Back in the capital of Bard, Desmon, Mason and the 15-year-old Don had already spent a whole night at Desmon's estate within the capital, and were now departing for the royal palace.
"People sure work fast" Mason commented.
"Hmm?" Desmond looked over at Mason from enjoying the view of the capital.
"Well, almost a month ago, everything was nearly demolished with houses burnt, buildings collapsed, and dead bodies everywhere. But now, it has been completely restored in such a short amount of time. Even the citizens seem like nothing happened at all." Mason marvelled at the scene, with some suspicions that he did not speak out loud.
"Hmm, It seems the church of Ares helped out a lot in rebuilding the capital." Desmon nodded as he understood what Mason was trying to subtly say. At this point, he could not help but marvel at the understanding portrayed by Mason.
At first, Mason had seemed like someone that came from some rural countryside of the kingdom, and after some investigation, it turned out that Mason was just that, and so was Don.
How Don became a mage was unknown, however, Desmon understood that Mason had become one likely due to The God of Systems after he was nearly killed by a wolf beast.
'Anyway, most mages need to be much more intelligent as compared to normal humans of their age' Desmon replied to his own curiosity and put the matter aside.
"Duke Desmon Bard of the Bard dukedom has arrived." The steward announced Desmon's appearance before opening the doors of the palace.
A young man at the age of 21 walked in with 2 even younger children following behind with an open mouth.
Mason's entire view was covered by things that seemed to be glowing, nearly blinding him by the brilliance. If the hut he had been living in up till now was a spark, then Duke Desmon's mansion in the capital was a hand-held torch on a stick, and the mansion at the dukedom was a bonfire. However, this palace was on a league of its own.
'A sun…' that was the only thought going through Mason's mind.
However, he and don were quickly pulled out of their daze after some hostile gazes landed on them, and Nix began to move around uncomfortably in his sleep within Mason's clothes.
Mason did not shy away from the hostile looks, and instead turned directly to the people responsible and stared back at them until they looked away with a smirk on his face.
Desmon walked up to a noble and greeted him with a noble's bow.
"Greeting Duke Harmen Bard."
"Greetings Duke Desmon Bard."
Although the two of them had the same names, they were related by so little blood that it could be considered non-existent.
Duke Harlem's branch of the Bard family had split from royalty a long time ago, nearly a hundred years before Desmon's branch was created.
However, Harlem was one of the few people who actually cared about Desmon other than the king, and treated him like his own nephew, and Desmon treated Harlem like his own uncle. Harlem was the one who had supported Desmon to regain all his lands and title after his father and sister mysteriously vanished that day. On normal days, they would refer to each other as uncle Harlem and Little Desmon, but since this was an official meeting, they could only follow the noble etiquette and greet each other formally.
"How have you been Duke?"
"Impeccably. What about you Duke Desmon?"
"Rather sufficiently"
To Mason, this conversation was already beyond his understanding, and so he took the silent Don to the side and handed him a plate of food before taking one himself, and moving to one side of the hall. Here, Mason leisurely rested his back at the wall behind him and causally ate his food, with the much shorter Don to his left, also mimicking him and eating the food.
Both Don and Mason had received a good mount of training in terms of mannerism of the nobles so as not to go against the noble's etiquette and embarrass Desmon at the meeting.
After a few more guests came in, the steward finally announced.
"The King of Bard, His Majesty Alexander Bard II, arrives!"