Chapter 147: No Ulterior Motives.
The higher floors of Blue Ember were dedicated to suites rather than singular rooms. Dante couldn’t remember the last time he had been in one of those so the layout felt a bit disorienting to him.
His guide led the way to a wide living room that opened up to a balcony. There was a bar in one corner, a classic piano on a nearby podium, a TV screen that took over an entire wall, and several sofas arranged around it in a circle.
The decorations were sparse but well coordinated, enhancing the relaxing atmosphere of the area. Every piece of furniture was made with luxury in mind and so one couldn’t help but want to sit down and relax. That was the likely reason why a group of men wearing similar suits to his guide were just chilling on the sofas, while another one sat near the bar drinking while one of them played the role of a bartender.
They all stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes in the direction of the entrance, which gave Dante the shivers. Forcing himself to remain calm, he swept the area with his eyes and counted twelve men in black suits, making him wonder if it was a uniform of some kind. Only another two seemed to have their origin in the east, but that didn’t say a lot.
Volcan didn’t rush to make a threat evaluation, still unsure if that might expose them. Despite that, Dante couldn’t help but feel like each and every man in that group was dangerous in their own way, even if they didn’t have magic powers.
According to the 3D model, they were currently inside one of the black areas. Volcan had alerted him when they crossed its boundary, having sensed a barrier of some kind, but Dante didn’t notice any change. At the very least, nothing seemed to be different from the rest of the hotel.
"This way."
The guide motioned for a small set of stairs on the other side of the wide room and began making his way toward it. Surprisingly, none of the other men in black said anything or tried to interact with them. They didn’t even whisper among themselves, instead following him with their eyes until he disappeared into the higher level of the living space.
Dante was on edge, to say the least. He prepared to summon his Blue Berry at a moment’s notice, and he asked his resident AI to ready Type 8-3 in case they needed to make a quick escape.