Chapter 21: Beatrice's Reputation
Dante didn't even get a chance to introduce himself before the atmosphere of the small circle they occupied changed. The two men immediately went on guard and positioned themselves in front of Louisa as if being one second too slow would be worse than death.
Louisa herself began to tremble, her expression scandalized as if she had been bitten by a snake. The two Lieutenant Generals prepared for a fight, sweat forming on their faces through their exosuits, which was a rare sight.
Dante stood there dumbfounded, not because he didn't know how to react or was shocked, but because he simply couldn't react fast enough compared to how quickly they moved. Beatrice may have enhanced his genes, but he still had a lot to catch up on, especially considering that these individuals likely had elite bionics enhancing them.
As for Beatrice, she didn't react much. She maintained her casual smile and seemed to have expected this reaction. "Why the sudden hostility? Are we not all pure humans?"
The trio opposite her froze, realizing their reactions had been extremely rude and excessive. They relaxed significantly, their expressions filled with shame and apology.
"Haha, that's right. It's just that Admiral Portinari's reputation precedes her," the burly, brown-haired man on the left laughed awkwardly.
"It's like thunder in the ears of normal combatants like us," the lithe, slightly shorter man on the right remarked with a bitter expression.
"Haha, that's good to hear. If my allies react this way, then the reaction of my enemies should be even better," Beatrice chuckled amiably.
Seeing that Beatrice wasn't bothered, the two guards heaved audible sighs of relief. Louisa gathered herself, taking much longer to control her mental state and compose herself compared to the seasoned veterans.
"I sincerely apologize for my behavior, Lady Beatrice. You can be sure that I will work on making it up to you in the future on behalf of the Nicolaides family," Louisa bowed slightly with a serious expression.
Beatrice smiled. "I respect and honor your apology, Louisa, but I've told you, Uncle Mikael is no stranger to me or my clan."
Louisa smiled bitterly. "Oh, trust me, I know. I have long heard about you and your siblings growing up, and it's shocking to meet you in the flesh for the first time."
Louisa then turned to Dante with a strange look. Both her guards also focused on Dante, their expressions unnatural. It was as if they were looking at Beauty and the Beast, where Beatrice was the Beast and Dante was the Beauty.
There was an obvious question in their eyes as to why a fine young man like him would choose to be here. Initially, Louisa had even shown interest in him because, by their higher standards in this universe, he was a relatively good-looking, pure human male around her age. But now, she regarded him no differently than a tablecloth.
"And may I know the name of this fine young gentleman?" Louisa asked with a smile.
"Me? Dante," Dante introduced simply, folding his arms casually.
Louisa's eyebrows twitched as she tried to furrow them, but she quickly suppressed it. Dante could obviously tell that he had made more than a few social gaffes with that introduction, but he had no idea what they were, and he couldn't rapidly learn them in such a short period of time anyway.
Maybe in the future, to avoid unnecessarily offending others, he would learn them and put them into practice. For now, since he didn't know them, he would act the part of an uncultured brute. While it might make this girl dislike him, it wasn't impossible for dislike to change into admiration later on.
Beatrice saw Dante's actions and smiled widely, misunderstanding his intentions. "Don't mind my Vice-Admiral; he is a recently discovered pure human who was lost."
Louisa and the two guards seemed surprised by this. Random discoveries of pure humans had become pretty rare in the past few centuries, so they were naturally startled to hear about one and see one in person.
Louisa, in particular, seemed to understand something as her smile became wider and her gaze towards Dante became less offended but more arrogant. There was a slight sense of superiority in her eyes, as if when a human raised in a bourgeois family met a country bumpkin from the countryside with a broken accent and 'poor' manners.
"I see. Well, Mr. Dante, I'd advise you to sign up for etiquette classes on the Etraverse to catch up on how to behave among your peers," Louisa stated with a nod.
Dante decided not to bother with her for now and simply agreed to her suggestion amiably. Beatrice slightly understood Dante's nature and knew it was better for her to take over from here, so she began to chat with Louisa about various things while the two guards kept watch.
By listening in, Dante learned many things about pure humans, the clans and families that formed the upper echelon, and the current state of allegiances and enemies of the two clans the women belonged to.
Dante wondered if Beatrice did this intentionally, but then again, it didn't really matter. What he cared about now was how quickly he could get this over and done with, and his prayer was soon answered as a broadcast was made for all prospective Cadets to line up.
They were guided to different booths based on their assigned classes, which were split into three rows: the Normal Batch, the Elite Batch, and the Unique Batch. The distinctions between these batches were already well known galaxy-wide.
The Normal Batch consisted of individuals with average backgrounds and/or capabilities who came to learn and use the school's resources and name to graduate into top positions in society. They formed almost 98% of the school's entire student body and at least 89% of those signing up.
The Elite Batch included individuals with average capabilities but top-grade backgrounds. The class was further divided into three categories: aliens and mixed races with superior capabilities and talent but average backgrounds, pure humans with average talent but superior backgrounds, and pure humans with superior capabilities and backgrounds. They formed about 1.99% of the entire student body and more than 10% of those signing up.
The Unique Batch consisted of individuals with exceptional talents that were one of a kind or those who possessed born/awakened superpowers without using the fruits from the Zero Gate. Here, background and race didn't matter; only their uniqueness counted. They made up less than 0.1% of the entire student body, and only five people queued up for this line.
Surprisingly, Louisa was among them. She was surprised to see Dante queue up behind her but then smiled and nodded. Meanwhile, the others in line were two mixed breeds and one alien species.
The two mixed breeds were females, while the alien was likely male. The first female was a mixture of rock and human, with a humanoid body and human features along with rocky skin that rubbed against itself, causing dust to fall.
The second female was a literal Lamia, with a human upper body and a large snake-like lower body with reddish scales that gleamed in the light. However, she was conservatively clothed, unlike typical depictions on Earth where their large breasts were barely covered.
The first girl only wore bracers and bands on her wrists and ankles, and the rest of her body, while possessing a feminine form, was not necessarily 'naked' in a way that would expose genitals.
As for the 'male' alien, he was a tall 7.5-foot insect man with a large proboscis on his face, two black compound eyes, and sharp yet thin wings that looked capable of slicing a person in half. He was somewhat humanoid and bipedal but lacked any features linking him to the human genome.
Dante glanced at them briefly before looking away. However, they had no qualms about casting more than one glance his way and at Louisa. The looks were not exactly hostile, but they were not friendly either. There was a clear intention to compete and prove superiority in the glances they gave.
Louisa remained unfazed by this and maintained a sweet smile that both alienated others and made them understand that she was looking down on them. As for Dante, he kept his arms folded and his expression neutral in order to present a seasoned and mature front.
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