The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 701  Sleep Schedules

The next morning came entirely too early, with Caraʼs cold nose poking Karlʼs cheek to wake him up.

[There are people waiting in the other room for us to wake up. I recommend no pants.] The Void badger informed him in a playful tone.

Karl smirked at her. [Why no pants?]

[It should make them go away so I can sleep.]

Karl sighed at the impeccable logic. It would indeed make most guests go away if he went outside with no pants on. But Cara didnʼt have to get out of bed just because he did.

[Of course I do. I can only freely enter and exit the space from a few hundred metres away. Who knows where theyʼre going to take you? What if I want to go back later and get stuck somewhere boring?]

Karl got dressed in the same casual wear as last night, as he would likely need a barrier of some sort if he was going to be near a forge, and he might as well be comfortable if he was going to be sitting at a desk in a Library.

As he stepped out of his bedroom, the six overdressed academics, ranging in age from late fifties to surprisingly not dead yet, snapped to attention. They were standing stiff, with fake and forced smiles on their faces, waiting for the formal greetings to end.

The oldest of them spoke with a slow drawl. ”Good morning Monarch. We were sent to accompany you to breakfast this morning, and then to your workspace.” The same maid who was with Karl last night was standing to the side, whispering details under her breath without moving her lips.

”That is International Relations Advisor Chen. On his left and right are his sons, who serve as his personal assistants. The two on the outside are professors from the University. Their names donʼt matter, you likely wonʼt see them again.

Staff will bring breakfast here for the rest of your group.” She whispered.

Karl nodded to the elderly man, ”Advisor Chen, it would be a pleasure to have breakfast with you and the Professors. Please lead the way so that we donʼt disturb my team.”

Raeʼs voice whispered in Karlʼs mind. [Take Cara and Remi with you. I will remain here to watch the ladies.]

The Bloodbath Spider was on the balcony outside their room, hidden by curtains. The others were already in their spaces, except Thor, who would stay with the pack.

And Cara, who was still on the bed, deciding if she really did need to get up.

Karl shifted her into the blanket nest in her space, and led the group of visitors to the door.

The maid was with them, standing a half step behind Karlʼs shoulder where he could still see her as she guided them to the informal dining room.

This morning, there was a buffet set at the entry for guests to make requests to be brought to their seat. Carrying your own plate appeared to be taboo for some reason, or perhaps beneath the dignity of the people who usually dined in the Palace.

As they took their seats, Karl let his gaze roam the room, using Soul Sight to inspect auras for possible traitors or disguised spies. Most of the guests appeared normal, though a few had a level of corruption to their energy that suggested they were horrible people in a general sense. It was the same thing he had seen on the rejected candidates for the Lightning Cerro hatchlings.

One maid was actually a demon, but Karl noticed she wasnʼt wearing a disguise. She just looked human enough in her uniform that nobody noticed.

No, that wasnʼt quite right. She was wearing coloured contacts, to make her eyes appear all black. Not a big deal to Karl, as she was only an Awakened Rank demon. That might mean she was a spy for Newbon, but it might just mean she was one of the small group of nonhumans that actually lived openly in the Golden Dragon Nation. There were many more, but they preferred to keep to themselves, as hybrids were generally treated as outsiders and had a hard time finding good jobs, while Demons were viewed with suspicion just based on their species.

Unless she did something questionable, there was no need to make life hard for her.

”Tell me, Monarch. What is it that you see with those enhanced eyes of yours?” Advisor Chen asked.

”I see that Ranking Elites are rare here in the Palaceʼs dining hall. That there are four people in the room that the others are habitually sucking up to. That there are four more with personalities so vile that they would instinctively repulse animals, and one maid that prefers crotchless pantyhose to stockings with garters.”

The last comment made everyone do a double take, then begin to surreptitiously look around to see if they could determine which Maid it was.

The one assigned to Karl was smirking slightly, as she already knew the answer, even if she couldnʼt see the difference. Standing still, it wasnʼt obvious, but when they moved, Karl could hear the difference.

{There is no way that you can know that by sight.} The maid whispered to Karl after she thought about his statement.

Karl tapped his ear in response, and she smiled. Being able to communicate from her spot along the wall without being overheard made her day so much more interesting.

Once they finished eating, the maid escorted Karl and the team of academics downstairs, to the underground transit tunnel that led to the Universityʼs research centre.

There was an electric train that ran back and forth on demand, moving workers from the city to the Palace without leaving the secured areas.

Karl got on board with the five men sent to escort him, and the Maid turned back to the residential area to wait for the notification that he was returning to the Palace.

As she entered the staff dining room, a black robed Inquisitor materialized from the shadows.

”Melanie. Report.” The maid curtsied and bowed her head. ”Inquisitor. I have seen no sign of the enemy moving against them. However, they may be waiting, as Monarch Karlʼs senses are absolutely terrifying.

He can hear the sound of garter buckles on a slip from across the room, clearly understand a whispered conversation from five metres away, and his range of vision is well over two hundred degrees.

Walking to the dining hall, he could track my movement a full step behind him without moving his head.

I have not had an opportunity to investigate the rest of the team, but I believe that he has left one of his beasts hidden with them, as well as the one known as Thor. I could feel the presence earlier, but I couldnʼt find it.”

The Inquisitor nodded. ”Thank you, Melanie. I will assign an additional member to their security detail once we have determined who was left behind.”

Melanie waited for more details.

”There is a chance he left behind the Bloodbath Spider, and if she isnʼt warned in advance, there is a high likelihood she would kill and dispose of anyone we sent to shadow them.”

Melanie frowned. ”Is she that scary?”

The Inquisitor patted her on the head. ”We have confirmation of her lethality from the Assassin group. There is zero doubt that she is a peak Monarch Rank threat, with stealth abilities and ambush skills.”

That was enough of a description for Melanie to understand. The Inquisitor simply vanished after their conversation, but he was surely still here somewhere. Waiting and watching. He was lethal to enemies of the nation, but the status of Assassin went to people much more terrifying than he was.