Chapter 98 - Results

Jien made his way back to the manor along with the other noble children, talking when he was addressed but otherwise remaining silent much like Barret who seemed to silently sink into the background. The other four had no qualms with being loud and social, not completely ignoring Jien and Barret but also not trying to force them into their conversations. They were glad that Jien was at least willing to put in some comments even if they were only obligatory, while they all let Barret be since it was clear from their interactions so far that the boy was going to be silent until they got to know him better, perhaps even longer even.The adults kept to their own group, letting the children chat while talking amongst themselves. A lot of the conversation was based around how Jien had fought, a few of the men ribbing Earl for how Jien had blown through most of his mana right away, while the women complimented his use of the tools he had on hand. Rosalind's parents both were very interested in the Vine Guard from a crafting perspective. While they were both metalsmiths by trade that did not mean that they didn't dabble in other forms of smithing. They felt the use of plants as a part of smithing was ingenious, having heard of it from some battles with the elves, but they never had the interest to try and figure it out until now.These conversations lasted for the few minutes that it took for everyone to arrive at the manor where several maids and butlers, both from the Losler house and those that had traveled with their lords and ladies, were waiting for them with some refreshments, waiting to lead them to their rooms to freshen up. The various families separated there and made their way to their prepared guest rooms while Jien followed Runa to his room to prepare for the second, and second most draining portion of his day. He would have to socialize with the other noble children as well as the adults over refreshments and lunch.If he could have hidden away from everything now and waited it out, he would have. Now however, with Runa following closely behind him he would not have such a chance. He could only sigh internally and hope that these last two phases of the event would pass quickly so that he could get on with what he actually wished to do. This may be his birthday celebration but to him currently it felt more like he was having his teeth pulled than a day to celebrate.He made it to his room with Runa on his heels, closing the door swiftly after they had both entered. After entering he moved to remove his rapier from his hip and place it to the side of his desk where he usually kept it. While there he made sure to feed the Vine Guard with a nutrient solution, he had made using the knowledge from the alchemy book he had memorized. This was yet another example of how he had been able to dig into the knowledge he had around him.Runa swiftly made her way over to Jien once he had finished with his weapon. She, with practiced ease, helped him remove his leather cuirass, wrist and leg guards, relieving him of the burden of the material that held in much of his body heat. Once the armor was removed it exposed the fact that his shirt was drenched in sweat, and he sighed in relief at the cool air that brushed the quickly cooling fabric.Though each of the noble children remained composed throughout the matches for the most part that did not mean that they were not strenuous. Each match was physically difficult, even if they appeared simple. The use of mana manipulation to enhance the body would likewise stress the muscle groups enhances and those that would have to compensate for those changes. Beyond that shifting mana through the body to cast spells was not without burden on the body. Jien wouldn't have been surprised if even Barret who had done little more than walk and use stealth magic was much like himself currently.He quickly undressed as Runa prepared a hot bath for him to soak once more. She added a number of scented oils to both help Jien relax and recuperate but also to make sure that he smelled lovely for the two noble ladies. Even though Runa and the others could see that Jien was not too interested in the female members of the visiting noble children that did not change his responsibilities in the slightest. He would have to host them properly and it was his responsibility as a host within their age group to ask at least one of them to a dance after the dinner and before the end of the evening. Runa, Earl and his mentors were curious who he would choose for this purpose.Jien soaked for a short while in the bath, letting his muscles relax and his body loosen up once more. His bath was interrupted not long later however by Runa equipped with a fresh towel to dry off with. After drying off he was promptly led back to his room where he was dressed in his outfit for the second portion of the day. This outfit was not much different from his usual day to day semi formal outfit due to his own instance.While they were attempting to select his three outfits for this day despite all of the options available Jien had put his foot down that at least for part of this day he would dress as he wished. This was supposed to be his birthday after all. And so, though the outfit was similar to his usual the fabrics were much higher end and a few accouterments assisted in his dress being raised to the next level.He wore a starched white shirt with black silk tie covered by brocade green vest with golden accents. His black pants were pressed to perfection and his black leather boots had golden accents at the eyelets for the black laces, drawing the gold throughout the outfit as a whole. Across his waist was a gold chain leading to his vest pocket which contained an intricate gold pocket watch. Finally, his hair was tied back into a ponytail with a green ribbon matching that of his vest. It was in this outfit that he made his way calmly to one of the lounges to hear the results of the results of the matches they had all fought not long ago.