It"s been two days and the time has finally come. Vlad is now inside a huge hall; even wider than the hall in the mansion of Lionheart. There are bright lights on each side of the walls and there was no corner that left a shadow. Many tables are placed on the sides of the room, and there are comfortable seats people can sit onto.
The people inside, together with Vlad, are all wearing formal clothes: for men are suits and dresses for women. Although it may not look like it since everyone is wearing formal clothing, but the people inside are actually grouped.
n.o.bles are with n.o.bles, knights are with knights, merchants are together with their friend merchants, adventurers are with adventurers, and those who are not well-known are alone or trying to join their own group.
Vlad is in the former.
[ Thank you all for coming here to the castle to join this annual event! ] on top of the stage in the middle edge of the room is a young man wearing pretty much the most luxurious clothing Vlad has ever seen. He has a slim and tall structure and his face is well-proportioned.
As soon as he got the attention of everyone, he introduces himself as such:
[ I"m the first prince of this country, Prince Kurth. My father gave me the opportunity to prepare this reception; I hope you will find yourselves satisfied! Many things will happen on this night and I hope that everyone will get the chance to enjoy themselves. ] as he finishes his statement, he immediately went down on the stage and the music from the band began playing.
Vlad stood there in the middle of the audience holding a gla.s.s of wine that was served to him earlier.
( So that"s the first prince, huh? )
Since this is the first time he had ever been in this kind of formal event, he had taken the last day of his stay in the Lionheart manor to study and have knowledge of what was about to happen.
[ I heard that they will introduce the heroes again and the king will finally give them their rewards for the previous war. I also heard they"ve grown much more powerful now! I can"t wait to see them again! ]
[ Is that so? Maybe they"ll be given their own n.o.ble t.i.tles now that the war with the demon country had finally paused... Their family must be very lucky... ]
As soon as the introduction of the prince was over, the people surrounding Vlad had given their attention to each other and started to chat endlessly, filling the room with noise. Some took this opportunity to chat with people with high status and others looked for a chance to get a partner.
There were a bunch of people that are looking towards Vlad, especially women, but none of them were brave enough to come to him. And that was because Vlad currently has Ayla as his muse.
Ayla is currently wearing a purple dress with frills. Because of the pale color of her skin, it suits her almost perfectly, and the other young n.o.bles can"t take their eyes on her as well. Since this event will happen for not just within a day, he decided to take Ayla and Stella one after the other only.
Just from Vlad and Ayla"s appearance, the people were immediately regarded them as people with high social standing without knowing who they truly are. But also because their ident.i.ty is unknown, no one dared to come up to them.
[ Oh! If it wasn"t Vlad-san. ] a familiar voice came to his side. Looking to where it came from, he saw Carla, wearing her usual suit. She came walking towards him in her usual manner. And together with her, is an old-looking man with a beard, locking arms with also - an old woman.
[ Carlo-san. ] he called her made-up name, ignoring the two people together with her.
Vlad had never really figured out why she was hiding her gender, and he never really questioned her about it. But as far as he can remember, she"s the closest he"s with outside the people of his mansion. Questioning her about it might affect their relationship.
[ I see you took my advice... ] she murmurs as she looks at Ayla. She then turned to all n.o.bles that are all only just looking and says:
[ Well, it seems to be working... ]
[ I really can"t thank you enough for it. ] he gave his thanks with much exaggeration.
[ Carlo-sama, may I ask who this person is? ] the old man with a beard asked, looking at Vlad with curiosity.
[ Ahh... Right, this person is Vlad Alucard. If you haven"t heard if his name yet, he"s the person who had just recently conquered a dungeon together with the heroes. ]
Shocked gasping of the people around was heard as Carla introduces Vlad. They began to whisper to each other and gossip as they look at him.
[ Ohho~! So it"s him? ] Richard"s face full of shock, he looks at Vlad.
[ Sir Vlad, it"s really nice to meet you! I"ve heard so much about you this past week and I just can"t wait to meet you! ] he holds out a hand to Vlad, waiting for a handshake.
[ Thank you... And you are...? ]
[ Vlad-san, this person is the chairman of the merchant guild, Richard. And this lady is his wife. ] Carla answered in his place.
[ I"m a friend of Victor, the guild master in Altair city. I"ve heard many things about you from him. ]
[ Is that so? I wonder what are the things he told you? ]
[ Nothing much... I will never believe in rumors, but he told me personally about your achievements so they can"t be anything but true. Well, when we talked, he only kept on comparing you to the heroes and as I said, your achievements. I was really looking forward to this meeting to see personally who was the person behind those stories. ]
[ Is that so? I hope those stories are not exaggerated... ]
[ Not at all. I believe they are all true. ] still, with a smile on his face, he answers Vlad.
Vlad continued to humor Richard and soon, the five main people of the event arrive...
The heroes: Hana, Caiden, Alicia, Nina, and Arthur arrive on the stage.
[ It"s the kingdom"s heroes! ]
[ Oh! It"s really them! ]
Everyone"s attention immediately went towards them, even Vlad, Carla, and Richard who are currently enjoying their talk had paused to look at them.
The five of them kept huge smiles on their faces as they were greeted by each people they met. But their eyes seems to have halted when it reaches the sight of Vlad.