On the 11th of April, the second day after the envoy arrived in the Kingdom of Karen, Charles II hosted a banquet for this special "envoy".
As if stimulated by the unimaginable flagship at the port yesterday, there was a tense atmosphere permeating from top to bottom of the palace. After being suppressed by the other party in military and magic, the royal family seemed to have no choice but to "regain some ground" through the standard of the banquet.
There were all kinds of pure gold ornaments, luxurious handmade carpets, beautiful sculptures, and breathtaking paintings on the domed ceiling. In order to welcome the envoy, the royal family seemed to have displayed everything that could be considered 'extravagant'. This was to let this group of envoys understand the wealth and power of the Cullen Kingdom.
To be honest, Charles II also wanted to take out more high-end magic items to show off and slap their faces. However, after asking the mages under him, he only saw the group of mages who were usually arrogant shake their heads in silence …
In desperation, he could only bite the bullet and entertain the envoy in the banquet hall, which was spacious enough to hold an opera. He smiled and chatted with Houdini, the "Ambassador of the Kingdom of Rassman".
The scale of the banquet was very large. Apart from Charles II, there was also a Bishop of the Rose Cross Kingdom, three Archmages, and two Marquises at the main table. Ambassador Houdini and the five mages who came with him sat together. The other ten young mages they brought with them were distributed on two tables in the side hall, accompanied by the mages and disciples of the Kallan Kingdom. This was also a show of goodwill. After all, Lassiman was a country ruled by mages. At this time, it was impossible for a group of monks and bishops to have a conversation.
"… I'm a little curious. Is the monarch of the Kingdom of Rassman a sorcerer?"
"Your Majesty, you must have misunderstood. There is no monarch in the Kingdom of Rassman. We are governed by a 'parliament', and the president is the leader." Houdini looked to be in his sixties. He was a short old man. Although his hair was white, his eyes were bright. He did not look old at all. Faced with Charles II's direct question, although he behaved very respectfully, his answer was full of energy. There was a hidden arrogance in it.
"A parliament composed entirely of sorcerers?"
Charles II raised his eyebrows and glanced at the archmages on the other side of the table. He did not think much of it. What did sorcerers know about politics? How could he have the time to balance the situation if he spent all his time researching magic?
"The Lassiman Kingdom started off with magic. Naturally, all the members of the parliament are mages," Houdini replied with a smile, but he added, "Of course, it's difficult for them to take care of magic research if they have their own duties, so most of the members of parliament are not as powerful as the masters sitting here."
Although he spoke politely, his words caused the three silent mages to frown slightly. As the top mages of the Kallun Kingdom, they could naturally estimate that the little old man in front of them was not much weaker than them. Because of this, their expressions were tense, unlike the governor who was "chatting cheerfully and wittily" without the slightest inkling of what was going on.
"I have a question I'm curious about."
"Ambassador Houdini, what kind of position can he take in the Lassiman Kingdom?" asked Scarlet, a magus in a purple robe.
These words were very abrupt and somewhat impolite. However, Scarlet had always been known for being cold and aloof. She was not a tactful politician and had not considered the possible political impact of her actions.
Charles II narrowed his eyes and turned his head slightly. In fact, he was also curious about this question.
"Me? Before I came to your kingdom, I was just a lecturer in the Academy of Magic. "
Houdini replied with a smile, but his words caused the expressions of everyone else in the room to change at the same time.
When it came to a thing like "gap," the amount of information hidden in one or two sentences was enough to show it. The three mages pursed their lips. Charles II also knew that the atmosphere was a little cold, so he winked at the marquis next to him to start a conversation. The marquis immediately changed the topic. "Ah, that … the warship of your kingdom is really impressive. I guess it's rare to meet a worthy opponent on the sea?"
"Fortunately, the fleet of the Lassiman Kingdom is currently working hard to explore the new continent. There has been no other progress so far …"
Charles II was surprised to find that this Ambassador Houdini seemed to be familiar with the Kingdom of Karen. When he casually replied, "The Kingdom of Karen is now peaceful and stable," Houdini directly asked, "Is that all the Orcs' attack? With all due respect, Your Majesty, it's not a good idea to expect Efta or even Elsen City, which has begun to seek independence, to block them from the outside! "
The atmosphere of the meal was once again brought to a freezing point by his words.
Charles II slowly put down the fork in his hand. The two marquises who were smiling apologetically next to him also sat there with a frozen expression. The governor bishop and the archmage frowned at the envoys in front of them. They sat up straight as if they were ready to start a fight at the slightest disagreement.
However, their reaction was obviously not as fast as Charles II. In just three seconds, the monarch slowly exhaled and said in a deep voice, "Well then … since you have already made up your mind, we will not waste any more time."
Tell me, what do you want? "
*****
The tense atmosphere at the main table did not affect the two side tables ten meters away because the ten young mages who followed Houdini had become the absolute protagonists of the two tables.
Their average age was about 20 years old. Although they were about the same age as the mages from the Kingdom of Karen, their strength was basically overwhelming. Only a few personal students such as Crohn, the "Crown of Ice", could barely be on par with them.
This caused the Karen mages to be extremely depressed at the dining table. At first, both sides were quite friendly, chatting occasionally. But when someone tentatively threw out a question about a spell model, these guys easily solved it and showed a mocking attitude, as if to say, "How can you not understand such a simple question?"
Most of the people at the table were young. Naturally, the mages from the Kingdom of Karen did not want to be looked down upon. Except for a few older mages, almost all the Karen mages who were under 30 years old competed with each other openly or secretly. However, the result made their hearts sink to the bottom. Whether it was in terms of knowledge or strength, they were simply left behind by the mages!
There was another reason why the mages from the Kingdom of Karen were showing off. From time to time, they would look at the female mage who had been silent the whole time, hoping that their words would attract her attention.
There was no other reason. Merlinsera's appearance was too outstanding. Even if she did not speak, she would still become the focus of the group.
But no matter how intense the argument between the mages at the dining table was, Merlinsera was not in the mood to pay attention to them. Although she had lost the Dragon Crystal, her body was still different from a human's. So, with her sharp hearing, she could clearly distinguish the somewhat awkward topic between Charles II and Houdini at the main table.
"So, your country has been monitoring the Kingdom of Karen all this time …"
"… Your Majesty, you're exaggerating. This is not for any hidden purpose. Since I've made it clear, it proves that we have no ill intentions."
"You've even mentioned that Eiffta is about to become independent. Then, I'd like to hear what you're going to use to convince me …"
"This, of course, involves the information that the Parliament wants me to convey to you …"
The conversation made Merlinsera narrow her eyes. Ever since she left the Glacial Plains, she had quickly integrated into the world of mages in the Kingdom of Karen with her talent and became the favorite disciple of Grand Magus Crohn. However, due to her excessive study of magic, Merlinsera had almost always been in a state of isolation. Her life of going back and forth between the laboratory and the library made it difficult for her to receive information from the outside world. It was only now that she realized that this kingdom … seemed to be changing.
Although the conversation between Charles II and Houdini was very vague, Merlinsera could hear a lot of hidden meanings. The ambassador's attitude was obviously telling everyone that "we, the Lasiemen, have been watching this place for a long time, and we know more than you can imagine." Charles II didn't quite believe it at first, but after a few probing questions, he completely gave up. He narrowed his eyes and no longer asked any questions. Instead, he waited for Houdini's narration.
This time, the royal family had lost even more thoroughly than at the port.
What surprised Merlinsera was that when Houdini talked about the Orcs, he took the initiative to talk about "Eiffta" and "Elsen City" together. This naturally meant that Roddy's influence was far beyond what most people could imagine.
These things … have anything to do with him?
While the surrounding mages were competing to show off, Merlinsera stared at the plate in front of her. For some reason, she recalled the scene when she looked back at that figure in the snowy land …
Thinking about Berantulu, who had fought alongside him, Merlinsera glanced at the "young talents" in front of her. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, but she shook her head slightly. If these rookies who had never been on the battlefield were to face Berantulu's avatar, they would probably be scared to death on the spot …
She didn't even realize why she was comparing Roddy to them.
"What about this guy, what is he doing now?"
*****
"Phew!"
Roddy abruptly sat up from his bed, his eyes staring blankly ahead as he panted heavily.
Sweat slid down his forehead, but Roddy didn't notice it at all. He only remembered that in front of him was the Orc Army that was charging at him, but he could only hold his longbow in his hand as he charged forward like moths to a flame with the pathetic soldiers around him …
That wasn't a nightmare. It was the scene he had experienced in the "Earth Fissure". However, this scene made Roddy confused. For a moment, he even hoped that he would wake up in that single apartment with messy clothes and the smell of instant noodles. But when his gaze focused on the leather armor in front of his bed, Roddy still let out a slow sigh.
Augustine's revenge, the attack of the Orc Army, the conspiracy of the royal family … Any one of these would be enough to cause him trouble. Now that everything was under control, Roddy admitted that he had thought of running away more than once.
Sunlight spilled into the room from the window. The handmade flooring of the High Elves scattered the sunlight to every corner of the room. It was warm but not glaring. Looking at everything before him, Roddy closed his eyes and slowly recalled his journey in the two years since he came to this world …
From a nameless soldier to the "prime minister" of the territory's cabinet, every step he took was by stepping on the bones of his enemies. He had gone through so many difficulties and dangers, so why did he have the mentality of retreating now?
He suddenly remembered the saying, "The older one is, the more timid they become." Looking around, looking at Elsen City, Roddy understood that it was because of some kind of mentality in his heart that was "content with a little bit of wealth" and "this is good".
In times of peace, this wouldn't be a problem, but now …
Taking a deep breath, Roddy clenched his fists. Countless distracting thoughts seemed to have been shattered in one blow.
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