"Damn! Talk about an entrance."
"Those horns for decoration or..."
"Nope, they’re bloodliners like me alright. Don’t recognize their symbol though."
"Looks like...a bell? Where have I seen that before?"
"Well they ain’t native to the area, that’s for sure."
The source of the disturbance was not one, but a pair of bloodliners, a race of people who could reliably trace their ancestry back to crazy powerful aether beasts that are colloquially known as Progenitors, who had flung the doors of the restaurant open.
From what Zhen Liu could see, these two were bloodliners of a caprinae progenitor, judging by the horns sticking out of their heads, looking like mountain goats, and the muscular hoof feet. He couldn’t see their faces though due to the two of them wearing bronze masks that made them look featureless.
The two faceless caprinae bloodliners looked left and right for a few seconds before moving to the sides of the entryway, holding the door open.
A moment later, a lanky middle-aged man, dressed in a fine blue set of princely clothes, with big curved horns and wool-like curly hair passed through the door, followed shortly by a young woman that looked similar to him in terms of look. Aside from being a bloodliner, nothing really physical stood out about the man and young woman, and yet...the people in the restaurant couldn’t help but stare.
The man might have been physically small, but he had a presence that made his guards appear significantly smaller.
The horned man looked over the banquet hall for a moment before making his way up to the second floor, the young woman and their guards following behind him.
"Huh...a nobleman and his daughter I guess? Seems unnecessary to have such
"Wait...I recognize that symbol now! That’s the crest of the Ecaredies House in the Bronze Bell Kingdom! Oh shit, he’s royalty and I think he might be a prince?"
"Royalty? The hell they’re doing out here in the sticks? Sight seeing?"
"It looks like they’re here to meet with the Zhen Clan...the Wolfe and Corrada families ain’t gonna ..."
Zhen Liu and his cousins watched as the presumed prince and his daughter made their way up the stairs and to the second floor of the restaurant. At which point, Patriarch Zhen Shi and the elders moved to meet with them.
"Alright guys, time to make ourselves look presentable," Zhen Hai instructed while straightening his shirt.
As Zhen Liu and his cousins followed suit, Nepherage unexpectedly piped up.
[Milord...I’m not sure why, but I get a weird feeling from that young woman over there.]
[It feels like... she’s probing us...and I don’t know why...]
________________________________________________
It’s good to see you again, Prince Carlos and Lady Bellona."/Marriage prospects, yes/
"Likewise, Patriarch."/Never knew his father was .../
"It’s good to see you again, old friend. It’s been far too long." /I still remember that night./
"Likewise you old grizzly. You have gotten grey."/Yet still as handsome as the day we met./
’Yeah...they were that kind of intimate.’
Bellona was mildly curious about this old "friend" of her father’s, especially since as far as she knew, he was just a figure in a story.
Growing up, Bellona heard stories from her parents about the adventures they went on when they were cultivating.
Of which, one she vividly remembered was the story of how her father discovered the wandering ruin, that was now the Ecaredies family’s personal training realm, and the "friendship" he made during that adventure.
But now that she saw it in person, she was satisfied...sorta.
’Well there goes that mystery...someone here better have an interesting mi-’
{THEY WERE DEFINITELY FUCKING.}
Before Bellona could read the thoughts of the Zhen Clan members present, she heard something weird.
’That was...a different tone?’
"Now then my friend," Zhen Hou began to say after all the pleasantries we’re exchanged, "I would like to introduce you to my eldest daughter. Zhen Yue, the apple of my eye."/My daughter is the best./
’Oh? How color coordinated.’
A bit away from the chatting old men, Bellona could see six young men and a young woman, all dressed in a color coordinated manner that reminded her of a rainbow. On each of their clothes was also the imprint of an animal.
/So she’s the prince’s daughter? Got a nice face./
/Little curled horns? Interesting./
/Why she looking at me like that?/
From the crowd of seven, a young woman in an orange dress with a bear motif walked forward.
"It’s honor to meet you, Prince Carlos."/What a large presence./
"Hello Miss Zhen Yue. You are more beautiful than I could hope for my darling boy. Now who are these young gentlemen behind you?"/But if he doesn’t approve...I hope Bellona at least like one of these boys/
The old man named Zhen Shi did a hand gesture and called the six men forward.
"These six are members of the same generation as Zhen Yue, and also my grandchildren like her. Introduce yourselves."
The six young men took turns greeting Bellona and her father, using the appropriate gestures for greeting both of them individually.
"Zhen Hai," said the one in red./Meh, I think Telana got a better figure./
"Zhen Guo," said the one with the yellow suit with a peacock on it./Is my suit on okay? Gods I hope she doesn’t notice the shirt or that my hair is a mess./
"Zhen Tai," said the one in the green suit with a boar on it. /Gah! The smell of all the food is making my stomach rumble. Can we get to eating this dragon already?/
"Zhen Xing," said the one in the blue suit and a rose on it. /Is her hair wooly because she’s part sheep?/
"Zhen Feng," said the one in the indigo suit with a viper imprinted on it. /Why is she looking at me like that? She wants to fight?/
’Impolite, vain, fat, rude and violent...how dull. Now what about this last one?’
The last young man was in a purple suit, with a tiger emblazoned in the fabric. He had a nice look, but a tense expression.
"Zhen Liu," he simply said.
[Oh come on maestro, you can do better than that!]
[It’s straightforward and simple, besides, milord already has someone.]
/What the fuck guys?/
’Huh?! How many voices are in this guy’s head? And why are they all distinct?’
For the first time in her life, Bellona met a mind she couldn’t understand.
’How... interesting!’