Delpon, which used to be much livelier, now seemed much quieter.

  There were still street vendors hawking their wares, but they didn’t dare to make so much noise anymore. Even if they were buying and selling goods with pedestrians, they would subconsciously keep their voices down. After all, there were still black bloodstains on the roads. The beggar army had been outside the city burying corpses for an entire night, and there were still a small number of soldiers who had not been buried.

  There was a change in the garrison on the walls, and the traders going in and out were quite unaccustomed to this.

  In the past, even if they brought some contraband with them, they would only need to slip some money to pass through, but now they couldn’t figure out the temper of those lofty Golden Sons, so they were simply waiting for things to come to a conclusion.

  Whether it would be strict or loose, there would eventually be a standard.

  And the fear was that, in this kind of chaos, there would be no standard, and then anything could be singled out as a reason to screw with them.

  In addition, they had heard that tonight the Golden Sons would be attending a banquet held jointly by the nobles and that a definite conclusion would be reached about the rules and the distribution of interests.

  Almost everyone was waiting for the party and for the news after its end.

  Waiting was torturous, and the nobles, great merchants, and even the mercenaries collectively agreed that today was the most unbearable day of their lives.

  But no matter how unbearable it was, no one would die, and time would eventually pass little by little.

  In the evening, the whole city was almost alive.

  The nobles who were eligible to attend the banquet were already at home ready and waiting, so they waited for it to get dark, brought their wives or lovers, and headed straight for Aldo’s manor.

  The small nobles or merchants who were not eligible to attend also left their homes.

  They gathered in the taverns, inns, and other places near Aldo’s manor, waiting for news, and took up almost all the spots in these places.

  Some even fought over a seat.

  In the manor, in order to express the solemn atmosphere, Aldo took out all the spare magic lamps used to illuminate the Magic Tower and hung them all over the manor. He borrowed dozens of good cooks from the various noble families that were somewhat familiar with him to help with the work, as well as a few seasoned butlers to take care of the scheduling and preparation of the entire venue.

  The many magic lamps created a bright curtain of light that could almost compare to daylight.

  The whole manor grew clamorous as more and more guests arrived. They broke up into a dozen small groups, boasting to each other and chatting about delightful topics.

  Several butlers were in the front entertaining guests, while Aldo stood on the balcony, looking pleasantly at the dense crowd of people in the square below.

  The maidservant he doted on the most snuggled up to him and said, “I’ve never seen you so happy.”


  “Because my manor has never been so crowded.” Aldo had an elated expression, even a bit of frenzy, having been set free from extreme repression. “Once I knelt down to that woman, I no longer had the dignity that a spellcaster should have. But now I have it again, and even though it was earned for me by someone else, and even though it’s illusory, it makes me just as happy.”


  The maidservant looked at Aldo with pity, knowing full well that her master, though usually playful and critical, was actually under heavy internal pressure.

  The maidservants of the entire manor were fighting openly and secretly, but inwardly, they were all grateful to Aldo. So all these open and secret battles were kept to a limit, never annoying their master or letting him know.

  After all, it was Aldo who had rescued them from that slave market where there was no justice and given them a place to stay.

  The maidservant was caught up in her memories, but suddenly she noticed the silence below, the chatter of the bustling crowd barely audible, and then she heard Aldo’s slightly happy voice.

  “They’re here.”


  Four young men in simple attire arrived at the entrance of the manor, each one very conspicuous.

  Whether it was Hawk who was sturdy and scary like an orc, covered in muscles; Link who was very robust but gave a sophisticated feeling; Jett who had the mystifying air of a religious fraudster; or Roland who was erudite and steid at a glance.

  Their demeanor and appearance were clearly out of step with the world.

  When they entered the manor, almost everyone stopped talking and just watched them.

  Roland, Hawk, and Link were all used to grand occasions, so they walked naturally.

  Jett, however, was a little nervous, but he put on a straight face and didn’t make a fool of himself.

  After entering the manor, Roland immediately saw Aldo who greeted him with a hug and a smile on his face, then greeted Hawk, Link, and Jett in turn.

  Then Aldo led the four of them to the banquet hall.

  It turned out to be very crowded in the front courtyard, but as soon as Aldo took over the welcoming duties from the two butlers, a path opened up in the middle. The nobles crowded together as far back as they could, not wanting to get in the way of the four Golden Sons.

  Entering the banquet hall, Roland found that it was much brighter in here than it was outside.

  And at the long table in the middle of the banquet hall, five people were already seated.

  When they saw Roland and the others, they stood up in unison.

  Aldo brought Roland and the others over.

  The two sides took the measure of each other across the long table.

  Aldo, on the other hand, stood at the host’s seat, coughed softly, drew all eyes to himself, and said, “These four must be familiar to all of you and are our main guests, so I won’t introduce them. The four Excellencies, Roland, Hawk, Link, and Jett, this time, allow me to introduce you to these five gentlemen and beautiful ladies who are pivotal in the city of Delpon.”


  Among the five, there was an old woman who, hearing Aldo’s words, used a feather fan to lightly cover the lower half of her face, and her old wrinkled eyelids actually managed to smile in the shape of crescent moons, from which it could also be seen that she must have been a great beauty when she was young.

  This was followed by a series of awkward boasting about the five by Aldo.

  As was the custom of the nobility, these five people were given all the titles that Aldo could give them.

  On the other hand, Roland used his own logic for a streamlined analysis.All five were nobles, and each one of them even had a monopoly on the city’s ironware business, grain business, pelt business, gemstone business, and spice business.

  Roland looked at them, considered briefly, and asked rhetorically, “Actually, you’re all related to the mayor’s family, the Johns, right?”


  “Amazing that you actually guessed it.” The old woman put away her fan. “As expected of the knowledgeable and witty Master Mage.”


  Roland sighed. “It’s not hard. The things you run are all quite important. If I were the mayor of the city, I wouldn’t just hand it over to an outsider; I would definitely have to have my own people in charge to feel at ease. It’s a very simple logical deduction that my friends are surely able to figure out.”


  When these words were said, Hawk’s expression was fine, but Jett and Link both looked guilty.

  Their expressions were taken in by the five people across from them, all of whom gave a slightly teasing look that wasn’t obvious and didn’t sting

  Roland turned his head to look at Link and Jett, rather speechless.

  In this case, even if you guys didn’t think of this connection quickly, don’t reveal a guilty expression-it’s just smacking your own face.