Chapter 32: My Pitch

Worth it!

This guy was worth all the hype.

I could tell just by seeing his eyes.

Those dead eyes, without a ripple of emotion in them. In many ways, he was similar to what I was on Earth.

That was what I felt when looking at those greenish-blue eyes.

"Greetings, my friend! The name’s Kael."

I smiled at him.

No handshakes.

It wasn’t like Alfred would reciprocate. Why damage my ego?

"Friend?"

Alfred questioned in the same indifferent tone.

It was like talking to a robot, the same monotonous voice.

"Soon-to-be friend, if our talks go well."

I tried to portray my best self.

Here, I wasn’t the head of D.X.

I was here as a representative, so there was no need to be cold and distant.

I prefer practicality. Alfred looked at me for a second and then turned his gaze toward the other members of my team.

His eyes stopped at Arthur for a brief moment. "A peak Immortal."

He didn’t seem impressed, just stating the facts.

Even Arthur was taken aback by Alfred’s nonchalance. It was not every day that one saw a peak Immortal at their doors.

It was like being in front of a god for mere mortals with low cultivation.

But Alfred, despite being weak in personal power, didn’t show a hint of fear.

Not that I expected him to be scared. On the contrary, it would have surprised me if this guy had been scared in the first place.

"I must appreciate your skills in keeping your base hidden from the authorities for such a long time."

Giving him an amusing look, I continued.

"Your main base, I mean. Or should I say the headquarters of Lonatu?"

Alfred didn’t reply.

He looked at the ceiling, inspecting the intensity of the light being emitted.

"The base was never hidden."

Huh.

"It’s just that my enemies are incompetent."

He paused as his eyes focused on me again.

"Can’t blame them either for being born with marbles for brains."

That...

Can’t be called a lie, can it?

"So what brings you here, Kael... Frost?"

Straight to the point, huh.

I walked toward the table where No. 1 stood, giving him a brief glance before leaning on the table with my hands crossed.

"Nothing much. Seeing your potential, my boss sent me to recruit you."

"Boss?"

Alfred asked as his head turned toward Arthur. He must have assumed Arthur was the leader of my group.

"Ah. I didn’t give a proper introduction, did I?"

Alfred waited for me to speak.

"We are the members of D.X., a sort of hidden organization. You might not know about us, as we have just decided to spread our presence in the world.

As for our motive, you could call us the protectors of villains like... you."

I pointed my index finger at Alfred.

Still, there wasn’t a single change in his expression.

This was getting a little boring.

"You see, this world is filled with hypocrites—people who love their positions of power. To keep their status as rulers, they subject everyone to follow their rules and laws in the name of justice and what they call maintaining social order."

I had to make some righteous impression of our motive, though it didn’t exist aside from fulfilling my own benefits.

I mean, this is how you make a pitch...

Right?

"You have experienced it yourself, didn’t you? A normal scientist wanting to learn more about our world, but stopped from doing so just because some people couldn’t approve of his methods."

I continued in a dramatic mode, my words filled with emotion—or something resembling emotion.

"You and people like you have been hunted for ages, punished for crimes that never existed."

I knew saying these things wouldn’t leave much impression on Arthur. Still, I had to begin my pitch with some spicy intro.

"Hic... snff... snfff."

Huh.

I could hear someone sniffing behind me.

When I turned to look, the sight was... disturbing.

No. 1 was crying his eyes out, wiping the tears with the sleeves of his coat.

This was an unexpected effect.

Am I that talented?

Just a few words from me could make someone cry their heart out!

Damn! I should have become a motivational speaker.

Did I make the wrong career choice?

Well... blessing in disguise.

I made my way toward the crying fucker—cough—No. 1 and put my hand around his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I ask—what’s so wrong in researching? Had you committed any crime?"

I pressed my hand with greater force, making No. 1 look into my eyes.

"No. You did what every curious child does to satisfy his cravings—curiosity, I mean."

Fuu.

"Is experimenting on a few people wrong if it leads to the collective development of the world? Doesn’t matter if those few people were a few million...

At the end of the day, those are just... numbers."

I kept a straight face.

I might have looked like a lunatic saying these things.

As I quickly swept my gaze across the room, I could see the expressions worn by my supposed teammates.

Julien had resigned himself to my determined pitch, and Arthur... well, his reaction wasn’t so bad.

As for my other soldiers, they—

Huh!

Why were they hiding their faces? Did something happen?

Strange.

"Was it wrong for you to dissect living people and study their bodies?

No, it wasn’t."

I had to continue my... pitch.

"You created hybrids out of the living bodies of various races. That was just gros—good.

The process doesn’t matter; the results matter.

A wise man once said...

Um, he said many things, and I agree with him. None of you were ever wrong."

I puffed my chest a little, showing how disgu—proud I was of the achievements of my soon-to-be dog—paw—allies.

"And guess what? My boss has recognized your immense devotion..."

I sounded like a priest, preaching to my subjects.

The only difference being it looked less holy and more like some cult...

I really hoped to sustain my sanity.

My script continued, hoping I wouldn’t become a lunatic like them.

I wouldn’t, right?