SSS Ranked Shadow Monarch: Summoning Infinite Shadows-Chapter 231: Gathering information

"You don’t seem to like me at all?" Athena asked as she sat on the bed, staring at June, who stood with her back leaned against the wall and arms folded.

"That’s because I don’t. Now shut up," June shot back immediately.

"Why? I haven’t done anything against you, have I?" Athena asked.

"Exactly, you haven’t done anything, nothing at all." June said, looking right at Athena.

"Everyone here, everyone inside this town has been drilled right from childhood, forced to take up a ton of tasks all their life in order to be acknowledged." June said and started walking closer, her expression shifting into one of anger as she came closer.

"I was put through so, so much as a kid that you would be dead if you were the one, and yet you didn’t pass through any of that, but you are suddenly special," June said.

Athena looked at her, her eyes held genuine innocence. "But I didn’t want any of this. You are the one that came after me. You took me when I didn’t care about whatever you had going on," Athena said. She slowly bowed her head and looked at the bed below her. "I wanted to stay with my friends, my family, and Aren." She said Aren’s name in a low voice.

"Aren? Is he the kid that was with you?" June asked.

Athena was reluctant to respond, scared that June would go after Aren.

"Don’t worry, I’m not going after him," June said.

"Yes, he is Aren," Athena replied.

"Oh, I see," June replied. "So what’s your relationship with him? Boyfriend?" June asked.

Athena paused when she heard that, then she shook her head quickly. "He is special to me," she replied.

"Hmm? Curious, but none of my business, to be honest." June said. She stepped back and crossed her hands again. "Back to what I was saying, look at you. You had the luxury of making choices, the luxury of doing whatever you wanted until now, unlike us who never had that choice," June said.

"You don’t know me. You have no idea of my life," Athena replied.

"Urgghh, don’t tell me you’ll pull out some victim card to make you seem more relatable to me, to make me see some of your pain that you have been through," June said in a mocking voice. She walked back to the wall and leaned her back against it.

"Your pain, whatever it was, can’t compare to what a single child that lives here gets to go through." She added.

Athena stared at her for a few seconds and then decided to not have this argument with her. She decided to speak about other things, try to steal as much information as she could around here.

"Your name is June, it’s really nice," Athena said, looking around the room.

"Don’t get chatty," June said.

"Well, I don’t like talking, but I figured that it would be very boring for you and me to stay without talking. Also, I got used to having a very impulsive friend, and she talks a lot," Athena said.

"Arghhh, no one asked you for that. Please, just shut the hell up," June said.

Knock knock.

Two knocks came from the door. June looked at it with a pissed expression and then walked to the door. She opened it, and standing outside was a man in a full suit, and unlike them, he had short black hair.

His eyes were sunken in, pupils small. His face was pale as paper.

"Hey," he said in a short tone, looking right at June.

"Casper?" June spoke, her voice filled with shock and fear.

"Yeah, me. Get out of the way," he spoke in a low, dry tone.

"Why are you trying to get in? Do you have permission to?" She asked.

"Permission? Yeah, grandfather asked me to check if she was the right person," Casper said.

"But Uncle Kai already did that," June said.

"Kai? Tch. Still, I have to complete my check," Casper said.

"Sorry, I can’t allow..." Before June could finish what she wanted to say, Casper walked right through her like she wasn’t there at all.

Athena, who was seated there, was stunned. She looked at Casper, who was approaching her, and started shifting backward.

He stretched out his hand and grabbed her by the face. She tried to move her head away but couldn’t, his grip was firm.

"Seems you are the right one," he said. He seemed like he had a lot more to say, but then he suddenly stopped. His head turned and he looked in a certain direction.

"Someone has entered the forest," he said calmly.

"Well, if they are intruders, the forest will handle them," June said.

"Hmmm, I’ll be going there now," Casper said and then walked away, leaving the both of them inside the room.

Athena rubbed her jaw and then looked at June. "He is weird," she stated.

"Sigh, that’s Casper. He is one of the Blades, but very different from us. He only listens to the patriarch, no one can tell him what to do. He also acts as a guardian and informant.

No one knows how strong Casper is, but he is one of the very few Blades that we were warned right from the academy not to go against, and we were classmates then, yet he was already a serious threat," June explained.

"Is that all you know about him?" Athena asked.

June shot her a look. "Even if I did know, why would I tell you? Stick your nose where it belongs," June said.

"I’m sorry, I just got curious. It doesn’t seem like any of you are close to each other. Is this really a family?" Athena asked.

The reason she was speaking was genuine nervousness, and she was poking around for any useful information. She knew that she had to do something, and if leaving her comfort zone was the best way to go, then she would do it.