21. Who knows? Maybe I'm Prince Charming.
21. Who knows? Maybe I'm Prince Charming.
The first weekend on Akumansina.
Kal was invited to a party celebrating the completion of the probationary period, under the guise of it being for his fellow recruits. Truth be told, he was in the Security Squad with zero peers, and the only person he knew was a goody-two-shoes, so he didn't really care whether he went or not. However, he was a bit curious about what this party for these green rookies was like, so he decided to poke his head in.
He expected, at best, to hear the goody-two-shoes scoff and ask what someone like him was doing there, but unexpectedly, the recruits recognized Kal right away and even called out his name.
"Oh, isn't that Kal Jale?"
A big guy with a friendly impression recognized Kal, who had appeared slouching, at a glance and even offered a handshake.
"I don't know who you are."
"Fair enough. You're in the Security Squad, and I'm in the Combat Squad. Oh, right, I'm Eric Dyson."
"Well, anyway, yeah, nice to meet you."
"Actually, you're a celebrity here. Your face is killer, you know. Everyone remembers it."
The big guy, Eric, said that while holding his right palm in front of his face and waving it up and down.
"Plus, you're the only one in the Security Squad. That's why you stand out even more."
"I was born like this unintentionally. Well, it hasn't been a disadvantage."
"I want to try living like you for just one day. What's it feel like?"
"Nothing special. Just women coming up in droves, calling me 'oppa,' and spreading their pussies for me."
"What? Hahaha."
Eric laughed loudly at the scumbag-like remark. He hadn't expected his mouth to be this explicit.
"You're definitely popular with the ladies."
"They say if you're ugly, it's pathetic, but if you're handsome, it's humor."
"That was definitely kind of funny."
"Humor for men is a bit..."
"Pfft, don't worry. I'm not interested in men's assholes."
"You could be the one getting fucked, though."
Eric shook his head with a laugh, as if he couldn't stop him. After exchanging a word or two, he could tell this guy was something else.
"Oh right, let me introduce you to the others. Come here."
He thought a celebration party meant something more lively and loose, but it turned out to feel like a formal high-class party. Everyone was dressed in formal wear, sipping wine or champagne... Honestly, in Kal's view, it was a bit of an eyesore. These guys had only just become probationary knights, yet they were acting like old farts who had lived their whole lives.
Still, it would be even more of an eyesore to complain about it when he was the one invited, so he had no choice but to play along as told.
"Hey, I brought Kal. Our man of the hour."
Eric took Kal to where four people were gathered and patted his back lightly a couple of times. In his view, they seemed to be the group leading the party.
Excluding Eric and Kal who had just joined, it was a group of two men and two women.
Still, they were children of somewhat successful families, so there was something about their attire and behavior. Well, if they were from families that could produce knights, they wouldn't be from some shabby slum.
"Kal? ...Ah, that Security Squad guy? Uh, yeah, nice to meet you."
They only greeted Kal half-heartedly and didn't act very friendly. Actually, this was the normal reaction.
Among them, one blonde woman was staring intently at Kal. He also felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
She extended her hand with that characteristic arrogant and conceited expression and introduced herself.
"Irina Jin. I'm in the Escort unit, and my father is the vice-captain of a 100,000-ton class ship."
Déjà vu, as if he had heard something very similar to this before.
"...Are you perhaps acquainted with Louis-sunbae?"
"He's my oppa."
"Ah, I see."
So that's why she was so fucking annoying! I thought my personality was just fucked up, for a second there.
It seemed this was the perfect time to say that you can't fool blood. They were even siblings, so their personalities were similar too.
Like her brother, she had blonde hair, fair skin, and a slender body, possessing all the qualifications of a beauty, but her somewhat venomous-looking eyes and mouth were a flaw, if you could call it that. Of course, there was a certain thrill in breaking down these prideful, nasty-tempered bitches. Opening a pussy that was clenched tight like a clam was much more satisfying than one that opened like a loose slut's.
Anyway, Kal had no interest in this kind of social gathering other than that, so he exchanged a few words of light conversation and immediately stepped away. Eric, the big guy from the Combat unit, was also mixed in with that group, laughing and chatting excitedly.
The recruits' gazes frequently landed on Kal, who was left alone, but no one tried to approach him. He felt a bit of discrimination here. You know, that invisible wall.
...Is it because I'm from the training camp?
Unlike those who officially passed the exam and became probationary knights, those who came from the training camp were strongly perceived as cheaters who used shortcuts despite having no skill. That was why they were openly ostracized from recruit gatherings. Kal was at least this well-off because his face was fucking handsome, but for Alisa, who had nothing, it was obvious what her situation was.
Speak of the devil.
Just as Kal was thinking about Alisa, she appeared at that exact moment. Of course, the gazes poured onto her, who was also from the training camp like him, were nothing but contempt and ridicule. On top of that, because she was in the popular Escort unit, those gazes were much more intense than Kal's.
Although she was invited, no one welcomed her. Of course, she wasn't naive enough to not read the atmosphere, so she didn't look particularly flustered.
"Hey."
Still, perhaps because he met a familiar face after a while, Kal felt glad. He called out to her, walking with a slouch like a delinquent.
Ah. A look that said, 'Why the fuck are you here?' Kal placed his hand on his heart with an exaggerated gesture and let out a groan.
"Ugh, fuck, that look... I'm hurt, huh? What are you going to do? My wounded heart."
"Don't act like you know me. It's embarrassing, seriously."
"Fuck, we're both in a shitty situation, we should be helping each other out. You heartless bitch."
"You go ahead and act out on your own. I want to live quietly. ...Ah, don't follow me. Hey, you, I told you not to follow me, didn't I?"
"If you keep doing that, I'll spread the rumor that you sucked my dick. Ah, everyone, well, you see, Alisa sucked my di..."
"Alright, you fu... Ah, alright. I got it!"
Alisa was truly freaked out, grabbing Kal's arm and shaking it. When he grinned slyly with a 'knew it' expression, she felt a sudden urge to just kill this bastard.
She dragged him to a corner and growled so others wouldn't hear.
"You bastard, that was a secret! Just try threatening me with that again. I really won't let you get away with it. Huh?! Then it's you die, I die!"
"It's because you made me sad. Do you really think I'd go around spreading that? Huh? A nice guy like me?"
Alisa felt like she was going crazy wanting to punch that sly, grinning face. ...But he wasn't the type to get hit even if she threw one.
"Son of a bitch."
"Why are you being so mean, we're both from the same training camp. Fuck, I'm already sad enough about being discriminated against."
"I'm not bothered at all. ...I just need to prove it with my skills, with my skills."
"I don't know. I doubt it'll work with just skills, personally."
Actually, Alisa had been feeling that a little bit lately too. It hadn't even been a few days since she vowed to proudly overcome the discriminatory gaze of being from the training camp with her skills, but she was slowly feeling that the blatant discrimination was a thick wall that was hard to break through with skills alone.
Still, she couldn't possibly forgive herself for collapsing without even properly starting yet. She had to try as far as she could.
Just then, someone walked toward them from over there, making the clack-clack sound of heels. When Kal looked toward the sound, their gazes met in the middle.
The boaster Louis-sunbae's younger sister, Irina Jin.
Her footsteps coming this way, holding a transparent wine glass in her right hand, felt quite venomous. It seemed to be more so because of her characteristic expression.
"Oh my, Alisa. You should have told me you were here. What are you doing here?"
"Ah, uh, hi..."
"By the way, do you two know each other?"
When the blonde woman asked that, Kal replied with a crooked smile.
"We're from the same training camp. A veeery special relationship."
When Kal said they had a special relationship, Alisa secretly glared sharply at Kal, nervous that he might even mention that secret incident. As a warning not to say any useless nonsense.
"...Is that so? I didn't know you were from the same training camp."
Irina glanced slightly at the group standing in a line about a dozen steps behind, watching them, and then asked Alisa if she wanted to join the Escort unit gathering.
"No, it's fine."
"Is that so? Alright."
The blonde woman cast a glance at Kal one last time and went on her way. As soon as she disappeared, he let out an exclamation and whispered to Alisa.
"Wow, what a massive bitch. A real big shot has latched onto our Alisa. Aren't you two fated rivals?"
"...Stop acting crazy and just mind your own business. Isn't this happening because you were acting out for no reason?! ...I'm warning you for real. Don't block my path."
"Whoa, whoa, alright. Pfft, so sensitive. ...Who knows? Maybe I'm the prince on a white horse."
"Prince, my foot."
"I'm fucking handsome like a prince, aren't I? Or am I a prince?"
Kal said that annoyingly, resting his chin on his hand and smiling greasily, but strangely, Alisa couldn't deny it. Even though he was a total eyesore, it was true that he was handsome.
"You're going to get into big trouble if you keep that up. I know you're handsome, but tone down the showing off."
"This world is a bit harsh, so if you don't show off what you've got, you get left behind. You have to constantly appeal your own worth. That's how you survive. If you say you're great after failing, it's already too late."
"Yeah, I've heard your life lecture well, so go away now."
"Why do you keep trying to send me away? We're the only ones from the training camp here anyway, so there's nowhere for us to fit in."
"Then shut your mouth. You're really distracting."
As Alisa glared sharply at him again and shot him a dirty look, he grabbed his heart with an 'ugh' and pretended to be hurt.
"That look of condemnation. Fuck, I love it so much. I think I have this kind of taste. Thanks to you, I found out. Thaㅡanks a lot."
"Wow..., you really are a bastard not worth dealing with."
The blonde woman, Irina, was watching the two of them bickering from afar.
...Alisa....
Everyone only knew that Alisa was from the training camp, but in fact, Irina knew something more important than that.
The fact that some powerful backer had put her here when she should have gone somewhere else.
If they could shake up the Personnel Bureau of the Planet Headquarters, it must be an extraordinary backer. At the very least, it would be on the level of Irina's father, who was the vice-captain of a 100,000-ton class ship.
That's why Irina had been keeping an eye on Alisa. She was curious about what kind of backer was watching her back.
...And,
Just like Oppa said, he is definitely incredibly handsome.
Just my style.
It was a waste for him to be next to Alisa.