Pete laughed happily twice more, shoved Maca aside, skirted around the still bashful Rosero, and sidled up to Rute.
"Listen, Rute, that business with Kament Tower has nothing to do with our side." He raised one eyebrow and gave Rute a flirtatious look. "For that, you'll have to ask Maca."
"What are you talking about?" Maca, dressed in black, said expressionlessly. "Isn't Kament Tower a member of the Black Enigma Tower?
"As I recall, he hasn't done anything that violates the Black Enigma Oath."
Rute glanced at him... Though Maca had the worst attitude of anyone present, he was also the one who wanted the least from the Black Enigma Tower.
Or rather, Maca and the Black Artist behind him cared little about the Black Enigma Tower joining them, or the share of the spoils they might claim in the future.
Wanting nothing meant fearing nothing. Add Kament Tower—a thorn the Black Enigma Tower could never pull out—and Maca was the one behaving most honestly here.
Rosero, on the other hand, was clearly trying to get the Black Enigma Tower to keep its distance from the White-Robed Faction for the time being.
Archmages like them, who had held lofty positions for so long—including the relatively young Gilbert—could hardly abandon their dignity overnight to get intimate with a bunch of Tower Master Xiya's male lovers.
That went for men and women alike.
Women in particular had to keep even farther away. Otherwise, what if people suspected they wanted to, well, steal one of Tower Master Xiya's devoted lovers?
After all, on this very first day, those who held power in Sia Tower had made their respective identities perfectly clear... No one could play dumb.
Or rather, anyone from the Black Enigma Tower with half a brain knew they had no right