In any other context, the sight would have been hilarious to behold.
Some ran out with shower caps and robes still on their bodies, others only had a single slipper on, and still yet some others had forgotten their pants.
If they were acting, Leonel had to admit that they were quite good. But, there were still a few people he managed to pick out that were different from the rest.
He indifferently waited for all of these 'nobles' to step out of their homes, the combination of his silence and the chaos of the city acting as his backdrop making those who definitely weren't acting gulp.
At that moment, a fat man practically waddled out from his door. Despite the time of night, thick chains, bracelets and rings could be found all across his body. Considering the sleep in his eyes, this man either really slept with such jewelry on, or he was really committed to always looking as rich as possible when he stepped into public view.
As for why he didn't take his body's size into account when portraying this image to the public, maybe only he knew.
The fat man looked around, and seemingly realizing that Leonel was in charge, his bubbling face turned red with anger.
"What is the meaning of this?! Haven't I already explained who I am?! You dare wake me up in the dead of night?!"
Leonel indifferently watched this man go on a rant, but Aina furrowed her brows. There was nothing Aina hated more than those who flaunted their status. In fact, she felt a deep loathing for such people. If she didn't know better, she would cleave this man in two just to teach him a lesson.
"… You seem to be new so I'll take on the labor of explaining it to you peons again! I am a One Star Black Merchant of the Milky Way Guild! You dare to treat me like this?!"
The surrounding 'nobles' seemed to be emboldened by the fat man and they began to rant one after another. Since another had taken the first step, their fear vanished and they began to brandish their egos and backgrounds as though they were true weapons.
"… I've said it before, I'm a citizen of Planet CrarsX10! Do you know how my government officials will react if they hear that a single hair on my head has been harmed?!"
"Right, right! And I'm a citizen of Planet SolvusX2!"
The words seemed to layer atop of each other, bleeding into one another.
"Is there a reason their planets all have numbers behind them?" Leonel asked Aina curiously as though he couldn't hear their frustration.
Aina looked at Leonel incredulously before shaking her head and giggling. Maybe only Leonel would be able to ask such a thing at this time.
"… The universe is big as it is. So, instead of giving each planet a world conquers a new name, they essentially add an alphanumeric code word to the end of the main world's name as a suffix.
"X, Y and Z are the letter parts of the code. X means that this world is on the same Dimensional Plane as the main world. Y means that it's a step below. Z means that it's two steps below. As for three steps below, it's not usually worth it for such a high level world to invest in such a planet, so there's no designation for it.
"As for the numbers, they're pretty self-explanatory. Just designates a number to the planet. The larger the number, the more planets a world has under its control. 10 is a pretty high number, honestly. Most are around two or three at this stage. Crars is a powerhouse of our quadrant…"
"I see, I see."
Leonel and Aina continued to chat as though the ravings of these 'nobles' had nothing to do with them.
By now, it was obvious that these weren't nobles of White City at all. Rather, they were the tourists mentioned previously. Each had an entanglement with another world and had come to Terrain for one reason or another.
Some came for business like the fat merchant, but there were others who had come for pleasure.
By extension, it should also be obvious why Tyrron had treated them so well and hadn't considered the possibility of spies being among them. Earth might be talented, but it was still a fledgling world. Simply put, they couldn't afford to enter the world of the Dimensional Verse with hostile entities on all sides.
There were already no shortage of individuals who were jealous of them. They couldn't also then proceed to antagonize these worlds further.
So, maybe it was more accurate to say that Tyrron likely thought of the possibility that there might be more spies amongst the people of these worlds, but didn't dare to act upon this speculation.
However… Once again… Leonel wasn't Tyrron.
"That's enough!"
Leonel's voice suddenly boomed. An oppressive might shook these 'nobles' awake.
"Let me make one thing clear." Leonel spoke, a cold edge gliding across his tone. "Earth indeed can't afford to offend all of your worlds."
A smug look resurfaced on the faces of the 'nobles' that had been scared witless once again.
"That said…" Leonel's steely continuation made their sneers freeze on their faces, their hearts trembling beneath his presence. "… You all should also understand that Earth is not a world that you can afford to offend either. We may be young, but we are no pushovers. If you think that you can use the status of your worlds to apply pressure on me, you'll be sorely mistaken."
Leonel's gaze swept over them all.
"Now. Will you all step out and personally hand yourselves in? Or do you want me to take action personally? Because I promise you, if you choose the latter, your experiences will be much worse than them."
Leonel hooked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back toward the city behind them.
A silence hung over the 'nobles'. At that moment, the shouts and screams of the city suddenly became several levels more obvious.
A sharp light lit the gazes of several within the crowd, a hesitancy causing their hearts to beat erratically.
