After greeting and shaking hands with Aiwass, Arlen turned his attention to Lily, who stood behind Aiwass: "I presume this lady must be Miss Lily? Are you also joining our club?"
Lily gave a small utterance of surprise, not quite understanding. Nonetheless, she politely returned Arlen's gesture with a curtsy.
Aiwass suddenly realized why Arlen was being so polite to him and Lily.
To confirm his thoughts, Aiwass asked on her behalf, "Do you know Lily as well?"
"Of course. The matter of Princess Isabel entertaining the two of you last night, I believe, has already spread throughout the entire Royal Capital."
The corners of Arlen's mouth rarely curved upward, but he displayed a faint, albeit not-so-obvious smile on his otherwise stern face: "I remember that banquet was attended by Master Yanis… After which, the Princess handed over the keys to 14 Roning Street to you."
He apparently smiled so seldom that his rare attempt seemed unusually stiff, making his otherwise handsome face look exaggerated and somewhat comical at this moment.
Lily couldn't help but think of the old butler Oswald—his smile was just as rigid and terrifying—so she involuntarily raised the edges of her mouth. Had she not pursed her lips, she would have laughed out loud.
Angela, on hearing this, looked at Aiwass with surprise, then turned her gaze to Isabel.
It was as if she suddenly came to a realization, having an epiphany.
Angela reached out and gently pulled at Aiden's sleeve. After being tugged twice, Aiden finally reacted, but he hesitated for a moment as he glanced at Aiwass before silently shaking his head at her.
The blue-haired girl glared at him in frustration, and tugged at his sleeve again. Yet, Aiden remained unresponsive.
Anyway, they had already told President Arlen that they were the ones who introduced them…
Thinking so, Angela simply took the other person and left ahead of time. She couldn't wait to share the juicy gossip she had just heard with her classmates—no wonder Princess Isabel came to find Aiwass specifically!
Only Aiden was left waiting on the spot, somewhat out of step with the social atmosphere of the group, because only he indeed had something for which he needed Aiwass's help.
Isabel, who had been pondering deeply to the side, finally remembered Arlen's identity: "I've seen you before… you are Carter's son."
"Yes, Your Highness," Arlen responded, somewhat surprised that Isabel recognized him, but he replied respectfully: "The last time I saw you was about ten years ago. Your memory is still as outstanding as ever."
"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Arlen."
Isabel also used "Mr." to address his status.
She then leaned in and whispered to Aiwass, "He is the Minister of Justice's son, he should know about us… and the painting."
No wonder he knew both me and Lily, and no wonder he addressed me as "Mr." instead of "classmate," Aiwass thought.
Or perhaps, Arlen didn't actually recognize Lily the person. But he knew that the personal maid Aiwass brought to the royal banquet was named Lily.
…But then again, our relationship isn't really shameful, is it? There's no need to whisper so quietly…
While they were whispering, President Arlen directly opened a drawer and handed out three badges, placing them on the countertop. He didn't make direct contact with Aiwass and the others but kept a distance.
"The membership papers for the three of you will be handled later. There's also no rush for the membership fees, I will send you the invoice along with the member's booklet to your residence later. Please feel free to find a seat."
Arlen smiled, displaying a friendly smile, and said smoothly, "If you want something to drink, you can order it here. We will have someone bring it over shortly—here is the drink menu, and here is the snack menu. There are also copies on the tables and in the private rooms on the second floor, and if you have any new requests, you can mention them to the students delivering the meals. These items are free, included in the annual membership fee. Please help yourself to anything, don't be shy."
"Also, if you see any advertisements or flyers on the tables, please don't mind them. We don't prohibit members from personal promotions."
This weak and powerless Half-Elf President clearly had a good sense of propriety.
His style was decisively different from that of Hayna, who was also a leader.
He knew that Aiwass and Isabel's sudden addition to the White Ballet Shoes Club must have been at someone's invitation or for a specific purpose. Therefore, Arlen didn't come over to ingratiate himself or inquire about their business.
Instead, he tried to save their time by planning to skip all unnecessary procedures as a gesture of goodwill, and he didn't pry into their reasons for being there, thereby maintaining a comfortable and safe social distance.
Such a way of handling things indeed made people feel more at ease. Even Isabel, who was exceptionally sensitive, didn't react strongly due to this.
Isabel walked over, picked up the three badges from the table, and handed them to Aiwass and Lily respectively.
Arlen explained, "These badges are proof of our membership. You can wear them when you come here and no one will stop you. They are also a piece of Extraordinary Equipment that can prevent you from getting hurt or dirtying your clothes if you accidentally slip and fall."
The badge looked pretty; it was made of white crystal.
It was a sleek and tall inverted isosceles triangle resembling an elongated and somewhat rectangular inverted teardrop. On its surface were shallow, crisscrossing indentations like a net.
It looked a bit like the marks seared onto a steak.
…So we just received the official member badges, huh?
Aiwass unassumingly accepted it.
Suddenly, a screen of light emerged before him:
[Crystal Ballet Shoes]
[Extraordinary Accessory (Blue)]
[Accessories - Badge]
[Spell: Regain Composure (Once per day, 1/1)]
[Instantaneous, Touch, Immediate Effect]
["——I might save you once when you occasionally stumble, but if you fall, there's nothing I can do."]
Although the spell was of little significance to Aiwass, who was now wheelchair racing every day, it was a good thing for both Lily and Isabel.
In the game, it was the accessory for the "badge" slot that players could most easily obtain during the early quest sequences.
Badge-slot equipment was extremely rare and typically served as proof of membership in a Transcendent organization.
Compared to rings, necklaces, and bracelets, badges had one major drawback—they did not directly touch the skin.
This meant that the wearer had to touch the badge with their fingers to activate the stored spell, which was much more troublesome than using a ring.
Because it wasn't convenient to channel mana into it, a badge could usually only store a small amount of mana points, just enough for an instant charge to release the spell. And with such a design constraint, the effect was bound to be lackluster.
The main significance of these complicated, costly, and weakly effective extraordinary equipments lay in the increased cost they imposed on those who might attempt to counterfeit them.
Not all badges that served as organizational proof of membership were designed to be worn openly. For example, the Noble Red Society's symbol was a more concealed, practical, and user-friendly ring.
Under the influence of the Path of Balance, only one of each type of equipment could be worn at a time. Therefore, a practical badge was even rarer.
Organizations like the White Ballet Shoes Club required players to raise their reputation to Friendly to unlock the reputation shop to buy it. Many players, even at levels thirty or forty, could only use the "Crystal Ballet Shoes."
That's because the badges that dropped in dungeons were usually even less useful than this one.
The "Regain Composure" spell was a rudimentary Law Magic from the Path of Authority and was a very practical low-level spell, the kind that was almost a pity to give to a Legal Mage. Its effect was to immediately dispel external forces and recover balance in states of imbalance, staggering, or falling, enabling the wearer to quickly regain normal posture.
For instance, it could save your life or even turn the tables in the moment you are thrown over someone's shoulder, step on something slippery, or lose balance from a failed block.
It was a very classic and practical free anti-control equipment in the MMO, although it could only dispel soft control.
The message attached to this badge was also quite meaningful.
It seemed to speak about the equipment... but also hinted at the nature of the White Ballet Shoes Club itself.
The club looked like an alumni association, but in reality it was a political association with a rather loose structure.
If you caused a bit of trouble, everyone could help you out conveniently and share some resources; but if a major issue occurred, the club would definitely not help you.
——They issued this disclaimer when you joined.
Seeing Aiwass, Arlen, and Hayna finally complete the process and successfully join the club, Aiden breathed a sigh of relief.
"Please come with me, Aiwass... it's a favor!"
He earnestly pleaded with his hands clasped together, "She should be on the second floor... Just like we talked about on the way here, please help me explain! Thank you, Aiwass! I won't lie to you, I forgot everything you told me this morning after the afternoon classes!"
Aiden had already explained what had happened on his end while they were rushing over after class.
Although his classmates unanimously ridiculed him for his desperate request for outside help, they also blessed him for "finally finding someone he liked."
Isabel was also hesitant because she wanted to go with Aiwass as well, but she wasn't sure if she would be a nuisance.
Taking a princess who might die at any moment to meet a stranger she had never seen before was admittedly a lot of pressure.
"You better stay here," Aiwass said gently, "I'll help Aiden with his love troubles first..."
Mainly, he wanted to see what kind of troublesome woman Aiden had gotten involved with this time, whether it was the one he remembered.
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Isabel also breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.
Interacting with strangers was quite difficult for her too.
But just as they were preparing to go their separate ways for a while, the exclamations of the crowd and the sudden halt of a violin's music abruptly interrupted their conversation, making them all look over at once.
They saw someone struggling and falling from beside the railing on the second floor.
It wasn't a student close in age to Aiwass and the others, but rather a middle-aged man holding documents, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and with a partially bald head.
The man fell heavily, but didn't cry out. His body made a dull noise upon hitting the ground, and the papers in his hands scattered like snowflakes.
Though it was only the second floor, the man only made a soft moan, convulsed violently a few times, and then lay still. Black blood slowly spilled from his mouth and nose, and a small, very thin, dark golden dagger was embedded in his back.
That thing looked more like a needle than a dagger. It was about the size of the file on a nail clipper and did not even have a handle.
It effortlessly pierced through the clothes and inserted into the back of the dead middle-aged man.
Aiwass frowned and quickly looked up to the second floor, but he saw no one suspicious.
This was a plot development that had never appeared in his memories from a previous life.
And the key question was... what had Aiwass done to cause the storyline here to change?