Chapter 80: ReceptionRutina, now Her Lordship, the Count of Selmer, stands center stage. No appuse, cheers or even a mutter can be heard from the huge audience. A guard quietly slips in behind the ptform to take Rutina’s sword. In a good voice for a petite 15-year-old, Rutina makes her first, official address.

  “The County of Selmer has endured difficult years.Today, that uncertainty ends.By the w of the Empire, the governance of Selmer stands restored and settled.The duties of this county remain unchanged, and they will be carried out without pse.Selmer will protect its people, secure its nds, and deal with the dangers within its borders.The court will now proceed.”

  Great speech, though I expect most of it is standard. Importantly, she delivers it well, as expected of a noble. Soon after, the clerk comes back to announce the end of the main part of the ceremony.

  “The court will now proceed with internal business. Those without standing may withdraw.”

  The common-folk clear out in an orderly manner. Quite interesting to see how serious this is. Mirabel and I stay along with the local nobles. More guards and knights enter, including Marcus and Theo. I wonder if Marcus is the captain. Theo stands on the other side and may be the leader of the B-team. Their armor stands out as distinctive, which is odd in a way. It might have been better to have fake armor for such events.

  Once everyone settles down, the clerk announces, “Lord Moreau, come forward.” I sure am gd I was warned about this in advance because it sounded a lot like the next line would be ‘You have been found guilty of the following crimes’.

  I stand in front of the ptform and sort of nod. It didn’t feel right to kneel, though I would have if asked nicely. This is the part I’m dreading. Please don’t praise me. It will only make you look weak. In the same regal voice, Rutina decres,

  “This mark is given in recognition of proven service.It grants the bearer free passage in my nds and the hearing of my officers.It grants no other right.”

  The clerk then says, “You may withdraw.” I sort of nod again and go back to my spot.

  Well, that sure was easy. Nothing like the ‘big-brother saved me’ I feared. Sure, tossing the badge to me while munching on meat-skewers would have been friendlier, but other people need to witness this. I hope this helps to show she has support.

  No one else is called forward. No comments, no questions, just silence until the clerk announces, “The court is dismissed.” Nobles really know when to shut up. I guess that comes from not needing to be elected.

  Servants start moving tables and the surrounding nobles act a bit like social introverts. Rutina stays seated on the ptform and just whispers to the duke, duchess and Gosr. I’m not quite foolish enough to walk up there and give her a high-five, though I feel that someone should have briefed me, just in case.

  Mirabel has been perfectly silent all this time. Very discreetly, she leans in to whisper, “Good job, David.” Maybe a bit patronizing, but I don’t mind. Rather than respecting social etiquette, I’m fascinated by the details and don’t want to miss anything. It’s like witnessing a rare event in nature and not wanting to ruin the moment. Well, I guess that is a bit like etiquette.

  I hope Roxanne and Sherry are OK. Of course they will be, though Roxanne might be worried about me — Sherry is too practical. Since I didn’t break the party, I can see that they’re in the expected direction so it should be fine. Alina and Zasi are grouped so they’re probably fine too.

  “Mirabel, did all this go as expected?”

  “Very smoothly, though I’ve never been to one at this level.”

  “I like that all the speeches were short. I expected much worse.”

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  Soon, the clerk announces that it’s time to come sit down. The entire hall is full of long tables. All are aligned cafeteria-style except one at the front on the ptform. They are nicely set with bread, drinks and fruit.

  Rutina takes the middle seat of the main table with the duke and duchess on either side of her. Fnking them are people I didn’t recognize. Identify says they are the Count of Weserfeld, Otto Nordbrun Verden, and the Marquis of Eisfeld, Gundrik Nordbrun Ekbert. [1] I have yet to see an elven noble outside the Nordbrun cn. No one is seated on the other side of the table, so it looks like something set up for TV.

  The second table has several children and a few young adults. Most have the Anselm surname. From here, none of them look particurly dangerous. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they are innocent of plots against Rutina, but no one looks guilty of anything. Of course, a child could have an overly-ambitious guardian, but it seems like Gosr would have caught something so obvious.

  The next table is centered on Gosr. Marcus and Theo are there as well, so I guess they really are Rutina’s top people. Maybe I should have charged more — just kidding, sort of. The main clerk is there too. The other side of the table has a bunch of miscelneous people that seem to be reted to administration rather than nobility. One of them is a really old dy — geez, she’s 107 years old. Maybe she’s the only clerk who understands the old filing system.

  Mirabel and I are taken to one of the tables that seem to be for the lesser nobles in the region. [2] I’m at the center of one side of our table and Mirabel is thankfully beside me. Other than us, there are several barons and untitled people who are probably the heirs of the high nobles. Only low murmurs can be heard.

  After our level are many tables for guards and lesser officials. Sherry and Roxanne are seated together at one of these. Roxanne sees me and has probably been watching closely the entire time. I nod and she smiles. Sherry just seems to be enjoying the environment.

  Once everyone is seated, the main courses are served to the high table and then down according to general rank. It’s still rather quiet and most are watching the main table anxiously, like dogs waiting for a treat. As soon as Rutina takes a bite, everyone else digs in and a light conversational tone can be heard. No speeches or announcements. Again, this is easier than expected.

  Unsurprisingly, several people are talking about us. Most of them saw me getting the badge and are probably wondering why it was given to an outsider. The most direct statements are in Elvish. Well, I don’t care much about petty gossip, especially about me. It’s only natural for them to be curious. Heck, I’m secretly running ID checks on half of them.

  After checking my surroundings, I see that Mirabel is looking at me expectantly. I guess I’ve been ignoring her.

  “So, Mirabel, what do you think of the food? Quite different from home, right?”

  “Yes, David. It is simir to the food from the town we visited.”

  (That probably means ‘peasant food’.)

  “Yes, I understand. I like both styles.”

  “Oh, my family’s as well? I never thought to ask.”

  “Yes, though not every day. What about the drinks?”

  “We usually drink wine.”

  “Mead and mild beer are more common here. Most wines would taste unfamiliar.”

  This topic apparently caught the attention of one of the barons.

  “Pardon me, Lord Moreau, I am Baron Hameln. I was wondering if you are perhaps referring to ?grünwein?, um, green-wine?”

  “Yes, Baron Hameln, and I do like it. Is your barony involved in the production?”

  “Yes, Lord Moreau, we are.”

  “I’ve been told that green-wine is a regional specialty. You must be proud of that.”

  “Yes indeed, Lord Moreau. You are too kind.”

  “I was talking to Lady Mirabel about some of the regional dishes, but I am no expert. Perhaps you would like to describe one.”

  “It would be my pleasure, Lord Moreau, Lady Mirabel.”

  After several minutes of Hameln’s description of various pork marination strategies, one of the privileged brats butts in.

  “Oh my. How enthusiastic Baron Hameln is about pork. Are you really so interested, Lord Moreau?”

  Who is this brat? He’s Adalbert Nordbrun Ekbert — no title and the same surname as the local marquis. Is he trying to be cool with a name like that?

  I turn my attention to the brat and in a cheerful tone, I say, “Certainly. Baron Hameln speaks from experience, and I would be remiss not to listen.”

  I let that hang for a moment and turn my attention back to the baron. Even if the baron is a bit nerdy, he knows to quickly get the conversation back on track.

  “Indeed. In our climate, proper curing matters more than spice.”

  After a polite period, I close with, “Thank you for the expnation, Baron.”

  Probably thankful for the invitation to disengage, the baron starts a conversation with someone else. The brat looks away as if nothing happened. Best of all, Mirabel smiles at me. We chat for a while about architecture and other neutral topics like the local weather. Much to Mirabel’s joy, dessert turns out to be quite good.

  Eventually, conversations get a bit quieter and Rutina simply gets up and leaves. The duke, duchess and others at the high table leave soon after. The clerk doesn’t announce that the dinner is over so I guess he’s off-the-clock. Other people leave approximately by rank, but deviations seem to be ignored. I nod to the friendly baron before Mirabel and I leave the table. Roxanne and Sherry discreetly follow as we pass. Both of them are acting a little suspicious, though maybe on the level of stealing forks rather than covert guards.

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  Outside, I see that the old dy from Gosr’s table is quite obviously staring at me. I got distracted by her age earlier so let’s check her name now: Cassandra Nordbrun Delmas, no title. [3] Hmm, that’s a weird name. Well, she seems to want to talk to me so I walk over there. Fortunately, Roxanne and Sherry don’t see this old dy as a physical threat, so they just watch for intruders.

  Cassandra looks into my eyes and speaks clearly enough to be understood, but with a ft tone to avoid too much attention.

  “Lord Moreau. Why did the count die?”

  “The former count brought a charge. I contested it. He invoked trial-by-combat. I survived.”

  “You killed him.”

  “He chose the form of judgment.”

  “You will expin this to me.”

  “The record of the trial is public. The Duke of Harz presided.”

  “I did not ask where the record is written.”

  “Then I cannot improve upon it.”

  “Lord Moreau, you are cautious.”

  “Yes, for good reason.”

  “I would like to discuss this further at my manor.”

  “I will consider it.”

  “When you do, ask Rutina to bring you.”

  Cassandra turns and walks away — slowly, since she’s old.

  I take Mirabel’s hand and we continue to where her guards are waiting. It really is comforting to have Mirabel here. Her manners are perfect and she doesn’t push her actual status over me. I get the feeling that she’s alright having me take the lead. Even if that’s partly to pcate me, it suggests that she might transition well to becoming a commoner.

  “David, who was that?”

  “We’ve never met. She was seated at a nearby table, so she has some status, but isn’t a high noble.”

  “It’s fascinating to watch how you deal with nobles. I had only seen my father speak to people with much lower station. He never uses subtlety like you do.”

  “My old strategy was to make people angry enough to attack me. There are advantages to both methods, though it probably would have failed against the old dy.”

  “You made a good choice. Thank you so much for inviting me. It’s been very interesting.”

  “I’m so happy you came, Mirabel. Everything was better with you here. See you in two days.”

  Mirabel actually blushed. Was I too direct again?

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  Too many people watching us to be able to use warp so we go to the adventurer guild to find a ride to Vale. Fortunately, the taxi line isn’t long since most people leaving now have their own way home. We go to Vale’s Labyrinth and warp home.

  Alina greets us, “Welcome home.”

  Before I could respond, Sherry bursts out with, “It was so grand! Thanks for allowing us to attend. The food was good, but the beer was worse than water.”

  Roxanne says, “I’m only sorry we weren’t closer when you received your reward. May we see it?”

  “Certainly. I’ll mark it with the tracking powder ter. And, Alina, thanks for making the letter holder. I hadn’t guessed that the letter would be rolled.”

  Alina nods. “Happy to help.”

  “I’d really like to unwind by smashing monsters in the byrinth. Unless anyone has any objections, let’s get ready for a short pass.”

  It’s nice to get out of formal clothes into comfortable armor. Away from the dangers of court and into the safety of a monster-filled byrinth.

  “We are on Crespy’s 24th floor again. I want to do a little more here while we can. I’ll put up some walls or storm spells. Make sure not to go too far forward. Lead the way, Roxanne.”

  This is a bit too easy, which isn’t all that surprising. We’ve made it 20 floors higher than this without my extra jobs or quite this strong of a vanguard. Honestly, it’d be nice to be able to skip straight to the boss rooms. The rest of the floor could be practice if needed.

  After a few hours of venting, I mean, progress, I feel so much better. Being polite and restrained all the time is exhausting. I signal a stop and open a portal back home.

  Zara and Sima enjoy baths so much that we’re now taking them nearly every evening. No compints from me or the others. Without Brahim lessons, Zara helps with cooking and Sima helps with equipment maintenance. It’s nice that they’ve settled in well.

  Sherry enchants my dragon-skin boots with Ox and Kobold Crystals to provide speed. It might seem wasteful for me, but speed is good for duels — not that I’m pnning any. My current gear is worth millions already and we aren’t done. I want to find a better source for equipment since we’re still wearing some basic leather.

  At night, Sima joins us again. It’s great that the other girls are so welcoming. More work for me, of course, but I don’t mind.

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  [1] The LN mentions an elven marquis and another count/earl, but not their names (v11 c5).[2] The LN makes it sound like there are only four elves with titles (v11 c5). The wording in the WN makes it easier to understand that the Duke is only talking about the nobles who matter for keeping the region under elven rule.[3] Cassandra is in the LN (v12 c3). Her full name isn’t given, but there’s some expnation for why it’d be unusual.