Most of the guests have arrived at the festive palace, except for a few. Nevertheless, the emperor decided to start the banquet. Kaiser Von Brittan rose from his seat, positioned at the highest point in the festive palace. His action caught the attention of the murmuring crowd, and silence fell upon them. In the midst of the hush, the emperor gazed down at the guests and spoke aloud.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming all this way to the festive palace.As the emperor of the Mauryan Empire, I feel delighted to welcome you all to this splendid occasion."
The guests listened in silence, their attention focused on his words.
"It appears that some individuals are aiming to disrupt the peace of the Mauryan Empire. They have even dared to attack the royal museum. However, thanks to the young heroes and brave soldiers of the empire, we have emerged victorious without significant losses. Let us applaud these young heroes and brave soldiers."
Clap-clap-clap!
Cheers and applause erupted as the emperor acknowledged those who had fought against the rebels in the royal museum.
"During this occasion, we will express our gratitude to these heroes and honor those who sacrificed themselves for the empire's peace."
The word "sacrifice" seemed insufficient to describe those who had been mercilessly slaughtered by the monsters, but no one questioned the emperor's choice of words.
"We will hold a reward ceremony to honor all those who fought against the rebels with pride. But for now, enjoy this event."
Once again, applause broke out.
"Well then, I hope you all have a wonderful time before you depart."
Woohoooo!
More cheers followed, and the students from the Freljord Academy trembled as they observed the flushed and joyful faces of the guests. All 101 students present at the royal museum, along with the professors from the Freljord Academy, were invited to the royal banquet. Among these children were also commoners. For them, this celebration seemed grandiose, and they wondered if they would ever get another chance in their lives to attend such an extravagant banquet.
'Seriously…the emperor is one hell of a crazy man.'
Just to keep his face in front of the nobles he had arranged such an extravagant banquet. The cost of hosting this single event seemed enough to feed an average city for an entire month.
"Go ahead and enjoy yourself."
Hughes, who had already picked up a glass of wine, pushed Eren forward, urging him to mingle with the crowd.
"Yes, Uncle."
The Emperor sat back at his throne, overseeing the banquet while sipping on the expensive wine bought by the servants.
As soon as Eren walked forward, he immediately sensed countless gazes on him, scrutinizing him. Some of them came from large groups of people who stared at him openly, while others were far more discreet.
They were all surprised yet interested.
Was this delicate and childish looking boy really a 3-star knight? The guests asked each other with their eyes filled with curiosity. But what shocked them more was the fact that this very child has managed to sever the arm of a peak 7-star knight!
Feeling all the eyes upon him, Eren paused for a moment.
What should he do now?
Should he confidently stride through the crowd with an imposing expression, like a lion? Or should he adopt an innocent demeanor, approaching the guests like a child?
Eren grinned to himself, realizing he had concocted wild ideas that he would never actually put into action.
Eren grabbed a glass of wine from one of the busy servant's tray. The expensive and famed wine that even rich aristocrats only opened on special days was being handed like cheap water.
Eren looked at the wine and felt a sense of exaggeration.
This would be the first drink of his life. Although he was only 14, noble children started drinking from the age of 12, so it wasn't a big deal, but he still felt elated to sip on the wine as it has been a long time since did so.
"You seem to be more famous now..."
"How are you feeling? Have you fully recovered?"
The first ones to approach Eren were none other than his fellow students from the Freljord Academy, Zephyr and Evan. Eren ignored Zephyr and welcomed Evan while handing him another glass of wine.
"I am fine now, I have fully recovered," Eren assured Evan.
Zephyr seemed accustomed to Eren's behavior by now, as he continued to linger by his side, even when Eren showed no interest in conversing with him. As Evan and Eren engaged in conversation, more of their classmates approached, congratulating Eren on his achievement and recovery.
There was Ezio, whom Eren had helped to choose a weapon and also Julia who as always seemed arrogant yet concerned about his health.
While Bable and Luna, who watched from a distance, tried to ignore his presence, one person contemplated whether to approach him or not—it was none other than the Princess.
The Princess was yet to express her gratitude to Eren for saving her life, but she felt embarrassed to approach him. Her brother, Evergrant, noticed her hesitation and teasingly whispered in her ear, "He seems to be more popular than I thought. Don't you think it will be too late if you don't make your move now?"
"W-What? I told you there's nothing like that, brother," Princess Aurora stammered, though her actions contradicted her words.
Excluding from the ones he had known, even students whose names Eren didn't know approached him to strike up a conversation.
They were trying to use this opportunity to make a connection with him, Eren didn't refuse their company; instead, he found it interesting and happily engaged with them.
Thanks to the students from the Freljord Academy, the guests learned that Eren wasn't irritable or ill-mannered. Most of the guests had their eyes on Eren, having heard about his achievements and becoming intrigued.
However, before anyone could make a move, the hall fell silent as a black cat entered the festive palace.
Meow~
If the unfamiliar guests didn't know better, they might have criticized the royal servants for allowing an animal at the royal banquet. But all of them recognized the identity of the black cat—Jishuka Von Cyprus.
The guests stood still, their thoughts echoing, 'Jishuka Von Cyprus.'
The cat gracefully walked across the dinner table, filled with various extravagant dishes, making its way toward Eren. But before it could reach him, an empty wine bottle came flying from the palace window, shattering the glass.
The sound of the glass shattering resounded through the festive palace as the cat turned around and faced the source of this disturbance.
There it saw an old man, sitting on the window, basking in the moon-light while sipping on a bottle of wine.
Aralion Stromblade.
'The sword saint?'
Tension filled the air as the guests feared a conflict between these two supreme stars. If a fight were to break out, the festive palace would be razed to the ground within minutes, and no one would escape unscathed.
As the guests felt a cold sweat on their shoulders. The prime minister of the Mauryan empire, Lucas Trumen and the seven sages stood up, their aura released.
Additionally, the grand dukes, Arden von Agnus and Leoplad Von Rozental clutched their weapons preparing for the worst case scenario.
The students of the Freljord academy and some of the wealthy merchants felt suppressed by the aura of the strong beings as they were nearly pushed to kneel.
However, their concerns seemed unnecessary as they heard the voice of the black cat.
"Hey, you oldies! You're scaring the children. Retract your aura right now," the cat whined, directing its words at the seven sages and the grand dukes.
"Oldies? Look who's talking? I should be calling you grandma instead," the sword saint scoffed at the black cat, ignoring its glare as he jumped down from the window in the festive palace, which created a shockwave that pushed back those in his surroundings.
"What did you say, you have a death wish, you white head?"
The Cat purred, glaring at the sword saint.
The atmosphere grew even more tense but the sword saint ignored the black cat and walked forward, his footsteps resounding through the silent festive palace.
He walked forward and stood face to face with Eren as tension filled the atmosphere.
Hubert walked forward, placing his hand on the sword hanging on his waist and stood before the sword saint facing him.
—***---
Daily Chapter Release~
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