Ritzy and Benedire were outside under the moonlight with three dead Beastkin and two alive.
Ritzy,
"Seemed liked you needed a little help there. Also, it's two to one. Your falling behind!".
The two remaining beastkin became furious. The one holding the short sword said,
"You F*cking humans! You don't see us as living beings, is killing us just a game to your species!".
Ritzy didn't see beastkins like objects. Contrary to the short sword beastkin's thoughts, Ritzy only saw opponents or enemies as objects and it just so happened that beastkins were the enemy right now. Though, he didn't care what the Beastkin thought so he didn't bother to correct him.
The beastkin became more furious as he remembered about his past. The beastkin were slaves in the city, but they had just taken over so he thought it was the end of humans looking down at his kind. That humans would now fear and never belittle beastkin again. Seeing Ritzy's reaction ruined his dream of humans seeing beastkin differently.
In a drunken rage, the short sword beastkin ran full force at Ritzy. Just as the beastkin was about to swing his sword and Ritzy being ready to counter, a sharp stone bulleted through the beastkin.
The stone went through the beastkin's chest, causing his bones to shatter and stab his organs.
Benedire,
"Seems like we're two, two".
Ritzy looked at Benedire having a cocky face written all over him.
The last surviving beastkin wasn't happy with this new situation.
Gauntlet Beastkin thoughts,
'Seems like this task is bigger than we could handle, I gotta run and inform the other beastkin that we've seriously mistaken on how dangerous the dual-blessed archduke is. I also gotta tell them about the golden-eyed boy'.
The gauntlet using beastkin wasn't as emotional as the rest. It seemed as if he was used to these kinds of scenarios.
The beastkin went on all fours and began running like a wild animal.
Ritzy and Benedire seeing the beastkin trying to escape, they chased after him. Ritzy began using wind magic to change the wind current around him to help him go faster. Using the wind to run faster allowed him to go almost 20% quicker.
Ritzy was catching up quickly but suddenly Benedire shot right past him. Every step that Benedire took seemed weightless. Benedire was simply stepping on the floor and he went 3 meters before he needed to touch the floor again.
With Ritzy's mana presence on, he could see Benedire using a much more denser wind magic compared to Ritzy, and Benedire was using a strange technique to let him move like this.
It didn't take long for Benedire to reach the beastkin. Once he was nearby, he pulled out the sword on his waist and slashed the beastkin's arm off. The motions were so quick that the beastkin didn't notice after a second passed by and he fell on the floor.
Now screaming in pain, Benedire stoped using wind magic and casually walked closer to the beastkin.
The beastkin seeing no escape used his one good arm to try and slash at Benedire. The beastkin's fingernails were extremely sharp, it wouldn't be wrong to believe that they could easily cut iron.
Benedire seeing the beastkin trying to attack him, he simply took a side step to dodge and then swung his sword. The sword slashed through from one side of the beastkin's neck to the other. The head shortly after fell on the floor.
Benedire then turned around and looked at Ritzy with a cocky smile,
"Seems like you couldn't catch up to me even with the headstart I gave you".
Ritzy,
"You used wind magic to catch up, it's technically cheating since it isn't your own personal strength".
Benedire,
"Then what do you call the wind magic you used as well to go faster".
Ritzy coughed twice and said avoiding the question,
'Cough' 'Cough'
"You win".
Benedire gave a light chuckle,
"So what do I win?".
Ritzy thought a bit and then said,
"The knowledge of knowing you're faster than me".
Benedire booed to Ritzy response which was completely un-noble like.
...
Walking back at the campsite, Ritzy and Benedire were happily chatting.
Benedire,
"So, your blessing helps you with wind magic or what is it?".
Ritzy,
"I'm not too sure myself. At first, I thought that it was a combined blessing of everything but it wasn't. I'm just a bit better than the average magician or at least that's what my teacher told me".
Benedire,
"Yeah, you had some great skills back there. You used some basic wind magic and that strange movement technique in the battle earlier. Not many magicians can be calm minded enough to use magic correctly or even fight physically like you".
Ritzy,
"Physically?".
Benedire,
"Yeah, many magicians are lazy and they don't really try to improve their body. They just focus on powerful range attacks that take a while to cast. The magicians that do take some precaution for close-quarters combat just use weak quick using magic attacks. There isn't much like us out there".
Ritzy,
"Huh, that's interesting".
Getting closer to the banquet area, a knight that had the Benedire emblem on his chest came running out. Unlike the rest of the knights, his emblem wasn't on his flag but on his armor. As if his armor was specifically crafted for Benedire knights.
The knight hurriedly approached Benedire, bowed, and said in a worried voice,
"Sir, we've been looking for you. Are you okay?".
Benedire waved his hand and said,
"Don't worry, my new friend and I went for a nightly stroll".
The knight sighed with relief but then curiously looked at Ritzy. He wanted to know who his lord considered his friend.
Looking at Ritzy, the knight was surprised. Ritzy looked young and the only special thing the knight could think about Ritzy was Ritzy's eyes.
Knight,
"Sir, Lord Grasso is looking for you. They are waiting for your presence so they can start the banquet".
Benedire sighed and said,
"Okay, let us go in then".
As Benedire was heading first inside the banquet, Ritzy asked,
"Are you Benjamin Benedire the l".
Benedire,
"Yes, but just call me Benjamin or something similar. I don't mind".
Ritzy,
"Alright, Old Benjamin it is".
The knight hearing his master being called "Old Benjamin" angered him and just as he was about to go punish Ritzy, Benedire chuckled and said,
"See you inside-"
Benedire then spoke slowly,
"Slow Ritzy".
When Benedire finally finished saying Ritzy's nickname, he was already entering the tents.
Seeing Benedire leave, he noticed something and thought,
'Why wasn't the knight terrified of being near him?'.
With Ritzy mana presence still on, he could see inside the tent and Benedire was being greeted by many nobles.
Ritzy's thoughts,
'Why did the beastkin and only me feel terrified when we're around him? Did he stopped having that aura of savage beasts on him?".
Checking on Benedire again, Benedire was still being surrounded by a beast-like aura.
Ritzy's thoughts,
"Can they not sense it? Could it be that humans don't have as much of a natural instinct as beastkin? Is it the magic presence that lets me sense this?".
Thinking about why he was the only human that could sense Benedire unique aura, Ritzy walked inside the tents.
One of the servants that wasn't attending anyone approached Ritzy, hoping to catch his fancy,
"Welcome to the Banquet Lord Ritzy, please let me escort you to your chair".
Ritzy was uninterested in what the servant said and kept walking, completely ignoring the young girl. Ritzy soon arrived at the seat that the past servant showed him and sat there thinking about Benedire's aura.
Benjamin and Skira didn't notice that Ritzy arrived. Benjamin was headfirst in a woman's breasts, with one hand on the girl's waist, and his other hand was holding a cup of wine. Skira was nowhere to be seen. Skira was in the extra tents that were provided outside for personal matters.
The servant being ignored was pissed off but decided to ignore it. Ritzy was a prime target and this would probably be the only time she could get close to someone of his status. Getting her determination back, she tried again.
The servant walked up to Ritzy and said in a cutesy voice,
"Lord Ritzy, would you like something to drink? Some fruit to eat?".
The servant was ignored again. Ritzy didn't even spare a glance at the poor girl.
Still not giving up, she gathered up all her confidence and used her most seductive voice and movement possible.
She caressed Ritzy's chin and forced him to look at her. Then she forcefully sat on his lap with her legs almost wrapping around him and said seductively,
"Young lord Ritzy, are you playing hard to get? You know, you already have my full attention. You can just ask and I'll do whatever you desire".
Ritzy looked coldly at the young girl, almost causing her to scream in fright. His cold glare felt like death was coming for her when she looked into them.
Ritzy,
"I want you to leave".