"Hahaha…!" The rowdy laughter of the group of four men echoed throughout the diner. "That's my guy, the rising star!"
They were too loud, disturbing the tranquil atmosphere in the diner. The customers weren't very happy, and from the expressions on their faces, they were ready to send them out.
"Come on, let's find a place to sit." One of the men with a dark sclera suggested as he looked around. "What are you looking at?!" The man snarled at the people staring at them.
"Haven't you guys seen professional hunters before?" The man scoffed as he led his colleagues to an open seat. "We can sit there…"
There was a law on every planet in the empire that prevented hunters from using their abilities in public spaces without explicit permission, the intent being an obvious one.
However, it did nothing to stop them from behaving like scoundrels. Of course, if push came to shove, businesses such as these had the authority to send them out.
Additionally, they had the services of a hunter or two watching over the business in the event someone wanted to play dirty.
As the three men walked towards their seats and through the silence that settled in the diner, they noticed Alexander and Cassandra sitting alone. Naturally, the hunters only focused on Cassandra, and seeing as the man had no traces of mana around him, they ignored his existence.
"Hello there, my lady." One of the men smiled as he moved towards them. "A girl like you should be with guys like us, don't you think?" His charm was as annoying as his face.
Cassandra slowly raised her head to look at the fella. The initial attention she and Alex paid to them lasted as long as the time it took to blink. She had no tolerance for nonsense.
However, she decided to humour them, to see how far this would go. She briefly looked in Alex's direction, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. Finally, she smiled at the stranger.
'This cat wants to cause trouble.' Alex inwardly shook his head, all the while acting like he didn't see or understand what was happening.
"Ooh… My boyfriend over there would disagree." She gestured towards Alex, the smile on her face as charming as ever. "You'll have to ask his permission first, don't you agree?"
The man smiled excitedly, turning to look at Alexander with a sneer. From his observations, the man looked too ordinary to score a girl like that.
'This could be a play on their part…' The man mused silently. 'Well, too bad. Once you hear about me, you'll want to line yourself up. I am the rising star after all.'
"You, what's your name?" The man asked with a serious gaze. His companions stood behind him, all of them with their hands over their chests.
As for the customers, they subtly glanced their way. Whatever was brewing was bound to be juicy, and despite how they felt about the men, they liked gossip better.
Alex on the other hand remained silent, choosing to look at his menu. It was like he didn't even pay attention to whatever that was happening.
Silent settled in the diner.
"I asked you a question." The man glared. "Do you even know who I am?" That part got people curious.
"Humor me." Alex finally replied, his attention still on the menu in his hand.
"Haha…" The man chuckled derisively, finding Alex's pompous attitude an affront to his rising greatness. "My name is Terrance, and I am one of the few chosen to be part of the new team of explorers!"
A collective gasp of shock, realization and amazement echoed through the diner, the very response Terrance expected. It brought a smile to his face.
"Do you even know what that means?" Terrance asked with a faint grin, glancing at Cassandra to gauge her reaction. Unfortunately, the woman still had that knowing smile on her face.
'Odd…' The man thought but chose to focus on Alex.
"Not really…" Alex replied nonchalantly. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to return to what we were doing before you rudely interrupted us."
"Tsk! The nerve of this guy!" Terrance's companion scolded, but Terrance's hand stopped his outburst before it went further.
"You don't seem to get it, do you?" Terrance growled. The attitude Alex was putting forth was starting to get to him. "Being chosen as an explorer means my chances of becoming Lord Alexander's vassal are almost assured."
"Really…?" Cassandra's face lit up, almost as if she found that bit of news exciting.
"Hehe…Of course." Terrance smiled, his mood improving a bit. "That's why you should leave this loser alone. So what do you say…?" He stretched a hand for Cassandra to take.
"But I thought Lord Alexander didn't like showoffs." The catwoman tilted her head. "Also, what if he could see you right now, do you think he would like your behaviour?"
"Well…" Terrance looked away, not sure how to reply. "I-it's not like I've hurt anyone, have I?"
"That'strue…" Cassandra nodded. "But you tried to take me away from my man~," The woman said it in such an alluring way that it got most men swallowing hard.
"That counts as hurting someone, no?" She added with a beaming smile.
'This woman is more of a fox than a cat.' Alex was surprised to see this kind of behaviour from Cassandra. 'I had no idea she could be this jovial.'
"That's different, woman." Terrance defended himself, turning to face Alex. "This guy clearly has no idea what I'm talking about." He placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, intending to press down.
"..."
Alex finally put down the menu, slowly raising his head to look at Terrance.
"If you don't want to be displaced to some distant location in the universe, you better take that hand off." He growled, sending shivers down Terrance's spine. The man flinched but otherwise kept his hand in place.
"Hehe.. You should listen to him." Cassandra giggled, finding the entire situation entertaining. "He doesn't look like much, but he can be very persuasive when he wants to be."
While Terrance heard everything loud and clear as even his instincts warned him of danger, he couldn't back down. Everyone was watching.
'Haa…' Alex sighed. 'I guess this is what everyday life feels like.' Alex suddenly disappeared with Terrance, leaving everyone shocked.
"W-what happened?!" Terrance's colleagues looked around frightened.
"Don't worry, people." Cassandra said with her dashing smile. "Your friend will be back soon."
A few minutes later, Alex reappeared in his seat, acting like nothing happened. However, Terrance was not the same.
The man had a horrified look on his face as his body shuddered in dread. He was on his knees before Alex's table with both hands on the floor.
"T-Terrance…?" One of his colleagues stuttered, too afraid to approach. "What happened to you?"
"M-m-monster!" The terrified man suddenly exclaimed as he got up from the floor and bolted out of the diner. The friends didn't delay as they chased after him.
The rest of the people just looked at Alexander with different expressions. Some were curious, some were frightened while murmuring among themselves.
"What did you do to him?" Cassandra asked with furrowed brows.
"Nothing major." Alex shrugged. "Just showed him how close to death he could get."