Suddenly, a fanfare sounded, and the Baroness and some guests looked out from behind the door leading from the balcony. I recognized Mother Isabella among them.
On the left side of the balcony there was a stand, which the Baroness was now climbing. Next to the stand was a troupe of either musicians or actors, or maybe all at once.
"Dear guests, I am truly delighted to see each and every one of you here," Lady Karendrit began solemnly, "today our event is visited by our city's famous Voland troupe. Enjoy the feasts and the dancing."
I looked at the performers represented, but I didn't notice anything dangerous or unusual about them.
Instead, I looked at the guests, of whom the man in the robe next to Mother Isabella stood out most strongly. Perhaps it is the Abbot himself.
The man looked smaller than the nun, possibly because he was hunched over while she kept her back straight. His hair was gray and greasy. He looked tired, in particular because of the bruises under his eyes, and his nose was slightly crooked to the left. He was smiling as he greeted the guests. He had very white teeth.
He was almost indistinguishable from a nun in his clothes: the cloak was divided into four sections, and a light priestly robe of blue-black color was hidden under the cloak.
At the moment, as Shindler had said before, there would be a party, so people mostly ate and danced outdoors.
I decided to go to one of the tables and try out the snacks. There were many different dishes and desserts, but I especially liked the deer loin with a potato side dish. Separately, I put some green peas on my plate.
At some point, a young girl appeared next to me, who also decided to try deer meat.
"Good morning, do you like venison too?" she asked.
The girl looked to be about 20-25 years old, she had shoulder-length brown hair braided in a ponytail. Her skin was well-groomed and almost softly pink, aquamarine eyes and a small nose, coupled with a playful smile on pink lips, made her very attractive.
However, the choice of clothes was a bit strange. Girls usually strive to emphasize their beauty with appropriate outfits, but she came to the event in a men's suit: a starched white shirt; a dark blue, almost black, vest with a patch; ordinary trousers, which are worn by every man present here; a scarlet bow tie.
"Not really, I just wanted to try," I smiled.
"So that's how it is," she nodded. "I haven't seen you before, who are you?"
"My name is Yakov, I'm a member of the Deathbringers," I replied. "And who are you?"
"My name is Lisa, I am the hostess of the five-star hotel 'The Anthemion'," she replied. "Nice to meet you, I hope you and your team will visit us someday."
With that, she took her food and went to another place.
I decided to enjoy my portion without leaving the table.
***
After a while.
"Dear friends," the Baroness began, "today will be the most significant day in the history of the city of Flir and all its inhabitants, because today we, together with His Holiness Abbot Egeiro Oneiros, announce the restoration of the city council! Tomorrow you will be able to start working on improving the Flir, but in the meantime, I give the floor to His Holiness."
"Thank you, Your Grace," the Abbot said, stepping forward and taking all the attention for himself. "The era of peace and prosperity will begin in Flir tomorrow. The heretical issue has been completely resolved, although some of its echoes continue to spoil our lives, so the witch tribunal headed by Ollie Suger will act until the threat completely disappears."
"With the creation of the council, our city will finally come out of a period of instability," the abbot continued. "But the problems of the city will not be solved all at once and overnight. We will need to come together and put all contradictions on the back burner in order to continue moving forward."
Given the implicit confrontation between the Abbot and the Baroness, these words can be interpreted as a proposal for a peace treaty.
After that, the Abbot again gave the floor to the Baroness.
"Thank you for the speech, Your Holiness," Lady Karendrit said, using magic to amplify her voice. "As you said, the tribunal will remain until the final defeat of the cultists, and therefore, in order to resolve this issue as soon as possible, I invited one of the six Holy Orders to the city – the Order of Confectors led by Bill Nekanon, very soon they will also have the opportunity to speak out."
In response to this statement, only restrained clapping from the audience was heard. The Abbot was not particularly impressed.
"I realize that much time has elapsed since the dispersal," the Baroness emphasized the word 'dispersal' with a slight pause in her speech, "of the past City Council, and therefore I feel it necessary to recall the principle of this body."
"First and foremost, the City Council of Flir shall carry out legislative activities aimed at improving the life of the city, but not violating the law and the Constitution of the Empire – the Holy Scriptures. The City Council shall be headed by a Speaker, elected on a permanent basis by myself, Baroness Tura Vasil Karendrit. Among other things, the City Council is required to listen to the complaints of the residents, and to make decisions to combat unfavorable elements of society in conjunction with the police force and the church."
I expected such words, but I did not think that the Baroness had the right to appoint the Speaker of the City Council, in fact the leader.
"Getting to the point, the Speaker was appointed long before today with the appropriate notification to His Holiness, so I have the honor to introduce this person – Elizabeth Leroy Gerba."
The lady I was talking to during the meal came on stage.
"Greetings, dear guests and future colleagues, my name is Elizabeth Leroy Gerba," the girl introduced herself. "I am the hostess of The Anthemion Hotel. I feel immeasurable joy and gratitude for the appointment to this important post for the city. I promise to serve faithfully our city and our mistress, Lady Tura Karendrit. Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!"
At the last sentence, there was a storm of applause from the majority of the audience, including the Defenders. Nevertheless, it was a secret to me why women in such conservative times stand on an equal footing with men: they occupy important positions, walk freely in men's clothes without any censure, serve in church with men. Does it have something to do with local beliefs and culture? It will be necessary to study the Holy Scriptures carefully.
"Thank you for your attention," said the Baroness, "now please listen to Mr. Bill Nekanon."
When the Baroness said these words, a small crowd of people came onto the stage.
"It is an honor for us, Your Grace," he bowed as he entered the stage. "My name is Bill Nekanon, I came here with my brothers and sisters in order to finally deal with the heretics."
Bill himself was very tall indeed, about two meters. He wore a blood-red composite armor, the places with slits were covered with additional iron plates of the same color, from which small spikes sprang out. His helmet was rather oblong and consisted, besides the main part, of several layers of plates, which gave his head more protection.
"To be honest, representatives of the Imperial Guard were supposed to be here instead of us, but after a short meeting it was decided to send my team," Bill said loudly. "We promise that we will fulfill the task set for us."
Besides Bill himself, there were three other people I decided to consider.
The first was a man in a black raincoat. His mask was half black and half white, like a fool's, but it did not completely cover his face, since the bottom of the mask was broken off. A hood was pulled over his head, and he was smiling with his lips. There was no visible gaze behind the mask, but I was overcome by an unpleasant feeling as if someone was looking at me.
The second was a man dressed in a blue shirt, black trousers and a white raincoat to the waist with a hood, the edges were embroidered in gold. His face was almost pale, and his brown hair was a little greasy. He wore square-rimmed glasses, a slightly hooked nose, and despite the bruises under his eyes, he continued to smile.
The third was a girl who seemed to be parodying her boss and was also wearing red armor, only the helmet was different and looked more like a shell or walnut. But since she was holding it in her hand, it was possible to see her appearance. Unlike her leader, she was 40-50 centimeters shorter, her red hair was severely shortened, and she had a man's haircut. Her face was a little narrow, her cheekbones were sharp, her eyes were half-closed, her nose was small, she was not wearing any makeup.
After that, people began to gradually leave the balcony, heading inside the mansion.
"Is the party over?" Vector asked.
"It looks like it is," Skell replied. "The main stage of the convention begins. Yakov, the fate of the city will be decided now, do you want to stay a little longer?"
"I think yes, it will be very interesting."