Ch.177Banquet (2)

The banquet hall was filled with numerous nobles, high-ranking officials, and power players at the core of the Empire. They were all influential figures who would normally take center stage in any gathering, but at this moment, they were all merely supporting characters.

Morning Star, Najin.

Snake that Swallows the Gold Coins, Dieta.

These two individuals who appeared in the banquet hall had achieved revolutionary accomplishments in their respective fields. And they had done so in an incredibly short time.

One was a legendary merchant who had broken the balance of Imperial trading companies that had remained unchanged for centuries in just four months, boldly claiming the position of a great merchant. The other was an unparalleled genius who was shattering common sense built up over the Empire’s thousand-year history.

If one were to name the two most famous figures in the Empire recently, these two would certainly be chosen. With such prominent individuals appearing together at the banquet hall, it would have been strange if they didn’t draw attention.

“Indeed.”

“The two of them together make quite a picture…”

“What a shame. I had hoped when I heard the rumors that the Guild Master hadn’t secured him.”

“Are you thinking of putting pearls around a pig’s neck? In my opinion, that would be quite disrespectful to the pearl.”

“Are you calling me a pig?”

“I meant the Guild Master is the pearl.”

“Then am I not the pig?”

“Direct speech isn’t beautiful. Must I really speak so explicitly?”

“You keep saying ‘my opinion’ but you’re hardly a young girl yourself.”

Some male nobles glanced at Najin who had secured the seat beside Dieta and clicked their tongues, while several women, including the young lady, looked back and forth between their partners and Najin, sighing behind their fans.

“…”

Dieta listened to the murmurs around her with slightly lowered eyes. Though she didn’t show it, she was inwardly shouting with joy.

This banquet hall was filled with numerous power players. And it was also filled with gossips who would observe every move of these powerful figures and spread rumors. Likely, after just one night, everything that happened in the banquet hall today would spread throughout Camelot.

After just one night, everyone would know.

Who Dieta’s partner was, and who Najin’s partner was. Attending the banquet with Najin itself was a pleasure, but the rumors that would spread afterward made Dieta even happier.

‘I need to mark my territory like this at least once.’

There were many nobles eyeing Najin, whose stock was rising day by day. There were also too many nobles trying to subtly suggest marriage proposals to Najin. To those thieves, Dieta had essentially declared at this venue:

Hands off.

If you’re thinking of making advances toward this man, forget it. This man is my partner and we’re close enough to attend such banquets together. You wouldn’t do something so undignified, uncultured, and disloyal as to try to steal someone like that, would you?

Glance.

Dieta looked up at Najin slightly. Did he interpret the meaning of that gaze differently? When their eyes met, Najin smiled slightly. Dieta, who almost lost her composure, barely managed to maintain her breathing and responded with a relaxed smile.

The banquet continued.

Factions gathered to chat, nobles bustled about trying to curry favor with the powerful figures, and endless gossip about Imperial politics circulated.

“Guild Master!”

And someone made a late appearance at the banquet hall. This person arrived long after the banquet had started, but no one expressed displeasure at her tardiness.

Who would dare criticize a Pillar of the Empire?

Safria Gachefsga, Seal of Eternal Beauty.

With her long blonde hair flowing, she waved warmly at Dieta. She was wearing a platinum-colored dress, and Safria smiled as she slightly lifted its hem.

“I love the dress you sent, Guild Master. It’s been so long since I attended such a banquet that I was wondering what to wear… I never expected you to send such a gift. Really, I only ever receive things from you.”

“I’m glad you like it. The dress suits you very well.”

As Safria chatted with Dieta, her gaze naturally turned to the person beside her. The young man standing next to Dieta. He was someone Safria knew as well.

“You are…?”

“I’m Najin. It’s an honor to meet the Fourth Pillar of the Empire.”

Najin bowed his head in greeting.

It was Safria who had evaluated Najin’s qualifications when he became a Sword Seeker, so they were acquaintances of sorts.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. You know Nayuta, the Master of Gray Tower, right?”

“Yes, I’ve met him once.”

“He and I were academy classmates, and he talks about you a lot. He said he’s been writing down ideas to give you a new name once you earn another star…”

Safria looked at Najin with a wry smile. That smile conveyed the message, “You know what I mean, right?” and Najin understood exactly what “what I mean” referred to.

She was talking about the Gray Tower Master’s terrible naming sense.

Najin also smiled wryly along with Safria. He really wanted to decline that. The name Morning Star was quite enough.

2.

The banquet was in full swing, and in the middle, there was a light ball where people danced with their partners. Despite having a partner, Dieta received numerous dance requests, but naturally, she declined them all.

There was only one person she would dance with.

Holding Najin’s outstretched hand, Dieta headed to the center of the hall.

“I noticed this before too.”

Dancing with Najin, Dieta laughed incredulously.

“You’ve never learned to dance, have you?”

“I learned briefly when I stayed in Trebache.”

“That was just a few hours, wasn’t it?”

“I tend to learn things quickly.”

Whatever the field, if it involved physical movement, Najin’s talent shone. For Najin, who could mimic even the movements of transcendents, imitating a dancer’s movements wasn’t particularly difficult.

Dancing like this now, Dieta was happy.

The star of the banquet. The focus of attention. Gazes mixed with envy and admiration. It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale or romance novel. And she was enjoying it in reality, as the protagonist of this stage. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t enjoying it.

After all, Dieta was still a young woman. A young woman who had once dreamed of and fantasized about scenes like this.

While dancing happily like that.

Suddenly, Najin’s body stiffened. Dieta blinked. Najin’s gaze, which had been focused on her, turned elsewhere. Dieta turned her head toward where his gaze was directed.

Click.

Najin’s gaze was directed at the entrance of the banquet hall, and there stood a guest who had arrived late. No, to be precise, he wasn’t a guest. Neither Dieta nor any of the trading companies hosting this banquet would have invited this individual.

‘Why is that being here?’

The moment she recognized the figure, Dieta’s eyes widened. She wasn’t the only one with widened eyes. The other guild masters were the same. It was a completely unexpected individual.

A person not invited to the banquet.

However, the figure who stepped into the banquet hall was too important to be called out for not being invited. The hall fell into momentary silence at his appearance.

“…Eurypylus?”

Someone murmured.

Eurypylus. That was the name of the individual who had stepped into the banquet hall. But there was another name by which he was better known.

The Lighthouse Keeper, Eurypylus.

The great warrior of the Sacred Host, the main deity of the Order, and the guardian of the lighthouse that symbolized the Order. This figure, who had remained immovable for hundreds of years, had suddenly appeared in the banquet hall.

Since he had last appeared in public about 57 years ago, his appearance was enough to bring silence to the banquet hall. Eurypylus moved through the silence.

Click.

He stopped in front of Najin. Eurypylus raised his hand toward Najin. Pointing at Najin, he opened his mouth.

“Are you Najin?”

3.

Are you Najin?

When faced with that question, Najin didn’t answer immediately. He simply met Eurypylus’s gaze.

Pure white.

That was the word that came to mind about this individual. His hair was snow-white, and his attire was also white. His hair, clothes, skin—everything was pure white. The only thing that wasn’t white was his golden-colored eyes.

Eurypylus.

Najin knew that name. He also knew this man’s appearance. He had researched him before. So naturally, he could tell what kind of being stood before him.

Like the Sacred Host of the Sacred Body Order or the Executioner of the Sacred Blood Order, he was a representative warrior of his order. Eurypylus was the Lighthouse Keeper, the representative warrior of the Order.

‘The Order.’

The moment he mulled over the name of that order, Najin’s insides churned. However, he didn’t show this turmoil outwardly. He merely glanced at Dieta standing beside him. Dieta silently shook her head.

Then she mouthed the words.

An uninvited guest.

After a moment of silence, Najin spoke.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I have something to say to you. Over there would be better. Follow me. This place is not suitable for conversation.”

Eurypylus pointed to the garden. Then, without waiting for Najin’s answer, he started walking toward the garden. Najin spoke to his back.

“I decline.”

Eurypylus stopped walking.

He turned to look at Najin. His expressionless face changed. He frowned as he looked at Najin. Najin, undeterred by that gaze, said what he had to say.

“I have no conversation to have with you. I have even less desire to associate with an uninvited guest at this banquet.”

“Do you not know who I am?”

“I do. You’re the Lighthouse Keeper, aren’t you?”

“Knowing that, and still?”

“Does your being the Lighthouse Keeper give me a reason to follow your orders?”

Najin said incredulously.

“I am not a priest of the Order. This is not the sacred ground of the Order. This is the Empire, a banquet hall, and you are an uninvited intruder. Following you now would be disrespectful to those hosting and enjoying this banquet.”

Najin frowned.

“Your expression suggesting I must follow you when you speak feels unpleasant to me.”

The Order is the order with the most followers, and the person before him holds one of the highest positions in that order, second only to the main deity. Najin is not unaware of this fact.

Most people would silently comply if someone of such stature as an order’s great warrior made a request. They would do so out of fear of crossing them, or out of respect for their authority.

But Najin had no need for that.

He had already crossed the Order, and even if he respected the Lighthouse Keeper’s authority, there was no reason to submit to it.

“So I decline.”

Najin said firmly.

It’s an incredibly arrogant behavior that could potentially constitute blasphemy depending on the circumstances. But Najin wasn’t acting impulsively, driven by his aversion to the Order without any thought.

Najin had mentioned that this was the Empire.

This is the Empire, and Najin is under the protection of the Empire’s First Star. Ordering Najin around rudely was tantamount to challenging the authority of the Empire’s First Star.

Moreover, this is Camelot, the capital of the Empire.

It’s a place within Gerd’s sight, which means it’s within reach of Gerd’s sword. Najin conveyed with his gaze: Try it if you dare.

“…”

Eurypylus’s eyebrows became even more furrowed.

He frowned and then unconsciously looked up at the sky. Eight stars were shining there. They were the stars of the Empire’s First Star, Gerd.

Was he conscious of that starlight?

The Lighthouse Keeper glared at Najin with a frown. Then he lightly stomped his foot. A wave spread from where his foot touched, blocking the surrounding sounds. So that no one could eavesdrop on this conversation.

“How impudent. Just because you’re under the protection of another star, do you think that star is yours?”

“Isn’t it better than serving a star whose purpose is unknown?”

“Are you insulting the Sacred Host?”

“Insult? Insults are only valid when there’s something worth lowering. Why would I need to lower something that’s already at the bottom?”

Najin smiled slyly.

Eurypylus’s eyes narrowed.

“What gives you the confidence to…”

“I’ll say it again.”

Najin cut off Eurypylus’s words.

“This is the Empire. Are you confident?”

“Let me ask you. I am the Lighthouse Keeper of the Order. Even if Gerd protects you, do you think he would defend you at the risk of creating friction with the Order?”

“Are you threatening me now?”

“It’s not a threat, just stating facts.”

At those words, Najin laughed. As if it were ridiculous.

“It seems the Empire’s First Star thinks differently.”

Eight stars shone from the top of the One Horn Tower.