Chapter 30: Secretly Dissapointed

Once the two guests had finally settled into their seats, Austin reluctantly set down the snacks. He was still hungry, but in the presence of people like important guests, he felt he couldn't continue eating. After all, he needed to give these men some faces, right?

Surprisingly, Eris, as if unconcerned with such matters, told him indifferently, "Feel free to keep eating."

She delivered the words with such apathy that it seemed like she couldn't be bothered by the presence of the two guests sitting across from her.

Austin was taken by surprise, but he quickly recovered and resumed eating. With Eris giving him the green light, he pushed his worries about the guests to the back of his mind.

"Haha, this gentleman must really enjoy his food," Wilston began with a laugh.

Austin nodded at him without answering.

Mouth twitching, Wilston turned to Eris and said with his lips slightly curled upward, "From what I heard, Lady Alysia is supposed to have radiant pink hair, right? As for you, my lady, no offense, but it doesn't seem like you match the description I've heard."

In another way, he seemed to be expressing, "Who the fuck are you?!"

Eris gently swirled the tea in her cup, her tone cool and pointed. "Considering my young miss rarely makes public appearances, it appears you've got yourself a quite dependable source of information. I'm curious who that might be."

In response to her comment, Wilston only chuckled dryly without saying anything.

Eris's expression remained unchanged as she heard his evasive response. She showed a cold smile. "Indeed, as you may have already surmised, I'm not Lady Alysia, rather, I'm just her servant."

As her words echoed in the pavilion, Austin instantly detected a subtle shift in the attitude of both men. Previously, Wilston's posture had always been upright, reflecting a sense of respect. However, at this moment, he appeared more at ease. His once wary eyes now exuded arrogance, and a contemptuous sneer played upon his lips.

A similar thing happened to Taylor. The man had shown interest in Eris before, but possibly due to wariness about her identity, he would only discreetly steal glances at her. However, now, he didn't bother concealing his lustful gaze. His eyes openly roamed over her body, fixating particularly on her small chest.

On the side, Austin quietly watched the scene while munching on snacks. He had a hunch that he was about to witness something interesting.

"Haha, so you're Lady Alysia's servant. I should have already guessed that," Wilston laughed, his tone light as he began speaking more openly.

'Guessed that? Does he mean Eris's appearance obviously looks like that of a servant?' Austin chuckled inwardly at Wilston's attempt to throw an insult. He would agree with the man's statement if Eris had entered the meeting in her usual maid dress. However, in her current Gothic Lolita style and with her reserved attitude, she didn't appear much different from the typical of a noble lady. So, his words were meant nothing but to ridicule Eris's position.

"For a servant, you're quite a beauty. Now, I'm curious about what your mistress looks like. She must've been more stunning than you." Taylor smirked, his expression somewhat delirious.

Eris didn't say anything and just sipped her tea calmly.

Wilston, adopting a slightly pretentious tone, inquired, "So, where's your mistress? Why isn't she here to greet us?"

"My mistress..." Eris paused, lightly biting her lip as if troubled. However, she quickly regained composure and continued, "She's currently at the mansion. Due to another pressing matter, she couldn't make it to the meeting. She asked me to extend her apologies, expressing regret that she might be unable to personally welcome all of you," Eris explained.

"Pressing matter? May I know what it is?" Wilston asked. There was a blend of curiosity and wariness in his tone. Were there other groups that arrived ahead of us?

With the sudden expansion mandate declared by the Church, all regions in America had become battlefields between supernatural beings and the Church's army. Even he and his pack weren't spared from this war and had to fight against other werewolf packs just to secure their food. In the end, they not only lost against the Church's army but also in the battle to secure resources.

As the Church-free regions dwindled over time, and he was lost where to go after suffering a defeat, that's when he heard the news that Alves City had become one of the few cities surviving and liberated from the Church's influence. He became ecstatic, thinking his opportunity had finally come. However, he was well aware that such a safe haven must have its ruler. He soon learned that there was already a lord in the city, and her name was Alysia. Apparently, she's a demon.

Upon further investigation, he learned that Alysia had only recently stayed in Alves, and there was no significant force behind her. Based on his knowledge, demons dwelling on Earth were often those cast out of the Infernal Realm, likely due to them being the children of illicit relationships or lacking the capability to compete in the realm, meaning they were just weaklings!

Therefore, his initial strategy involved winning Alysia's favor by disclosing his sincere intention to bring his pack to the city. He offered both himself and his pack as protectors for the city. Simultaneously, he patiently awaited an opportunity to arise, with the ultimate goal of dethroning her!

Just as there couldn't be more than one tiger in the same mountain, he firmly believed that Alves could only accommodate one overlord, and that would be him.

Who does this random demon think she is, coming out of nowhere and claiming to be an overlord? Does she believe she's some high-ranked demon with huge backing?

He was well aware that he couldn't be the only one thinking of such an idea. Therefore, he rushed to Alves at top speed. However, from the sound of it, it seemed Alysia had welcomed another group, and they appeared to be more formidable than his own that Alysia viewed them as of greater importance.

As Wilston and Taylor straightened their backs, palms clenched in nervous anticipation, they finally received Eris's answer.

Eris couldn't contain her amusement as another smile broke out on her face. "Sure, you may. Actually, my mistress is currently busy watching anime."

Wilston and Taylor were utterly thunderstruck.

It took them a while to finally recover from their shock.

"W-watching anime?" Taylor stuttered.

"Yes, my mistress's favorite anime just released a new episode. She's afraid of getting spoilers from people's comments. That's why she prioritized watching the anime first and couldn't attend our meeting," Eris explained.

Pfft!

Austin nearly choked on his food upon hearing her answer. Wasn't this a blatant disrespect, akin to a slap to their faces?

To Alysia, the importance of these two men seemed to be less than that of anime! They probably hadn't anticipated such a significant humiliation when they first decided to come here, right?

'My hunch is right. There's an interesting show happening now,' Austin thought, chewing on more snacks as if enjoying a movie in the cinema with popcorn in the company. His sour mood slightly improved.

"Impudent!" Wilston hollered, his hair growing significantly longer, with the hairs on his arms visibly following suit. An invisible pressure began to emanate from the air around him.

"Wilston, do I need to remind you of where you currently stand?" Despite the confrontation, Eris remained composed, calmly sipping her tea.

"Then do I need to remind you about my identity too?" Wilston began to stand.

*Crunch* *Crunch*

"I'm Wilston Black!"

*Crunch* *Crunch*

"The direct descen-

*Crunch* *Crunch*

"dant of the famo-"

*CRUNCH* *CRUNCH*

Veins bulged on Wilston's forehead as he glared resentfully at Austin. "YOU SHUT UP!!"

Ignoring the outburst, Austin continued to nonchalantly chew on his snacks, seemingly impervious to the raised voice. Truth be told, he was slightly surprised by his present mental fortitude. In the past, if he were to get scolded harshly like that, he'd likely get weak on his knees and unable to think straight.

Now, however, he not only felt indifferent to such behavior, but he also saw Wilston as nothing more imposing than a puppy, despite the man's intimidating appearance.

It wasn't that he believed he was stronger than Wilston; rather, it was a shift in perspective. He couldn't quite pinpoint why he felt this way. Perhaps, it had to do with his identity now as a demon.

He had learned something from Eris during their earlier conversation. According to what she shared, vampires and werewolves didn't originally exist. It was only after demons interbred with various nocturnal creatures, including bats and wolves, that a new interspecies offspring emerged. Through various evolutions, trial and error, they eventually became the werewolves and vampires we know today.

So, according to the hierarchy chart, demons were evidently at a higher level than mere werewolves.

However, this rule wasn't absolute, as there were werewolves with purer and stronger lineages that even noble demons would fear.

Unfortunately, it was obvious Wilston didn't reach such a level. Otherwise, how would he be forced to become a stray dog now?

"YOU IDIOT! I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP! STOP EATING, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Wilston was enraged as he watched Austin blatantly ignore his shouting.

Eris frowned and began to stand too. Although her height was petite compared to Wilston who stood at 1.9 meters, her imposing demeanor showed no signs of diminishing as she spoke in an icy tone. "Wilston, do you intend to offend my mistress? He's my mistress's subordinate, and he only listens to her orders. Neither you nor I have the eligibility to order him."

"Hear that, old man? Don't let my eating bother you. Carry on with your discussion with this Miss here," Austin said casually, waving the cookies he held in his hand.

Wilston's rage was so intense that his entire body trembled. His chest heaved rapidly, but in the end, he just let out a loud snort. "Hmph!" and resumed his seat.

Eris followed suit, but unbeknownst to everyone, a huge disappointment flashed through her eyes.