In This Rebirth, The Male Lead Is Mine [BL]
Chapter 62: Orphan

Chapter 62: Orphan

He actually did not know what had gotten into him, or more specifically, to Kamille to do that. With his heart racing, because of how surreal it was, he could only laugh in the end.

It was a meaningful laugh, with meaningful gazes and meaningful gestures. The two, filled with ambiguity, continued eating.

Kamille finally did not refuse and ate with Rise; the two somehow acted just as usual. Rise was subtly flirting while Kamille seemed oblivious but subtly flirting back, whether unintentionally.

It was strange that Rise found himself pausing and speechless. He was stunned because he could not feel the same wall that used to block him in the past.

As though... It had yet to be created, or it disappeared into thin air for unknown reasons.

This progress... Why did he feel something really wrong but could not pinpoint it?

Whatever, at least, they had progress, which was enough.

Soon, they landed on the location of the gate. This time, while there was a crowd, it was in no way comparable to public gates. Gates under chaotic zones were semi-public. However, mostly just monopolized by the Union and the guilds.

"Guild Leader Kamille," The Union official assigned to the gate enthusiastically greeted them, or just Kamille. Anyway, the official did not ignore Rise, more like he did not dare to. He smiled fawningly and also welcomed Rise. "Mr. Rise, you’re here too. Welcome, welcome."

Kamille and Rise only stood closely together; even if Rise wanted to cling to his Guild Leader and the other would not mind, in an official setting, he still opted for a respectful appearance.

His reputation was beyond saving, but Kamille was always respected by many.

With his hands on his back, his hand quickly turned into a slit as he gave a sweet smile, responding "kindly" to the greeting. He did not say anything though and only let his Guild Leader handle it, being an obedient little subordinate beside Kamille.

Kamille nodded, swept his eyes around the busy crowd. "Is everyone ready?" His tone was calm but did not lack authority.

Most Union officials were somehow stiff, and Kamille’s voice made them flinch but answered right away.

"Uh, yes, Guild leader. Everyone already arrived." The middle-aged Union staff nodded and politely answered Kamille. He soon introduced most of the participants at this gate raid.

They followed inside the building of the Union. Kamille mostly talked with the staff while Rise followed behind, not interrupting their conversation.

He seemed truly docile and behaved, his eyes only wandering around. The majority of the people were wearing Union uniforms. Just two weeks ago, he also wore the same uniform, and now he was already wearing the Guild’s one.

For him, even with similar colors, the Guild’s uniform stood out more.

His gaze landed on a few Union espers, probably lower-ranked ones; they instantly stiffened when they sensed his gaze.

Rise’s memory of the Union had long since slowly faded out. Most of his impressions left were those truly remarkable for him or if he really wanted to remember.

And so, when he sensed a slight hostility from the gazes of some, Rise could not help but be amused. Some of them, he might indeed have had unpleasant encounters with just a month or a few weeks ago. However, for him, it had already been five years since.

He had no idea of their resentments, and Rise also did not think he owed them anything.

Rise was dubbed a bully and a lunatic who bullied everyone in his path. That was not true at all. Why would he care for people who mind their own business just as much as he did?

Most of the rumors around him were spread by those who provoked him, whether directly or indirectly.

Although, the rumors and scandals were true. His temper was terrible, as was his personality, so he never tried cleaning his name, even though some were exaggerations.

He found them entertaining.

Rise only gave them a smile, which made them flinch, almost stumbling where they stood. He then continued following Kamille.

He found it funny where... People who most had a guilty conscience were more inclined to act scared in front of him. Pathetic bunch...

When Rise was already nowhere to be seen, someone in the crowd, who trembled the most as if he saw his knees being shattered again, glared at Rise’s back in resentment.

"A fucking dirty orphan who ate waste looking so proud..." He spat out, as if disgusted.

Rise was discovered inside a sewer filled with dirty waste and even suspected that he ate the waste to survive for who knew how many days or months before being discovered when he was only six years old.

He was so thin and so small. However, the child had not cried once, as though already dead inside. His survival was a miracle itself, and so after observing and surviving subsequent complications, Rise was transferred to the orphanage.

There, the kids managed to find out this, and this had become his insult, which also accompanied him in his youth until he finally could hold out and protect himself.

The people never dared to say this in Rise’s face now, and throughout the years, Rise was not even offended anymore. He was numb from all it.

He was not one to cry just like he used to; with overwhelming power, why would he? He could make them regret insulting him.

This was but a small episode, and Rise focused again on Kamille’s conversation with the staff. They then arrived at the meeting point.

The vortex spun as the espers stood in front of it.

Gates in the chaotic zone were semi-public, and so guilds could send their espers to participate in the raid. And there was one more unique attribute of the gates in the chaotic zones, which was that there was a limit to the number that could enter inside.

If it was less, the gate would not open, and if it was more, the gate would reject some of them.

This time, it was the same. Other than the two of them, there were another 13 individuals from other guilds, totaling 15. There were members from the top three guilds, and the others were also from a top guild but lower in rank than Dark Crimson. And two members from Union.

In this batch, Kamille was the only one as a Guild Leader and an S-rank. One might think, the leadership naturally fell on him.

However, while this could indeed be the case on normal occasions, the same did not apply for this reason.

"We’ll part ways here," Kamille suddenly declared as soon as they entered the gate.