With the ceremony over, Benedire walked up to his grandson.
"Tomorrow will be a very important night for you, grandson. As a noble, you'll need connections and allies to strengthen yourself. Tomorrow I want you to mingle with nobles you believe you'll be able to benefit from. But be wary, some might want to become friends and take complete advantage of you".
Benjamin,
"I understand".
Benedire,
"Good, now all you need to do is prepare. Today, we'll be staying in the city. But since there's no official record of which nobles died and which survived as prisoners, we'll be staying at the auction house owned hotel. Go get all our stuff and bring it to the hotel, also tell Ritzy and Dayla to come to the hotel as well".
"It's customary for all new nobles to live the first day of nobility as high-level nobles. So by having them stay at such high-level hotels, we can give them an incentive to continue growing their nobility rank".
Benjamin,
"I'll tell them right away, we can travel together since they'll also need to pack their stuff to go to the hotel".
Benedire,
"Good, but remember. Lord Ritzy is Lord Puissance's first student in many years and also someone who could defeat an enemy I found difficult. He'll be a great asset to your future and a great friend, keep him close".
Benjamin,
"Of course grandfather".
...
Saying their goodbyes, Benjamin headed for Dayla and Ritzy. Dayla and Ritzy were talking to Ritzy's knights about future plans. Since Dayla and Junger were in love, they had to plan if Junger is to be sent to the Dodery residence or Dayla is to be sent to the Reds residence.
Dayla,
"You'll have to go to the Doddery residence, I need to introduce you to my family. Even though Lord Benedire gave us his blessing and we don't need my father's anymore, we still need to show proper courtesy".
Junger,
"But Dayla, I've pledged to protect Lord Ritzy until he comes back to the Reds manor. I can't leave until my job is done".
Dayla turned to Ritzy and said pleadingly,
"Lord Ritzy, can you allow Junger to come with me to meet my family".
Ritzy said with a kind smile,
"It's-".
Before Ritzy could finish, Benjamin arrived and intervened.
"Lord Dayla, even though you don't need your father's approval anymore, Lord Reds still needs to take proper procedures. Junger is the Reds family knight so Lord Reds must give proper gifts to Junger so he can give them to your family. This is not only the start of a romantic relationship but the beginning of a connection between the Reds and Bentley family".
Hearing Benjamin's words, she turned to Ritzy and said in an apologetic tone.
"Sorry Lord Ritzy, I asked you to do something incorrectly. I was blinded by love so please forgive me".
Ritzy coughed into his hand and then said,
"Don't worry, love is blinding".
Dayla,
"Thank you for being understanding".
Benjamin,
"With that out of the way, I've come here to notify you two that we'll be residing in the auction house hotel. All new nobles are to rest there for tomorrow's banquet is what I've been told".
Dayla,
"The auction house hotel! I heard that place is the most lavish hotel in the entire kingdom. Guests spend from 1 silver to 5 silver a night depending on their noble rank for the cheapest room. Even though we did help recapture the city, the merchant guild would still make us pay to reside in their hotels".
Benjamin,
"Suposubly by us staying there, it gives us an understanding of what we'll get if we go up the ranks of nobility".
Dayla,
"Oh, like motivation for the future. That's great then! We should all quickly go back and get our stuff ready so we can lodge in the hotel! Hurry, I can't wait to see how the city's wealthiest and most powerful live!".
Dayla gave a quick bow to Ritzy and Benjamin then grabbed Junger's hand and dragged him away with her.
With them leaving, Benjamin spoke worriedly at Ritzy.
"You know that's your knight right? Even though you lent him to Dayla to act as a knight escort, he still would've needed to bow goodbye to you".
Ritzy,
"Well good thing you're here. I would've seen his actions as harmless".
Benjamin sighed and said,
"I need to make sure no one knows how unknowledgeable of this stuff you are, please make sure this doesn't happen again".
Ritzy,
"Of course, don't worry".
Benjamin,
"Make sure you don't forget, my reputation is on the line as well. Anyways, I'll be going now. I'll meet you back at the hotel".
Ritzy,
"Till later then".
...
Arriving back at camp, Ritzy was ordering the servants and knights.
"We'll be resting in the city for now. I'll be resting in the auction house hotel and all of you will be resting in a nearby inn. Also, I want to reward all of you. There will be a twenty silver budget for celebratory things that everyone will be able to use. You can use it for alcohol, trinkets, or anything you like".
The group celebrated in unison because they believed they wouldn't be able to celebrate cash worry-free since Grasso only offered useless things for the banquet tomorrow. With the money their lord offered, they could waste cash like nothing for two days. Meaning they could go to the pleasure guild services today and go to the banquet tomorrow worry-free.
Ritzy,
"I'll give the money to Alter once I've resided in the hotel, so-".
Before Ritzy could finish, all the knights and servants already started cleaning and packing everything up.
Ritzy's mind,
'I really need to see the rule book of how nobles should act. I don't know if I should punish them for not letting me finish or be proud that they're working efficiently'.
With nothing else to announce, Ritzy went to the carriage to check his luggage. Inside the carriage, he opened his luggage and saw the spare clothes and coins his family gave him for the trip. Ignoring the items, Ritzy moved the clothes to his side. Revealing many mana items and wands.
Looking at the items, Ritzy reminded himself he needed to go to the Magrimid Kingdom to sell these items. If he wanted to enjoy this world, he needed wealth and power.
He needed to increase his noble rank so higher rank nobles couldn't bully him legally. He needed territory so he could have his own knights for protection and subjects to bring a stable income. He needed the money from selling the wands so he could have start-up money for his territory.
Ritzy's mind,
'After I return home, I need to ask Christopher how I can raise my noble rank. Hopefully, there's something that allows me to raise my rank and go to Magrimid kingdom at the same time'.
Closing the luggage, Ritzy became hopeful for the future.
...
Becoming sunset, Ritzy arrived in front of the auction house hotel. It was one of the biggest buildings in the city. The building was ten floors high which was is impressive for this world's technology.
It had a white stone as its main building block with dark wood for its outlines. In front of the building were many elegantly dressed servants welcoming its guest.
The mixture of elegantly dressed servants and a beautiful building made it seems as if no war ever happened here.
Getting of the carriage, Ritzy was greeted by a male servant in a dark brown suit.
"Welcome young lord. By the golden eyes, I presume your Lord Ritzy. We've been expecting you".
Ritzy,
"This place is very neat and undamaged. I would've thought this would be one of the targeted places for the beastkin".
Servant,
"Do not worry sir, the merchant guild prides itself in providing the best quality to its customers. As soon as the war was over, the merchant guild sent its workers to fix the building. We can't have nobles like yourself stay out in camps".
Ritzy,
"Quick workers, I like that. Could I know where the merchant guild resides in this city if I ever need their services?".
Servant,
"Of course Lord Ritzy. We reside currently next to the entrance of the noble district. Nearby is the city's military headquarters so it shouldn't be too hard to find".
Ritzy took out fifteen copper coins and handed them to the servant.
"Here's a tip and also. Send me an elf lady to my room in an hour, I'll need her services".
The servant smiled with the coins in his hands and bowed as he said.
"As you say, Lord".