Being stared at by so many sharply dressed ladies and gentlemen, Peter couldn't help shrinking behind Harry.
Among the people in front of them were several familiar faces—celebrities who often appeared on TV, famous lawyers, successful entrepreneurs.
They were all the kind of big shots Peter had always had to look up to. But at tonight's party, every one of them was cautiously trying to ingratiate themselves with the strangers at their side.
Surrounded by the luxury of the uppermost crust of human society, wrapped in a blaze of nightlife he'd never experienced before, how could a socially anxious high-schooler like Peter not be nervous?
"What's wrong, getting stage fright?" Harry teased from beside him. "You weren't this nervous talking to my teacher. Why are you suddenly scared now?"
Harry's words jolted Peter.
Right. He hadn't even panicked when talking to the Sorcerer Supreme—so why would he fall apart here?
Peter didn't know the full extent of the Sorcerer Supreme's power, but even from the little he'd seen, he knew she stood far beyond modern society.
All these upper-class partygoers chatting and drinking—before the Sorcerer Supreme, they were just ordinary mortals.
Peter took a deep breath and slowly relaxed. "Who's scared? I just felt a little carsick, that's all. Come on, I can't wait to meet Mr Stark!"
Just then, a commotion rose ahead of them.
Tony, dressed in a black suit and holding two glasses of wine, strolled slowly toward Harry and Peter.
He handed one of the glasses—a red—to Harry. "Romanée-Conti. Pretty good stuff. You should like it."
"Thank you." Harry took the wine with textbook-perfect posture.
He didn't care about aristocratic etiquette—but that didn't mean he didn't know it.
He'd attended banquets in other dimensions with the Sorcerer Supreme more than once.
Those banquets—hosted by ancient sorcerers, demon lords, even dimensional gods—were a whole level above this mortal gathering in terms of splendor, and their rituals and etiquette were far more complicated.
Compared to those, the manners expected at a mortal party were child's play.
Tony gave Harry an appraising look. "I thought you'd show up in that set of pajamas. Looks like the suit I prepared for you won't be needed."
Harry rolled his eyes and couldn't be bothered to answer the jab.
At that moment, Peter mustered his courage and stepped up in front of his idol, cheeks burning red.
"M–Mr Stark, I'm Peter Parker. It's a pleasure to meet you," he stammered.
"Peter's Harry's younger brother," Happy said. "He's a big fan of yours and always wanted to meet you, so I brought him along."
Tony raised an eyebrow, took Peter's hand, and tipped his chin up in a slightly over-the-top pose.
"Hey, kid, don't get too worked up. If you picked me as your idol, you've got way better taste than Harry does.
Come on, we've got all night. Don't just stand here—there are girls waiting for us at the pool!"
...
In a quiet corner of the party, a middle-aged man in a suit with a gentle face and a slightly receding hairline sat on a stool, casting subtle glances to either side.
When he spotted Harry and Peter, his eyes lit up. He kept his expression neutral as he spoke softly into the hidden earpiece in his ear.
"Director, this is Coulson. The target has appeared. Tony Stark greeted him personally. I suspect Stark's escape really is connected to the target."
A low, hoarse voice came through the earpiece. "Keep an eye on him. Find out what's special about him—whether he's the type we're looking for.
Try to talk to him if you get a chance. Test the waters without provoking hostility, and do everything you can to recruit him."
"Yes, sir." Coulson ended the call and headed in the direction Harry had gone.
...
Peter's wish had come true—he'd finally gotten the autograph he'd wanted for so long.
Tony had signed his name right on Peter's camera.
Judging from how excited Peter was, Harry suspected that camera was going straight into a glass display case after tonight, never to be used again.
As the star of the party, Tony was naturally the girls' favorite target. With a beauty in each arm, he sauntered over to Harry.
"What's with the long face? Why are you sitting here?" he said. "Lighten up. Those girls are all looking at you. Go on—this party is for you!"
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine like this. Your lifestyle doesn't suit me."
Because of how he'd been brought up, Harry was never going to turn into a playboy like Tony.
Even if he could, this wasn't where he'd want to start. He took a sip of wine. "If I really wanted a lifestyle like yours, I'd be better off with succubi, fairies, or dragon girls."
The moment he said that, the girls nearby all gave him strange looks, like they were staring at an idiot.
What a shame—such a handsome boy, but clearly something was wrong with his brain.
Even so, none of them moved away.
Before the party, Tony Stark had told them that if they could make this handsome young man happy, each of them would get half a million dollars.
And if they could get him into bed, they'd get a million.
To them, that was a fortune.
Unlike the girls, Tony knew who Harry really was. With a teacher who could freely roam the multiverse, the things Harry talked about weren't necessarily jokes—they could very well be true.
Suddenly, Tony felt the thrill go out of the evening. He waved the girls away. "Succubi and fairies are real? What do they look like?"
Thinking of the eager fairies in the Crossroads Dimension, Harry replied, "They're all gorgeous. Succubi are fiery, like they're ready to eat you alive at any moment. Fairies are more reserved, but the way they stare straight at you is still hard to take."
Tony let out a whistle. "Sounds amazing. When are you taking me there? I'm getting impatient just hearing about it."
His thoughts were written all over his face. Harry turned him down without hesitation.
"Sorry to disappoint, but the Crossroads Dimension has triple Earth's gravity. Without powerful magic reinforcing your body, you wouldn't even be able to move around normally there.
And even if you could live there, the succubus and fairy ladies still wouldn't be into you. The reason they like me is the same reason the girls here like you.
I'm the Sorcerer Supreme's disciple, a powerful mage—and in the magical world, I'm rich.
Trust me, fairies and succubi don't like penniless nobodies. Dragon girls wouldn't even spare you a glance."
Tony: "…"
It was the first time in his life anyone had called him a pauper—and the worst part was that he had no way to argue.
In the world of magic, he really was a broke nobody.
All the wealth he had now was worth nothing in that strange Crossroads Dimension.
Tony was in a foul mood. Harry, on the other hand, felt much better.
Happiness really was a constant. Your own joy was always built on someone else's suffering.
Tony made up his mind. "Harry, I'm going to learn magic. When can I meet the Sorcerer Supreme?"
Even though Tony's motives for learning magic were a little questionable, Harry still answered him.
"Teacher's busy repairing a dimensional rift right now. It'll take a while before she gets back. But I've already copied a few magic books for you—you can study them on your own first."
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