My body shoots upright when I sense a presence entering the range of my Personal World. I look through the window, the sun is just beginning to rise; I confirm it by checking the clock, it's a little earlier than I usually wake up.
I don't do anything drastic, I simply walk slowly down the stairs. I reach the door just as the person knocks for the first time.
"It's a little early for you to come here, Klin." I open the door. "You crowed before the rooster today." I rub my eyes as I speak, I'm still a little sleepy.
"I'm sorry, Young Lord Maki, but something unexpected has happened..." His eyes lock onto mine. "Your grandmother sent me because a rather special guest has arrived... Lady Rita told me you were the only person capable of handling this kind of situation."
I know Klin quite well, something is bothering him, but his professionalism won't let him express himself the way he wants. "Be more specific, Klin. What happened? Where do I need to go?" My body wakes up in an instant when I realize something is wrong, I should've guessed it when he showed up this early.
I can hear him muttering strange things for a moment. "Young Maki, a Diamond Rank has arrived in town; he hasn't caused any problems so far, but he's demanding to speak with someone capable... his appearance isn't exactly friendly and..."
I interrupt Klin before he can continue. "Where is he?" I don't need anything else to understand the situation, the context isn't necessary.
We had already anticipated a situation like this, he waited to show himself until Kensein and Grox had left town. I understand why Klin didn't want to say anything disrespectful either, Diamond Ranks are almost like low-ranking nobles; if you offend one, it can cost you your life, they're very resentful and will find a way to screw you over.
"He's at the southern entrance of town." Klin is about to say something else, but his voice cuts off.
"I'll handle it, go back to sleep." I'm already floating in the air, my voice wouldn't have reached him if I hadn't created a path of mana through the intense pressure I've generated around myself. Klin is still in his pajamas, he came as soon as he could.
"Shit." A curse escapes my mouth. It's good that the Diamond Rank hasn't caused any major problems yet, he could cause massive destruction and leave without ever being held responsible.
It's public knowledge that there are two Diamond Ranks in town, but people already suspect that their duties are more specific, more focused on protecting Brendu or dealing with possible terrorist attacks.
Attacking the town means risking being attacked in return by one of them or being hunted down by the territory, but there are Diamond Ranks who don't care about that at all. It isn't that complicated to hide your face and move somewhere else, the world is enormous and someone powerful is welcomed almost anywhere.
"What does this person want? I hope I can reason with him." I don't mind fighting, but there are many downsides to doing so.
First, it's very difficult to contain a Diamond Rank if they want to cause destruction. I can kill him, but it wouldn't be an easy fight, it would take time and many innocent people could die.
Second, strange rumors could start spreading about me and the town, that would drive away many wealthy families or minor nobles like us from settling here.
I reach the indicated location as quickly as possible. I'd already detected him from a distance, he stands out quite a bit with his spiky black hair and enormous height, he must be close to two meters tall, and being surrounded by many people with similar hairstyles doesn't exactly help him blend in either.
I remain floating in the air for a moment before slowly descending. I've already changed into something more presentable, Brendu always forces me to carry clothes for any kind of engagement in my dimensional bracelet. I'm wearing casual yet formal navy-blue pants; a comfortable and elegant white shirt; the only thing that doesn't match is my very casual shoes.
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I land in front of the group and quickly examine all of them with a single glance. "You were asking for someone important enough to speak with, now you have me." I don't sound rude, I'm simply speaking naturally.
Rocky's Point of View:
"This place is pretty nice, Boss." One of my companions speaks while looking around.
"We'd heard about how prosperous this small territory has become, looks like it's true... this feels more like a city than a town." Another one of my companions sounds quite surprised, his eyes constantly scanning the place.
"Boss, the guards seem a little scared of us, it's always the same wherever we go." One of my female companions' voice makes us turn toward the guards several dozen meters away.
We all begin laughing softly, it's a fairly common reaction wherever we go. The guards always become suspicious of us the moment they see us, why do they always judge us by our appearance?
"Boss, it must be you, you're as big as a bear and you're wearing a different hairstyle today. I recommended that you..." Before my other companion can finish speaking, a strike from my Imra hits the back of his head, his mouth snaps shut and everyone else starts laughing.
We continue talking for a few minutes, always maintaining a mana field around us to prevent our voices from leaking out. I can see the guards becoming more nervous as the minutes pass, they must be frustrated because they can't hear us and everyone in my group keeps making exaggerated movements.
I don't care how they feel right now, there's no way they can say anything to me. I haven't broken any laws and I've remained calm in my position.
My body bristles in an instant, at the same time my eyes shoot upward to see who's floating above us. My eyes meet the person's, his gaze doesn't waver for even a moment.
All my companions look up when they sense something strange. Did I release my Imra around us? My body reacted on its own, protecting my group from what I thought for a moment was a beast.
All my companions are smiling or nodding. There's no doubt they've recognized the person floating above us, I recognized him as well the instant our eyes met. The greatest jewel of this territory, a shining diamond.
My group has quite a large ego, we deserve it, of course. When we asked to be received in the best possible manner, there were only two correct answers, the person pulling the strings from the shadows: the Lord's mother, or the person standing right in front of us.
The purple-eyed young man begins descending slowly, his Imra and presence are worthy of a noble.
"Did something happen, Boss? Your Imra spread out and for a moment I felt mana rushing through your body." My right-hand woman, Margot, asks me. She knows me like the back of her hand, she noticed the subtle difference in the way mana flowed through me.
"I'll tell you later, first we need to take care of important business." I become serious, I need to display dignity before the young man in front of me. I want to avoid talking about what my body felt and is still feeling right now, this isn't the time.
"Yes, the right person has come to talk." The kid raises an eyebrow when he hears my response. I've been searching for places that share the same philosophy as my group, and several secret members of my group have scattered to places where the strongest rumors have been circulating.
Yesterday, I personally confirmed that it's true, this place meets almost all of my requirements. Some of them are only barely met, but at the end of the day, it still meets the requirements, and once the real development begins, it'll be even better.
"We belong to a group called Wings, I want a formal meeting." My words are direct, making my intentions clear from the beginning.
The kid's eyes widen, but only for an instant. I don't think my companions noticed it, perhaps only Margot did. That woman is extremely perceptive, she's a little frightening sometimes.
"I understand, but it's a little early. Could we schedule it for about four hours from now?" His tone becomes less aggressive, he's seen the opportunity in front of him, which means he's heard of us.
"That's fine, we'll be near the small river to the north." I reply. I rise from my seat and all my companions follow me. I offer my hand to the young man, I'm more than half a head taller than him.
"I'll send a messenger as soon as possible with the exact time and place. Enjoy your stay in my territory." This person's purple eyes shine as he gives me a firm handshake.
My entire group leaves the area as loudly as we always do, the guards' gazes toward us have softened a little. If the territory's greatest hope doesn't see us as a threat, everyone will gradually change the way they think about us.
We came early to test their response time, how they would react to something unexpected, and several other aspects. They passed the test, they sent a beast to receive me, a beast dressed as a human.
"Margot." I create a mana connection between myself and my second-in-command. "I'm embarrassed to admit this, but my body reacted on its own when I saw Maki, even now I still feel slightly on alert. Seeing him directly allowed me to confirm many of the speculations... that young man truly can't be taken lightly. My body screamed danger even while he was calm... he's extremely strong."