Neoma looked up at the red haired elf in front of him. He could see a slight frown beginning to form on Juno's face, but he quickly relaxed his eyebrows and bowed to the administrator. After seeing his mentor do so, the human bowed as well.
Administrators held a high authority in Aekodora. Their roles were quite minor a few centuries ago; however, after Kyros' father got crowned as the king, the administrators rose in power due to the king's incompetence. They were also seen as rulers of Aekodora who were just under the king. After all, they kept the order and continued the prosperity of Aekodora while taking control of different sectors.
Furthermore, anyone can become one of the seven administrators. This role wasn't just reserved for elven nobles. The person who could receive this position can even be someone from the lower class or even below it. However, that is highly unlikely, since they won't get any proper education. The ones who get the role of the administrator are the smartest and most capable elves of Aekodora.
However, with Fachnan, it was different. His family had taken over the position of the Administrator of Justice for generations. They did so by preparing their own family members from a young age to be perfect fits for this role. The other contenders for this position were lacking in some kind of way, resulting in the Karim family taking over the sector of justice.
"You're late."
Fachnan spoke as he glanced back over his shoulder, his gaze landing on Orion who had just entered the ballroom.
"I apologise, father…"
The young red haired elf bowed to Fachnan, Juno, and Neoma. The human bowed back to the cadet; however, his mentor didn't follow his actions this time, showing that his status is higher than Orion's.
'Of course, he's here as well… He's destined to be the next Administrator of Justice. But wait a second… Did he participate in the first Grand Ball in "The Elven Hero"? I can't recall him being here… Oh well, maybe he just came here with his father and simply didn't have much of a presence.'
Neoma thought as he raised his head back up and glanced towards the cadet and his father. The duo certainly had quite the aura around them. It was suppressing and suffocating. It was different from the pressure Neoma felt when he met Kyros for the first time.
Kyros surely had a suffocating energy around him. However, it was still gentle and kind. It made you feel safe and protected. However, the aura of the Karim family, especially Fachnan's, was daunting and it made Neoma's feel nervous. The human could barely control his shaking hands.
Orion's eyes landed on Neoma's trembling hands, which he had tried his best to hide from the others. However, the cadet didn't point it out or say anything about it out loud. He acted as if he didn't even see it as he raised his eyes back up and looked at the human who was struggling to keep up the calm and relaxed image of himself.
"Hmph. So you're the one who managed to defeat my son. Impressive, impressive."
Fachnan spoke with an emotionless voice; however, his words carried a lot of weight. It was clear that he was not happy with the result.
'I am starting to feel bad for Orion… Who knows what his father did to him after I won our sparring match.'
Neoma sighed inwardly. Just as Fachnan finished speaking, Kyros approached the group of people. The guests began to gather around as well.
"Since all of us have gathered, let's not waste any of our precious time and get straight to the point."
Kyros spoke with a gentle smile on his face.
'Truly, he's like a completely different person compared to the novel and his personality in it.'
Neoma couldn't help but frown slightly upon hearing the king speak in such a mature and collected way.
"Today's main topic, the main reason we are holding the Grand Ball today, is right here."
Kyros gestured with his hand towards Neoma.
"He is the human who created the black shield when the Church of Inferno attacked the town square during the last festival of spring. The shield devoured the lightning spell and our citizens were left unscathed. Neoma, the hero of that special day, named his power anti-magic."
A small sigh escaped past the king's lips as he introduced Neoma officially to all of the nobles and administrators which have gathered today.
"However, despite the admiration the citizen's have shown to him, some of the people here, the high ranking elves of Aekodora, have shown their worries for the decision I have made to keep Neoma here and train him."
Just as Kyros finished speaking, Fachnan spoke up right afterwards. He was still very displeased with Neoma defeating his son.
"Of course, it is hard not to see the problems which may arise from keeping that human here. As far as I know, he had no training before suddenly appearing in Aekodora out of thin air. Yet, he was able to defeat my son, Orion, who is ranked as number 4 among all of the cadets.
"He could bring great dangers to this kingdom if we continue to keep him here. Additionally, we know absolutely nothing about him and his powers. What if his powers came from the Unknown God?"
After Fachnan had said those last few words, the atmosphere in the entire ballroom became tense. No one wanted to say anything.
'The Unknown God? Who is that? There was no such god in "The Elven Hero".'
Neoma began to slightly panic as he realised that there was absolutely nothing mentioned about this character in the novel he read. Not even his name was told. So after Neoma had heard that there is another god which he hadn't heard of, someone who's powerful and wields authority over some type of magic, he couldn't help but feel panic for the first few seconds after hearing of such information.
Nevertheless, the human quickly collected himself. He needed to reply to Fachnan's accusations.
"Sir, I understand where your concerns are coming from, but I can assure you that I hold nothing against the elves and this kingdom. I would never cause harm. Furthermore… I was only able to defeat your son because he didn't know how to overcome my powers.
"However, if we were to fight again, I doubt that the result would be the same. He is still more powerful and stronger than me. He has more experience. The only advantage I had was that no one has ever come across anti-magic."
With each word Neoma said, the red haired elf was frowning more and more. He thought that the human was talking back to him, showing disrespect. Just as he was about to teach Neoma, Juno quickly interrupted.
"This human has a name. It's Neoma. With all due respect, sir, I do not wish to go against you or be disrespectful towards you. However, seeing my only student being disrespected, as his mentor, I couldn't just stand by and continue to watch this unfair treatment. I hope you forgive my rude behaviour."
Juno bowed to the Administrator of Justice as an apology. However, before Fachnan could reply to him, another person interrupted.
"Fachnan. Both the king and the commander of Aekodora have tested him, and saw that Neoma is trustworthy and that it is safe to keep him here. Yes, his powers are unknown and this is the main reason why this causes so much worry and concern for our kingdom. But I choose to trust the king who loves his kingdom and wishes to protect Aekodora.
"On top of that, you should trust the people working in the royal palace more. There are many strong individuals who would be able to hold Neoma down if something bad does happen… And please do not mention that god again. Saying that the human's powers came from the Unknown God is quite extreme. It's best if we do not mention his title."
Rose spoke with a gentle smile on her face as she stood next to Juno and Neoma. She was publicly showing her support for keeping the human in the royal palace.
However, she wasn't done speaking yet.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Whoops, how careless of me."
She brought her hand up to her lips and covered her mouth as she giggled.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about your son's behaviour, Fachnan? He publicly ridiculed His Majesty. This was the cause of the duel between Orion and Neoma. While a member of the Karim family was mocking the king's decision, that human that you despise so much was fighting on His Majesty's behalf."
Just as Duchess Einar finished speaking, the nobles began to whisper to each other. The Administrator of Justice seemed furious when he heard that. However, he couldn't say anything because what Rose had said was the truth.
"I apologise for my actions and words before. I will not ever do so again and will accept any punishment. After the duel, I realised that I had made a mistake. I apologise, Your Majesty."
Orion quickly bowed to the king of Aekodora, his heart beating fast as he waited for Kyros' answer.
Kyros had a gentle smile on his lips as he replied to the young elf.
"Since you have realised your mistake, there is no need to punish you. However, I do hope that this does not happen again."