MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Even sitting down, he could feel the stares of people on him and the muttering of a few young girls speaking about how handsome he was and trying to goad each other into talking to him.

He couldn't help but let out a small smile and gently waved his hand at them, causing them to squeal.

Finally, a young woman approached him. She seemed quite shy and rather hesitant. While she wasn't a great beauty, she had a certain cuteness and innocence about her that made him understand that she should be the introvert of the group.

"H-Hi…?"

Adam smiled softly after taking a quiet look at her stats and making sure he was dealing with some centuries-old woman again, "Hello. How may I help you?"

She blushed and stammered a little before taking a deep breath, "I am really sorry for bothering you. My name is Laura."

"Haha, happy to meet you. I am Adam and no, I would never be bothered by someone polite."

He stretched his hand and they shared a handshake. Laura seemed to gain a little more confidence after not being rebuked coldly.

"Would you like to take a seat?"

"Oh? I can?"

"Well, I was going to eat alone so I will be happy to be in charming company."

She hesitated a little and looked at her friends who seemed as surprised as her but then sat face to face with him.

Looking at her more closely, he realized that she was truly a cute girl. She had beautiful long ginger and slightly bushy hair that definitely needed some work but this gave her a certain charm. Added to this were a few freckles and a pair of glasses and Adam felt like he was facing a stereotypical nerd.

Not that he could speak, since this was basically how he looked and acted in the past;

'Thinking about it. It has only been 3 weeks?'

Why did events that were barely one-month-old sound like they were from another time?

"You seem melancholic…Ah."

She seemed to have spoken before even thinking, "And you are very cute." He placed his chin on his hand and chuckled at her reddening face.

"So…Tell me. What brought you to me? Was it out of your own will? Or…?"

He looked at the groups of gals behind and shook his head, "No… Nothing of the sort. It's just…I want to change."

"Oh?"

Laura hesitated before finally shaking her head, "I…I am pretty shy you see. I have a hard time speaking in front of people and this is even more so in front of boys."

She gave a weak smile, refusing to look him directly in the eyes, "I am tired of staying home and crying over what I feel. So I decided today I would give it a try and talk to a complete stranger."

"You are doing pretty well."

"Right? I don't know why…But the moment you talked to me, I began to feel better and less afraid."

'Ah…'

Adam remembered his special skill and gave a bitter smile.

"I guess having a handsome face helps?"

He winked at her and she seemed to cover her face with her hair, causing him to nearly explode in laughter.

He had to admit. Talking with someone he didn't know and who was in no way related to the supernatural or the underworld was helping him calm down a little.

He called the waiters and looked at Laura, "What will you take?"

"Oh! This is alright! I am…"

He shook his head, "I can't really eat alone while you watch. Please choose something."

In the end; she only ordered a simple salad.

"So, tell me, Laura. Now that you went past your challenge, what will you do?"

"I don't know honestly. Talking with you seems so easy. I feel dumb for fearing to do something like this for so long."

"There is nothing dumb about fear, you know?"

"Heh?"

"Not everyone is born courageous and not everyone reacts in the same manner. So don't look down on yourself because you have a hard time doing something others can do easily."

Life was not fair. Some people were born with talents and others were not. Some people had crippling anxiety while others could talk to the whole crowd without even blinking.

But the thing was,

"The fact that you decided to fight your fear and that you actually took the first step to do so makes you more courageous than many people in this world."

There was nothing wrong with being weak. But staying weak was a sin. Those words didn't just pertain to the supernatural world but also to all facets of life.

"No one is born perfect. But as long as you continue to pull efforts in the right place in the right way, then you will eventually reach the place you wish to."

Adam shook his head as he realized what he was doing, "Sorry, you are not a kid. I shouldn't be here and lecturing you like this."

Laura was looking at him with her mouth wide open but she shook her head hurriedly at his words. Moving so fast Adam briefly wondered if she was going to break her neck.

"This was beautiful."

Her eyes seemed a little moist, "I lack confidence in myself so much. I thought I would never change and even coming here, I thought you would tell me to get lost."

She truly looked like she was on the verge of crying. Her friends who had been observing from afar seemed a little surprised and one of them even stood up in a hurry as if they were afraid he was doing something.

"Hi!"

The one who approached was a blonde girl with a blinding smile, "I am sorry. I hope my friend is disturbing you."

Even as she spoke she slowly put herself close to Laura as if she was trying to serve as a screen. Her voice was calm and she did not look like she was making a scene.

Adam smiled when he saw that she was thinking of protecting her and seemed to regret letting her friend come to him.

"Eve, it's alright! Really. He was just giving me a word of encouragement."

"Ah…"

Eve coughed a little and he could see her face flush slightly.

"I am sorry. Truly."

"Why don't you bring your friends if you are worried?"

Like this, Adam found himself surrounded by a group of four women. He soon learned that they were in fact all first-year students at Caltech.

The California Institute of Technology was a private research institution located in Pasadena, California. This was also one of the best universities in Los Angeles for international students in science and engineering and only slightly below his own universities.

It didn't take long for Adam to realize that he was surrounded by a bunch of nerdy girls and when they realized that Adam was nearly as much a nerd as them, the conversation became even more enjoyable for all sides.

The talk slowly entered the more technical territory and Adam was in the end forced to bow out and admit defeat in front of their overwhelming might.

It was simple and honestly nothing more than mindless discussion. But this was something that made Adam feel more relaxed.

In the end, he left with four more numbers on his phone and a promise to catch up later.

(AN: Simple placeholder chapters. I think some simple moments like this every arc or volume can be interesting. What do you think? They may or may not become recurring characters. We shall see.)

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