Episode(33): The Banquet begins
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(33)
Hours slipped by quickly as the hands of time spun and a day had already vanished into nothingness bringing the dawn of a new day.
As morning arrived, countless preparations for the welcoming banquet hosted for the heroes had been in process even before the first ray of sunlight greeted the land with its shining grace.
Time ticked by through the entire day and morning turned to afternoon before even the burning bright shining rays of sunlight cascading the earth partially descended leaving behind the red glowing evening sky.
A cool and refreshing breeze swept over the Floren capital.
Located in the central part of the Araia Star Continent this place would neither experience too hot or too cold climates. This made the evening and night time extremely cool time periods.
At the same time all the stores closed in preparation for the upcoming event and no person spared even a hint of hesitation in their actions, whether they were commoners or merchants and even nobles cleared their schedules all for this day.
It was just a pity, commoners and normal subjects wouldn't be allowed to enter the palace.
No, even if they had the permission to directly attend would they dare? What's to say their luck wouldn't run dry all of a sudden and they bumped into a noble?
A slap in the face would be the least of their worries at that point.
The worst case scenario? Blood would definitely be shed.
Even so, the commoners weren't discontent with this arrangement at all.
That was because even without directly entering the palace, a huge projection spanning miles in the center of the capital allowed the commoners to see exactly what was happening at the royal palace banquet.
It was like a huge jumbo screen and even from afar one could see it if they looked outside their balcony.
It was way better than going to the palace only to end up on the wrong side of some crummy noble so the commoners were extremely glad for the opportunity.
At that same moment, the royal residence created solely for hosting events welcomed the roaring of engines and the blast of exhaust boomed in the ears of all who were present at the scene.
A display of sportscars, limousines and many other vehicles exploded like a myriad of colors painting the scene as they rolled in one by one. Numerous vehicles filled the parking lot without even leaving space for a fly to buzz through.
All the heroes that saw these classy vehicles were taken aback with strange expressions on their faces. Just seeing these cars and the fanfare that they rolled in with made them cringe.
All the cars they saw were all outdated models back on earth so it didn't matter who, it looked strange in all their eyes.
What was this? A throwback event into the past?
They had all come from an era where sports cars were thriving and futuristic innovations of all sorts were already afoot.
One could even see the designs of these vehicles changing by the day. Today the car you bought might be the latest model but tomorrow you would already be behind the times.
That was why, being greeted by the scene of these ancient mechanical beasts, even to those who never saw one up close made it feel as though time had regressed to a time unknown to them.
Although these cars would still cost a pretty penny on earth, not many would even think about buying these outdated vehicles to begin with.
Now that they were seeing the medley of vehicles gather like it was out of a historical picture book, they were all stunned.
Did they really regress to a certain time period instead of another world? None of them could help the suspicion.
Even with the blazing sportscars that bellowed in a roar of flames, the models of these cars all resembled the cars from the 1999 t0 2010 time period.
To the heroes, this was strange. However for all the nobles the situation was totally different and they all felt mighty and filled to the brim with confidence stepping out of their brand new vehicles.
The fulfillment they felt at the moment placed each of these nobles on cloud nine!
How could they not feel like they were kings and Queens of a century?
The nobles had their noses pointed so high that they could have already pierced the heavens. They wouldn't be surprised if other came to hug their thighs in awe and respect.
Seeing the heroes peer at them, the strange gazes didn't register in their minds at all. Instead, they thought the heroes were simply awestruck by their wealth and power.
'I know I know, not everyone can afford to even inhale the dust of my car, blame myself for being too rich!'
The nobles all lamented how much power and wealth they had.
If the heroes even knew what they were thinking, no doubt someone would have burst out laughing that these nobles were truly a comedy show in the flesh.
But, could it be helped that the nobles felt their ego's soaring to the sky?
To the heroes, these vehicles were old grandpas' that were long past their times, but in this world these vehicles were the newest and latest edition models that had been released on the market not too long ago.
Not to mention, with the addition of magic the performance and style of these vehicles far surpassed what those in the 2010 time period could compare to. They could even match up to vehicles that were made in the 2018 time period already!
That was why, even if they were outdated in their previous world, here these were genuinely new and high spec models that were worthy of praise and a high cost value.
Even the royal family had to watch their budget when spending on three of these.
Heck, even if you searched the entire continent it would be rare to find such rare models like the ones gathered here.
Just the fact that even a wealthy empire could only purchase three of these vehicles went to say that most would have to pay a literal arm and a leg to acquire these vehicles.
This was why, a noble that could actually purchase such a high costing vehicle could act like a king amongst men no matter what circle they were in.
With wealth and glamor like they had, the nobles were sure they could catch the attention of the heroes so they all had smiles of contentment on their faces as they walked into the venue.
The heroes didn't enter immediately. Instead all the nobles and influential people walked into the venue with smiles on their faces one after the other.
Soon, even the red glow of the evening sky fell covering the sky with a veil of darkness.
One by one stars lit up the sky like a myriad of fireworks and the two moons hung brightly in the sky as they looked down on the brightly lit hall where the banquet was being held.
Inside the venue, the mood was incredibly soothing and light.
Laughter and cheerful chatter echoed around the hall as different groups and circles gathered all over.
Topped with the wonderful and exquisite lighting and decorum, it was a sight for sore eyes with all these nobles gathered in one place.
Of course, the distinction between upper, middle and lower nobles were present as always as the many nobles were divided amongst themselves.
It was mainly this reason why commoners weren't invited. If even nobles were segregated like this then what of commoners?
Although the nobles of the empire didn't discriminate, it wasn't because they all had good nature and personalities.
Not everyone was a saint or a sage. A heart of gold could never be forged amongst liars and schemers.
No, the main reason why nobles never acted out of line was simply because the founding ancestor of the kingdom forbid all acts of violence and discrimination against the lower class.
He believed that both nobles and commoners had a duty and without one or the other the empire couldn't survive!
At any rate, this didn't stop the nobles from being divided and looking down on those lower in rank than themselves. If you were lower then know your place and don't step out of line.
This was why even though they were all nobles, a lower class noble wouldn't dare spark up a conversation with a middle class noble and a middle class noble wouldn't dare go up to a high class noble.
Could you blame them?
If they just strolled up all confident to a noble in higher rank regardless whether it was for polite greetings or just for being an idiot you would literally get a smack across the face.
If the noble were to have a hot temper, forget a light smack, getting a beating wouldn't even be a stretch.
Luck be granted you met a kind noble. They would return the greetings all while telling you not to make the same mistake again.
Okay, great. But-
What if you were the unlucky type and met a harsh noble, the least you would receive was a public slap to the face and a barrage of curses about your lowly bloodline.
The most? Your very life might be on the line. Not only you but your entire family would suffer.
However, as members born into nobility they all knew the unwritten holy rule of nobility. No one would dare defy the caste system if they wanted to continue living their lives peacefully.
To begin with, as lower ranking nobles they felt too much pressure so they were happy they didn't have to go up to higher ranked nobles and have a chat for no reason.
Whoever said chatting with a superior was fun?
What in the hell would they talk about? The weather? How blue the sky was? How many sheep you could count before you go night night?
Talk about awkward!
At that moment, the emcee of the event spoke into the magically imbued microphone introducing the arrival of the heroes.
One by one, heroes walked in. Some had companions linking arms intimately by their sides while other could only gnash their teeth in jealously and shame.
F*ck!
They were all heroes so why was it that they were still single lads even after coming to this world? Such a distinction was so clear that it was blinding!
Could it be that they weren't really special existences but mobs meant to accompany someone else's story?
As the envy raged in their hearts, the single heroes couldn't help but curse inwardly. Especially the anime geeks that thought it would finally be their springtime of youth!
However after coming to this world they were all just met with disappointment after disappointment.
It was torture for these guys who had an extreme eight grade syndrome.
Why would they even gain these powers if they didn't even have a waifu to praise them and give them power through love and faith!?
Soon, all the heroes had all been announced and it was now time for the princesses to enter.
Both Maria and Elaine walked into the venue with smiles plastered on their faces, arms linked together while taking a short curtsy. Their movements were so elegant and graceful that it made the hearts of both male and female in the crowd flutter at the sight.
Underneath all the graceful and happy exterior however, Maria was vigilant.
Tonight was a special night. Although they already had a gag order placed on Elaine's information one could never be too careful.
Maria had to be extra careful tonight. She silently prayed in her heart-
'Please let nothing happen tonight!'
It was a pity that no one could foretell the future!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With eyes shining brightly and a smile that captured hearts with every gaze that landed on that beautiful face and alluring figure. Maria seemed to be in a great mood at the moment.
Coupled with her cute sister linking arms, the scene was a sight for sore eyes.
On the inside however, Maria warily looked around the venue with hawk-like vigilance.
A gag order had been issued.
Her heart should have been calmed by this fact, but as a royalty that faced way too many disasters simply because she was a princess, Maria couldn't write off other possibilities that might happen.
A princess in stories might always just be a happy go lucky fool. But even the stupidest of princesses wouldn't dare let themselves dabble in bliss.
Her glossy yet dazzling eyes surveyed the entire hall. The two jewel like pupils overlooked the reverent nobles that all gazed with respect at the two of them.
Maria heaved a sigh of relief when she saw this scene. Feeling the genuine respect from the crowd, Maria knew that no one had knowledge that Elaine was with a child.
Not yet at least.
If any one of these nobles knew about the situation then there were bound to be one or two nobles with strange reactions to the princesses entrance.
Although Maria's forte wasn't perception, she could at least spot that much amongst a crowd of nobles emotional fluctuation since it was something she did even as a child.
Additionally, if they knew about Elaine's circumstances the gazes towards Elaine would have lingered longer on her before they turned back to herself.
As the current acting Empress, Naturally all gazes would settle on Maria.
Although a few looked at Elaine, none had negative emotions and neither did their gazes linger.
If they had lingered even a bit longer, regardless of whether these people knew what was going on, Maria didn't know what she would do.
Thinking about how they could even threaten the royal family with this information, Maria felt nothing but worry~
'Luckily'
Maria heaved sighed in relief.