Hearing Henrik's call, all of them got up instantly and went around a few trees to reach an open area near the lakeside.
There were a few people already there excluding the two that were in Henrik's group (Fulke and Hazel, first mentioned around Ch 390).
In the middle was Ceni, sitting between her two 'best' friends Iris and Klem. Around them were about 12 other people, all dressed in expensive clothes from the Beast world. Their expressions and body language screamed 'entitled brats' and it was pretty easy to infer that they were obviously Princes and Princesses from some renowned Kingdoms.
They kept their distance from Henrik's group, talking amongst one another in a hushed voice. Upon the arrival of Wern, Brina, and others, they threw disdainful glances towards them followed by suppressed laughter.
A few of them even stood up with obvious ill intentions but were stopped by one glance from the beautiful Iris (Ch 464).
"Don't make any trouble," she said in a low voice, making them return to their seats at once.
Ceni who was obviously the leader of the group didn't even bat an eye. She continued to sit there with her eyes closed, looking almost like a painting under the dazzlingly bright sun.
Her transformation was probably the most surprising out of everyone present. When they had arrived on the planet a few weeks ago, Ceni who was obviously very beautiful still looked somewhat immature like all the others around here. (The days mentioned here are according to this planet, i.e 100 hr per day/night cycle. So if converted to the 24-hr system, more than 2 months have passed).
And since most of them were in their late teens, this was expected. But now she looked completely different.
It looked like Ceni had aged a few years in the short time they had been here. She had grown taller and devilishly beautiful, looking worlds apart from the somewhat innocent image she had before.
While the Ceni from before seemed more 'open', the 'her' now had a much colder air around her which made it hard for people to approach her even if they wanted to.
This change had obviously been very sudden, so much so that even Iris and Klem seemed a little uncomfortable around her.
Ceni was wearing a swimsuit unlike the others in her group. It looked to be a size too short, barely providing any cover.
Eyes of every single boy including Wern were glued to her from the moment they arrived. Brina saw that and swiftly landed a heavy-handed slap to the back of his head.
With a vein on her forehead threatening to pop any second she pulled on Wern's ear, "Is something wrong with your eyes? They seem to be glued to one spot without moving. Should I wash them for you?"
Wern almost bit his own tongue from the sudden attack and replied clumsily, "N-No babe, how could that be? I was just looking at the scenery! Hehe!" he said with a contorted smile.
"Hmph," she released his ear and sat down near Henrik. She threw a poisonous glance towards Ceni before looking towards Henrik.
"Brother Henrik, it looks like 'some' people really can't take the heat. Should we reschedule?"
Everyone knew she was talking about Ceni but no one dared to speak up.
Henrik who was laying back on his chair with an alcoholic beverage in his hand lowered his sunglasses enough to peer towards the person in question.
"Is Hao Xuan done with his training?" he asked loudly while looking towards Ceni, whose ears visibly twitched upon hearing the question.
Wern shook his head, "No, he is still training as usua-"
Before he could even finish the sentence Ceni stood up and started walking away.
"Don't disturb me unless it's important," Ceni threw out the words without even looking back.
Iris and Klem both sighed seeing her obvious reaction. Henrik followed her with his eyes until he was sure she wasn't going towards Hao Xuan before putting his sunglasses back.
"Continue," he waved his hand leisurely.
Brina, Wern and even the people from Ceni's group were shocked. Some of the more astute ones quickly connected the dots.
Hazel who was standing beside Henrik like a bodyguard came forward.
"Due to the increased threat from the Resistance fighters, we will be working together this time around. As I'm sure you are aware, there are two parts of the battle. The first one takes place in a randomly chosen place on the planet where the local armies that we have gathered will fight against the Hall's. The second takes place when the three Walking Cities meet. There, a chosen few will fight against each other to decide the final victor."
"Please sign up with me for whichever one you want to take part in.. And if you have any questions I can answer those as well."
