Chapter 699 A Move On The Board
"Ahh… how fascinating!"
Adrien nearly raised his voice just a few seconds after meeting Emil and hearing the role she played in fooling him. His blue eyes warbled as he stared intensely at the Slime, and his lips were stretched to both ends as he made a broad, toothy grin.
"You're really amazing… one in a kind."
"Indeed, indeed! You get it, don't you?" Emil, who would usually be cold to any outsider who wasn't her Master, became extremely loose and even jovial with Adrien.
Perhaps this was due to the fact that he recognized her greatness and constantly sang her praises. Either way, Adrien didn't stop there.
He kept up his words of admiration, and Emil returned the energy to him. This continued at great lengths until—
"Okay, that's enough." Rey sighed, his voice louder than theirs.
His tone dripped with annoyance despite there being nothing to be really angry. He slightly glared at Adrien, then extended the same to Emil, leaking out another sigh as he shook his head very slowly.
"I think we are getting a bit sidetracked here, don't you think?"
"Eh? Really? But we are getting to know each other, right? Isn't it beneficial to get to know your allies?" Emil responded with slightly defiant words hidden behind her playful tone.
Rey frowned at her, but before he could say anything, Adrien spoke up.
"I agree with Emil. We should get to know each other a little better." "I don't think so." Despite the near consensus in the room, Rey put his foot down on the matter and refused quite vehemently.
"B-but Master—!"
"Return inside me, and don't talk to Adrien."
"Uuuu…" Almost begrudgingly, Emil did as Rey commanded, her black form slithering deep into him until she became invisible to any who looked at him.
A few moments after this were occupied by silence.
Then…
"That wasn't fair, Rey." Adrien said this, but Rey remained silent about his words—as if he didn't know what the boy was talking about.
"Emil is probably lonely without company, yet you would—"
"I don't think that's any of your business, Adrien. Can we proceed with the planning now that your curiosity has been sated?" Once again, his response was cold.
To any who saw Rey at this point, they would have thought he overreacted, or perhaps he was acting too grumpy or combative towards his allies. However, Rey had very good reasons for his actions.
'I've been trying to avoid Adrien meeting Emil for the longest time out of fear for what he might do to her, but now… it's even more frightening that he has taken a deep interest in her.'
Emil was indeed very special, and Rey recognized that better than anyone.
'Maybe it's just my imagination, but I sensed some kind of affinity between the two of them. At first, I thought it was jealousy, but…'
What if it was more? Would that really be surprising?
'Adrien is weaker than I am, but he has a lot more Skills that Emil will naturally have through her [Symbiosis] if they were to bond. He also has a Divine Tier Skill, which is what attracted her to me, in the first instance.'
Last but not least, Emil's Skills would pretty much make Adrien incredibly powerful in his own regard. All of this was to say that Rey didn't appreciate their conversations because of a potential possibility that he dreaded.
He wasn't even sure that any of the punishments he laid down to Emil for disobeying his rules would affect her, considering the kind of constitution she had. 'It's safer this way…' Rey thought to himself. He considered addressing his Symbiote Slime in a more gentle manner once she next addressed him in his thoughts.
Perhaps that would make up for his impulsive reaction to her and Adrien's conversation.
But… Emil never spoke again.
'I guess she's still sulking.' Rey laughed to himself.
She sometimes got like that, but her talkative nature would always surface after some time. He simply smiled and decided to give everything time.
"Okay. Let's get into the nitty gritty of the plan, shall we?" Adrien said with a defeated sigh.
To this, Rey nodded and sat in a more upright manner.
"Finally! Let's get to it."
***************
[Moments Later]
"I guess we will meet again on the battlefield… well, sort of."
Adrien chuckled as he watched Rey rise to his feet. He shrugged, instantly recognizing the meaning behind his words and also his action.
"Guess you're leaving now."
"Yup! You have a visitor arriving here, don't you? I'll leave you to it."
"Yeah…"
Sparks of energy rose from Rey once he concluded his words, and the space around him began to distort. Before he finally vanished from the tent, he gave Adrien a lasting smile and nodded at him with purpose.
"You've given me a lot to think about, Adrien."
The latter chuckled and smiled calmly. "Likewise."
~VWUSH!~
Rey vanished faster than the blink of an eye, leaving Adrien seated behind his desk, mulling over every word that Rey uttered and their entire conversation. This continued even as someone approached and stood outside his tent.
It was the pink-haired Dragon Commander—Che'ri—or rather, her puppet.
She still had all the personality and mannerisms of the original, as well as most of her capabilities. Since she was originally weaker than Adrien, he was able to make a near perfect copy of her with [Pinnochio].
Even her memories belonged to the old Che'ri, so she acted accordingly.
'I guess it has something to tell me. Or rather, the Generals have sent it to tell me something. Perhaps they're finally ready to make a move?' Adrien smiled to himself as he rose to his feet, his eyes locked at the entrance of his tent.
He could see the still silhouette of the puppet, and despite his thoughts partially dwelling on its arrival, a bulk of his mind still remained on his conversation with Rey.
'He isn't telling me everything. But, I guess that makes sense since I'm also not telling him everything…' His mind went to Emil, and he found his smile growing bigger.
'I want that Familiar. It's so fascinating. I can only imagine how useful it would be in the grand scheme of things…' His glowing blue eyes warbled even more while he dwelled on this thought.
Adrien's legs moved as his mind raced, and in no time at all, he had exited his tent. It was becoming late evening as he did so, so the orange glow in the sky, and the slight darkness that washed upon the land granted the camp a somewhat different vibe.
It felt chilly… somewhat eerie.
"A meeting has been called for by The General, and you have been invited to participate." Che'ri said with her stern tone.
It felt robotic, but that wasn't due to her identity as a puppet. She had always been like this, so Adrien nodded in satisfaction at the attention to detail that [Pinocchio] employed.
"Understood. Shall we depart for the meeting together?"
"Indeed."
The two of them walked side by side to the Grand Tent, and through it all, Adrien ran several simulations in his mind. Ultimately, after guessing and postulating over and over again, he arrived at the most likely conclusion of the meeting.
'The Generals will be joining the battle this time for sure.'
*************
[Meanwhile…]
The moon had peaked over the land, and a young man stood in a particular corner, resting on the wall of one of the many massive buildings that existed in the Royal Estate. He made sure he was secluded, and he even utilized his Skills to make sure no one had followed him, and none were watching him. There was nothing suspicious about him being out at such a relatively late period, though.
He was an esteemed Otherworlder—one of the heroes of the United Human Alliance.
There were no real curfews or limitations applicable to heroes such as himself, as he had long proven his loyalty to humanity. Plus, he was too strong for most people to even do anything to him.
Yet, this particular Otherworlder, despite such prestige and power, seemed to be panicking. He kept up his suspicious behavior, staring at an orb in his hand as he cursed and fidgeted.
Even though he knew no one could see him, he kept glancing around him with clear unease.
"Fuck… why aren't you responding? Come on…"
His dark brown hair fluttered with the cool night breeze, and just as he was about to finally give up in anger and walk away, he was stopped by a voice.
A voice from beside him.
"Why do you appear so worked up, Justin?" The instant the boy heard that voice, he froze. It sounded so familiar that it nearly caused all the blood within him to run cold and stop flowing.
"Relax…" The voice oozed as the presence grew closer to him, even touching him on the shoulder. "... Enjoy the weather."
Justin slowly turned his head to face the figure who was giving him nothing short of a friendly smile.
"A-Adrien… what are you doing here?"