The butlers continued reporting to the patriarch with concerned looks.
"There are five of them. Andrei Zipfel came personally with other family members."
Andrei Zipfel, the Zipfel Clan's second-in-command.
He was given the title of 'Wind King' due to his contract with the God of Wind Melzeyer and the blessing he received from the Wind Dragon Vyuretta.
He was the man with the highest authority in the clan after Kelliark Zipfel, the patriarch. He was a 9-star magician who could annihilate a couple of small nations within a morning if he felt like it.
Such a powerful man had suddenly come to the Runcandel Clan without any forewarning.
'Andrei Zipfel…?'
Just like Beradin Zipfel, he was someone Jin envied and idolized in his past life as a rookie magician.
If it were the Jin from before his death, his heart would be racing like crazy right now from excitement of meeting his idol, a grand magician even his master had acknowledged.
'But it seems like he's someone without any manners.'
Right now, he was merely an impudent and rude guest who had come uninvited.
Whether he was a grand magician or a grand magician's grandfather, one had to show the proper courtesy and manners when visiting the Runcandels' venerated Garden.
Even Kelliark Zipfel—the patriarch—had shown the proper respect when visiting the clan twenty years ago, and the Vermont Emperor had done the same twelve years ago.
Jin discreetly turned his head to check his father, and Cyron appeared to be of the same opinion as his son.
"What an impertinent prick."
The visitors who were looking up at Cyron from the first floor didn't know what was going on, but the sharp ones amongst them noticed the change in facial expression on Cyron's face. Soon enough, a tense atmosphere took over the hall.
The butlers kept their heads lowered and waited for Cyron to respond.
"Heinz."
The first-class butler in the middle with clean, white hair approached Cyron.
"Yes, Lord Patriarch."
"Inform Andrei Zipfel to get lost, but let the other Zipfel clansmen with him inside. And don't do it yourself. Tell the servants to do it."
Jin almost choked on his saliva as he listened from the side.
Although Andrei had been rude to come uninvited, to send him away at the gate like this would be a terrible insult… Only a true monarch would be allowed to refuse and humiliate Andrei like this.
"Understood."
Heinz replied with a composed tone.
Once the butlers took their leave, Cyron turned to Jin with a softened look.
"Do you think that my decision was a bit extreme?"
"I found it quite gratifying. This should embarrass Andrei Zipfel quite a bit and put him in a tough spot."
"Why do you think it'll put him in a tough spot?"
"Father ordered to 'let the other Zipfel clansmen inside'. In other words, if Andrei Zipfel takes his leave with the other clansmen out of embarrassment, he'll have ignored the Runcandel patriarch's permission. But such a thing is not permitted in the Garden of Swords."
"Haha, I didn't think you'd have deduced it that far. Indeed, Andrei will follow my orders. If he doesn't, he'll have to crawl his way back to the Zipfels without his two legs."
Had Andrei arrived uninvited at a banquet hosted by another clan, the head would've had to allow him inside despite the discomfort.
However, no matter how influential and powerful he was as a grand magician, he was merely a human compared to Cyron, who had entered the realm of demigods. A slightly powerful human, but a human nonetheless.
And even if Cyron turned Andrei into a cripple, the Zipfels wouldn't begin an all-out war against the Runcandels. However, they would retaliate once Cyron passed away.
Around twenty minutes later, four people entered the banquet hall. They were the Zipfel purebloods who had come with Andrei. The grand magician himself didn't join the venue though, just as the father and son had predicted.
Three of the four Zipfels were anxiously looking around the hall, carefully keeping an eye on their surroundings. They appeared to be between 15 and 20 years of age.
Cyron smiled in satisfaction at the sight, stood up, and clapped a single time.
Thump…!
It sounded more like a deep and powerful drum than that of a clap. As the echo resonated in the hall, the guests chatting on the first floor stopped talking and raised their heads to the second floor where Cyron was waiting.
The boys and girls from the Zipfel Clan were concerned that Cyron would rebuke them in public. Needless to say, the Genesis Knight had already turned the page and held no more interest in them.
Amidst the silence, Cyron looked down at the guests and spoke out loud.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming all this way to the Garden of Swords. I am Cyron, patriarch of the Runcandel Clan. It seems I've gotten myself quite a decent son in my latter years. Thanks to him, I have another opportunity to reunite with all these familiar faces and spend a good time. So, a round of applause to Jin Runcandel."
Clap-clap-clap-clap!
Cheers and applause ensued like every formal banquet.
However, the banquets hosted by the Runcandels were known for being quite peculiar—where the greetings were short, and the hosts didn't accept gifts.
"As you all may know, there are just two simple rules you need to follow at Runcandel banquets. First, if a fight breaks out during the merrymaking, the people involved will be escorted to the duelling arena by the guardian knights. Second, the loser must accept their defeat, and the winner must show mercy. Don't forget that this is a celebration."
The public call the Runcandel banquets a 'single-log bridge party'.
The principle behind a single-log bridge is that if two people come face to face on the bridge, it will be followed by confrontation and dispute until one person admits defeat and goes back the way they came.
And that was exactly the case at Runcandel banquets.
A thousand influential and powerful figures from around the world had gathered in one place. Many of them held grudges against other guests, so confrontation and disputes were inevitable since the guests would've gotten drunk from the available alcohol.
In normal banquets, the two parties with animosity would just stare at each other from afar or would simply have light verbal disputes. But the banquets hosted by the Runcandels were different.
If two drunk archenemies made eye contact, they just had to head to the arena without making a fuss.
The only rules were no killing, and accepting the results of the duels.
Some would find it a shame, not being able to kill their nemesis, but it was still quite enjoyable for the winner to pummel and clobber their opponent to the ground. The loser would even have to admit being weaker and inferior to them, which was very satisfying.
"Well then, I hope you all have a great time before you return."
Woohoooooo!
More cheers followed, and Jin trembled as he watched the flushed and joyful faces downstairs. A refreshing and thrilling chill ran down his spine and spread around his body.
'Seriously… this is one hell of a crazy clan.'
And unfortunately, he was a part of this crazy clan.
"You can also head downstairs and enjoy yourself. And if someone piques your interest, you can take them to the arena. But it can't be someone who looks weaker than you, unless they insulted you and the clan."
"Yes, Father. And I assume I'm not allowed to lose either."
"Obviously. If you do, I will take away everything I've given you so far. Bradamante and your nanny included."
"I shall keep that in mind."
Cyron went downstairs first and mingled with the guests. Although he had organized this banquet for Jin, he didn't plan on bringing his son everywhere with him and bragging to the guests.
Jin chuckled as he watched his father's back. He then turned around and went down the stairs on the other side.
'…Come to think of it, it's the first time I've chatted with my father like this.'
Back in his past life, he could never have imagined a day like this would come; the day he and his father would chat like a typical father-son relationship.
Suddenly, a surge of emotions took over him and a lump formed in his throat. But Jin then took a deep breath and erased these feelings.
Having a good father-son relationship or making his father proud weren't part of his objectives for his new life.
'What matters most is for me to surpass you, Father.'
In truth, that was what Cyron wished for the most from his children. But Jin had no way of knowing that fact.
As soon as Jin arrived on the first floor, 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 5-star knight? The guests asked each other with eyes filled with curiosity.
What should Jin do now?
Should he confidently walk towards the crowd with an imposing expression like a lion? Or should he act like an innocent child and approach the guests, thanking them for coming today?
Jin grinned to himself as he realized he had come up with ridiculous ideas he'd never even carry out.
He planned on walking to the center of the hall and standing still with a composed look, as if he had little to no regard for the guests. His position tonight would be at the center of everything, and this would continue being the case for the rest of his life.
The future owner of the house merely had to stay still at his position.
The ones who had to make an effort to come talk to him were the guests.
Jin grabbed a glass of wine from one of the busy servants' tray. The expensive and famed wine that even a rich aristocrat only opened on special days was being handed out like cheap water.
"Ha, haha… Congratulations, Brother."
"Can we stay by your side for a while?"
The first ones to come talk to Jin were none other than the Tona twins. Jin stared at his brothers standing side by side and smiled.
"Of course. How is your Clear Stone training going these days?"
As Jin happily welcomed them, colour returned to the twins' faces.
Amidst all these guests, they wanted to use Jin's fame to increase their own standing and reputation. Something along the lines of 'We're close to him, everyone!'.
Not to mention that Emma had told them to do so.
Now that Myu and Anne had given up on them, their nanny had told the twins to get on Jin's good side. Needless to say, Jin had already predicted all this, and he decided to turn the page and put aside his previous enmity towards Emma.
That woman was quite unpleasant to be around, but she seemed to be one of the more perceptive and sharper people of the Runcandel Clan.
"It's getting better these days. We changed our main weapons to a greatsword and a chainsword as advised by Uncle Zed, and it's so much better now."
"Really? That's great. I'm always cheering for you two, Elder Brothers. You know that, right?"
"O-Of course! Of course we do. It's so reassuring to know you have our backs."
As he awkwardly replied, Daytona mustered all the courage inside him and placed his arm on Jin's shoulders.
Meanwhile, Jin found the twins' fidgeting and their desperate attempts quite endearing and let his brother do as he pleased.
Instead, he quietly whispered in Daytona's ear.
'Once you've done enough acting and are satisfied, get moving. And tell Emma to keep making good use of her sharp wit in the future.'
Daytona barely managed to prevent his face from showing his terror and nodded discreetly. Afterwards, the Tona twins stayed for another five minutes making small talk with Jin before taking their leave.
The twins' withdrawal was like the breaking of a dam. Once they had emptied the spot, the guests who had been glancing at the star of the night began approaching him one after another.
Thanks to the Tona twins, the guests had learned that Jin wasn't as irritable or ill-tempered as Luna from the past. Most of the guests tonight had also attended the banquet from nineteen years ago to congratulate Luna for becoming a 5-star knight at the age of 15.
And back then, they had all learned of how bad-tempered and cold-hearted Luna was… There was no way anyone could ever forget.
"Nice to meet you. I am Julard Ken from the Ken Clan."
"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Julard Ken. Does the food prepared by the Runcandel Clan suit your tastes?"
"Nice to meet you. I am Seager Ken, also from the Ken Clan."
"Likewise. I am Jin Runcandel. I've always wanted to meet people from the Ken Clan who are renowned for their spearmanship."
"Haha, we came running here as fast as possible when we heard the young master of the Runcandel Clan had become a 5-star knight. Pleasure to meet you! I am Jonsina Perral of the Dragon King Knights."
"Oh, so you are Sir Jonsina! My nanny has often told me stories of your heroic exploits when I was younger. It's an honour to finally meet you."
And so, the guests formally yet warmly greeted Jin one after another. Suddenly, one titanic man loomed over Jin, rumpled his hair and spoke loudly in a casual and friendly manner.
"Haha, so you're Jin Runcandel! I was so curious to know what brat had reached the 5-star stage at 15 years old. Ha, you really are just a little brat ten years younger than me. Good to meet you! The name's Huger."
Huger didn't reveal his family name as he believed Jin would recognize him—and recognize, he did. He was a talented, strong, and promising warrior from the Tuko Clan.
Maybe it was because he was respected and looked up to in his clan, but Huger seemed to have forgotten that he was at the Garden of Swords—the Runcandel Clan's main house—and that he had to show proper manners.
And so, Jin gently smiled and replied.
"Oh, yeah, good to meet you, Huger."
The air surrounding them immediately became heavy. Tension spread amongst the guests who were watching their interaction.
***