Chapter 118: Agreements for the Future

"...So you’re one of the members of the [Research and Development Team] on Aurora Island? That’s really impressive!" Charlotte praises a man with brown hair and deeply black eyes.

He has a physique slightly larger than Charlotte’s and is wearing an elegant black suit. Charlotte has already been talking to him for a few minutes and has finally managed to get the attention she wanted.

"You actually seem genuinely interested, a little different from the other girls who only flatter me. Not that you aren’t flattering me too... My name is Ryan, and you?" Charlotte successfully manages to get the attention of an important person and takes a deep breath so she won’t say anything stupid.

"Ryan? That’s a great name. I’m Charlotte. I’m currently a student at the academy," Charlotte says with a sweet smile on her face.

"Charlotte, then... What is an academy student doing here? The party isn’t open to minors."

"Oh, no. I’m in my final year of college. I’m nineteen." Charlotte is the youngest among Zenith’s six students. The others are all currently twenty or a little older.

"So you’re going into the military. Let me guess, you’re interested in making connections? That’s smart. Most students leave completely unprepared." Charlotte really manages to capture Ryan’s focus. He obviously knows what she wants, but he thinks her approach is a good one, so he gives her some room to work with.

"Hahaha, yes, you’re absolutely right. I’m in the academy’s special class." Charlotte speaks of her position as if she were a product displayed in a shop window.

"Are you referring to the promising talents? The academy director keeps information about them well-hidden, so this is really interesting. What’s your power?"

"Hmmm... A little bold, don’t you think? You’re not even going to offer me a drink first?"

"Hahaha, you’re right." He laughs, enjoying Charlotte’s attitude.

"Since your powers aren’t exactly a good topic for the moment, how about you tell me about who brought you here?" He changes the subject politely.

"Sounds good, Ryan, but I think I should know what you do first, don’t you?"

"You’re right. As a member of the [Research and Development Team], I mainly work in the development division. Some of the weapons being auctioned at this party have passed through my hands."

"Oh, so that’s what is being sold at the auction." Charlotte becomes quite interested in learning more, realizing that Ryan is more important than he initially seemed.

"And you? Your turn, don’t you think? I mainly came here to see how much people value my work."

"I came thanks to my teacher. She brought me here so I could make some connections with people like you."

"..." Ryan becomes thoughtful, then takes his phone out of his clothes.

"You have a good teacher. Want my contact information?" Charlotte smiles as she takes out her phone and gives Ryan her number. He gives her his in return, successfully becoming the first person who could potentially build a bridge for her to rise within the military.

"Once you graduate, give me a call. It seems interesting to keep in touch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to a few more people, if you don’t mind." Ryan gently takes Charlotte’s hand and gives the back of it a light, polite kiss.

He begins to leave, not necessarily offering Charlotte anything, but she managed to catch his attention, so Ryan will look into her a little more. And if she is genuinely interesting to him, one of two things may happen: either he contacts her, or he accepts her contact later on.

Nothing confirmed, nothing official, but a real opportunity, and Charlotte is happy that she managed to make her first genuine connection with someone powerful.

’It’s not perfect, and I was hoping I’d get something right away, but it’s not bad that I managed to get the attention of someone so important... But I should attract even more attention...’ Charlotte doesn’t know how she could possibly be interesting to so many people, so she takes a glass of wine and becomes lost in thought.

"..." She spends the entire night analyzing other people as they talk and notices three patterns. First, people who openly offer themselves don’t get anything. Everyone at the party has so much power that they don’t care about someone’s beauty or hints about intimacy behind closed doors.

She also realizes that most powerful people never initiate contact with someone who is "lower" in the hierarchy. Instead, they either wait for someone else to approach them, or they make contact with someone who ranks higher.

So no one is going to actively try to make contact with Charlotte. She is the one who has to chase every opportunity. And finally, she notices that people’s interests vary greatly.

Ryan is someone she observes for an entire hour, and she sees that he refuses to talk to any girl who seems too forward, but he communicates and exchanges contact information with any girl or man whose position is connected to the field of technology in some way.

’Hmmm... There isn’t much interesting that I can offer right now. I wasn’t prepared for how all of this works... I wonder how Professor Zenith is doing...’ Charlotte gently swirls her wine glass and takes a small sip, not wanting to get drunk, so she avoids drinking too much.

’I should take advantage of this and get at least one more contact...’ Charlotte looks around, searching for someone she has also been observing, someone who is free and whom she might be able to get the attention of.

’I think that woman... She looks pretty important!’ She walks a little faster toward a woman who is drinking wine a short distance away from the others.

"Great night, don’t you think?" Charlotte approaches in a somewhat neutral manner as the woman looks her up and down.

"No."

"Huh?"

"Just no. I really need to be alone right now, so I have zero interest in talking. I hope you understand, young lady."

"...Oh, of course... I understand that you want to be alone, but I didn’t come over to talk about business or anything like that. I just wanted to let you know that... the hem of your skirt is a little loose." Charlotte immediately changes her approach, avoiding the subject of business.

"Oh? Ah... yes. I’m sorry about my attitude. I hadn’t noticed. Thank you for letting me know." The woman apologizes as she touches the hem of her dress and adjusts it. Charlotte holds back a sigh of relief at noticing it so quickly and managing to change the subject.

"No problem. There are so many important people gathered here. I can understand that it must be pretty exhausting in some ways." Charlotte speaks in a way that makes her seem kind and attentive.

"Indeed. It’s great to be able to see so many important people, but it’s also a little exhausting. So many people keep coming up to me... It gets a little invasive. I just wanted to enjoy the party for a while and forget about work, but everyone only talks about work."

’Bingo!! She must have a very important position in society...’

"How about coming with me to the garden? Getting some fresh air might be nice... hmmm... But I’m sorry I don’t have much time. My teacher should be coming to pick me up soon, so I might have to leave you alone." Charlotte uses the full extent of her ability to manipulate.

She tries to get this woman to go with her while implying that she isn’t looking for any kind of negotiation by saying that she will have to leave soon.

"I think that could be nice. The party isn’t really that interesting over here anymore." Charlotte gives a signal to the maid who had been following her to stay behind as she begins walking toward the garden with the woman.

"I think we should introduce ourselves, don’t you? I’m Charlotte. Since I’m a student, I’m here with my teacher. She’s pretty nice to invite me." Her tone is casual as she speaks to the woman.

"I’m Myller Castanhele..." Myller introduces herself as Charlotte takes a brief look at her. She is a woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes.

She is wearing a light gold-and-black dress with a more casual and relaxed style. Although the dress doesn’t look particularly expensive, her discreet jewelry appears absurdly costly. Charlotte has seen some of those pieces appear at auctions on television.

"Lady Myller, then?"

"You don’t have to be so formal. I’ve heard ’Lady’ enough today, so just call me Myller since we’re alone."

"You can just call me Charlotte—" Charlotte stops speaking when she hears the sound of a phone. Myller stops walking, takes out the device, and makes a worried expression.

"Sorry, Charlotte, but I’ll have to leave. I won’t be able to go to the garden with you. I need to get home immediately." Charlotte watches her opportunity slip away.

"I... I can take you there. I’m an academy student, and I can teleport." Charlotte speaks quickly, trying to get Myller’s contact information.

"Teleportation?... The Kairas’ powers really are incredible... Do you think you can take me there from here?" Myller shows her a location on the map, a gated neighborhood filled with mansions.

"Of course. I can take you there immediately."

"...That’s perfect. Could you help me with this? What do you want in return?"

"...Nothing. You don’t need to give me anything... Anything to help someone in need." Charlotte bites her lip. She wants to ask for several things, one of them being contact information, but she would rather not ruin the image she is building.

"Just step inside here, and from what I can see on the map, we’ll appear right in front of your house." Charlotte opens a rift in space.

"I’ll go in first, in case you don’t trust me." Charlotte steps into the rift, and when she appears in front of the mansion, she lets out a sigh. She waits a little while until a maid steps out through the rift.

"...I—" Charlotte tries to speak, but the maid ignores her, stepping into the rift and returning. Then Myller appears through the rift.

"Thank you very much, young lady. My daughter really needed to see me. Unfortunately, I don’t know how I can repay you for this right now, so take my contact information. We can talk more later. I will definitely repay you." She hands Charlotte a card and immediately enters the mansion as the gates open, several servants coming over to speak with her while she hurries inside.

"...Heh... I guess that’s it..." Charlotte returns to the party, looking at the card. She gives a small, confident smile.

"I should thank Professor Zenith later."