“Tek here, during the best time of the economy, long ago, people who have gatherings at expensive restaurants. But I grew up during the recession--though here, it seems that the people with a lot of money also have their own problems too.”
***
“Well then, everyone. Please enjoy the specialties of Gururian.” The Viceroy’s words signal the start of the banquet.
There are a lot of people in the room, which included the Viceroy and his wife, and retainers. Gentlemen and ladies--who are of course nobles. The guests are Princess Menea, and Poni who acts as her escort, Karina and me.
Menea’s eyes meet mine and her cheeks flush, she mouths ‘meet later’ to me, before quickly looking away.
The dining table has been decorated with flowers, and two maids accompany each guest. The tableware seem to be made from silver, and are similar to what I saw in shows like Downton Abbey--except for an extra knife which was oversized and looked almost like a dagger.
Magic Lights keep the room illuminated--they’re not Magic Tools, but a Mage has cast Light Balls. It seems that the Mage is still nearby, because sometimes--more light balls appear from the corner of the room.
Karina’s clothing looks gorgeous--they have a deep neckline which emphasizes her already well-shaped, perky, plump breasts. The dress is also decorated with gold and silver threads, gems are mounted around the neckline--casting glimmering light over her almost translucent skin, drawing even more attention to her chest.
I make it sound like the dress is improper--but somehow, the creator managed to make it look elegant at the same time.
Normally, invitees don’t wear clothing that’s too gaudy, but since the Viceroy’s wife is wearing an even gaudier dresses, so it shouldn’t cause any problems.
The first plate that is served, is a light green soup--it’s delicious, even though it’s cold.
Then come many more plates with dishes like meat pudding, boiled trout, baked pheasant, and steaks of unknown origin are presented in turns.
There is so much food that I feel queasy looking at them.
As well as the ridiculous main course, there are also side dishes with salads, or vegetables, or fruit-salads.
The maids break the trout apart before giving the plate to the nobles, leaving behind only the meat and removing the bones. Apparently, the maid assigned to me is inexperienced, I could hear: “Ah!”, and, “B-Bone, please don’t go there!”, and other amusing quiet mutters from behind me.
Since she spoke in a low voice, I doubt that the other guests could hear her.
During the banquet, the people around me are having conversations while eating slowly--it’s difficult for people who can’t eat slowly. Moreover, Karina is too engrossed in eating, she tends to forget about the conversation, easily getting lost. Since she’s unfamiliar with this kind of event, it can’t be helped--I would be in the same situation as well, if I hadn’t followed Arisa’s suggestion and got instructions in what to expect and how to act at banquets from a well-informed maid beforehand.
After dinner, we move to a different room to just have talks--the men and women are in separate rooms. Which results in rather frank conversations because it is guys only, where I am.
As I go to enter the room, Poni casually walks past me, slipping a note into my hand.
It seems that Menea is very worried that I will be mad at her for her loss of control--which I had no reason to, and wasn’t sure why she would think that.
Since a gentleman who looks to be thirty--and with his 20 levels, he is closer to 50--who claims to be Baron Muno’s childhood friend is talking, I can’t leave the room.
After what feels like an eternity, a maid knocks on the door and tells us that we should return, since the banquet was over--though she states it in a much more polite way.
***
When we get back to the main banquet room, Karina and I are invited to a tea break together, by one of the Viceroy’s children. There’s something that interests me, so I decide to accept the invitation.
Karina is also going to accompany me.
She’s being meek and quiet today, unlike her usual behaviour--I wonder why.
There are two things that are slightly different from usual, the first of which is that she isn’t wearing Raka right now--I should probably convince her to wear him at all times, just in case more Short Horn Demons appear. She is also wearing a very revealing dress instead of her normal white linen shirt and long leather pants, so maybe she feels vulnerable.
If she was always like this, I wouldn’t avoid her as much--well, how meek she is being now is a little disconcerting, she is partially hiding behind me--close to me, but just not touching my clothing.
“Nice to meet you, sir Felspar. Thank you very much for accepting my sudden invitation.”
“Thank you for the invitation--the Viceroy’s daughter is famous for her knowledge. I wanted to meet you just once.”
When I reply, the girl, and the boys following her, all stiffen. After all, she is wearing boys clothes, and a fairly tight, well-hidden, chest wrap--the clothing suits her surprisingly well, and she looks like a feminine boy.
“H-How did you know?”
“I could tell by your frame, and your walk,” I lied, I used my Heads-Up-Display, “There are several differences between men and women. This skill is my family’s secret, so I can’t explain it more than this.”
They are the same girl and boys who wore matching uniforms who had been watching the fight against the Demon. The other boys are children of the Viceroy’s retainers and children of the nobles from the banquet earlier.
I accepted the invitation not because they’re powerful nobles--it’s because they are students of the Kayou Royal Academy. Princess Menea is studying in the advanced division of the same Academy.
I will probably visit the Kayou Academy to gather information someday, so I’ll see if I can form some connections here.
“You are amazing, even though you’re so young. How are you able to be that skillful in Swordplay and Magic?” The daughter of the Viceroy first introduces herself as Ririna--before beginning to fervently talking about how amazing my fight with the Demon was.
At first, she called me ‘Chevalier Felspar’, or ‘Sir Felspar’, but it soon changed to ‘Chevalier Tek’, and finally, ‘Tek’.
As her form of address changed, more affectionate and close, the expressions on the faces of Karina and the boys that follow Ririna become--serious.
Ririna is the best one to form connections with, and she is the most talkative--a nice and interesting girl. I don’t care about the jealousy I can feel radiating from the boys, so I ignored them and continued the conversation.
The slightly envious and wishful gaze in Karina’s eyes as she sat right next to me, made me feel a little guilty. I knew how she felt about me, and I could tell that she wished I would talk to her like that--I felt slightly bad for constantly avoiding her. If she was more like this, rather than constantly trying to either fight with, or train with, me, I would talk to her in a similar manner.
I ended up promising to teach Ririna about Magic, though I don’t know much more than theory--though my memory did slowly seem to be improving, and I could open a Magic Book in my inventory at any time, so I could instruct her.
***
The banquet was finally over and Karina returned to her room. I stopped by mine to talk to the girls, I explained to them that I would be having a meeting with someone before bed--that they shouldn’t wait up for me.
Only Arisa looked at me strangely, an eyebrow raised. She quietly asked if it was Menea I was meeting, and I told her the truth.
As Arisa wished me luck with a small smirk as I left.
There she was, waiting in the moonlight, her pink hair almost glowing as she waited in the gazebo where we had met that afternoon. She looked worried, her large emerald eyes glinted in the dim lighting--quickly looking around the darkened garden.
“Tek!” She quietly called out my name and dashed over to me, stopping a meter away from me with a fearful expression, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I could breach decorum like that--lose control so easily.”
Menea had her hands clenched in front of her chest, her eyes imploring and teary--either she was the best actor I had ever seen, or she was telling the truth.
Taking a step forward, I grabbed her trembling hands, “It’s alright, I don’t mind.” I smiled reassuringly at her.
Her hands were surprisingly cold.
“You don’t?” She quickly grasped my hands back and pressed her head into my chest, sniffling.
“Of course I don’t. A beautiful girl gets affectionate, why would I mind?” I speak in a reassuring tone, with a smile at the end.
“B-Beautiful?” Menea looks up at me with wide eyes, her cheeks flushed and light pink.
“Yes,” I gently brush a finger over her cheek, brushing away the remains of her tears.
I think my experiences with the girls has turned me into some kind of playboy--well, at least made me stop restraining myself so much. Which may not be a good thing.
She stared at me for a few more seconds, before reluctantly releasing my hand and stepping back--her cheeks still crimson, and her breathing was slightly disordered. With a slight bow, she wished me a good night and walked, rapidly, into the shadows of the garden--there was a skip in her hurried footsteps.
***
“Tek, you promised to teach me about Magic! Please wake up!” Ririna burst into the room and sees me and all the girls sleeping together on a single bed. Moreover, everyone is wearing the nightgowns that Arisa made, which are created from thin lace and silk--they could easily be mistaken for underwear by the people of this world.
“Tek, uh, uuu!!” It seems that her brain overloaded when she saw the scene, spinning off into some delusion--the situation seems to be a little too stimulating for an innocent 14 year old girl. Muttering something I can’t hear and blushing a deep crimson from her neck to the tips of her small ears, she stumbles away from the room--it’s almost as though steam is pouring from her head.
Then a female maid, who serves Ririna, enters to apologize, before closing the door with a tolerant and slightly amused smile and following the still melting-down girl down the hallway.
“What was that?” Arisa’s exasperated voice comes from my side.
“The Viceroy’s daughter, Ririna. She’s 14 years old, ‘having officially become an adult a few weeks ago’--her words not mine. She’s talented and is attending the Kayou Royal academy.”
Arisa rolls her eyes at my words, before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.
Liza is indifferent as she also rolls onto her side and goes back to sleep.
Tama and Pochi begin squirming around, as though trying to get comfortable again. With a grin, I pat their stomachs as I stay laying down--they let out little moans of pleasure, before curling up around my hands, hugging them tightly, before closing their eyes and going back to sleep with pleased grins.
At breakfast, the mood became a little strange because both Ririna and Menea visited. Other than the constant, embarrassed glances in my direction by Ririna, nothing happened. Menea sat on a seat next to me, a strangely peaceful look on her face.
Menea wanted to talk, but I said that I had promised to teach Magic to Ririna and her followers--Menea conceded.
Well, even though I said ‘teaching Magic’, I just asked each of them to perform some Magic, and I then used my Magic Perception Skill to inspect the resulting Spell, and pointed out their weakness and strengths using the knowledge from the Magic Theory Books in my storage--they enthusiastically thanked me. They seemed happy because it’s the instruction from ‘a Mage who defeated a Demon’.
***
Since Princess Menea was absent when I came to meet her after I finished teaching Ririna and the others, I went to town with Arisa and the others.
I bought a Float Scroll from the Magic Shop--they didn’t have any other new scrolls, so I didn’t bore the girls by spending much time there.
When we get back to the Viceroy’s mansion, a maid tells us that they’ve booked us seats on the ship that will depart to the Capital of the Dukedom tomorrow.
When we are preparing for the departure, Menea comes over--I thought that she was going to discuss the summoned people, or even continue the discussion from last night--instead, she was just confirming my contact address.
I tell her that we’re in the middle of a journey to Labyrinth City, and I promised her that I will send a letter to her when we have decided on a place to stay.
Lastly, I check on one of the things I forgot to ask Menea yesterday--when was the eighth person kidnapped?
“A little more than a month ago. Do you remember the day that many meteors fell from the sky--it was the day before that.”
Well, it seems unlikely that I am the eighth summoned person--though I had been worrying about it. I only realized where I was just before I cast the Spell--and it would have taken even a Demon more than a day to fly that large distance.
Relief flooded through me.
