The Fourth Beast

10

The Top Ten

V

Somewhere in France

(4 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)

"This guy really does not know how to blend in, does he?" That was the first thought that came into Jiraiya's mind when he saw their guests, especially at the sight of the main guest.

The archangel Michael was handsome, there was no doubt about that. He had that innocent 'Ikemen' look that many females would definitely be attracted to. But Jiraiya's issue was not with his look, it was with his attire. If Jiraiya had to describe what kinds of clothing Michael wore in one word, it would be... hideous. The archangel wore a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb and had golden shoulder plates with a white sash. He even had his freaking halo dangling on top of his head.

Jiraiya could not help but subtly look at himself and August. Both of them were wearing a simple yet elegant-looking tuxedo. He even trimmed his hair to suit the location. For God's sake, he did not book a private room in the Mirazur restaurant all the way in France to see this!

"This is a marvelous place," Michael said with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Jiraiya and August were already on their feet the moment their guests came in. Of course, Jiraiya was the first to follow up, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Michael. And both of you as well," Jiraiya smiled at the exorcists before looking at Michael again, "And I am glad you liked it. I chose a neutral ground for our meeting. But I thought, why not take it up a notch?" Then he pointed at the glass walls and the table beside him, "Stunning panoramic view, world-class cuisine; perfect to set up the mood, do you not think so?"

"I have to say, I am impressed with your choice," said Vasco Strada,

The last one in their group, Griselda Quarta, just nodded back with an expressionless face.

And as usual, the exorcists were also following their leader blindly. Looking at their appearance would make anyone feel as if Michael and his troupe came here to exorcise the whole city. Yes, they were using multiple high-level illusion magic to make them appear normal in front of ordinary humans. But why take these complex steps when you can simply wear the attire to match the surroundings to blend in? Could it be that they did not know the simple art of subtlety?

"Please, take a seat," August's words snapped him out of his trance.

As everyone sat down, Jiraiya noticed that Griselda was completely ignoring him. But he could not ponder on it as Michael spoke up, "I was hoping for your king to be here."

"I do apologize for this, but currently, he is occupied and cannot leave our Capital," August politely answered.

"So, you are telling us that whatever your king is doing right now is more important than meeting the first archangel and the leader of the Angels of the Heaven faction?" Griselda did not raise her voice at all, but her words were sharp as a holy sword.

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow in amusement. It seemed like she was acting as the bad cop of their team. And if his hunch were right, then Michael would be the one playing as the good cop. The classic 'Good cop and Bad cop' move might have worked against others, but unfortunately they were dealing with him.

"Please, do not take it the wrong way, but Lord Michael here is not the leader of the Heaven faction, now is he?" All three of them flinched. Seeing that, Jiraiya immediately followed up, "What I mean here is that both of our leaders are not here. But their right-hand men," Jiraiya then pointed at Michael first then at August, "are here. And I think that they are more than enough to carry on our discussion."