REAS, who was suspected by his brother to be getting their drinks from another planet, was also in a bind. Three girls were currently standing in front of him. He just walked away from the bar, holding the drinks he ordered for him and Astrid, when these three ambushed him. The two on the sides were pushing the one at the middle as if persuading her or something.
After a few seconds, the girl at the middle still didn't speak. Reas was already impatient. "If you have something to say, then say it. If not, then move. Don't block my way."
He's never the type to be gentle to women, just because, well, they're women. The only exception was his mother. For him, everyone was equal. There wasn't really much difference between men and women. After all, two people of the same sex could still have children if they wanted to. The ability of women to give birth had long been considered as something not so special. It became just another possible cause of death for women. Really, in this day and age, the only important difference between people would be their qualification.
"I- I'm sorry. I just--" the girl stuttered.
"Hey, Andreas, can you not be so rude?"
"That's right! It took a lot of courage for Camille to talk to you, you know?"
Said the two girls who were with the stuttering girl they called Camille. But Reas wasn't really interested and it just made him frown even more. Who was the rude one here? He's not the one blocking the way of people. But he knew there was no use telling that to the two. It was obvious that the two were the types who would not stop until the one they're arguing with agreed to their point. He certainly had no patience to do that.
So, his mind simply wandered and waited until this Camille said what she wanted to say. In the meantime, he listened to the conversating around him to pass the time and heard something interesting. Because of his SS level physical qualification, his hearing was pretty good. He could even focus on a conversation a few feet away and hear it as if they were just talking beside him. And that's what he was doing right now.
"Have you read that post from one of the local forums?" one said.
"About what?" the person the other was talking to asked.
"It said that the warship of the White Wolf of Alluna was seen passing by in one of the planetary systems of our galaxy."
"No way. Then, was the rumor true, about that crazy prince missing?"
"Who knows. If he really is, I just hope he's not in my planet."
Reas raised one of his brows when he heard that. The White Wolf of Alluna the two were referring to was the only brother of the current Emperor. And because the Emperor still didn't have his own family, his brother was also the only prince and heir to the Empire.
The prince's name was Wulfric de Lunaris. He was the only person in the Empire who had SSS level physical and mental strengths. At the age of 30, he was the youngest general the Empire had ever produced. He was known for his moniker - the White Wolf of Alluna. He was called that because of his white hair and golden eyes very similar to that of the said beast. The 'Alluna' part came from the name of the planet that he owned and was living in. Even the army under him was named the Fenris squad.
But more than that, this prince was more infamously known as the Butcher of Orus.
A decade ago, a rebellion occurred at the planet Orus. They were made up of the remaining royals from the Kingdom of Terra. Their sudden appearance caused a lot of disturbance to the Empire. So, before they became a huge problem, the Emperor sent a group of elites to Orus to take care of this problem. One of them was the prince who was only a young commander back then.
The public never really knew what happened back then. Just a rumor that the prince killed all the rebels, thus ending the rebellion at Orus. The Empire's PR department only released a statement saying that the rebellion ended because of the efforts made by the valiant soldiers of the Empire. But because of that, the prince gained that infamous nickname – the Butcher of Orus.
Reas wasn't really interested in the prince's various escapades. It was simply because up until now, the other still held the record of the most number of victories at the Mecha Hall. Not only that, he was also undefeated. As a mech fighter, Reas definitely wanted to fight the prince to test his own skills.
The two mentioned earlier about the prince being 'missing'. Probably because there was a rumor floating around [Cyberspace] saying that the prince never returned to the capital after his last mission. But Reas doubted that the other was in real serious danger. After all, in this Empire, there was probably no one who had better qualification than the White Wolf of Alluna.
"—that's why, can we start dating?"
The voice of the girl in front of him, brought Reas back to what was happening. "What?" he asked because he didn't really hear what the other said.
The girl who noticed that the handsome boy in front of her didn't even listen to a word she said, blushed in humiliation. Tears were already brimming in her eyes.
"Andreas, you're such a jerk!" one of her friends said.
"Camille, don't waste your time with this bastard," another one said. "Let's just go."
And the two pulled the girl named Camille away.
Reas frowned. What's the problem with those girls? He shook his head and just continued walking to where Astrid was. From this incident, he already learned his lesson. Whenever he noticed someone trying to stop him, he would immediately turn to another direction to avoid them. But because of this, it took more time for him to return to his twin brother.
When he finally reached the place where Astrid was, he almost thought that he went to the wrong place. It was because there was a line of people confessing to Astrid. Yes, there was indeed a line. He sighed at the sight. His brother was truly popular. He could only imagine how much more troublesome it would get once they went to the capital. Astrid's looks would surely cause a commotion. Especially since the other was trying to enter the so-called entertainment industry.
Sometimes, he truly wished that the two of them were identical twins. If Astrid looked like him, then he and their parents wouldn't worry too much about him.
Reas pushed the people lining up to confess to his brother away. And sat beside Astrid. He then used his most dangerous glare and said coldly, "Go."
That seemed to be quite effective because all of them scampered away.
"I just left you for a minute and you already gathered your own harem," he commented giving Astrid his drink.
Astrid accepted the glass of drink and smiled at Reas. But this smile didn't reach his phoenix eyes. A sign that he's really annoyed right now. "A minute? I think you're gone for almost half an hour. Did you decided to go on a stroll before remembering that you left your brother here?"
"Hey, half an hour is an exaggeration. Maybe a quarter of an hour."
"And you're still making excuses?"
"It's not my fault. Some girls tried to stop me along the way. It's their fault."
Astrid took a sip from the drink. This kid was probably also confessed to. But seeing his brother's expression, he definitely didn't give that girl a good face.
"By the way, I just heard something interesting," Reas said, suddenly changing the subject.
"What?" Astrid asked, his annoyance already disappearing.
"I heard that someone saw the warship of the prince here in Palioxis Galaxy. So, some people thought that they might be looking for the prince and the prince must be here in our galaxy."
Astrid frowned. All the things he heard about that prince/general were not good. Some said he's crazy, some said that he's simply lacking in empathy, and that he was truly a beast in man's clothing. If ever he was indeed in their galaxy, he hoped he wouldn't be in their planet.
"You know, Reas, if you wanted to look for a role model, it's better to pick someone saner," he advised his brother. After all, his brother wouldn't be telling him this piece of news if the other wasn't really interested.
"The prince is not my role model. I just admire his strength. That's all."
Astrid raised one of his brows. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"Of course not. If I think of him as my role model, I wouldn't question his actions and just think that everything he does is right. But that's not the case," Reas said indignantly. "I just admire his skills, as a mecha fighter to another."
Astrid stared at his brother and saw that he was really serious with what he said. So, he could only nod.
Anyway, it's not as if they would meet this crazed White Wolf of Alluna. Reas might meet him if he continued on his path as a soldier. But surely, that would be ways off in the future.
So, he just put this topic out of his mind. After all, there's no way his path would crossed that of the prince's.
What he didn't know was that their paths wouldn't just crossed. The other would also be a big part of his life in the future.