“I see you have already drawn a great deal of attention.” A voice responded dryly from behind Requiem.

“Not all attention is desired attention.” Requiem replied, tilting his head to the side to glance over at a familiar face.

The woman named Miai had shown herself at this event. The surprising thing to Requiem was that she was absolutely alone. He would have assumed that her master would have been at this event with her. As a matter of fact, several of the nobles and merchants had brought their androids with the intent of showing them off.

Miai herself was wearing a very sensual red dress that split down the middle. A v-line cut down so low that her belly button just showed at the bottom, and the sides of both breasts were slightly exposed.

Miai made an annoyed sound through her teeth. “I’ve found most attention isn’t desired.”

As she spoke, her eyes darted at a few of the nobles nearby. They were shooting looks at her, and few groups of men were openly ogling and making jokes aimed at her direction. Understanding human nature, Requiem didn’t find it hard to believe that in her current state of dress, men would undoubtedly notice. However, he was also aware that a lot of women, despite their state of dress, only wanted the eyes of men they personally approved of to enjoy it. Fortunately, Requiem had no interest in these kinds of things.

There was a pinch on my arm that only I could see from CLIPI, “Master is staring!”

“I am surprised that your master didn’t come.” I ignored CLIPI’s angry glares and decided to quickly change the conversation as I readjusted my eyesight and placed a visual censor over her outfit as well. Her chest now appeared as a beige, red blur.

“No, she’s a shut-in, she’d never-“ Miai started a response but when she glanced at me she stopped for a second. “That is to say, my master does not favor these sorts of things.”

It seems like Miai normally had a somewhat casual relationship with her master. Requiem had considered the possibility that she was an abused android, but it seemed like this might not be the case. Miai held an almost sisterly fondness when she spoke just then.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” There was the sound of glass clinking as a bearded man in the front of the room started hitting a spoon against his glass.

The room quickly quieted down, and the pair of us looked up to the front of the room. There was a slightly elevated stage with a single long table on it, not unlike certain wedding receptions. The man who hit the glass himself was wearing a brown unitard that looked like a military uniform. Surprisingly, behind him was the woman with the artificial eye, Lady Darsis. She stood very close, her breasts still a blotchy blur from Requiem’s censor program were nearly touching the man’s arm.

“That’s Umpeer Saphire, the lord of this lord’s banquet.” CLIPI whispered in Requiem’s ear.

“He’s the lord…” Miai leaned close and started to speak.

“Umpeer Saphire, yes, I know…” Requiem cut Miai off, causing her to give a thoughtful nod.

CLIPI stuck her tongue out at Miai, but of course, Miai could neither hear nor see her.

“It seems your well informed.” Miai responds casually.

“I’m just a man who knows what I want.” Requiem responds back, not really paying attention the words as he focuses on the man before him.

He was an older man, with black hair and beady eyes. He was hardly attractive, so the thought when looking at him next to the Lady Darsis was that she clearly was a gold digger. Well, in this world, it wasn’t uncommon for beautiful women to glue themselves to powerful men. When It came to survival of the entire race, everyone used what they had to succeed.

“What exactly is it that you want, I wonder?” Miai looks over mysteriously above the glass she holds up to her luscious lips seductively.

However, whatever answer she was looking for, it didn’t come, as Lord Saphire himself began to speak. Once the room had finally quieted sufficiently, the man cleared his throat again.

“To everyone invited to this prestigious event, I must welcome you!” Lord Saphire had a throaty way of speaking that lacked strength.

Even his voice was grating and unattractive. However, when he glanced over at Lady Darsis, or more specifically at her tits, she only gave him a nod and a wink. His face blushed, immediately revealing the relationship between the two to anyone with a keen eye. She was clearly a woman using all of her assets, and Lord Saphire was with taken by her beauty. None of this mattered to Requiem, who was more interested in money than anything else at the moment.

“My friends, my family, my business acquaintances, as you know, tomorrow will be the tenth annual Chryos tournament! As you all already have heard, this year’s tournament is unprecedented! Besides a cash award, there will also be an exodus token!” Suddenly, his voice lowered, trying to create a dramatic effect. “But I’m sure most of you here already have one of those.”

There was chuckling across the room. Most nobles had already assured their status on the next exodus. There were only a handful of mid-tier merchants that had been lucky enough to make their way into the room who looked around nervously, clearly seeing the token as the award they most desired.

“However, with money and power, what motivation would there be for my friends here to truly compete?” Lord Saphire continued. “That is why, I bring you her…”

Saphire gestured, and a small girl came out onto the stage. She was lanky, skinny, and perhaps even a bit straggly. As far as beauties, she was far from most of the women in this room. She looked to be about fourteen years of age, but the most noticeable thing was that Requiem recognized her. She was the very slavegirl Requiem had run in to on the street shortly after coming to this world.

Of course, he had expected the slave, but after coming to this world he began to realize how available slaves were to nobles of this world. A slave girl would cost a tenth of the cash prize, which was but pennies to these nobles. So, why did Saphire tramp her out like a major prize? A lot of people had confused looks, trying to understand where the catch was. Saphire merely stood in silence, relishing in the confusion like a cat in the sun.

“W-what’s so special about her?” Finally, one of the mid-tier nobles with enough status to speak up but not enough status to be above speaking up voiced the question in every person’s heart.

Saphire let out a laugh. “Why… of course! This girl was found after some significant difficulty. She was hidden deep within a mining colony, her name and appearance cut from all historical records. However… the blood doesn’t lie… This girl, she is the last of the Nightborn Royalty line!”

Requiem didn’t know what this meant at all, but even Miai next her gaped. The entire room broke into shouts of disbelief.

“Impossible!”

“One still exists?”

“A Nightborn? Does the Tridon Royals know of this?”

Saphire through out his hands. “Please, please, my friends, I of course, can guarantee the authenticity of this bloodline. If you win this competition, you win her. And if you win her, you gain access to the largest army known in the universe. If you win her, you win the universe!”

That last line finally perked Requiem’s attention. “The Universe… how interesting…”