Banquet (Part 2)

Thinking about it carefully, Liu Zicai's plan sounded wildly unrealistic, but it did have a little chance of working.

First of all, Sandora had come under the pretense of studying abroad. That meant her identity was not simply that of a foreign princess, but also that of an ordinary senior-year high school student. Whether she was experiencing life or genuinely here to study, she would have to lower her status and mingle with ordinary people. Under such circumstances, a Cinderella story with the roles reversed might actually happen. The odds were low, of course, but what normal man could resist the temptation of landing a bona fide princess?

Ahem, I was a special case. I had never been within the scope of consideration from the very beginning...

Qian Qian and I looked around, only then noticing quite a few so-called young elites present, all slick-haired, powdered, and impeccably mannered. They appeared to be eagerly conversing with one another while subtly competing and comparing themselves. Needless to say, they had come for that faint chance of ascending to the heavens. Even if they could not truly live happily ever after with a princess, getting into a relationship with a beautiful foreign girl would still be worth it, right?

After looking around, Qian Qian and I immediately felt that pig-faced Liu Shao had truly terrible luck. Of all things, he had to pick a fight with Sandora. Now that he had been beaten into such a pig-headed state, forget a princess of a nation—even an ordinary girl would probably feel sick at the sight of him.

Then again, even if he had not been beaten into a pig's head, Sandora would never have taken a liking to him...

When Sandora announced that she would be studying in China, she only said that she would attend school in K City, without specifying which school. That seemed to send the outside world a signal: the largest aristocratic school in K City was Canglan Private High School. If a princess were to study in China, Canglan seemed like the only possible choice. Thus, the young masters from Canglan had already begun to regard themselves as the princess's future classmates, holding an absolute advantage in the open and covert rivalries here.

"What foolish Carbon-Based Lifeforms." Sandora's voice suddenly rang in my mind, filled with undisguised contempt.

I said innocently, "Sandora, you just used Area Taunt..."

"There's really no point in staying here." I said. The place was full of elites wearing fake smiles and putting on airs, along with young masters strutting about like male peacocks displaying their feathers. This sort of environment really did not suit my tastes. It was impressive that Sandora intended to stay until the end of the entire welcome banquet—come to think of it, when was the true host of this banquet going to make her appearance?

Just as I was puzzled by Sandora's continued carefree wandering through the crowd, a deep male voice suddenly rang out. "Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to take up a little of your precious time."

When I looked up, a tall, muscular man was standing in the middle of the venue with a microphone in his hand. I knew him. He was Carmen, the Shilin Defensive Heavy Infantry I had rescued before. It seemed he was no ordinary soldier. The fact that Sandora had him speak at a time like this showed that he was at least a mid-ranking Shilin officer.

No wonder he had been able to lead a mere forty-nine soldiers and hold out against the monster tide for so long that day. A high-ranking Shilin Apostle had the ability to turn the tide of an entire battle.

Carmen had removed his heavy alloy armor and changed into a black tailcoat. His trousers were sharply pressed, his bow tie immaculate, and he was dressed like a perfect gentleman. Yet with that towering build and imposing face, he looked like a special forces bodyguard disguised as a butler. The sight was awkward no matter how one looked at it.

Seeing that everyone had focused their attention on him, Carmen nodded in satisfaction and said, "First of all, I am delighted to meet you all at this grand banquet. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the host of this banquet and also the captain of Her Highness's guard. I will be spending the rest of the evening with you all.

"I'm sure everyone is wondering why the banquet has been underway for so long, yet the star of this gathering—our princess—has not appeared. Let me reveal a little secret: Her Highness has already arrived at this plaza! And she is hidden among you!"

The moment he said this, the people around us broke into low murmurs. Then they began looking around at the foreign girls nearby, searching for someone who might resemble a princess. Naturally, quite a few gazes swept across Sandora as well, but this wild girl, forever in a state of hunger, had already thrown herself into a new round of battle against food. Her ravenous appearance made everyone avert their eyes at once.

After the crowd quieted down a little, Carmen continued, "Of course, since Her Highness wishes to play this game with you, she must have a way to avoid being discovered so easily. From now until the banquet enters its next stage, there will be approximately one hour. During that time, the princess will not leave the plaza. Whether you can find her will depend on your eyesight and luck... Of course, even if no one discovers her before time runs out, the princess will still reveal herself when the banquet moves to its next stage. It is simply that there may be far fewer surprises by then..."

It was hard to tell that Carmen, who looked suited only to being a soldier, could actually be such an eloquent speaker. Sandora really had hidden talents under her command...

Before Carmen had even finished speaking, several impatient young men stepped forward and loudly asked, "If we find the princess, will there be any reward?"

Seeing the reckless behavior of those guys who looked like nouveau riche, I secretly shook my head. People who could never amount to much were only good for paving the way for others in situations like this.

Carmen merely smiled at the question from those reckless fools. "Then what reward would you gentlemen like?"

Carmen's counterquestion was indeed formidable. In a situation like this, could they really open their mouths and make some demand?

The rash young men retreated awkwardly. Carmen smiled slightly and raised the microphone. "Now, Game Start—everyone, open your eyes wide and search for the princess beside you!"

The moment his words fell, the wealthy young masters who had been exchanging fake enthusiastic conversation just seconds earlier all discarded their masks of false smiles and began searching everywhere for the mysterious princess.

I looked curiously at Sandora. I had never expected her to be interested in playing such a boring game with humans.

Sandora noticed my gaze and smiled faintly, continuing her battle with the cake in her hands. Qian Qian, on the other hand, suddenly stuffed a small piece of pudding from her hand into my mouth and said with puffed cheeks, "Honestly, even if there's a reason, could you two please not gaze affectionately at each other in front of me?"

There were quite a few foreign girls at the venue. Some were local expatriates who had come to join in the fun, while more were Sandora's attendants. Naturally, quite a few Shilin female soldiers disguised as ordinary people were mixed among them. Each of them was now surrounded by several children of prominent families, and everyone had reached the same conclusion: as long as she was a foreign girl, she might be the princess!

Right in front of me, a blonde girl was surrounded by several young men. They had annoyed her beyond endurance, and she finally burst out in authentic Beijing slang. "What are you people doing? Is dyeing my hair a crime now?"

Scenes like this could be seen everywhere. It fully proved that dyeing one's hair could harm both body and mind...

Since every foreign girl or suspected foreign girl at the venue had received attention, Sandora was naturally no exception. Watching from beside her, I saw no fewer than ten well-dressed, graceful young masters come over in a short time under the banner of cultural exchange, trying to strike up a conversation. Unfortunately, Sandora's eating habits were far too exaggerated, and every young master who approached her was eventually scared away.

"I say, aren't you full yet?" After Sandora swallowed an entire plate of Chocolate Cake in ten seconds, I finally could not help using Spiritual Connection.

Sandora's voice rang in my mind. "Do not measure a Shilin Apostle's appetite by the standards of Carbon-Based Lifeforms..."

...It seemed that among all the Shilin Apostles I knew, only your appetite was this outrageous, right?

"By the way," Sandora's voice rang in my mind, "your trusted troops should also be in this world, shouldn't they? Why haven't I seen them? Aside from Pandora and Siweisi, who is working as a teacher, I have barely seen any of your subordinates."

"Well... I don't like dealing with all that messy stuff, so I told my commanders to go do whatever they liked."

"Oh—" Sandora understood. She did know how much I feared trouble.

Just then, the corner of my eye suddenly caught sight of someone who absolutely should not have been here.

A stern, upright face, an outfit straight out of The Matrix, and a black shoulder bag slung across his shoulder.

"Hey, bro, want some discs?" the black-clad uncle asked everyone he met.

...Selling pirated discs in a place like this—should I say that this guy was truly gifted?!

"So that's what you meant by doing whatever they liked..." Sandora remarked with a look of stunned disbelief.

I'm going to kill that guy!