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(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Eron City- Private Estate)

Sophie took a small sip of wine and smiled politely as she wandered through the hall. The banquet was already off to a good start.

Still... she was not going to rest on her laurels.

There was a difficult night ahead of her with nobles all wearing masks. Concealing their true emotions to play their role in high society.

Honestly fighting was more enjoyable than this.

At least in a fight you knew who your enemy was but in politics...

The woman or man smiling at you could easily stab you in the back the second you turn away from them.

Ambitious snakes greedy for even a scarp of power.

"Duke Braveheart... It is truly a pleasure to see you here," Sophie warmly spoke as she approached Leona\'s father.

"Nonsense! I wouldn\'t miss this for the world! My little girl was disappointed that she couldn\'t be here but just know that she is cheering you on," Duke Braveheart replied with a small smile.

"Give her my thanks. I hope that you are enjoying the banquet so far," Sophie continued to speak casually.

She made small talk with the duke for a few more minutes before moving on to other parts of the room.

In this setting it was impossible to talk about sensitive matters so most of her conversations just mentioned the banquet itself and the atmosphere.

Sophie pressed a button on the side of her wrist communicator and a section of the wall slowly protruded outwards.

There was a band sitting down on the new platform holding wooden string instruments. Sophie nodded at them, and they begun to play.

Soon the sounds of classical music filled the hall. Sophie took another sip of wine and closed her eyes for a brief moment of rest.

She remained in place for just a few seconds and then reopened her eyes. There was still work to be done.

She still needed to talk to the neutral nobles, others who belonged to her father\'s faction and of course... the not-so friendly aristocrats.

"Countess Assea, I hope that your journey to planet Gaia was smooth," Sophie softly spoke to a well-dressed woman wearing a scarlet red gown.

"Well aside from pirates and their ilk... it was indeed quite uneventful," the countess yawned sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

It was an incredibly impolite move to make but Sophie knew that the woman meant no malice.

She had read files about all the nobles in the room and memorised their habits, behaviours and personalities.

Of course people were more than their descriptions so Sophie used the information on the files as a guide rather than the objective truth.

"I will miss your father," Countess Assea suddenly spoke and Sophie noticed that her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

"I confessed to him you know... many... many years ago back when we were in university together."

"He was a handsome young man even then but it was his eyes that drew me in. He contained a fiery ambition that I had never seen before."

"What happened after the confession?" Sophie asked curiously since she had not read this fact on the files.

"Well... we went out for a few dates but... it didn\'t go anywhere," Countess Assea let out a sigh with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"He was too disciplined and focused on his cultivation so he never had any time to try and make our relationship work."

"Listen word of advice... cultivation isn\'t everything. Enjoy your life and live your youth out to the fullest."

Count Assea winked playfully at Sophie and then clinked her wineglass against hers. Sophie was infected by the cheerful atmosphere and followed her lead.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Sophie moved away from the countess with a better understanding of her father\'s past. She supposed it made sense.

Her dad became the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation and rose up the ranks of the military to the position of an Imperial Army commander.

He must have been training constantly to achieve just one of those goals much less both.

Still... she was grateful that it didn\'t work out. It would just feel weird seeing her dad with a woman other than her mom.

Sophie shook her head and tossed that strange thought to the back of her mind.

She saw an elderly man with a neatly trimmed moustache standing in the shadow of a nearby pillar.

She quickly checked through her mental list of names and faces to discover the elderly man\'s identity.

Baron Fairkins.

He belonged to a neutral house with a lack of financial and military strength.

However, his daughter was marrying into an upper rank noble family so his influence had grown quite significantly over the years.

"Baron Fairkins, I appreciate your presence at tonight\'s banquet," Sophie approached the elderly man and spoke politely.

"It must be difficult considering that it is harvesting season and the Sonkai are ready to be bred for livestock."

"You have done an impressive amount of research," Baron Fairkins\' lips curved upwards but Sophie could tell that his smile did not reach his eyes.

"Don\'t worry... I have no plans to ally myself with those who are hostile to you. You have my word on the matter."

"Thank you," Sophie replied calmly with no trace of excess emotion on her face.

She talked for a few more minutes with the baron but he seemed uninterested in the conversation and only replied with short answers.

Sensing the mood, Sophie bid the elderly man a polite goodbye and then went to talk to another guest.

House Fairkins... clearly not fans of her but as long as they did not support the Human Supremacy faction then that was enough.

It was naïve to think that those not on her enemies\' side were automatically her allies. Noble society was not black and white but rather different shades of grey.

Sophie plastered a friendly expression on her face and walked up to a group of men and women all dressed in elegant white robes.

Representatives of the Nephilim Church. They held little power politically and their authority was quite limited.

However, Sophie was still grateful to see them.

She did owe the organisation for helping her return to the Earth Federation when she was lost in the Unovan Syndicate.

"Bishop Thompson, Holy Lady Porter.... It is an honour for you and your companions to grace my home with your presence," Sophie warmly spoke.

The bishop stretched out his hands and clasped them together in prayer. He closed his eyes and a faint golden aura surrounded his body.

"May the blessing of the angels protect you and your loved ones and guide them onto the path of righteousness," the bishop chanted reverently.

The holy lady followed his lead and Sophie could not help but notice that black iron chains were wrapped around her skin.

"May the demons lead your enemies to ruination," the Holy Lady muttered darkly and a blackish-grey aura surrounded her hands.

Sophie wasn\'t sure if their blessings would have any effect since, she was a vessel of the Hunter Goddess but at least it was a kind gesture.