There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 409 - 401. Broken Crown

Chapter 409: Chapter 401. Broken Crown

"Who is this girl?"

Senia stood up again, and yes, she was angry again. Who is this girl? Did this man just say he didn’t know her? Her? The Senia Azra? The Princess of Celestia?

She wondered for a second whether the guide did it just out of spite, but the genuine cluelessness in that annoyingly pretty face told her this man really had no idea who she was.

And that felt even worse.

"Ah, don’t feel too bad," Radia said from his chair. "Luzein doesn’t even remember your former boss’s name. He just can’t remember people he deemed insignificant."

Senia felt the tip of her fingers tremble. The only time she was deemed insignificant was in the past she had buried--along with her half-sisters.

Zein, who was walking toward the couch to take a seat there, asked nonchalantly. "So who is this?" he asked genuinely.

Radia had shown the girl’s face in the call earlier, but honestly, Zein couldn’t remember the face. Not that he was good at remembering in the first place. Radia also didn’t say who she was during the call, just that he should come there if he could.

"Who’s the ex-boss?"

"The one you had fun slapping the other day," Bassena replied with a shrug, sitting down on the armrest of Zein’s chair.

"Which one?" he slapped quite a few people in his life, along with slamming people’s heads and stabbing them. But...if it was someone he slapped a lot lately, there was one that came to his mind. "Ah, that Var-whatever guy? Celestia’s former guildmaster?"

"Yep."

At that point, Senia felt like she had entered a different world, because...which part of the world didn’t know the name Varion Belthera or Senia Azra? She was one of the top female espers, and she was part of the biggest guild in the nation. Even civilians knew her name, much more those involved in the sentinel community!

She refused to believe that someone could be this ignorant!

Zein tilted his head and observed the fuming girl. This was someone who didn’t even know who Bassena Vaski was, so this girl was really wasting her time getting angry. "Hmm...I feel like I saw her once?"

"That time when I brought you to the recording studio in the Capital," Bassena reminded him.

"Ah!" Zein nodded then. "The weird girl."

"We-weird?!"

It had been a while since Senia was red all over from anger. Not only did this guide deem her insignificant, but he also thought she was weird?

"You came to me and suddenly just talked nonstop, so how else should I think of you?" Zein shrugged. "I don’t remember what you said, but I do remember finding out how you people treated your guide."

And after a few searches on Celestia, Zein had every reason to loathe the guild. It was a bit weird saying that when he basically owned a part of it, but his displeasure was rightly placed; because it was Varion’s faction that made the guide’s treatment became even worse in an already subpar environment.

"Well, it doesn’t matter who she is," Zein shrugged. "But what is she doing here?"

Radia answered before sipping on his tea. "She said she came to offer some help."

Zein’s reaction was almost identical to Bassena’s. "Do we need help?" he crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly.

"Not really,"

Well, of course, additional manpower never hurt in a raid. But they had planned everything so that they were ready in every aspect, pulling manpower by contracting mercenaries. They wouldn’t get chosen if they were lacking manpower in the first place.

"Even if we do," Bassena narrowed his constricting eyes as he stared down the angry girl. "Why would we accept someone who worked for the man who tried to harm us?"

"He’s being brainwashed!" Senia argued loudly, which only elicited a sneer from Bassena.

"How naive," the Saint-class scoffed. "You can’t even figure out that he only said that so he wouldn’t get punished alongside the Horins? You really think all of his bad deeds are caused by brainwashing?"

Senia opened her mouth, seemingly going to argue. But Bassena swiftly intercepted before she could say anything.

"No, even without that, you know he’s an asshole. If you still deny it, then it’s because you’re the same kind of asshole as he is."

Senia bit her trembling lips. Was Varion an asshole? Of course, he was. Senia knew it. He was just like those people who used to trample on them. But he could do it because he was strong--at least he was before--and she could do it too because she became strong.

So what if she was an asshole because of it? It was the law of this world for the strong to do whatever they wanted to the weak. It was the weak’s fault to be weak and couldn’t do anything in return!

She could do it, becoming strong after being trampled. Why couldn’t the other?!

At this point, looking at this guest who was trembling in anger, they seemed like a group of older men trying to bully a girl. Even though their words were justified, it didn’t give out a nice picture.

Zein glanced at his lover, who seemed to be unexpectedly hostile today--which was weird, because he recalled the esper having a different view about her before. "Bas, didn’t you say you pity her, before?"

Yeah...Bassena had said that Senia was just a product of wrong grooming in the end. She was shaped into this by the accursed training model that the Golden Viper and the Horins created.

But of course, not everyone who went through the training thought what they were taught was wrong. Hearing something like ’pity’ was such an incredulous thing for the Princess. "What?!" she glared at the Serpent Lord despite still feeling afraid.

"That’s before that bastard Varion kidnapped you," Bassena clicked his tongue and answered while ignoring the subject of the conversation. "My grace is as limited as Radia’s generosity."

"Heh," Radia chuckled from the side, just watching the scene unfold.

Senia fumed and released a wave of mana as if to show them that she was strong enough to take them on. "What the fuck? I don’t need your pity!"

"Hey, be honest," Bassena swatted his hand and the wave of mana easily dispersed before they could reach him and Zein. "Why are you here? Are you just that stupid and ignorant that you think you can just come to the place where you have been antagonized and think we will accept you?" he shook his head exasperatedly.

"You will if you’re not stupid!" the frustrated girl stomped her feet like a tantrum child. Well, at least in Zein’s and Radia’s eyes, Senia was just a child--like Han Shin or Zein’s troop of little chicks. She kept pushing what she wanted without even trying to negotiate or reasoning with them. "You need people anyway!"

"I told you we’re not!" Bassena groaned, unconsciously turning to how he acted when he was arguing with Han Shin. "No one is stupid enough to put a thorn in their blanket. Who’s to say you’re not here to sabotage us?"

"Agh! I told you I’m here to help!"

Zein leaned back and let out a sigh, so Radia finally decided to intercept. "No," he said, prompting the girl to focus on him rather than Bassena. "You’re here to fix your reputation."

The corner of Senia’s eyes twitched, and Radia continued calmly with a smile.

"People said the members of Varion’s faction felt one by one, but do you think we’re that naive?" the summoner raised his brow slightly. "You have not left the guild," he locked the girl in place with his stare. "You were chased out."

Senia clenched her jaw, recalling how he heard people talking shit about her and lashing out about it, injuring those people. Of course, it wasn’t her first time doing that, but she forgot that Varion was no longer the guildmaster, and people were no longer willing to tolerate her bad behavior. By Celestia’s rules, she was expelled from the guild for deliberately harming her guildmates.

But...it happened only two days ago, and everything was kept secret because both Celestia and the people they chased out didn’t want to mutually destroy their reputation further.

"Your face seems to wonder how we know, but it’s not like it’s hard to guess. Besides..." Radia smirked. "The major shareholder has the right to know about the guild’s internal situation."

"...what?" it took her a while to digest what Radia had just said. "What are you talking about? Who’s--" she paused as she felt like it was a stupid question, with Radia Mallarc sitting in front of her. "You?!"

"No," Radia chuckled and didn’t say anything more. So Senia looked at Bassena, but the Saint-class’s gaze was on his guide instead, prompting her eyes to widen. "I told you, it’s not me who will decide this."

Of course, Radia also had his money there. However, the cooperation was strictly bound by contract, and Iron Shield still had the bigger percentage in stakes.

Senia, who realized that Zein loathed espers who did not treat guide well, felt her nape grow cold. The blue eyes seemed to turn into ice; a silently furious blizzard.

"I’m not sure," the guide said dryly, as if he was never interested in the topic in the first place. "Our advance troop relied heavily on the presence of guides, so I don’t feel too good having someone with a rotten view of guides coming along."

It wasn’t an unexpected response. Even Senia knew that. She did not necessarily think that how she treated guides was wrong, but she also knew a lot of guides didn’t like her. Well, they were just part of the weak in her eyes.

That being said, Radia didn’t think they needed to waste this unexpected opportunity to gain a reserve force. Senia, after all, was a damage-dealing five-star esper. In firepower, she was slightly better than Ashur Iddina--although their experience and leadership were night and day.

They just need to condition her.

"Hmm..." Radia tapped on his armrest. "What about testing her first?"

"What?!" Senia and Bassena exclaimed at the same time.

"You can also--how should I say this..." Radia glanced at Zein, the crimson eyes gleamed slightly. "Educate her?"

"...ah,"

"W-what?"

Senia frowned at the suspicious exchange between the summoner and the guide, but Radia just looked at her and asked with a smirk.

"How about it?" the smile on the summoner’s face was nothing less than a mocking challenge. "We might consider it if you passed our test."

Senia felt her whole body tremble in anger. The memory of being humiliatingly fired from Celestia came flooding her mind.

"Hmph--bring it on!" she hissed and glared at them. "Test or whatever, I’ll pass them all! I’ll make sure you’re the stupid one!"

And when they finally realized how great she was and got excited to have her join them, she would make sure they groveled on her feet and begged first.

But the crimson eyes just curled slyly.

"Oh, really?"