mirror or any reflective surface in his room and couldn’t gauge his appearance, not like he cared. If anything, he was worried he failed to put on the suit properly.

He patted himself down, appreciating the fact that the attire was nothing like the ceremonial attire he had to put on the day of his orientation. He could shed tears if he had to think about where the ornaments were worn.

BEEP!

His watch beeped and he looked down to see a message from Leora.

<<Whenever you’re ready. Just don’t come too late.>>

She said, attaching the location of the gathering.

The whole event was set to start in a few hours, and Kieran wanted to be there before it started. Finding a secluded corner would be hard after the event had already started, or worse, he could attract some attention if he came in late.

Although, the head chef’s purpose for recommending such a gathering to him was for him to interact more and gain some connections among the nobles, Kieran couldn’t shake away his habits that easily.

’I really hope this is going to be worth it like they both said.’

Kieran thought, steeping out of his dormitory.

The venue, situated in a different mountain wasn’t hard to find with the help of his watch and Kieran quickly found a corner to settle himself in.

The place was arranged. Tables and chairs all around in a pattern that left a huge circular space at the center of the extremely large hall.

He wasn’t the only one who had thought of coming early though, a few groups were at the sides discussing in a hushed tone with serious expressions on their face.

None of this really bothered Kieran as he wondered,

’Just how many people attend this event?’

The number of tables was far more than he thought.

Slowly, more and more people and groups stepped in, filling the hall, none of them really taking in Kieran’s presence.

’I should thank the old man again!’

Kieran thought, thanking the stars that he fit right into place with the suit.

His eye narrowed feeling 2 pair of eyes stare at him longer than usual.

His eyes flashed around until the locked with Jake and Ruby who had just arrived at the event.

’When did I miss this?’

Kieran raised an eyebrow, looking at how close the two of them were, they looked like a couple and he could he easily tell that there was something he wasn’t aware of.

Speaking of that, there were a couple things he still didn’t know about them. Things neither of them want him to know, as they slowly created some distance between themselves and him.

Kieran sent a short nod in their direction, before looking away without waiting for their response.

Ruby and Jake took this reaction with complicated looks in their faces, before stepping forward for the next person to get in.

The murmurs in the room suddenly increased and when he looked towards the source of commotion, it was none other than, Sabrina.

The blue haired descendant of the Aurora family, escorted with Liam and Ethan as always, but Kieran could sense something off between those three.

"Why the hell do these things happen when I’m not around"

Kieran muttered, takinga sip from the champagne glass on his table.

The event had already began, but no one paid attention to the one who gave the opening speech. They were all saying things about Sabrina and her descent.

Kieran tried listening in, but still couldn’t grasp the core of the matter.

The commotion died down soon enough and the mood of the hall was set with the slow, classical music as several recruits took to the center to dance with each other. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Kieran felt extremely out of place, listening and watching the recruits dancing to the slow classical music while the others moved around, making acquaintances.

With nothing else to do, he indulged himself in the scriptures of Lost Origins, the only technique he had. Comprehending the stage after Mirrored perspective was proving to be a very difficult task.

CRASH!

The sound of glass shattering on the floor distracted him from his quest though as his eyes rose to find Ruby in an intriguing situation.

"I dare you to say that again!"

Her voice came out dangerous and low