Chapter 1429: Gathering (Part 2)

“Ah!!!”

“Ah… wait, why are you shouting!”

Lorenzo rolled on the ground, extending a foot from under the blanket and kicking Red Falcon hard in the face.

“It’s cold!”

Red Falcon didn’t care about fighting with Lorenzo anymore. Wrapped in a blanket, he ran barefoot on the snow, hopping as if stepping on lava.

“You fool!”

Lorenzo completely ignored Eve and Selyu standing by, his blanket fluttered as a bare figure dashed out, tackling the escaping Red Falcon.

“Lorenzo!”

Red Falcon screamed, but was powerless against Lorenzo’s aggression. With his extraordinary Demon Hunter strength, Lorenzo stomped on the fallen Red Falcon and pulled the blanket off him.

“Ah… this…”

Eve’s expression was frozen. She wanted to say something but couldn’t, raising and lowering her hand hesitantly.

Selyu’s icy face slightly softened. Even the coldest person couldn’t maintain their calm upon witnessing such a ridiculous scene, let alone seeing them in flowery shorts.

“Open the door!”

Lorenzo beat Red Falcon to the door, pounding on it forcefully, yet the mansion’s door remained tightly shut, as if unwelcome to Lorenzo.

Red Falcon climbed up behind him, and despite Old Dunling’s cold, he had a runny nose and snow-covered hair. He reached for Lorenzo’s discarded blanket, shaking off the snow, using it for minimal warmth.

The old butler hurried them, giving no time to change clothes. They were dragged onto the carriage in “vacation” mode. Fortunately, Lorenzo had insisted on wearing some clothes at home, or they’d be without underwear now.

“Lorenzo! You fool!”

Red Falcon scrambled up like a corpse from a snow pile, lurching at Lorenzo. At this point, Selyu had enough of the farce and coughed, finally drawing attention to the girl hidden in the snowstorm.

“Hey, good morning!”

Leaning on the door with one hand, Lorenzo struck a graceful pose under the dim sky. The wind whipped his blanket and reddened his snow-stamped feet.

Red Falcon’s gaze was slightly dazed. He looked at Selyu and then Eve, shyly tightening the blanket around him as his throat trembled, producing a whimpering sound.

“Lorenzo! I’ll kill you!”

Red Falcon’s sanity collapsed.

…

“So these two guys just came over like this?”

“It’s no surprise Lorenzo would do this, but why’s Red Falcon going crazy with him.”

“Did living with Lorenzo for so long do this? It’s only been a few days and he’s assimilated like this…”

Whispers echoed from the small space, reverberating back and forth.

“This feels just like home.”

Lorenzo, wrapped in a blanket that outlined his body’s curves, sank into the sofa, facing the burning fireplace. Red Falcon sat similarly nearby.

Everything felt so familiar; if the room were dimmer and those odd guests gone, Lorenzo might think it was his office and he hadn’t left.

“Hey! Red Falcon, dead yet?”

Just like at home, Lorenzo familiarly kicked the sofa next to him. But this time there was silence as Red Falcon buried himself in the fuzz, resembling a large fuzzball. If not for its slight rise and fall, one might think he was dead.

In a way, Red Falcon indeed was dead.

“You need to be more open-minded about this, we’re all friends here, friends should meet earnestly.”

Lorenzo extended his arm, trying to fish Red Falcon out of the fuzz.

“Even if there are strangers, so what? Think of it this way, maybe it’s the first and last time these strangers see you. Rounding up, they haven’t even seen you; you’re just a passing guest in their lives.”

Lorenzo used his peculiar worldview to enlighten Red Falcon.

“See, thinking like that, doesn’t it feel much easier?”

“So you always tackle these spooky things with this mindset?”

Bola approached, having been invited too.

“What’s wrong with that mindset? Isn’t it reasonable enough?”

Lorenzo retorted.

“After all, strangers are just strangers; why care about their opinions of me? As for friends, they know me well, so whatever odd things I do, they’d understand, right?”

Bola’s expression twitched slightly. It seemed like Lorenzo explained a lot, yet explained nothing.

“Are you just using these twisted logics to rationalize your behavior?”

Another voice chimed in; Heracles had come over, as Selyu invited many, mostly familiar to Lorenzo.

“Where’s Polo?”

Lorenzo deliberately shifted the topic, looking at Heracles as he pursued the furry little creature.

Heracles’ coat squirmed; Bola’s head peeked from the collar, glanced at Lorenzo, then ducked back.

“Warm, right?”

Lorenzo rubbed his hands with eager anticipation.

“It’s warm, these little animals are meant for fur; their pelts are dense and thick,” Heracles explained.

Lorenzo turned, propping on the chairback, observing the people indoors. Contrary to his imagined banquet, due to space limitations, Stuart’s mansion offered only this area for them.

Without culinary delights or fine wines, everyone sat in corners, conversing and awaiting the host’s arrival.

Lorenzo waved to them, spotting Shao Liangxi and Shao Liangye, with Rod standing awkwardly nearby. Shao Liangxi’s tinkling laughter turned Rod’s face redder with increasing unease.

“Where’s Selyu?”

Blue Jade asked, she had convened these people, yet the host vanished after bringing Lorenzo inside.

It’s nothing really; they were all familiar, like a private get-together. Add a long table and feast, it would resemble Divine Birthday.

“Don’t know.”

Lorenzo shook his head, unsure where Selyu went.

He wanted to question the old butler in the corner but refrained upon seeing his anger-controlling expression.

The intrusion of these people and their peculiar gathering surely challenged the irascible butler’s patience.

“Want a drink, Lorenzo?”

The attendant rolled in a cart; Eve picked an antique wine bottle from it, a rare treasure amidst Stewart’s scarcity.

“No, no, no, I want the expensive stuff.”

Lorenzo, wrapped in the blanket, strode up, eyeing the old butler while reaching into the wine bottle array, causing his worsening expression to deepen Lorenzo’s delight.

Just as Lorenzo feared the butler might draw a gun, he stopped, extracting a chilly bottle of wine.

“This one!”

The butler’s face turned dour; he couldn’t stand Lorenzo anymore, exiting promptly, leaving the bemused crowd and grinning Lorenzo.

Beside him, Eve sighed, vaguely grasping Lorenzo’s notion and finding him slightly nuts. But imagining it, she thought it nice; compared to cruel, bloody, and brutal, this version of Lorenzo was far preferable.

“So why have this ‘banquet’?”

Lorenzo muttered. It was less a banquet, more a gathering… perhaps not even that, yet here, Lorenzo saw these familiar faces, unexpectedly gathering here.