Chapter 35: Rosebell

Southern Helia,

West,

Rosebell family.

As part of the Magic Affiliated families that exists that functions like a mafia organization, one of their functions were so.

To serve as bodyguards for highly important people and places.

Elysium.

A grand, hotel-like structure boasting a hundred floors. Vast in size, with numerous facilities scattered throughout.

Just from the architecture alone, it was evident—this was a place reserved only for the privileged.

A single day's stay here could cost up to half a million RHN, this world's currency equivalent. And this place? It was merely one of the many bases where members of the Rosebell family operated.

As the daughter of the proud Rosebell family, she naturally had access to this place.

Arianna Rosebell.

"Good grief."

She muttered, standing in front of Elysium, exhaling elegantly before stepping toward the door.

Her family was stationed here—an order from the higher-ups, a show of goodwill toward their esteemed guests.

As she entered the spacious reception hall, the grandeur of the place stretched before her. Rows of chairs neatly arranged for guests, leading up to the reception desk positioned at the far end.

"Good day, Lady Arianna."

"Good day to you too. How's everything coming along?"

"Smoothly, my lady. Lord Rosebell is currently in the monitoring room. He instructed me to direct you to him upon your arrival."

Arianna nodded before making her way toward the monitoring room, stationed beneath the ground floor.

Important guests from various regions had been accommodated on floors 80 and above.

For those of utmost significance—those from the other side—they had been given exclusive lodgings on floors 98 and 99.

That alone was proof of their importance.

As for the regulars, a notice had been sent out beforehand. The meetings were scheduled to begin on the first day of the week, Monday, while the main event would take place on Friday.

'Of course, I'm also curious about the other side. However, I just want Monday to come as quickly as possible.'

Before this, it had come as a shock that she had even been selected for the team selections in their first year.

The student council president herself, Eira Seraville, had made the decision. Naturally, many first-year students supported it—especially after witnessing how well she could take command.

For Arianna, it was nothing short of an honor.

She had expected the team to be stacked with the Creed, yet surprisingly, out of the four, only two of them would be participating.

Starting Monday, their training would begin in earnest, lasting until Thursday. She was looking forward to it.

But now—

"Haah."

Standing before the elevator leading underground, she exhaled.

For some reason, the Affiliated had a fondness for building underground structures—just in case.

In fact, she had come to learn that they possessed numerous underground facilities, interconnected through an extensive network of hidden routes.

Of course, this was a secret to most. But for the Rosebell family? Not so much.

At the very least, high-ranking members of the family were well aware of it.

According to their hierarchy, the rankings began with the head of the family as first, followed by her mother as second, and herself as fourth.

Beyond the main family, authority was held by the Elder Council—a group of high-ranking individuals within the family.

Beneath them was a vast network of subordinates, all directly under the high-ranking members.

From a young age, heirs like Arianna had been exposed to this world.

This was nothing new to her.

As she stepped into the underground hallway leading to the monitoring room, there stood a massive steel door before her.

Beside the massive steel door was a control panel, an additional security measure in case of an outsider's presence.

In fact, if the control panel were to be destroyed, the entire underground facility would go into lockdown, unless someone with higher authority manually disabled the mechanism.

Placing her hand over the panel, the system recognized her, and the door parted open. She stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the glow of numerous screens lining the walls.

Rows of chairs and tables, each equipped with monitors, were stationed throughout the room, every screen actively monitoring the situation above.

And near the door, at the far end of the chamber, was…

"Ranking fourth in the prestigious Rosebell family, Arianna Rosebell greets the first-ranked head of the Rosebell family."

Upon entering, Arianna bowed toward the elevated seat in the center of the room. Seated there was him.

Hargreaves Rosebell.

A man with golden hair, just like hers. Despite being in his early forties, he appeared no older than his late twenties.

"Haah. My dear daughter, haven't I always told you to refer to me as 'dear father'? Must you persist with all these formalities?"

"Hehe~ But how can you say that? Isn't it the family's duty to show respect when in the presence of its head?"

As Arianna spoke, another voice chimed in from beside her father.

"Uhm… Lady Arianna, I am here as well…"

Blinking, she turned toward the source of the voice before offering a polite bow.

"Forgive me for that, Uncle."

Like the rest of their lineage, he too had blonde hair. However, unlike Hargreaves, he sported a mustache below his chin and bore slightly more mature features.

Ranking seventh in the Rosebell family hierarchy, additionally being the Head Elder.

Moretti Rosebell.

Amongst the Rosebells, he and Hargreaves were known as the demonic duo due to their iron grip, and how they ruled the family.

However, them being with themselves were like this, as one can see….

"Tch. Damn you! What have you fed my dear daughter? How is it that she calls you 'uncle' so easily, yet she barely calls me 'father'?"

"Hahaha! It just means Lady Arianna is closer to me."

Hargreaves shot Moretti a glare, but the latter merely laughed it off, unfazed. Even Arianna couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.

After all, with how serious they usually are with others, they can be quite comedic at times, like this, and she has come to appreciate this part of them.

"How are my dear cousins, by the way, Uncle?"

"Ahh, about that—they'll also be attending the event on Friday. Supposedly, they're coming to cheer you on."

At that moment, Hargreaves finally blinked in remembrance, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"That's right. You did mention you were participating… Perhaps I shouldn't have called you over."

"No, Father. I'm happy to be of assistance to you today as well."

Hearing that, Hargreaves gave a satisfied nod, while Moretti, standing behind him, simply shot him a mildly disgusted look.

"Isn't it about time you told the young miss why you called her?"

"Nn, that's right. Arianna."

The moment her father uttered her name, the atmosphere shifted.

It was something of an unspoken rule in their family, when he, the head, addressed any of them by name, it meant the matter was serious.

"As you know, the Affiliated have entrusted us with the security of our guests. That includes members of the vampire nobility, messengers from the Celestials, and various other important figures from Central and Eugrish."

"Since Sera is attending to other matters in Central, we're counting on you to act as a guide for the guests. Accompanying you will be Knight, one of the top-serving members of World Entropy."

Even the ever-composed Arianna couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise before quickly regaining her usual calm.

"Haah. What an assignment indeed, esteemed head. I shall fulfill your order to the best of my ability."

"W-Well, you don't have to be too tense about it. After all, the representatives for the vampires are…"

As he spoke, a holographic screen appeared before her, displaying two strikingly young individuals.

They looked every bit of extraordinary as they appeared.

However, for some reason, this just reminded her of four other extraordinary people she'd been attending school with.

"You don't seem too anxious, dear daughter."

"Anxious? Oh no. After everything I've seen lately, I doubt most things could faze me anymore."

In truth, over the past month, she had witnessed many things that left her astounded, though her expression rarely betrayed it.

Sakurai Furinaga, Ciaris, Chitose, and even Alfonso—whom she clowned on a regular basis—each of them was extraordinary in their own right.

Of course, there were others as well—like her classmates from B-Class.

Even though back then was was her first time leading them, they had followed her commands seamlessly, something she took great pride in.

"Seems like the young miss has changed quite a bit. Guess sending her to Yosen was the right call."

"Fufufu~ You two have no idea."

Hargreaves suddenly perked up at those words, as if sensing a threat.

"D-dear daughter, what do you mean by that?"

"Father doesn't need to know~"